{"id":257096,"date":"2023-05-12T18:16:55","date_gmt":"2023-05-12T16:16:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=257096"},"modified":"2023-05-12T18:16:57","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12T16:16:57","slug":"community-choice-aggregation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=257096","title":{"rendered":"Community Choice Aggregation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opinion by Kip Hansen \u2014 11 May 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My local town has just chosen, for us, the residents of the town, to pay more for \u201crenewable\u201d energy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Town of ##### is pleased to announce our participation in the program relaunch of  ##### #### Community Power, a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program<\/a> administered by Joule Community Power, a division of Joule Assests, Inc<\/a>. that puts control of energy supply choices into local hands.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Note:  In this part of the USA a town<\/em> is: \u201can urban area that has a name, defined boundaries, and local government, and that is generally larger than a village and smaller than a city.\u201d]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  explains<\/a> it this way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCCA [Community Choice Aggregation] \u2014also known as municipal aggregation\u2014programs allow local governments to procure power on behalf of their residents, businesses, and municipal accounts from an alternative supplier while still receiving transmission and distribution service from their existing utility provider. CCAs are an attractive option for communities that want more local control over their electricity sources, more green power than is offered by the default utility, and\/or lower electricity prices. By aggregating demand, communities gain leverage to negotiate better rates with competitive suppliers and choose greener power sources.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That sounds nice, and in part, it can offer lower electricity prices \u2013 through the aggregation step:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPrices for electricity under CCAs may be lower than the residential retail price for electricity\u2014sometimes by 15 to 20 percent\u2014because of the collective buying power of entire communities and current market trends<\/strong>. CCA customers continue to receive the same delivery and maintenance services from their local utility, with a single utility bill that reflects the change in supplier. The only changes for customers are the sources and prices of electricity generation.\u201d<\/em> <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And in the case of my community, this turns out to be the case. Customers of the CCA will receive electricity at a rate ($\/kWh) that is 6% less than last year\u2019s average price charged by our local utility company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there is a hook \u2013 a trick \u2013 an unexpected \u2018gotcha\u2019 in the program. In the quote from the EPA above, it is in the \u201cand\/or\u201d\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll eligible residential and small-commercial electricity customers will be automatically enrolled in the 50% renewable supply product\u2026.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Town fathers, encouraged no doubt by the representatives of Joule Community Power,  has<\/s> h<\/em>ave decided for us<\/em> that the electricity we use should be 50% from \u201drenewable sources\u201d.  That \u201c50% renewable supply\u201d electricity will be sold to us at a rate 14% higher<\/strong> than \u201cstandard supply\u201d electricity.   Still, all-in-all, because of the advantages of the buying power of aggregated supply agreements, that higher cost for \u201c50% renewable\u201d is, bless their souls, 6% cheaper than what we paid to our local utility last year (on average).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The New York State law that authorized CCAs to operate in the state requires the Town to inform us of the decision they have made on our behalf, and give us citizens the chance to \u201copt-out\u201d of the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If one is very clever, and has access to the internet, and an understanding of the program (gained through an extra half hour of research), then as a residential customer it is possible to \u201copt-out\u201d into the \u201cCCA Standard Supply\u201d option \u2013 which is , as you have guessed, 14% cheaper<\/strong> than the \u201c50% Renewable Supply\u201d which is the default into which we are \u201cautomatically enrolled\u201d by our caring Town officials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But overall, with the total of an hour of effort, this electricity customer (your ever-striving author) has opted-out by opting-in to the \u201cStandard Supply\u201d  option, thus achieving an overall rate reduction of 21%.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The numbers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My utilities average rate for 2022: $ 0.1195\/kWh<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My rate with CCA Standard Supply:  $0.0987\/kWh<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My local CCA\u2019s 50% Renewable rate:  $0.1124\/kWh<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My local CCA\u2019s 100% Renewable rate:  $0.1240\/kWh<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, my local rate will be less than 10 cents per kilowatt\/hour \u2013 more precisely $0.09870\/kWh.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that, my friends, is a good thing.\u00a0 Compare to this chart of average rates in the U.S.:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here we see the \u201cnational average\u201d is running above $ 0.16\/kWh. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My new rate, with the power aggregation scheme, will be reduced to the 2001 national average rates.  [A savings of 22 years \u2013 sort of.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note that the reduction is gained through aggregate purchasing power, not through renewable energy.  The 100% renewable rate is higher than the utilities original rates<\/em>.  Customers taking no action \u2013which are automatically opted-in to the 50% renewable scheme \u2014  will have a new rate very slightly below their old rate, lower by  $0.0071\/kWh, getting the advantage of the lower aggregated rate for standard supply electricity for the other 50%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does this work?  Can we follow the money?  Joule Community Power<\/a> <\/em>is a <\/em>division of Joule Assets, Inc<\/a><\/em>..  Joule Assets<\/em> uses its link to Joule Community Power<\/em> to provide instant customers for federal-government subsidized Solar Farm Developers.  In addition, the price breaks, for them, come from \u201csavings in the form of solar bill credits derived from NY State incentives for renewable generation.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BOTTOM LINE:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your money (tax dollars \u2013 both State and Federal) is being spent to provide you, as an electricity customer in NY State, with conveniently more-expensive renewable-supplied electricity. Without this opportunity to pay twice (first in your tax dollars and secondly in  increased electricity rates) you could be paying over 20% less.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aggregated energy buying is a good thing \u2013 it saves customers money.  Mixing that good idea with the \u201cgo green\u201d mania is a silly thing<\/a>, and increases<\/em> electricity costs to the customer.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

