A new community choice energy program
encompassing three North County cities Carlsbad, Del Mar and Solana Beach begins enrolling the first of about 58,000 customers on Saturday, offering an alternative to San Diego Gas & Electric when it comes to purchasing sources of energy.
Called the Clean Energy Alliance, the community choice aggregation, or CCA, program promises to offer residential and commercial customers cleaner power than SDG&E. But at least for now, customers will see only a tiny reduction in their monthly bills in comparison to the incumbent utility. And in the case of customers in Solana Beach, rates will be slightly higher than SDG&E’s.
NationofChange This decision is another step toward meeting California’s deep decarbonization and ambitious transportation electrification goals.
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A program that supports the installation of 2,000 new charging stations at apartment and work complexes throughout San Diego was just approved by the California Public Utilities Commission. Introduced by San Diego Gas and Electric, the $43.5 million electric vehicle infrastructure program will build off a successful pilot program launched in 2016.
“This decision is another step toward meeting California’s deep decarbonization and ambitious transportation electrification goals,” the program summary said.
The Power Your Drive program “sets an equity requirement that 50 percent of sites be in underserved communities,” according to the program’s summary. While the pilot program installed over 3,000 charging stations at apartments and work complexes in a three-year period, the approve
The overspending has prompted an audit from the California Public Utilities Commission.
SDG&E officials have stated that the overspending occurred because the program was completely new and they did not have previous data to more effectively gauge the program’s budget.
An independent consultant must complete an audit of the program’s spending before the Commission will approve another phase in the plan.
Estela de Llanos, SDG&E’s vice president of Clean Transportation, Sustainability and chief environmental officer, has said that SDG&E has not, thus far, turned to ratepayers (customers) to repay the overspent $25 million.
“And if we do seek recovery of those costs,” de Llanos said, “We expect the (public utilities commission) to scrutinize that request. And any examination of that would be open and transparent. We’re not concerned with showing that or having it reviewed.”
SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – SDG&E’s electric vehicle charging pilot program, “Power Your Drive,” spent $25 million over the budget, prompting an audit from the California Public Utilities Commission.
While the company is now being instructed to investigate reasons for this overspending, SDG&E officials are not denying the figure, stating that the program was completely new.
The audit must be completed by an independent consultant before the Commission will approve another phase in the plan.
San Diego residents may be interested to know that the outstanding $25 million will not be repaid through ratepayers, but rather through their shareholder funds, according to Estela de Llanos, SDG&E’s vice president of Clean Transportation, Sustainability and chief environmental officer.