Community Choice Aggregation
Encyclopedia
Community Choice Aggregation or CCA is a system adopted into law in the states of Massachusetts
, Ohio
, California
, New Jersey
and Rhode Island
which allows cities and counties to aggregate the buying power of individual customers within a defined jurisdiction in order to secure alternative energy supply contracts. Currently, nearly one million Americans receive service from CCAs.
and Martha's Vineyard
formed the Cape Light Compact and successfully lobbied for passage of seminal CCA legislation that had been filed by State Senator and Energy Committee Chairman Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford), Senate 447 (1995). The Cape Light Compact founders, Falmouth
Selectman Matthew Patrick and Barnstable County
Commissioner Rob O'Leary, were subsequently elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Senate respectively.
The Cape Light Compact currently serves 200,000 customers, running aggressive and transparent energy efficiency programs and installing solar installations on Cape Cod schools, fire stations and libraries. In Ohio, the nation's largest CCA was formed shortly after 1999 when the state legislature adopted a CCA law - the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC) switched approximately 500,000 customers in 100 mostly rural towns from a utility mix of coal and nuclear power to a mix of natural gas and renewably powered electricity, announcing a 70% air pollution reduction in the region's power mix.
Former FERC Commissioner Nora Brownell has called Community Choice Aggregations in Massachusetts and Ohio “the only great exceptions to the failure of electric deregulation in the U.S.” With every CCA yet formed still in operation and charging ratepayers less per kilowatt hour than their Investor-Owned-Utilities, CCAs have proven to be reliable and capable of delivering greener power at competitive prices. Ohio’s Office of the Consumer’s Council has said that CCA is “the greatest success story” in Ohio’s competitive market, and new legislation to re-regulate utility rates in Ohio will preserve CCA even if other forms of competition are eliminated. In Massachusetts, the success of the Cape Light Compact has led to the formation of new CCAs used in towns such as Marlborough, Massachusetts
.
In June 2011, the Hampshire Council of Governments
filed an application for Municipal Aggregation of Electricity on behalf of twenty-two communities in Hampshire
and Franklin
Counties. If approved by state regulators, the Council will arrange supply for those customers who have not chosen an independent supplier. The fifteen participating communities in Hampshire County include Belchertown, Chesterfield, Cummington, Easthampton, Goshen, Granby, Hadley, Hatfield, Huntington, Middlefield, Pelham, Plainfield, Southampton, Westhampton, and Williamsburg. The seven Franklin County participating towns are Buckland, Deerfield, Gill, Leverett, Montague, Northfield, and Rowe. These municipalities have a combined population of over 85,000 people.
In particular, San Francisco adopted a CCA Ordinance drafted by Fenn (86-04, Tom Ammiano) in 2004, creating a CCA program to build 360 Megawatts (MW) of solar, green distributed generation, wind generation, and energy efficiency and demand response to serve San Francisco ratepayers. Specifically, the ordinance combined the power purchasing authority of CCA with a revenue bond authority also developed by Fenn to expand the power of CCA, known as the H Bond Authority (Charter Section 9.107.8, Ammiano), to finance the new green power infrastructure, worth approximately $1 Billion. In 2007 the City adopted a detailed CCA Plan also written primarily by Fenn (Ordinance 447-07, Ammiano and Mirkarimi), which established a 51% Renewable Portfolio Standard by 2017 for San Francisco.
Inspired by Climate Protection efforts, CCA has spread to cities throughout the Bay Area, and throughout the state. In 2007, forty California local governments are in the process of implementing CCA, virtually all of them seeking to double, triple or quadruple the green power levels (Renewable Portfolio Standard, or "RPS) of the state's three Investor-Owned Utilities. Marin, Oakland and Berkeley are also seeking to employ San Francisco-style revenue bonds and implement a 51% RPS by 2017.
Recently, communities in Southern California have started to investigate the feasibility of forming CCAs because the program allows some flexibility in choosing the mix and sources of power production. A study was produced by the LGC in February of 2009 that evaluated forming a CCA and has been published to the California Energy Commission website.
In June of 2010, Pacific Gas & Electric sponsored a proposition, Proposition 16
, to make it more difficult for local entities to form either municipal utilities or CCAs by requiring a a two-thirds vote of the electorate rather than a simple majority, for a public agency to enter the retail power
business. Although PG&E contributed over $46 million in an effort to pass the initiative
(Prop 16's opponents had access to less than $100,000),, Proposition 16 was defeated.
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
which allows cities and counties to aggregate the buying power of individual customers within a defined jurisdiction in order to secure alternative energy supply contracts. Currently, nearly one million Americans receive service from CCAs.
Massachusetts
In Massachusetts, where the law was first enacted in 1997, the towns of Cape CodCape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
and Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....
formed the Cape Light Compact and successfully lobbied for passage of seminal CCA legislation that had been filed by State Senator and Energy Committee Chairman Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford), Senate 447 (1995). The Cape Light Compact founders, Falmouth
Falmouth, Massachusetts
Falmouth is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States; Barnstable County is coextensive with Cape Cod. The population was 31,531 at the 2010 census....
Selectman Matthew Patrick and Barnstable County
Barnstable County, Massachusetts
Barnstable County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, consisting of Cape Cod and associated islands. As of the 2010 census, the population was 216,902...
Commissioner Rob O'Leary, were subsequently elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Senate respectively.
