MCE’s 2021 Climate Action Leadership Award has been awarded to Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, who is a key ally for Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) programs and a representative of several MCE member communities. During her time in the Assembly, she has been helpful in blocking anti-CCA legislation and collaborating with a wide variety of stakeholders on solutions that work for all parties. She voted no on AB 56 (Garcia), a 2019 bill that would have threatened the procurement autonomy of CCAs.

In 2021, Aguiar-Curry authored AB 843, co-sponsored by MCE and Pioneer Community Energy. The bill allows CCAs to participate in the Bioenergy Market Adjusting Tariff (BioMAT) program, which makes bioenergy procurement more affordable for CCA customers. Her authorship was instrumental in the bill’s success, as she was able to collaborate with all stakeholders to arrive at a compromise that not only was signed by Governor Newsom, but was also unopposed in both legislative houses.

Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry’s Work

Cecilia Aguiar-Curry was elected to the California Assembly in 2016 to represent the 4th District, which includes all of Napa and Lake Counties and parts of Solano, Yolo, Sonoma, and Colusa Counties. She resides in Winters, her hometown, where she served as the first female mayor.

Aguiar-Curry is a strong advocate for rural communities and has long been engaged in energy issues. Her district has been extremely impacted by wildfires and Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events, and she represents areas impacted by the deadly 2017 Tubbs Fire and other wine country fires over the past few years. Given her agricultural- and wildfire-ravaged district, it’s no surprise that she supports procurement of biomass and biomethane resources.

MCE’s 2021 Climate Action Leadership Award

In 2020, MCE created the Climate Action Leadership award to celebrate policymakers and advocates who have contributed significantly toward California’s fight against climate change through energy policy. MCE staff select an individual who has made a significant impact on policies that benefit CCA customers and advance efforts to combat climate change through clean energy.

The award is open to regulators, legislators, other government decision makers, and stakeholders who have partnered with MCE to effectively advocate for policies that benefit MCE’s communities and our planet.

MCE presented our 2021 Climate Action Leadership award at the Board of Directors meeting on December 16, 2021. When accepting the award, Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry had this to say:

“It’s all about partnership and how we work hard together. I know we have a lot more work to do but I was honored to be able to sponsor and to take on AB 843. We got it over the finish line, got the governor to sign it, and [it] gives us much more access to funding. We’ll continue to work on other projects together and again, thank you for your great work as well and the leadership that we’re all doing together.”

Visit our Board and Committee Meeting page for the full recording of MCE’s Board of Directors meeting.