by carole migden

Cheaper, cleaner power

I'M PROUD TO announce that A.B. 117, the Community Choice Aggregation Act, which I authored in response to the energy crisis of 2000, has been a success. The counties of San Francisco and Marin, which I represent in the state senate, have taken important steps toward creating aggregation programs – allowing them to buy power in bulk and sell it to customers in competition with Pacific Gas and Electric Co.

Aggregation has two substantial benefits. It allows greater market control for local governments when buying power in bulk at a lower price, and a superior ability to invest in green energy such as solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal. We in the north, with our temperate climate, will no longer be forced to subsidize Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Riverside Counties in the south, where many residents keep their air conditioners constantly running during the hot summer months. In other words, community-choice aggregation is a roadmap to cheaper and cleaner power for communities.

However, there are ongoing challenges in the implementation of CCA. Right now, PG&E is negotiating long-term contracts for northern California that could leave San Francisco and other communities that might adopt CCA legislation on the hook for huge "cost responsibility" charges – for power that will never be used by San Franciscans, Marinites, or other Bay Area residents. These contracts also favor our greater dependence on new foreign energy sources and fossil fuel-burning plants.

PG&E was a supporter of my bill, and the company – as well as other utilities – can fulfill its pledge to support CCA by making prudent purchasing decisions that facilitate local communities' transition to CCA.

The California Public Utilities Commission will have final say over any power-purchasing plan by PG&E, and the commission should only approve power procurement plans that contain an appropriate mix of short- and long-term contacts that will ensure an adequate power supply for the state while allowing cities and counties currently developing their own CCA legislation the ability to implement their power-purchasing plans without outrageous financial impediments and with greater ability to invest in renewable energy.

San Francisco should have the ability to move away from fossil fuel-burning power plants in Potrero Hill and Hunters Point, which emit air pollution and contribute to high rates of asthma, lung cancer, and respiratory tract infections in these neighborhoods.

I am confident that this can be accomplished, and that San Francisco and Marin will see long-term benefits in savings, jobs, and the environment. Without obstruction, San Francisco will have financing and an infrastructure in place and start purchasing power for its residents by the fall of 2007; Marin is not far behind. The noble pursuit of cheaper, cleaner, and more-reliable energy to heat our homes, light our rooms, and run our businesses is critical to the future of California. I will continue to be a fierce advocate of CCA and continue to use the power of my office to see that this form of public power can be instituted as it was intended.

Carole Migden represents District 3 in the California State Senate.