![\"Protesters](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/protest-web2.jpg\")
<\/a>The bill addresses the way Community Choice Aggregation <\/a>programs (CCAs) are regulated in California. CCAs are resident-run utility providers, which are often favored for their ability to rely more heavily on renewable energy \u2014 often at a slightly higher rate \u2014 and to provide an alternative to for-profit utility companies that often monopolize a region. Currently, when a CCA is established, residents must opt out of it if they wish to remain with their existing utility company, such as SDG&E in San Diego. The Assembly Bill would require residents to opt in, rather than opt out, which opponents of the bill claim would effectively render CCAs powerless against the utility giants they compete against for customers.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat you would be doing essentially is telling a nonprofit they would have to do a massive marketing campaign against a for-profit monopoly to try to get some of the market share,\u201d said Masada Disenhouse, a representative from environmental group San Diego 350.<\/a> \u201cIt\u2019s just impractical.\u201d<\/p>\n But Atkins said that instead of denying customers an alternative to monopolistic utility services, AB 2145 would provide a transparent way for utility customers to fairly weigh their options on an issue she believes most are actuallyw uneducated on. Indeed, the bill also increases the amount of reporting CCAs are required to do, especially in regard to the source of the energy provided.<\/p>\n According to an Assembly Committee analysis of the bill<\/a>, a recent survey performed in the City of Richmond found that nearly 75 percent of residents had no knowledge they were already enrolled in a CCA program, believing Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) was still their utility service provider.<\/p>\n \u201cData suggest that most residents involved in these programs are not well-informed as to who is supplying their power,\u201d Atkins stated in a public letter defending her vote on AB 2145. \u201cAB 2145 would ensure that consumers have a choice in where they get their energy.\u201d<\/p>\n Opponents of the bill disagree, saying their right to choice is exactly what AB 2145 would be in violation of as they chanted, \u201cHow do you spell corporate greed? S-D-G-E!\u201d<\/p>\n And although there are only two established CCA programs in California, climate change activist Jack Shu said this bill could shut down something well on its way to creating a serious movement towards environmental action.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are ways for us to economically come up with systems so I don\u2019t have to go to SDG&E,\u201d Shu said. \u201cWhenever we come up with a system that economically helps communities, the corporations get in there and find ways to block us of off.\u201d<\/p>\n Will Shuck, communications director in Atkins\u2019s office, said it is too early to speculate on the success of CCA\u2019s given that so few currently exist in California.<\/p>\n \u201cCalifornia\u2019s sustainable energy future is going to require a lot of pieces,\u201d Shuck said. \u201cCCAs will play some kind of role, but in the 12 years since they enacted that law, there\u2019s only two, and one of them has only been up for about a month. So I\u2019m not sure that as we push toward the clean-air goals and greenhouse-gas goals, how exactly that piece is going to fit in.\u201d<\/p>\n Two weeks prior, the City Council\u2019s Environment Committee voted to recommend<\/a> that the City Council pass a resolution opposing AB 2145. The proposed resolution is on the June 10 City Council agenda. And although Mayor Kevin Faulconer has not taken an official position on the issue, he has voiced his support for solar energy and $12 million in additional revenue to move the proposed Climate Action Plan<\/a> forward, which, in its latest draft, incorporates CCAs as a possible means to help reach the City\u2019s projected emissions-reduction goals.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Climate Action Plan is based in large part on our ability to have community choice aggregation,\u201d Disenhouse said. \u201cElectricity generation is one of our biggest sources of emissions and if we cannot change how we are producing energy to renewables, we are not going to be able to reach those goals.\u201d<\/p>\n Some picketers were initially surprised to learn of the Speaker\u2019s support for the bill given her record on environmental issue, but they later pointed to two separate $10,000 donations made on May 5 from California utility providers Sempra Energy and PG&E weeks prior to the Assembly\u2019s vote on AB 2145 as a swaying factor in Atkins\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n \u201cI was shocked,\u201d protester Dwain Deets said of Atkins\u2019s vote. \u201cShe\u2019s got a lot on her plate and I think this one snuck through. Or she might know, and the influence from utility companies who want the \u2018business as usual\u2019 approach might have influenced her more.\u201d<\/p>\n Shuck said there is \u201cabsolutely no connection whatsoever\u201d between the utility donations and the Speaker\u2019s vote. Atkins also received a $10,000 contribution from California Solar Energy Industries before the Assembly\u2019s vote, an association aimed to strengthen California\u2019s solar market.<\/p>\n Despite protest from opponents, Atkins remains firm in her support of AB 2145, stating that by simply voting down the bill in the Assembly, legislators would have lost the opportunity to further discuss the concerns she as well as the opponents of AB 2145 both share.<\/p>\n \u201cCCAs can be an important part of California\u2019s energy picture, but there are significant issues that need to be addressed. I will continue to work with [the office of Assemblymember Steven Bradford, the bill\u2019s author] to address the concerns expressed by opponents of AB 2145,\u201d Atkins said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to fight this,\u201d Shu said. \u201cThe corporate corporations have millions of dollars, which is essentially buying our legislators. Our legislators need to stop this process of just listening to the money. We need legislators to respond to human and community needs that work for the people.\u201d<\/p>\n AB 2145 is on the agenda for the Senate Energy Committee on June 23.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" McKenna Aiello |\u00a0Uptown News<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1213,"featured_media":247361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Environmental activists protest at Atkins' office","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11551,11550,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-247360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-news","category-top-stories","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1213"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247360\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}