Local Power Agency Makes $4.7 Million Repayment to Alameda County

Oakland, CA (February 26, 2019) – East Bay Community Energy (EBCE) is the new electricity provider for most of Alameda County, including Albany, Berkeley, Dublin, Emeryville, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, Piedmont, Oakland, San Leandro, and Union City as well as unincorporated areas of the county. EBCE began serving commercial customers in June 2018 and serving residential customers in November 2018 with cleaner energy and lower rates. After only eight months of operation, EBCE is fully repaying 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 20, and is supplying power to over 550,000 residential and commercial customers throughout the County. To date, EBCE estimates it has saved customers over $3 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 26th, 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).

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About EBCE

EBCE is the local electricity provider created by the votes of 11 City Councils and the County of Alameda Board of Supervisors to provide low cost, cleaner power to our community. Launching to residential customers in November 2018, EBCE joined 19 other Community Choice Energy programs operating across California.

EBCE Media Contact

Annie Henderson
ahenderson@ebce.org
510-640-9681

Left to right: EBCE Board Clerk – Stephanie Cabrera; Supervisor Richard Valle; Emeryville Council Member – Dianne Martinez; San Leandro Council Member – Ed Hernandez; EBCE COO – Howard Chang; EBCE Community Advisory Committee Chair – Anne Olivia Eldred; Fremont Mayor – Lily Mei; EBCE CEO – Nick Chaset; Supervisor Scott Haggerty; Supervisor Wilma Chan; Supervisor Nate Miley; County Administrator – Susan M. Muranishi; Director of Community Development Agency – Chris Bazar; Supervisor Haggerty Chief of Staff – Shawn Wilson; and County Senior Planner – Bruce Jensen.

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