California utility MCE released a new report highlighting climate action advancements across the four Bay Area counties it serves, including a record number of local governments in Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, and Solano Counties, that have switched to 100% renewable energy service and shown steady growth in customers taking advantage of MCE’s rooftop solar and electric vehicle incentive programs.

“Since MCE became California’s first Community Choice Aggregation program in 2010, we have worked to help our customers fight back against climate change by offering more renewable energy service options, and making investments in local energy projects and innovative energy efficiency, solar and electric vehicle programs,” says Dawn Weisz, CEO of MCE. “We’re heartened to see all of this progress to date across our entire four-county service area, and we’re committed to expanding these efforts.”

Among the highlights in the new report: 22 of the 34 city, town and county governments in MCE’s service area have taken the lead on local climate action by choosing to enroll their municipal electric accounts in Deep Green, MCE’s 100% renewable energy service option. These communities are now purchasing carbon-free electricity for their public buildings, streetlights and civic services — 100% of it from California solar and wind energy sources.

“MCE’s programs are a great incentive for everyone in our region to be less reliant on energy sources that are contributing to climate change and the growing threat of wildfires,” said Elizabeth Patterson, mayor of Benicia and MCE Board Member. “We’re proud to welcome MCE to Solano County and to give our electricity customers the option of cleaner, cost-competitive energy sourced by a local agency with a proven track record we can trust. It’s the right thing to do.”

Other highlights of the MCE Climate Action Update – Fall 2019:

MCE now has over 470,000 electricity accounts in the Bay Area, providing renewable energy to more than 1 million customers and businesses. Ratepayers have saved more than $50 million on their monthly bills after switching to MCE, compared to customers who have remained with PG&E.

MCE’s decision to install publicly available charging was influenced by an EPA-funded study of our service area showing a significant gap in EV charging infrastructure. Over the past year, MCE’s EV charging program, MCEv, and our own investments in workplace charging have contributed to closing the EV infrastructure gap by over 40%.

More than 33,000 MCE customers have invested in rooftop solar, benefitting from MCE’s premium rates that compensate solar customers for excess electricity generated.

There is now more electric vehicle charging stations than gas stations in Marin County — in part due to MCE’s support of local, renewable energy infrastructure.

With the support of investments made by MCE, 12 new renewable energy projects in MCE’s service area are now providing a collective capacity of approximately 25 MW of clean electricity, enough energy to power over 12,000 homes annually.

MCE has reduced GHG emissions in the Bay Area by over 340,000 metric tons since it was launched.

News item from MCE