Santa Clara County Municipal Code Div. A39 Community Choice Aggregation Program

The Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Clara finds as follows:

(1) The County of Santa Clara and the Cities of Cupertino, Mountain View and Sunnyvale formed and sponsored the Silicon Valley Community Choice Energy Partnership (SVCCEP) to investigate options to provide electric service to customers within the unincorporated Santa Clara County and surrounding municipalities with the intent of achieving greater local control and involvement over the provision of electric services, competitive electric rates, the development of local renewable energy projects, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and the implementation of energy conservation and efficiency projects and programs.

(2) The County of Santa Clara, through its participation in SVCCEP, has prepared a Technical Feasibility Study for a Community Choice Aggregation ("CCA") program under the provisions of Public Utilities Code Section 366.2. The Technical Feasibility Study shows that implementing a community choice aggregation program would likely provide multiple benefits, including the following:

(a) Providing customers a choice of power providers;

(b) Increasing local control over energy rates and other energy-related matters;

(c) Providing electric rates that are competitive with those provided by the incumbent utility;

(d) Reducing greenhouse gas emissions arising from electricity use;

(e) Increasing local and regional renewable generation capacity;

(f) Increasing energy conservation and efficiency projects and programs;

(g) Increasing regional energy self-sufficiency; and

(h) Improving the local economy by implementing new local renewable and energy conservation and efficiency projects.

(3) The Joint Powers Agreement creates the Silicon Valley Clean Energy Authority ("Authority"), which will govern and operate the CCA program on behalf of its member jurisdictions. The Initial Participants within the County of Santa Clara, as defined by the Joint Powers Agreement, may participate in the Authority by adoption of a resolution approving the execution of the Joint Powers Agreement and adoption of the CCA ordinance required by Public Utilities Code Section 366.2(c)(12) by March 31, 2016. Municipalities choosing to participate in the Authority will have membership on the Board of Directors of the Authority as provided in the Joint Powers Agreement.

(4) The Authority will enter into agreements with electric power suppliers and other service providers and, based upon those agreements, the Authority plans to provide electrical power to residents and businesses at rates that are competitive with those of the incumbent utility. Once the California Public Utilities Commission approves the implementation plan prepared by the Authority, the Authority may provide service to customers within unincorporated Santa Clara County and those cities that choose to participate in the Silicon Valley Clean Energy Authority.

(5) Under Public Utilities Code Section 366.2, customers have the right to opt-out of a CCA program and continue to receive service from the incumbent utility. Customers who wish to continue to receive service from the incumbent utility will be able to do so at any time.

(6) On February 9, 2016, the County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors agendized the first reading of this division at which time interested persons had an opportunity to testify either in support or in opposition to implementation of the Silicon Valley Clean Energy CCA program in unincorporated Santa Clara County.

(Ord. No. NS-300.893, § 1, 2-23-16)

Based upon the findings in Section A39-1, and in order to provide businesses and residents within unincorporated Santa Clara County with a choice of power providers, the County of Santa Clara hereby elects to implement a community choice aggregation program within the jurisdiction of unincorporated Santa Clara County by participating in the Community Choice Aggregation Program of the Silicon Valley Clean Energy Authority, as described in its Joint Powers Agreement.

(Ord. No. NS-300.893, § 1, 2-23-16)