The Cape Light Compact currently serves 200,000 customers, running aggressive and transparent energy efficiency programs and installing solar installations on Cape Cod schools, fire stations and libraries. In Ohio, the nation's largest CCA was formed shortly after 1999 when the state legislature adopted a CCA law - the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC) switched approximately 500,000 customers in 100 mostly rural towns from a utility mix of coal and nuclear power to a mix of natural gas and renewably powered electricity, announcing a 70% air pollution reduction in the region's power mix.
Former FERC Commissioner Nora Brownell has called Community Choice Aggregations in Massachusetts and Ohio “the only great exceptions to the failure of electric deregulation in the U.S.” With every CCA yet formed still in operation and charging ratepayers less per kilowatt hour than their Investor-Owned-Utilities, CCAs have proven to be reliable and capable of delivering greener power at competitive prices. Ohio’s Office of the Consumer’s Council has said that CCA is “the greatest success story” in Ohio’s competitive market, and new legislation to re-regulate utility rates in Ohio will preserve CCA even if other forms of competition are eliminated. In Massachusetts, the success of the Cape Light Compact has led to the formation of new CCAs used in towns such as Marlborough, Massachusetts
Marlborough, Massachusetts
Marlborough is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 38,499 at the 2010 census. Marlborough became a prosperous industrial town in the 19th century and made the transition to high technology industry in the late 20th century after the construction of the...
.
In June 2011, the Hampshire Council of Governments
Hampshire Council of Governments
The Hampshire Council of Governments is a government entity with principal offices in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1998 as a successor to the 18th century government of Hampshire County...
filed an application for Municipal Aggregation of Electricity on behalf of twenty-two communities in Hampshire
Hampshire County, Massachusetts
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 152,251 people, 55,991 households, and 33,818 families residing in the county. The population density was 288 people per square mile . There were 58,644 housing units at an average density of 111 per square mile...
and Franklin
Franklin County, Massachusetts
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 71,535 people, 29,466 households, and 18,416 families residing in the county. The population density was 102 people per square mile . There were 31,939 housing units at an average density of 46 per square mile...
Counties. If approved by state regulators, the Council will arrange supply for those customers who have not chosen an independent supplier. The fifteen participating communities in Hampshire County include Belchertown, Chesterfield, Cummington, Easthampton, Goshen, Granby, Hadley, Hatfield, Huntington, Middlefield, Pelham, Plainfield, Southampton, Westhampton, and Williamsburg. The seven Franklin County participating towns are Buckland, Deerfield, Gill, Leverett, Montague, Northfield, and Rowe. These municipalities have a combined population of over 85,000 people.
California
In the early days of the California energy crisis, Paul Fenn, who had served as Senator Montigny's Energy Advisor, formed Local Power (local.org and localpower.com), drafted new CCA legislation for California. In a campaign organized by Local Power, the City and County of San Francisco led Oakland, Berkeley, Marin County, and a group of Los Angeles municipalities in adopting resolutions asking for a state CCA law in response to the failure of California's deregulated electricity market. Fenn's bill was sponsored by then Assembly Member Carole Migden (D-San Francisco) in 2001, and the bill became law (AB117) in September, 2002.In particular, San Francisco adopted a CCA Ordinance drafted by Fenn (86-04, Tom Ammiano) in 2004, creating a CCA program to build 360 Megawatts (MW) of solar, green distributed generation, wind generation, and energy efficiency and demand response to serve San Francisco ratepayers. Specifically, the ordinance combined the power purchasing authority of CCA with a revenue bond authority also developed by Fenn to expand the power of CCA, known as the H Bond Authority (Charter Section 9.107.8, Ammiano), to finance the new green power infrastructure, worth approximately $1 Billion. In 2007 the City adopted a detailed CCA Plan also written primarily by Fenn (Ordinance 447-07, Ammiano and Mirkarimi), which established a 51% Renewable Portfolio Standard by 2017 for San Francisco.
Inspired by Climate Protection efforts, CCA has spread to cities throughout the Bay Area, and throughout the state. In 2007, forty California local governments are in the process of implementing CCA, virtually all of them seeking to double, triple or quadruple the green power levels (Renewable Portfolio Standard, or "RPS) of the state's three Investor-Owned Utilities. Marin, Oakland and Berkeley are also seeking to employ San Francisco-style revenue bonds and implement a 51% RPS by 2017.
Recently, communities in Southern California have started to investigate the feasibility of forming CCAs because the program allows some flexibility in choosing the mix and sources of power production. A study was produced by the LGC in February of 2009 that evaluated forming a CCA and has been published to the California Energy Commission website.
In June of 2010, Pacific Gas & Electric sponsored a proposition, Proposition 16
California Proposition 16 (2010)
Proposition 16 in the California state elections, June 2010, was an initiative that would have amended the state constitution to require two-thirds supermajority voter approval before local governments could use public funds or issue bonds to establish or expand public electricity service or...
, to make it more difficult for local entities to form either municipal utilities or CCAs by requiring a a two-thirds vote of the electorate rather than a simple majority, for a public agency to enter the retail power
Electrical power industry
The electric power industry provides the production and delivery of electric energy, often known as power, or electricity, in sufficient quantities to areas that need electricity through a grid connection. The grid distributes electrical energy to customers...
business. Although PG&E contributed over $46 million in an effort to pass the initiative
Initiative
In political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote...
(Prop 16's opponents had access to less than $100,000),, Proposition 16 was defeated.