Questions about Sonoma Clean Power

The issue of Community Choice Aggregation and the creation of Sonoma Clean Power is an important one for our community and one which our Chamber is monitoring closely. However, we have not, as of yet, taken a formal position on this issue.

Before the Chamber can do so, there are a variety of questions that we need to answer ranging from how clean will this energy be and how does its green mix compare to that of current power providers, to what will costs be to both residential and commercial customers, and, perhaps most importantly, what risks are entailed in pursuing Sonoma Clean Power. While the desire to move ahead quickly with such a seemingly beneficial project is understandable, we would urge no further decisions be made until the following questions, along with other pertinent ones, are answered.

Our questions include:

• What will the cost structure be for different levels of monthly commercial and residential usage (Customer classes)?
• What will the fees be for i) those who delay joining Sonoma Clean Power or ii) those who decide to return to PG&E bundled service at a later date? For item ii) what will be both the Administrative Fee and the SCP equivalent of the CRS?
• How much tax revenue will the cities and county lose?
• What is the capacity of our infrastructure (power lines) to take “feed-in” power?
• How will the Net Metering and Feed-In-Tariffs be calculated and implemented? What will Feed-In producers be paid? Are there any means by which Santa Rosa businesses can participate in developing local efficiency and renewable resources in addition to Feed-In-Tariffs?
• What happens if solar tax incentives are eliminated?
• What will be the estimated impacts of the proposed PG&E Green Energy Program on SCP economic viability? Marin County has an elective 100% clean energy program for those who wish to pay more to get it. Can such a program be used in Sonoma Clean Power to develop local resources?
• We would like to see a comprehensive and detailed plan as soon as possible for how the mix of energy provided by Sonoma Clean Power (i.e., grid purchases, RECs, and local renewables) will be developed, year by year. When can we expect that?
• If Sonoma Clean Power should fail, who will be responsible for the costs associated with its closure?

The topic of Community Choice Aggregation and Sonoma Clean Power will be in front of the Santa Rosa City Council on Tuesday, May 21st.