When you look over your electricity bill, do you wonder where your money goes?
You’re not alone.
VCE is committed to keeping rates low for our customers while making a positive impact on the communities we serve. Even though your VCE charges are the least expensive portion of your electricity, because we are a public, not-for-profit agency, we reinvest those dollars back into the community instead of using revenues to pay dividends to shareholders.
Revenues go to programs that fund rebates for electric vehicles, connect low-income customers to home comfort and energy efficiency upgrades, and help customers to transition into electric HVAC systems. VCE is investing in electric generation projects to meet our goal of providing 100% renewable energy to all our customers by 2030.
Through long-term power contracts, we’re surpassing PG&E and state mandates in renewable energy generation and offering workforce development opportunities for our local community. Since 2018, VCE has generated 378 MW of clean energy, provided over $1.5 million in savings to customers, and reinvested $7 million into customer-benefiting programs.
Paying your electric bill may not be your favorite thing to do, but now you know that a portion of the money you pay goes right back into our community, where it belongs.
Who We Are and What We Do
At Valley Clean Energy, our mission is to provide clean electricity, product choice, and greenhouse gas emission reductions—all with local control at competitive prices.
Valley Clean Energy Alliance—or VCE—is the official electricity provider for residential and commercial customers in the cities of Woodland, Winters, and Davis, and unincorporated Yolo County. We’re a not-for-profit public agency, which means that we’re working 100% for our customers.
VCE offers a choice in electricity suppliers for the first time ever. It also keeps program control and revenues right here at home, where we can create jobs and build local clean energy installations—as many other programs just like ours have already done. We’ll reinvest dollars to boost our local economy while taking control of our clean energy future.
Like all Community Choice programs, once a community votes to join, accounts are enrolled automatically. But you can always opt out if you’d prefer not to participate. You’re not paying any more to be with VCE—our cost on the overall bill (including extra PG&E fees) is the same as you would pay with PG&E.
How Did This Come About?
In 2002, a California bill authorized cities and counties to form Community Choice Aggregation/Energy programs (or CCA/CCE) enabling them to purchase electricity on behalf of their residents and businesses. Transmission/delivery, customer service, and billing remain under the management of the local investor-owned utility—in our case, that’s PG&E. Programs like VCE are “greening the grid,” so that everyone’s electricity is cleaner and less polluting.
It’s an idea that’s catching on, as communities all over the state are seeing the positive difference CCA programs are making. Each program is formed by its own locally designated authorities, who determine specific program benefits with their particular constituents in mind.
VCE was launched in June 2018, when we became one of over 20 operational CCA programs in the state—all of which are offering their customers electricity that’s cleaner and less polluting. And it’s all competitively priced.
Why Customers Love CCA
There are many benefits to a CCA program. Some are universal, and others are tailored to the priorities of the communities they serve.
Benefits include:
- Choice in your electricity provider
- Choice in your renewable content percentage
- Local program control
- Revenues that are reinvested in our communities