Central Coast Community Energy is based on a local energy model called Community Choice Energy that partners with the local utility (SCE), which continues to provide consolidated billing, electricity transmission and distribution, customer service and grid maintenance services. CCCE is locally controlled and governed by board members who represent each community served by the agency. City of Goleta Councilmember Kyle Richards represents the Cities of Goleta and Carpinteria on the shared seat for the Policy Board.

Revenue generated by CCCE stays local and helps keep electricity rates affordable for customers, while also providing incentives and rebates from innovative energy programs such as funding for electric vehicles (EV) and EV charging stations, zero-emissions electric school buses, electric agricultural equipment and more, all designed to lower greenhouse gas emissions and stimulate economic development. CCCE serves more than 350,000 customers throughout the Central Coast, including residential, commercial, and agricultural customers in communities located within Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz counties.

Central Coast Community Energy provides customers with a choice for clean and renewable energy, and community reinvestment through rate benefits and local GHG reducing energy programs for residential, commercial, and agricultural customers. 

Joining a CCE program allows the City of Goleta to support the City Council adopted 100% renewable energy goal outlined in the Strategic Energy Plan. It also allows the City an opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and invest in our local community. CCE providers introduce competition and choice in the electricity markets, providing customers with options about their power supplier and level of clean energy they wish to support.

No. Central Coast Community Energy works in partnership with SCE. Central Coast Community Energy assumes responsibility for electric power procurement (electric generation services) and purchases clean and renewable electricity for homes and businesses. However, SCE continues to deliver the power to your location, provide customer billing, receives payments, performs power line maintenance and resolves outages. SCE stops charging you for electric generation and Central Coast Community Energy takes over this service upon the City’s enrollment. 

Starting in November, you will continue to receive one SCE bill with Central Coast Community Energy Electric Generation Charges taking the place of SCE’s charges for electric generation. You will see a new line item on the first page of your bill, and a new Central Coast Community Energy page. Rest assured, these are not new or extra charges. Central Coast Community Energy is simply taking the place of your utility provider as your electricity generation provider.

Customers will receive their CCCE rate benefits directly on their monthly bill through a competitive electric generation rate that already takes into account SCE’s charges to CCCE customers for a Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) and a Franchise Fee Surcharge. 

For more information, please view the following videos:

• Understanding Your Residential Bill
• Understanding Your Commercial Bill

Yes. In addition to Central Coast Community Energy‘s rate benefits and local energy programs, Central Coast Community Energy customers are able to take advantage of the same discounts offered by SCE and the State of California (CARE, FERA, LIHEAP, Medical Baseline), as well as SCE’s employee and retiree discounts. Central Coast Community Energy strives to make electric generation charges affordable to all, regardless of income. There is no need to reapply with Central Coast Community Energy. New CARE, FERA and Medical Baseline enrollments or renewals will still be done through SCE’s customer service center or website. 

Additionally, Central Coast Community Energy customers remain eligible for SCE rebate programs. 

On August 20, 2019, the Goleta City Council voted to join Central Coast Community Energy (formerly Monterey Bay Community Power), a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) electricity provider. View the staff report here and watch the meeting here.

Timeline

• January 2022 – Begin CCCE Service for all Net Energy Metering customers 
• October 2021 – Begin CCCE Service for all eligible customers
• 2021 – Program Implementation and Operations Preparation
• September 4, 2020 -- Monterey Bay Community Power changes their name to Central Coast Community Energy
• January 8, 2020 -- MBCP Operations Board Meeting to swear in all new Board members
• December 13, 2019 –MBCP submitted the Implementation Plan to the California Public Utilities Commission
• December 4, 2019 – MBCP Policy Board Meeting to accept new members, amend the JPA, and swear in all new Board members
• October 15, 2019 – City Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Carpinteria for shared seats on MBCP’s Operations Board and Policy Board
• September 4, 2019 – MBCP Policy Board provided direction to accept new cities as members of the Joint Powers Authority at the December 4, 2019 MBCP Policy Board meeting
• September 3, 2019 – City public hearing to conduct the second reading of the CCE ordinance
• August 20, 2019 – City Council introduced and passed the resolution to join MBCP and conducted the first reading of the CCE ordinance
• July 16, 2019 – City Council received an update on the collaborative effort among the County of Santa Barbara and the Cities of Goleta, Carpinteria and Santa Barbara to prepare a CCE feasibility study serving Santa Barbara County and provided direction in support of joining MBCP

Do Nothing. 3CE will become the default electricity service provider for customers in Goleta. No action is required to join 3CE.

Opt Up. All new 3CE customers are enrolled in the 3Cchoice service offering, which will reach 60% clean and renewable electricity sources by 2025 and 100% clean and renewable sources by 2030. Customers who would like to receive 100% renewable energy can opt up to 3Cprime. Customers can opt up or back down at any time.

Opt Out. Customers can opt-out at no charge 60 days prior to initial service and 60 days after enrollment. After 60 days, customers may still opt out but there will be a $5 administrative fee charged for residential accounts, or $25 for commercial accounts. See CCCE’s Opt Out webpage for more information. 

You can expect to receive a total of four mailers beginning in August 2021. Two mailers will be received before service begins in October 2021, and two mailers will be received after the start of service. 

For all Net Energy Metering customers with solar and/or battery storage, you can expect to receive a total of 4 mailers beginning in November 2021. Two mailers will be received before service begins in January 2022, and two mailers will be received after the start of service.

Eligible customer mailer notification schedule and ADA compliant PDFs for download as they become available:

• August
• September
• November 
• December

Please review the October 2021 Enrollment Press Release, announced August 2, 2021, here.