New locally-controlled electricity provider comes to the Central Coast

UPDATE 06/29/18 3:45PM You might be seeing a new name on your PG&E bill starting in July.

The new Monterey Bay Community Power (MBCP) service will be launching for residents in Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties starting July 1st, 2018.

Back in March the service became available to businesses and is now being extended to homes in 16 different cities around Tri-County.

MBCP is a locally-controlled electric generation service with electricity, “coming throughout the western US for the most part. It’s coming from outside sources as well as inside sources. We have some wind energy, solar energy and there’s hydro as well, it’s carbon-free,” says MBCP Board Chair and Santa Cruz County Supervisor Bruce McPherson.

Residents will be automatically signed up for the service, which is the standard carbon-free electricity, “the power source comes through the PG&E power lines and into their homes as they own them and live in them today, so they don’t have to do anything and we will have a 3% rebate by the end of the year for those residential and industrial commercial users,” says McPherson.

Users will see no change in billing other than a new line on their PG&E bill with MBCP’s name on it.

The biggest change is the electricity customers use will be generated with no greenhouse gas emissions compared to the 21.2% of PG&E’s electricity generation, which comes from fossil fuels burning.

The state has a goal to reduce the production of emissions from 1990 by 30% in the next 12 years. City of Santa Cruz Climate action program director, Tiffany Wise-West, says that goal could be met as much as ten years early.

“A good chunk of those emissions come from electricity, so by providing clean electricity we’re almost zeroing out that electricity emissions component which allows us to achieve that goal that is aligned with the state early,” says Wise-West.

There is also an opportunity to opt out of this for free during the enrollment period or in the first 60 days of the start of MBCP (starting July 1st).

When this became available to businesses, McPherson says more than 90% stayed with MCBP, “only five percent opted out, and 95 percent are going with Monterey Bay Community Power and we expect the same with our residential customers.”

To learn more about the new electricity provider or how to opt out, click here.

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You might be seeing a new name on your PG&E bill starting in July.

The new Monterey Bay Community Power (MBCP) service will be launching in Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties starting July 1st, 2018.

It’s a locally-controlled electric generation service where green energy will be sourced here on the West Coast.

Residents will see no change in billing other than a new line on their PG&E bill with MBCP’s name on it.

Users will automatically be signed up for the “MBchoice” which is the standard carbon-free electricity with a 3% rebate. The electricity customers use will be generated with no greenhouse gas emissions compared to the 21.2% of PG&E’s electricity generation which comes from fossil fuels.

There is also an opportunity to opt out of this for free during the enrollment period or in the first 60 days of the start of MBCP (starting July 1st).

KION’s Ashley Keehn will have more at 5pm and 6pm.