People's Power
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CBE Energy Team Update
CBE’s Energy Team is working on developing a comprehensive energy plan that will link our local and statewide energy work into a coherent strategy. The Energy Team is also finalizing a messaging and framing plan four our campaign against natural gas. Team members will be following up with staff doing local and statewide energy work to support plan development. We will also be doing training for the entire organization around our natural gas media and communication plan. Please let us know if you have any suggestions for the Energy Team.
We would also like to know your thoughts on the People’s Power. Is it helpful in keeping you informed about CBE’s energy work? Should we produce something similar for our members? What would make the bulletin better?
CBE Leading the Charge for an Equitable Electric Vehicle Program
The California Senate just passed the Charge Ahead California Initiative (SB 1275) by a vote of 27-9. The bill advances the goal of putting one million electric cars, trucks, and buses on the road over the next decade by improving consumer incentives and rebates. Charge Ahead creates jobs for Californians, makes plug-in vehicles more affordable, reduces our dependency on fossil fuel and lowers tailpipe emissions. By making it easier for low- and moderate-income motorists to access clean transportation, the legislation not only addresses air quality concerns, but also takes important steps toward ensuring that all Californians can participate in the state’s transition to clean vehicles. Senator Kevin de León, the bill’s author, developed the legislation with the Charge Ahead California steering committee, which includes CBE. Other members of the steering committee are: Coalition for a Clean Air, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environment California and Greenlining Institute.
Key provisions of the legislation include:
- An extended and improved Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP). The CVRP has been instrumental in bringing a third of the nation’s plug-in cars to California. The CVRP currently provides buyers with a $2,500 rebate for zero-emission purchases, but the program has been historically plagued by insufficient funding. SB 1275 would help secure the funding needed to ensure California is the first state in the nation with one million electric vehicles, but would step down rebate levels over time as technology costs go down.
- Makes it easier for fleet managers replace polluting trucks, buses, and heavy-duty tractor-trailers with clean electric ones. Funds Air Quality Improvement Plan grants to make the transition more affordable.
- Increases access to clean transportation in disadvantaged communities. Establishes car sharing programs, deploys charging stations in apartment complexes, provides access to financing options that would mean lower combined monthly car payments and fuel costs, and offers incentives for the replacement of gas-guzzling “clunkers” with new or used electric cars or vouchers for transit and car sharing.
SB 1275 is heading to Assembly now, and CBE will be working with our allies including CEJA, a supporter of the bill, to keep the equity provisions strong and get it signed into law. Additionally CBE will be working with coalition members to comment on Air Resources Board proposals for creating various incentive and pilot programs. CBE and members will also participate in an exciting and fun-filled ride-and-drive Electric Vehicle Fair in East Los Angeles on Sunday, June 29th with Senator de León, other elected officials and supporting organizations.
New Opportunities and New Challenges at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
The most important priority for CBE’s work at the LADWP is strengthen the equity component of the program and strategy of the LA Clean Energy Coalition. The Coalition’s understanding of equity is uneven and not yet fully reflected in the coalitions program and plans. Unless equity is central to the coalition strategy our communities may not share in the full benefits of a clean energy program, AND the coalition will have a much more difficult time winnings its demands.
CBE is leading the effort to create a robust community organizing component for the Coalition’s campaign and plans, and one key goal is to help the Coalition better understand and concretize equity: related to our demands around public participation, and in the development of DWP’s energy efficiency and local solar programs: jobs, job training, business opportunities, etc. The Coalition will adopt a community organizing component for its overall strategy by the end of June and that will definitely include a strong equity element.
Since our last report, CBE and members of the Coalition have met with key members of the Los Angeles City Council, the DWP Commission and the new DWP General Manager (Marcie Edwards). While most of the meetings were positive, the meeting with the new General Manager was not so great. She appeared to be lukewarm about increasing the DWP’s energy efficiency goal from 10%-15% as well as about local solar projects. When CBE raised a concern that a new DWP advisory committee failed to include any EJ representation, the DWP person in charge of that committee became very defensive, and Edwards responded with a vague comment about groups just serving their own narrow interests. Clearly we have worked to do to convince her about the importance of EJ and equity, as well as to win her support for a comprehensive clean energy program.
CBE Legal Team: Working for Equity and Clean Energy
Much of the state’s electricity is provided by investor-owned utilities: Southern California Edison (LA area), Pacific Gas & Electric (Bay area) & SDG&E (San Diego area.) To buy power from new plants, these utilities must have their contracts approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC).
CBE continues to challenge the PUC tendency to bow to the wishes of these utilities to build more natural gas power plants. CBE is a party with CEJA, was unable to prevent the PUC from approving the Pio Pico power plant, despite clear evidence that it wasn’t needed. In a proceeding on a request by Edison for 5000MW of new generation in LA, we were able to win a decision that limits the new generation to approximately 1,000MW.
The PUC also issued a decision directing Edison to procure 500-700 MW and SDG&E to procure 500-800 MW. While this must include at least 600 MW of energy storage and “preferred resources”, all the rest will be procured through “All-Source” bids, and bilateral deals, where the utility can cherry-pick whatever gas plant it prefers. CBE and its allies had demonstrated to the PUC that no new energy was needed to replace SONGS because they undercount energy efficiency and rooftop solar resources.
CBE is also working on the PUC 2014 Long Term Procurement Plan: our goals are to limit all new gas procurement, and to institutionalize a requirement that the utilities focus procurement of renewable resources in EJ communities.
Drawing on our experience with the Richmond Chevron fire, CBE is also working to insert the concepts of inherently safer systems into the PUC publicly-owned utility safety conversation that is focused almost exclusively on an insurance-type risk analysis based on monetary, not human or equitable, concerns.
Implementing SB 43
Senate Bill (“SB”) 43 requires electric utilities to provide tangible renewable energy benefits to environmental justice communities. CBE working to make sure that the utilities meet their obligations to our communities. The law is intended to make renewable energy accessible to customers who would not otherwise be able to purchase electricity from renewable sources—renters who cannot install rooftop solar, or individuals with low credit scores who do not qualify for renewable installations, for example. Additionally, SB 43 encourages support for community renewables programs, which allow customers to elect to purchase energy from a specific renewable facility in their community. These programs are important to environmental justice communities, whose voices are so often ignored in the siting and development of dirty, fossil fuel-powered generation facilities. SB 43 carved out one-sixth of the GTSR Program capacity (100MW) for the most impacted and disadvantaged communities in the state.
On behalf of the California Environmental Justice Alliance, CBE attorneys have intervened in the PUC proceedings to ensure that the environmental justice provisions of SB 43 are adequately and effectively implemented, so that the communities that have been historically overburdened with pollution from fossil fuel energy generation can finally have a chance to support clean, renewable sources of electricity in their neighborhoods.
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