Includes Funding for New Equity Offerings in Environmental Justice Communities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 7, 2022

MCE Press Contact:
Jenna Tenney, Marketing & Communications Manager
(925) 378-6747 | communications@mceCleanEnergy.org

SAN RAFAEL and CONCORD, Calif. — On March 4, 2022, MCE filed a business plan with the California Public Utilities Commission to invest $188 million from 2024 to 2031 in energy efficiency and demand management programs to benefit customers, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support grid resiliency. The eight-year plan comprehensively addresses the needs of MCE’s agricultural, commercial, industrial, public agency, and residential customers. This includes extending MCE’s groundbreaking Peak FLEXmarket Program and creating new equity offerings for residents in environmental justice communities in MCE’s service area.

“MCE’s leading–edge approach to customer programs has already created significant benefits for our customers,” said Tom Butt, MCE Board Chair and Mayor of Richmond. “By expanding our energy efficiency program portfolio, we have the opportunity to further support those in our communities who need it the most. The expanded equity offerings build on programs like our workforce development initiatives, which have reinvested over $3 million in our communities.”

MCE designed new equity programs to provide energy efficiency and electrification benefits to households and businesses in environmental justice communities in MCE’s service area. These communities are identified as those areas facing historic barriers to access clean energy services and programs. Benefits include reducing energy bills, improving environmental health, and supporting critical workforce development.

MCE’s plan outlines a holistic vision of energy efficiency that advances decarbonization, improves grid reliability, delivers energy savings, and provides community benefits. MCE combines traditional energy efficiency approaches with meter-measured and performance-based strategies, strategic energy management education, load shaping and demand response measures, building electrification measures, and an optimized layering of related clean energy programs to provide significant benefits to its customers and the grid.

MCE estimates this $188 million plan will permanently reduce 192,473 megawatt–hours of energy consumption and provide over $148 million in benefits between 2024 and 2031.

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About MCE: MCE is a groundbreaking, not-for-profit, public agency that has been setting the standard for clean energy in our communities since 2010.  MCE offers more renewable power at stable rates, significantly reducing energy-related greenhouse emissions and enabling millions of dollars of reinvestment in local energy programs. MCE is a load-serving entity supporting a 1,200 MW peak load. MCE provides electricity service and innovative programs to more than 540,000 customer accounts and more than one million residents and businesses in 37 member communities across four Bay Area counties: Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, and Solano. For more information about MCE, visit mceCleanEnergy.org, or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

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