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In 2021, the City of San Marcos entered into a Joint Powers Agreement with the cities of Del Mar, Carlsbad and Solana Beach (founding members) to join Clean Energy Alliance (CEA) and to implement a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program in the City.  The CEA is a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) made up of seven cities located in North San Diego County.  San Marcos was the fourth city to join the Alliance in 2021.  Subsequent to San Marcos’ inclusion, the cities of Escondido, Oceanside and Vista also joined the CEA.   

The CCA program enables San Marcos and its partner cities to purchase electricity from alternative suppliers while still receiving the power through San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) transmission and distribution lines. The CCA provides for local control over electricity sources and the potential to choose greener power sources at competitive electricity prices.

CEA is locally controlled and supported by ratepayers, with no taxpayer subsidies. By law, as a joint powers authority, CEA is a separate legal entity from its member agencies. Its budget is separate from the member cities’ general funds and is funded by program revenues and reserves.

A How it Works on the Clean Energy Alliance

Background

California state law allows local governments to form Community Choice Energy programs that offer an alternative to investor-owned utilities, such as SDG&E. Under this model, local governments purchase and manage their community's electric power supply, and the existing utility continues to distribute the energy to customers.

Marin County was the first to create a California Community Choice Energy utility in 2010. Today there are 25 Community Choice Energy programs operating throughout California. 

 

More Information

Visit the Clean Energy Alliance website to view board meeting agendas, billing and rates information, legal documents, FAQs and other resources.