When California deregulated the energy market in 1997, many Californians switched to alternative energy providers. Following the energy crisis of 2000-01, consumer choice of electricity providers was suspended. As a response to the closing of the open market, Assembly Bill 117 was passed in 2002 to establish Community Choice Aggregation (CCA), which offers an opportunity for California communities to choose the source of their electricity. MCE was California’s first Community Choice Aggregation agency. Today there are 23 CCAs operating throughout California.