Press Release
Ava Community Energy Surpasses $100 Million in Customer Savings and 1 Gigawatt of Contracted Renewable Energy Projects
The latest milestones demonstrate the public power agency’s commitment to delivering greener energy at lower rates
Oakland, Calif. (April 24, 2024) – Ava Community Energy (Ava), a leading clean energy provider for Alameda County and parts of the San Joaquin Valley, today announced it has achieved two major milestones: contracting for one gigawatt of renewable energy projects and saving customers more than $100 million since 2018 through its Bright Choice power mix and customer bill credits. This momentum underscores the agency’s dedication to supplying more than 1.7 million residential and commercial customers with low-cost, clean power.
Ava’s Bright Choice electricity service provides about 465,000 residential and business customers with 100 percent of their electricity priced five percent lower than PG&E rates. With Bright Choice, Ava customers have accrued over $78 million in on-bill savings since 2018 compared to what they otherwise would have paid the incumbent electric utility, PG&E.
Additionally, as a not-for-profit agency, Ava returns excess revenue to its communities, in part through several rounds of customer bill credits. In winter 2023-24, every household on an income-qualifying program – California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) or Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) – automatically received a one-time $50 credit on their energy bill. With about 115,000 qualifying accounts, Ava saved customers approximately $6 million back into those customers’ wallets. This was the second consecutive year the agency provided $6 million worth of $50 credits into CARE and FERA customer accounts. During winter 2023-24, all Ava residential customers (including those on CARE or FERA) also received a $7.74 bill credit, and all Ava commercial customers received volumetric savings on their bills based on their electricity usage – bringing the total of bill credits across these two tranches to $10.5 million for residential and commercial bills.
Meanwhile, Ava has been a leader in contracting for the development of renewable energy projects to help power its service territories. To date, Ava has contracted for 16 projects, including more than 1,100 megawatts of wind, solar, and geothermal, as well as an additional 432.5 megawatts of battery energy storage. Eight of these projects are complete and already serving Ava customers. For more information, visit https://avaenergy.org/power-projects/.
“If Ava Community Energy didn’t exist, Ava’s customers would have spent $100 million more on their electricity bills than they did, and that $100 million would be with PG&E,” said Ava CEO Nick Chaset. “Scaling renewable energy at lower rates, while also returning excess revenue back to our customers, is fundamental to our mission as a not-for-profit agency. We’re proud to continue bringing these benefits to the communities we serve to help buoy their economic and energy resilience.”
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About Ava Community Energy (Ava)
Ava Community Energy (Ava), formerly East Bay Community Energy (EBCE), is the not-for-profit public power provider for more than 1.7 million residents and commercial customers in Alameda County and the City of Tracy, with service extending to the additional San Joaquin County cities of Stockton and Lathrop in 2025. As one of 25 community choice aggregation (CCA) programs operating in California, Ava is part of the movement to provide energy choice while expediting local and state-wide climate action goals. Ava is committed to creating a brighter future in our communities and beyond by providing clean power at competitive rates, reinvesting in our member communities, and developing programs that make it easy for customers to discover, try and adopt clean energy solutions. For more information about Ava Community Energy, visit AvaEnergy.org.