Clean Power Alliance is the City's electrical supply provider, offering clean, renewable energy at competitive rates to our community. Clean Power Alliance purchases clean power and Southern California Edison (SCE) delivers it. Clean Power Alliance of Southern California (CPA) is a nonprofit entity and a community choice energy program, formed through a Joint Powers Authority. CPA is made up of 32 public agencies across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, including Manhattan Beach, working together to bring affordable, clean energy to our communities. Clean Power Alliance now provides more customers with 100% renewable energy than any other provider in the country!

CPA was established in 2017 to provide cost competitive electrical services, reduce electric sector greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, stimulate renewable energy development, implement distributed energy resources, promote energy efficiency and demand reduction programs, and sustain long-term rate stability for residents and businesses through local control. Manhattan Beach joined CPA in December 2017.

In May of 2019, the Manhattan Beach City Council voted to have all City facilities powered with 100% clean, renewable energy through the City's community choice program, Clean Power Alliance.  Public entities like Manhattan Beach who are part of the Clean Power Alliance (CPA) have the option to purchase up to 100% renewable, clean electricity - procured from non-polluting, clean and renewable sources such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power. CPA does not use coal or nuclear power in any of their programs. Unlike fossil fuels, such as oil, natural gas, and coal, which cannot be replaced and produce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, renewable energy regenerates naturally in a short period of time.

Selecting the 100% Green Power energy enables Manhattan Beach to join other regional jurisdictions in meeting the California's SB 100 mandate early, to power 100% of the state's electricity consumption with zero-carbon, clean renewable energy electricity by 2045.

Joining Clean Power Alliance in December of 2017, and now deciding to move to 100% renewable energy is the most impactful environmental climate action Manhattan Beach has taken to date, and will cut the City's GHG emissions by nearly half. This is important for our own responsibility as a City, but will also count toward our State required reductions now and in the future.

 Beginning October 9, 2021, the City of Manhattan Beach's default renewable energy rate moved to 100% Green Power, relying entirely on wind and solar power procured by the electricity provider, CPA.

What does this mean for you?

• Financial impact of action: Because clean energy is more expensive, the average electricity bill will increase by about 2.7% or $4.47 per month.
• Environmental impact: For most municipalities, electricity usage produces the greatest amount of greenhouse gas emissions than any other sector. Switching to 100% green energy prevents 36,603 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from being released into the atmosphere (equivalent of 603,947 trees planted or 7,942 cars off the roads).
• With the city-wide switch to 100% renewable energy, Manhattan Beach Continues to be a leader in climate action and moves us toward a clean energy future. Additionally, the community is provided with a sense of price and improvements in public health.

The City has joined many others that have switched to 100% renewable energy in Southern California including: Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Culver City, Malibu, Ojai, Oxnard, Rolling Hills Estates, Santa Monica, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, Thousand Oaks, Ventura City, Ventura County, and West Hollywood.

Though residents will automatically be enrolled in 100% renewable power as of October 2021, the choice to opt-down to other renewable energy remains an option. Residents can fill out an online form, or contact CPA customer service through phone or email.

CPA Opt-Out Instructions

Clean Power Alliance cares about the communities it serves, and offers many programs for low-income and disadvantaged communities. If you want to keep your bill what it currently is, just give CPA a call at (888) 585-3788 or email customer service at customerservice@cleanpoweralliance.org.

CPA offers customer assistance programs that help everyone go green. Please visit their Financial Assistance webpage. A few programs include:

• CPA's Power Response program which allows you to save up to $200 a year by reducing your energy usage during peak times.
• AMP is a debt-forgiveness program for customers with at least $500 in past due electricity bills with some portion at least 90 days past due.

Until October of 2021, the default tier for Manhattan Beach residents and businesses was set to 50% renewable energy under the Clean Power tier from CPA with the option to opt-in to 100% renewable energy. Since October of 2021, the default tier became 100%.

Prior to the City Council meeting in November of 2020, Manhattan Beach's City Council chose to select the "Clean Power" tier as the default option for our community, which provided 50% renewable content and the opportunity to support building a cleaner future. This option was the default selection for both our residents and businesses.

The best part of our City's participation in Clean Power Alliance is the choice is yours! If Clean Power was not the right fit for you, your family, or your business, you could change your service by calling and selecting one of Clean Power Alliance's other two rate options: Lean Power, which provides 36% renewable content at the lowest possible cost, and 100% Green Power, which provides 100% renewable content and gives customers the opportunity to be an environmental champion. You may also choose to opt-out of the service.

