VICTORY! (for now)

Thanks everyone who sent letters to stop SB 726 and SB 813

The author has pulled both Bills off the table for this legislative session. Our letters and calls were effective. However these bills will be back next year. Stay tuned!

Here is more information about 350 Bay Area's Clean Energy Team

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California's investor owned utilities (IOUs) want to choke the ability of new community choice energy programs to take advantage of rapidly declining solar energy costs by locking in obligations to pay for large, more expensive projects. This will effectively kill new Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) projects in California.

They've made a sneaky last minute move, inserting identical language into AB 726 and AB 813 hoping one will pass.

This is the time when all review of bills is supposed to have been done, and bills are up for final passage. All bills must come up for a vote by Friday, but a special meeting of the Senate Energy and Utilities Committee has been called for Monday afternoon to deal with the IOUs' request. We need to stop this end run around community choice energy now.

The language sounds somewhat good on the surface, implying there is a way to build out renewable energy fast with federal tax credits. However, the savings are not nearly as big as claimed if you look closely at the details. Plus, this deceptive move is being done in such a way as to stop the growth of community choice programs which are doing a better job in identifying more cost-efficient renewable projects and supporting roof-top solar.

These bills will end up adding substantial unnecessary costs to everyone’s bills even for current community choice energy programs and make it too expensive for new ones that are starting up throughout California to get off the ground.

Please send letters to state legislators immediately. We don't have a minute to spare.