Community Sustainability Commission must meet soon, approve funds for independent study

If the Benicia Community Sustainability Commission can recommend using Valero-Good Neighbor Steering Committee money to underwrite the cost, City Manager Brad Kilger has the City Council’s blessing to contract for a review of Marin Clean Energy membership.

A compromise hammered out Tuesday salvaged the city’s chances to join the community choice aggregate organization that purchases energy from renewable sources and adds it to the electrical grid.

Should the city become a partner, residents who currently are Pacific Gas and Electric customers would be enrolled with Marin Clean Energy (MCE).

Those who want to remain with PG&E would have five months to withdraw from MCE at no charge; after that, they would pay a one-time fee to the aggregate organization to withdraw.

At its June 17 meeting, the Council agreed with the Community Sustainability Commission’s recommendation to allocate $18,000 in Valero-Good Neighbor Steering Committee settlement agreement funds to apply for MCE membership and pay for a study to determine if that membership is mutually beneficial.

That study showed MCE could offer power at rates comparable to PG&E’s current rates, and found that MCE expects to offer 100 percent renewal energy at a better rate than what PG&E expects to charge for its “deep green” power.

But Benicia officials asked for an independent risk study before the Council votes on a change.

Since other cities that later joined MCE had done their own risk studies, Kilger recommended simply updating those risk studies.

But at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Vice Mayor Tom Campbell balked at the extra study, saying the commission had authorized money for the application, but not for any other needs.

Neither he nor Councilmember Alan Schwartzman wanted General Fund money used to pay for the study.

They also felt pressured to rush to a decision, both said.

Dawn Weisz, MCE executive director, said the Council would need to proceed quickly, because the agency was in the process of purchasing power. Should the city take too long to join MCE, she said, it could find itself among the cities that have asked for membership but that would have to wait until next year.

“We’ve told other cities they have to wait until next fall,” she said. “We have not intended to rush anyone.”

Most of the members of the public who spoke at Tuesday’s meeting endorsed the risk study and MCE membership, though Michael Cardoza told the Council he objected to having to “opt out” of MCE if he wanted to keep PG&E as his utility.

“It’s a dictatorship,” he said.

Others, such as Kathy Kerridge, a current member and past chairperson of the CSC, said joining MCE would give residents a choice, which they don’t have now.

Those residents and companies that accept the move to MCE would see little change in their electricity bill, which would be sent by PG&E. The utility also would handle the electricity transmission into buildings, advocates have told the Council in the past.

Councilmember Christina Strawbridge wondered about the economics of the change, whether Valero Benicia Refinery’s membership was critical and what would happen to the city’s utility user tax revenues.

Weisz assured Strawbridge that MCE can handle industrial customers, saying the city of Richmond, which has a Chevron refinery, is a member. She added that her agency handles some of that city’s larger industrial accounts.

And Benicia would get its utility user tax revenues the same as it does now, Weisz said.

Mayor Elizabeth Patterson argued in favor of approving the risk study and, ultimately, MCE membership.

Patterson pointed out that the city would get more refunds as an MCE member for the solar power it generates that it would get from PG&E.

In fact, she told the rest of the panel, the increase in revenue could pay for the study.

Ultimately, Kerridge offered the Council a compromise that led to unanimous approval of the study, with Mark Hughes recusing himself because he formerly worked for PG&E.

If the CSC can meet Tuesday in a special meeting, Kerridge said, it could vote to approve a grant of Valero-Good Neighbor Steering Committee money to pay for the risk study. Then the Council could make its decision predicated on the commission’s vote, she suggested.

Schwartzman, who assured the audience he favored community choice aggregation but objected to funding the risk study with money from the General Fund, agreed.

He moved to give Kilger the authority to sign the contract with an outside firm that would examine the risks, contingent upon the recommendation of the CSC. In addition, Schwartzman moved that the Council reinstate its Nov. 4 meeting, which it had previously voted to cancel, to vote on membership with MCE.

Campbell provided the second, and the Council unanimously supported the compromise.

If city employees can schedule a CSC meeting early next week to make its recommendation about funding the study, that work could start as quickly as the next day, Kerridge said.