In our Opinion
We all have strong opinions about energy—for today and tomorrow. Here are some of ours, offered by the VCE Board members and Community Advisory Committee members.
June 2019
Community Choice Energy: One Part of the Solution to Climate Change
Climate change is here. The impacts are becoming ever more serious. Fossil fuel combustion is the main cause. We need to lower Greenhouse Gas Emissions rapidly. Community Choice Energy programs such as VCEA can be part of the solution.
Sea level rise, increased drought and floods, higher temperatures and more devastating wildfires are among a number of indicators that have been telling us for quite a number of years that climate change is impacting our lives, our health and our ecosystems.
(read more)March 2019
It’s Time for Smart Cities and Counties to Provide Smart Energy
Yolo County, Davis and Woodland have taken an important first step by creating Valley Clean Energy. VCE has a legislatively mandated responsibility to buy and resell wholesale electricity. It is importing higher-renewable-content electricity for the communities it serves at costs competitive with PG&E’s electricity imports.
It has an opportunity to do more, i.e., bring clean local energy resources on stream, strengthening local economies in the process. This will require keeping rates competitive with PG&E’s and having money left over to source more clean electricity locally.
(read more)January 2019
A New Year
A new year offers a clean slate — a chance to celebrate achievements, assess the challenges of the past and start the new year with fresh energy.
Our biggest achievement in 2018 was the launch of Valley Clean Energy (VCE), our local public electricity program. With years of planning and lots of community support, we officially started serving the cities of Woodland and Davis and unincorporated Yolo County last June. Over the last 6 months VCE has been providing greener energy, customer choice, local control and reinvestment in the community.
(read more)December 2018
PG&E Exit Fees
In a disappointing decision, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) recently voted to approve increases to the “exit fees” charged to Valley Clean Energy (VCE) customers by PG&E. Valley Clean Energy is our official locally governed electricity provider, bringing cleaner energy at competitive rates to Davis, Woodland, and unincorporated Yolo County. It began serving 55,000 customer accounts this past June.
The decision by the CPUC to raise the exit fee affects all 19 community choice aggregation (CCA) programs in the state, including VCE.
(read more)