How It Works

Ava is the default electricity provider in Alameda County and the City of Tracy.

Ava is a Community Choice Aggregator, which is a not-for-profit local government agency that generates electricity for everyone in the community. The City Council or county supervisors vote to have their community join and have Ava as their electricity supplier. By law, customer enrollment is automatic.

Ava is on a path to provide 100% carbon-free electricity to all of our customers by 2030. Today, customers can choose from our Bright Choice service, which is 5% cheaper than PG&E rates, or our Renewable 100 service, which delivers 100% wind and solar power for ¼ cent more per kilowatt hour than PG&E rates.

1. We buy clean power

We build — and buy from — clean power plants. We sell the power to customers. If you’re not on Ava service, PG&E charges you for that service.

2. PG&E delivers the power

Our power is delivered to customers by PG&E. Customers pay PG&E for power delivery as they always have.

3. You get the power and all the benefits

Customers benefit from clean energy, low rates, local governance, and innovative programs.

Local Benefits

Competitive Rates
Our Bright Choice plan is priced 5% below PG&E rates (including all fees) so customer bills are lower than what they would have been with PG&E generation service.

Stable Rates
We have long-term contracts for wind, solar, geothermal, and battery storage at low, stable rates and we pass those savings on to our customers.

Local Investments
We offer local energy programs to help customers adopt clean energy technologies. We also invest directly in the community through grants and sponsorships.

Our Environmental Impact

We buy power mainly from clean sources like wind, solar, and hydropower. We are contracted to build 1,125 MW of wind, solar, geothermal, and battery storage for our customers.

Our Board of Directors established the goal of purchasing 100% clean power for all customers by 2030 — a full 15 years before the state’s goal date.

Our Power Sources

Ava procures power on an ongoing basis. The table below is Ava’s actual power mix from 2023* (most recently published). Learn more about our contracted power projects.

Power Mix

Energy Resources	Bright Choice	Renewable 100	PG&E
Eligible Renewable	54.6%	100%	32.8%
Biomass & Biowaste	13%	0%	3.4%
Geothermal	2.2%	0%	0.3%
Eligible Hydroelectric	2.5%	0%	2.5%
Solar	5.6%	67.8%	20.2%
Wind	31.3%	32.2%	6.3%
Coal	0%	0%	0%
Large Hydroelectric	34.1%	0%	13.8%
Natural Gas	0%	0%	0%
Nuclear	0%	0%	53.4%
Other	0%	0%	0%
Unspecified Sources of Power **	11.4%**	0%	0%

*PG&E data as reported in PG&E’s rate comparison with Ava.

**Unspecified sources of power refers to electricity that is not traceable to a specific generating facility, such as electricity traded through open market transactions. Unspecified sources of power are typically a mix of all resource types, and may include renewables.