City of Carlsbad, CA

08/16/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/16/2022 19:14

Clean Energy Alliance growing

Four more North County Cities - Escondido, Oceanside, San Marcos and Vista - have joined the Clean Energy Alliance, a greener energy alternative that has been serving Carlsbad residents since May 2021.

The alliance is a community choice aggregation program that was established to provide residents and businesses cleaner power at competitive rates. The cities of Carlsbad, Del Mar and Solana Beach were the first to join when the alliance was formed in November 2019.

Under the program, SDG&E still delivers the energy, but the alliance purchases the power first and builds in renewable energy sources to provide a minimum 50% renewable energy supply for customers.

The alliance is just one way the City of Carlsbad is working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as part of its Climate Action Plan. Since the plan was adopted in 2015, the city has implemented several new environmental programs, updated city laws and taken other steps to surpass the plan's 2020 target, which was to reduce greenhouse gases 4 percent below 2012 levels.

The city is now working toward the next target: to reduce greenhouse gases to 52% under 2012 levels by 2035.

The alliance is a Joint Powers Authority among all the member cities, which means it's locally controlled and supported by ratepayers, with no taxpayer subsidies. It's funded by program revenues and reserves, which can be redirected back into the community for various energy related programs.

Next steps

  • Customers in the cities of Escondido and San Marcos are expected to receive service beginning in 2023.
  • Customers in the cities of Oceanside and Vista are expected to receive service beginning in 2024.
  • Clean Energy Alliance staff will give the Carlsbad City Council an update on the alliance's performance at its Sept. 13 meeting.

More information
Clean Energy Alliance
Climate Action Plan
Climate Action Plan webpage