Government is corrupt. It may not seem easy to find. But, in the case of energy in San Diego, it is bigger than the airport. Government lied to the people about the creation of a “public” energy company. It was supposed to bring down prices and make the air “cleaner”. In fact, it is attempting to be a monopoly so it can charge anything it wants—with the goal being to close down businesses. Worse, it is making the air dirtier!!
“San Diego Community Power is now offering a new power mix that’s dirtier – but cheaper – than those it currently offers.
That’s a curious move for the government-run power company created in 2019 for the main purpose of getting its member cities to run on 100 percent renewable energy by at least 2045 (for San Diego and others the goal is a full decade earlier).
Jen Lebron, a spokesperson for Community Power, says the new power mix and price is to offer a choice to customers who might be struggling to pay energy bills.
Translated: to help the poor we will make the air bad for everyone! That is government logic and the media is silent.
Why San Diego Community Power Is Offering Dirtier Energy
San Diego Community Power is now offering a new power mix that’s dirtier – but cheaper – than those it currently offers.
by MacKenzie Elmer, Voice of San Diego, 6/5/24 https://voiceofsandiego.org/2024/06/05/why-san-diego-community-power-is-offering-dirtier-energy/
San Diego Community Power is now offering a new power mix that’s dirtier – but cheaper – than those it currently offers.
That’s a curious move for the government-run power company created in 2019 for the main purpose of getting its member cities to run on 100 percent renewable energy by at least 2045 (for San Diego and others the goal is a full decade earlier).
Jen Lebron, a spokesperson for Community Power, says the new power mix and price is to offer a choice to customers who might be struggling to pay energy bills.
“It supports our mission to get to 100 percent renewable by keeping people in San Diego Community Power service without going to the competition,” Lebron said.
The clock is ticking. San Diego has 11 years to meet its goal, and each year, the warming planet breaks temperature records due to fossil fuel use.
The new power mix, called PowerBase, is 45 percent renewable energy for 2.5 percent less than SDG&E’s average summer price per kilowatt hour (the unit by which energy use is measured), according to a press release.
SDG&E’s base power in 2022 (the earliest date available) is 44.8 percent renewable, according to the California Energy Commission’s power content label, which acts like a nutrition facts label for the mix of energy a company provides its customers. The company’s power mix is still majority natural gas, at 54.4 percent.
Lebron called PowerBase a “transitional” product as Community Power marches toward that 100 percent renewable goal. Eventually, as the company contracts out and builds more of its own green energy, products like PowerBase will be phased-out — and moved onto a 100 percent power plan.
But right now, the cost and time it takes to build renewable energy, especially in California, is very high and long right now, Lebron said. So products like PowerBase help keep customers interested in Community Power because the product is virtually the same as SDG&E but costs less, the thought goes.
Customers that live in Community Power’s territory automatically switch over from SDG&E – that’s how state legislators designed these public power companies to work. Those customers are automatically enrolled onto what’s called the PowerOn plan, which in 2022 was 54.2 percent renewable, or opt up to 100 percent renewable power at a higher price.
Customers can leave Community Power and return to SDG&E, but that typically process can take six months to complete. SDG&E has reported that around 85 percent of their customers now buy power from a public power company like Community Power or Clean Energy Alliance in North County.
“This major change on the energy landscape has enabled SDG&E to primarily focus on developing and operating best-in-class energy delivery infrastructure for its 3.7 million customers. We are committed to our partnership with the local CCAs which provides our collective customer a positive experience,” wrote Anthony Wagner, an SDG&E spokesman, in an email.
Unfortunately, the general public is powerless against the elected officials and the bureaucracy. They can vote politicians out of office only to have them replaced by more of the same. The 2.5% savings will not last very long. The increase will recoup the savings plus add additional cost as is the history of San Diego.