For more information visit Clean Power Alliance or contact Clean Power Alliance's Customer Service by email or at (888) 585-3788.

No matter what offering you choose, our community will soon enjoy the shared benefits of Clean Power Alliance including:

• Local Management and Control
• Stable, Competitive Rates
• Higher Renewable Content

Clean Power Alliance will purchase clean power and SCE will deliver it.

Nothing else changes - SCE will continue to deliver power to your home or business, send one bill, and be responsible for resolving any issues with your electricity service.

Clean Power Alliance - Q3 Quarterly Report - Manhattan Beach (PDF)

What is Community Choice Energy?

Community Choice Energy, also known as Community Choice Aggregation (CCE or CCA), is an association of local governments who decide to procure electricity themselves instead of buying power from the local utility. Forming a CCA allows a city to advance sustainability goals by buying more renewable power than the utility standard, saves residents on their monthly bill with lower rates, and creates local jobs. Successful CCAs such as Marin Clean Energy and Sonoma Clean Power provide 50% renewable energy at a rate 4-5% lower than the utility.

California Assembly Bill 117 passed in 2002, and established the ability for local governments to form a non-profit Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) organization (also known as Community Choice Energy) to purchase electricity from power producers for sale to their constituents. More than 90 cities and counties in California have already joined seven CCAs. A CCA:

• Negotiates wholesale rates for electricity through contracts with power producers.
• Takes control of decision making regarding sources of electrical power to achieve sustainability goals, such as the reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.
• Provides customers with an alternative to Southern California Edison (SCE) when selecting their electricity provider.
• Sets customer rates that may be lower than SCE.
• Develops energy programs to achieve their objectives.

Participation in CPA supports the City's Strategic Goal to "Enhance, Preserve, and Protect the Environment and Health of Our Beach Community". The City has a goal to reduce its GHG emissions, and a long history of supporting efforts that lead to climate protection. Community Choice is a tool local government can use to meet GHG emissions reduction goals. Further, joining CPA gives our City an opportunity to offer its citizens a renewable alternative to meet their electricity needs.

City Action

On June 17, 2014 City Council voted to opposed AB 2145 because the legislation would make it difficult for local governments to pursue Community Choice energy programs as an alternative to traditional utility power generation. The City of Manhattan Beach sent an additional opposition letter in August 2014, stating its continued opposition to AB 2145 and its amendments. The proposed bill did not pass, and the original legislation enacting Community Choice programs remained in place.

In 2014, the City held a forum discussion for Earth Hour at which CCA was discussed in a presentation by Cordel Stillman - Deputy Chief Engineer of the Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA).

On October 21, 2104, the City Council unanimously adopted a resolution to authorize staff to participate in the pre-development exploration and feasibility phase of Community Choice Aggregation in Manhattan Beach.

 In September 2016, the LA County Board of Supervisors approved a motion to conduct negotiations with interested cities to for a LACCE Joint Powers Agreement (JPA). The LACCE JPA will govern, operate, and be liable for the LACCE program. It will have its own staff and will report to a board of directors made up of representative members of the JPA. Cities have a 180-day window (June 27 through December 27, 2017) to join the JPA and secure their own enabling CCA ordinance. Those cities that do not meet the deadline may still join at a later date but will not have the same membership privileges that cities who meet the deadline will have and may pay an entry fee to join.

 On October 3, 2017, City Council received a status update on CCA programs the City Council directed staff to bring back an enabling ordinance to implement a CCA, to approve the Joint Powers Agreement to join LACCE and to appoint a City Council Member and up to two alternates to serve on the LACCE Board on behalf of the City.

On December 5, 2017, City Council introduced an enabling ordinance to implement a CCA in Manhattan Beach and authorized the Mayor to execute a Joint Powers Agreement to join the Los Angeles Community Choice Energy Authority (LACCE). Later that evening, the Mayor, with concurrence of the City Council, appointed Mayor Amy Howorth as board director and Mayor Pro Tem Steve Napolitano as the Primary Alternate. Environmental Manager Dana Murray was appointed as the second alternate.

On November 17, 2020, City Council voted 4-1 to increase the default efficiency rate for Manhattan Beach to 100% "Green Power". The City was originally at 50% renewable energy default rate. The change went into effect in October of 2021.