What does it mean to be an SVCE customer?
“ In April 2017, we introduced clean energy services to Morgan Hill, Gilroy, and San Martin, as well as other communities in the northern part of the county. Depending on their choice of service, customers were automatically enrolled in either GreenStart( 50 % renewable and 100 % carbon-free electricity) or GreenPrime( 100 % renewable and 100 % carbonfree electricity), or they could opt-out( return to PG & E).
“ We stepped up to provide carbon-free and renewable sources of electricity priced competitively with what customers were paying PG & E. PG & E still provides gas, and it still manages energy transmission, distribution, and customer billing.
“ In just one year, our customers’ choices are making a positive impact.”
Case Studies
Girish Balachandran Chief Executive Officer Silicon Valley Clean Energy( SVCE)
According to Anthony Eulo, Program Administrator for the City of Morgan Hill, after switching to GreenPrime, the City reduced its overall carbon footprint by an estimated 43 percent— as compared to previous years using PG & E procured power.
The Gilroy Unified School District reported that since becoming a GreenStart customer, the school district saved $ 4,000 –$ 5,000( across 30 meters) in 2017. Based on SVCE’ s new pricing as of April 1, 2018, the district expects to save approximately $ 43,000. s to see an annual savings of $ 43,000.
How are you doing with customer enrollment?
“ Our customer enrollment stands at 96.8 percent. The opt-out rate is just over 3 percent. To date, one percent of accounts upgraded to GreenPrime. Notably, 11 of our 13 member-agencies have upgraded their municipal accounts and the other two have plans to upgrade as well.”
Who are the power suppliers and where are the power generation facilities?
“ Suppliers include: 3 Phases Renewables, Energy America, Exelon Generation Company, Morgan Stanley Capital Group, Powerex Energy Corp., Shell Energy North America, Regenerate Power, and NRG Power Marketing.
“ We currently buy carbon-free and renewable power from qualified energy generators in California, Washington, British Columbia, and Idaho. Sources include hydro, wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and landfill gas. A large percentage of the carbon-free electricity is generated by hydroelectric projects and dams.”
What is SVCE’ s mission and measure of success going forward?
“ Our continued mission is to reduce dependence on fossil fuels by providing carbon-free, affordable and reliable energy and innovative programs to our community.
“ We’ ve achieved our first-year goals in terms of power supply, customer enrollment, financials and community outreach. Our efforts have been focused on decarbonization, grid innovation, and acquiring Resource Adequacy Capacity.
“ We measure success by our ability to bend the carbon curve, remain price competitive, and build fiscal strength while mitigating regulatory and legislative risk.
“ Now we are beginning to work with our communities on programs for energy efficiency, fuel switching, and energy demand management. We’ ll bring these to the Board of Directors in September, along with a roadmap for implementation.”
Tell us about your financial report card.
“ SVCE repaid all $ 2.7 million in startup loans from participating cities, two years ahead of schedule, and is now operating debt-free. We were able to accomplish this by being very conservative and because we were able to complete customer enrollment in two phases rather than three, so we realized revenues early.
“ The agency reported over $ 86 million in operating revenue. Among its operating expenses, electricity purchases were roughly $ 70 million. SVCE also put $ 26 million into reserves.”
“ The solar industry is changing a lot. Products like thin film solar and integrated solar roofs are better and more affordable so the return on investment comes sooner, in three to five years now, not ten.”
— Pam Garcia, SVCE Customer Program Advisory Group member
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN JUNE / JULY 2018 gmhtoday. com
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