EBCE Repays $4.7 Million Startup Loan From Alameda County

Left to right: EBCE CEO – Nick Chaset; Director of Community Development Agency – Chris Bazar; County Senior Planner – Bruce Jensen; and EBCE COO – Howard Chang

After only eight months of operation, EBCE fully repaid its advance of start-up funding from Alameda County in the amount of $4.7 million.

County Supervisor and EBCE Board Chair, Scott Haggerty, a champion of EBCE since its inception, says “We’ve worked for many years on this effort to provide cleaner power to our local communities. This milestone shows the effectiveness of EBCE’s management and marks the start of an exciting transition to clean power.”

EBCE needed start-up resources in order to begin operations, and the County provided both start-up funding and staff support. The County Board of Supervisors originally approved the Community Choice Energy program in November 2016 and entered an agreement with EBCE in April 2017 to lend up to $5.5 million to the new agency.

EBCE is now operational, has a staff of 21, and is supplying power to over 550,000 residential and commercial customers throughout the County. To date, EBCE estimates it has saved customers over $5 million in electricity costs by offering lower rates for cleaner power. EBCE operates through revenue it receives from sales of electricity; it does not rely on any taxpayer funding.

At a meeting on February 26, several members of the EBCE Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, Nick Chaset, presented the repayment and thanked the Board of Supervisors, the County Administrator, the Community Development Agency, and the Auditor’s office for their coordinated efforts and forward thinking in making community choice a reality in Alameda County.

Also in attendance were EBCE Directors Dianne Martinez (Emeryville Council Member), Lily Mei (Mayor of Fremont), Ed Hernandez (San Leandro Council Member), and Anne Olivia Eldred (EBCE Community Advisory Committee Chair).