# # # # #<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author\u2019s Comment:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s the latest energy news from Upstate New York, USA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this area, perfectly good farm land is being turned into solar farms taking advantage of Federal subsidies and State incentives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you can see, it is driving our electricity prices UP \u2013 not down as usually claimed by advocates and the main stream media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aggregated energy buying though presents the possibility of lowering electricity rates if it can be de-coupled from government mandated renewables policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks for reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this area, perfectly good farm land is being turned into solar farms taking advantage of Federal subsidies and State incentives.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":257100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818073,691819094,691819505],"class_list":{"0":"post-257096","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-epa","9":"tag-renewable-green-energy","10":"tag-solar-farms","12":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/00402VB_CCAGraphic_3SLD2-1-1080x630-1.jpg?fit=1080%2C630&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-14SI","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":307155,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=307155","url_meta":{"origin":257096,"position":0},"title":"More cash for wind farms near towns as net zero shift stretches\u00a0grid","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/03\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Developers are to be handed more cash to erect wind turbines and solar farms near towns and cities in a bid to get more power generation near to where it is needed.","rel":"","context":"In \"Net zero\"","block_context":{"text":"Net zero","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=net-zero"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/windfarm-money.webp?fit=1200%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/windfarm-money.webp?fit=1200%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/windfarm-money.webp?fit=1200%2C768&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/windfarm-money.webp?fit=1200%2C768&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/windfarm-money.webp?fit=1200%2C768&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":349369,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=349369","url_meta":{"origin":257096,"position":1},"title":"$650m in renewable energy didn\u2019t save Broken Hill from days of blackouts after a storm islanded it","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"29\/10\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The lights went out in Broken Hill. A storm blew seven transmission towers over disconnecting the area from the national grid on October 17th. About 19,000 people live there, and with a 200MW wind plant, a 53MW solar array and a big battery, plus diesel generators it was assumed they\u2019d\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"200MW wind plant\"","block_context":{"text":"200MW wind plant","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=200mw-wind-plant"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0dc3b88bdf8bef2711168a3cff339e12b.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0dc3b88bdf8bef2711168a3cff339e12b.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0dc3b88bdf8bef2711168a3cff339e12b.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0dc3b88bdf8bef2711168a3cff339e12b.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0dc3b88bdf8bef2711168a3cff339e12b.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":244206,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=244206","url_meta":{"origin":257096,"position":2},"title":"Biden\u2019s Hometown Just Vetoed A Solar Farm: \u2018No Benefit\u2019 To City","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"18\/02\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Last Tuesday during his State of The Union speech, President Joe Biden repeated a claim he has made many times over the past few years about renewable energy.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/image-409.png?fit=1200%2C878&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/image-409.png?fit=1200%2C878&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/image-409.png?fit=1200%2C878&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/image-409.png?fit=1200%2C878&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/image-409.png?fit=1200%2C878&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":260891,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=260891","url_meta":{"origin":257096,"position":3},"title":"Solar farm runoff pollutes property, couple awarded $135 million","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"06\/06\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Inflicting heavy fines on developers of a project billed as supplying clean, renewable energy, a federal jury has awarded a couple in southwest Georgia $135.5 million after runoff from \u201cLumpkin Solar\u201d severely polluted waters and soils on their rural property.","rel":"","context":"In \"ESG)\"","block_context":{"text":"ESG)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=esg-2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/020221024-155930-AP22157519437556.jpeg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/020221024-155930-AP22157519437556.jpeg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/020221024-155930-AP22157519437556.jpeg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/020221024-155930-AP22157519437556.jpeg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":370904,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=370904","url_meta":{"origin":257096,"position":4},"title":"Australia Shuts Down Solar Farms Due to Bushfire Concerns \u2013 But the China Connection is Even More Worrying","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"19\/03\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"There have been plenty of stories about wind turbines\u00a0bursting into flames. Now it seems solar farms are fire hazards too says the\u00a0Australian, and in more ways than one: Victoria\u2019s energy safety regulator has ordered five solar farms to be switched off due to concerns over bushfire risks caused by uncontrolled\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Australia\"","block_context":{"text":"Australia","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=australia"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0Screenshot-2025-03-19-094934.png?fit=1200%2C739&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0Screenshot-2025-03-19-094934.png?fit=1200%2C739&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0Screenshot-2025-03-19-094934.png?fit=1200%2C739&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0Screenshot-2025-03-19-094934.png?fit=1200%2C739&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0Screenshot-2025-03-19-094934.png?fit=1200%2C739&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":335937,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=335937","url_meta":{"origin":257096,"position":5},"title":"Perfectly Justified: Furious Communities Reject Wind & Solar\u00a0Rollout","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"09\/07\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The wind and solar industries\u2019 so-called \u2018social licence\u2019 evaporated, years ago. Now, rural communities are on the war path. These days, they\u2019re better armed and better equipped to take on rent-seeking carpetbaggers who couldn\u2019t care less about destroying their peaceful and prosperous communities.","rel":"","context":"In \"Australia\"","block_context":{"text":"Australia","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=australia"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0australias_first_hybrid_wind.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0australias_first_hybrid_wind.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0australias_first_hybrid_wind.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0australias_first_hybrid_wind.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0australias_first_hybrid_wind.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=257096"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257096\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":257102,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257096\/revisions\/257102"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/257100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=257096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=257096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=257096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}