THE CITY COUNCIL OF BENICIA, after several televised hearings covered by The Herald, has wisely chosen to give residents a choice about which electricity provider to use. Last year at this time, if I wanted to have electricity I was signed up with Pacific Gas & Electric whether I liked it or not. Now I have a choice — and I’m picking Marin Clean Energy’s “Deep Green” option to ensure that all the electricity put onto the grid for me comes from renewable sources. This is doubly important to me because I have an electric car. I am cutting my greenhouse gas emissions, reducing air pollution and reducing the drain on natural resources not only for my home, but also in my transportation.

The last time my husband and I went to the movies, we spent over $35 between the tickets and the treats. For about $10 more than that price I will buy all renewable electricity for a year with MCE Deep Green. What a bargain! It is something that can make a concrete difference in our world, and at such a minimal cost. And it’s so easy.

When you sign up for Deep Green, half of the extra money you are paying for 100-percent renewable power goes to the development of local renewable energy. Thanks to Deep Green customers, MCE is building a 10-megawatt solar project at Chevron-owned property that will be owned by MCE. Some commentators have said MCE does not produce its own electricity. But through MCE’s feed-in tariff program, 11 local renewable projects are being built in Marin and Richmond, including Marin’s largest solar project at the San Rafael airport, which came online in 2012 — enough clean electricity to power almost 12,000 homes. These projects provide not only good paying, local jobs, they also show us what we need to be doing all over the country to improve our economy and public health and reduce emissions.

When MCE builds a renewable energy project, it can do so at a lower cost than PG&E. This puts MCE in a much better position to develop renewables than PG&E. MCE can put excess revenue to work immediately. PG&E has to pay its shareholders, which cuts down on the amount of money it can invest in renewables. And businesses that go Deep Green can get free advertisements and become part of the Deep Green Champion network.

Moreover, MCE will soon offer the option to choose Local Sol. That means all of the electricity you purchase will come from a new solar project in Novato. I would rather see local solar projects producing local jobs in industrial areas and wherever else they are feasible nearby than huge projects far away. If you feel that way, you can also sign up for Local Sol in the future.

Both PG&E and MCE use renewable energy certificates. They are required by both the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in order to use green power. They are also required by the state of California to ensure that customers are getting the renewable energy they are paying for. When MCE buys certificates from wind farms in the West to provide clean power to its subscribers, it’s participating in a system used by states across the country, by a growing host of companies like Kohl’s, Intel and REI; and by federal agencies like the EPA and the U.S. Army.

MCE further supports renewable energy by paying a higher feed-in tariff for residential and business solar. Its mission is to “address climate change by reducing energy-related greenhouse gas emissions and securing energy supply, price stability, energy efficiency and local economic and workforce benefits. It is the intent of MCE to promote the development and use of a wide range of renewable energy sources and energy-efficiency programs, including but not limited to solar and wind energy production, at competitive rates for customers.” PG&E, meanwhile, is doing its best to limit what it pays for rooftop solar. It has also proposed flattened rate structures and additional fees that reduce the economic incentive to go solar.

Benicia has gained a tremendous amount by going with MCE. It has been estimated that between lower utility rates and higher payment for solar, the city will save about $100,000 per year from the switch. The city of Richmond saved $107,000 in 2014 as an MCE customer; the West Contra Costa Unified School District is estimated to have saved at least $66,000 since enrollment. Overall, local businesses and residents will save over a million dollars by having MCE. What a huge local benefit.

Some people have objected that the city has chosen their electricity provider for them. Actually, the city chooses a lot of our public services for us. We don’t choose our own trash collector, we don’t vote on where we get our water, we don’t individually select who paves our roads or installs our stop lights. This is one case, though, where the marketplace has been opened up. Yes, you do have to make a choice now between PG&E, the MCE 50-percent option or the MCE 100-percent renewable option. The city has switched you to a cheaper option with more renewable power, but yes, you can opt out.

One recent writer to The Herald complained that opting out was like going into a store and having a clerk put things in your cart that you then had to take out. I think it’s a good analogy. With our former plan you went into a store and PG&E was put in your cart and you had to buy it whether you wanted to or not. You had no freedom to pick anything else, or to take it out. Now you go into the store and MCE 50-percent renewable is put in your cart, and you can pick two other options, Deep Green or PG&E. I believe this freedom and increased competition is worth the inconvenience of making some people actively choose. It’s a simple choice — freedom and competition versus inconvenience.

I think what Benicia should be striving for is to have the highest percentage of customers go Deep Green. Let’s see if we can beat Marin County, Richmond and El Cerrito. I love the competition.

Kathy Kerridge has lived in Benicia for 29 years. She graduated from the University of Michigan and Hastings College of the Law and practiced law for 19 years prior to teaching elementary school.

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