FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 22, 2020
MCE Press Contact:
Jenna Famular, Marketing & Communications Manager
(925) 378-6747 | communications@mceCleanEnergy.org
SAN RAFAEL and CONCORD, Calif. — To mark a decade of clean energy service and community reinvestment, MCE is excited to announce the release of its inaugural 10-year Impact Report. As the first community choice energy agency in California, MCE has committed over $180 million to local reinvestment, including $81 million in projects, $68 million in customer rate savings, and $5 million spent at local businesses.
MCE’s impact stretches throughout the entire California economy – MCE has supported over 5,000 jobs and 1.4 million prevailing wage labor and union labor hours statewide – including $1.25 million spent directly on workforce development in MCE’s service area. MCE’s clean energy investments mean that their default electricity option is 50% more renewable than the incumbent utility and meets state renewable energy targets 13 years early. Moreover, MCE has enabled $1.6 billion in new renewable energy development around the state.
“Ultimately, what drives MCE is the same purpose that we all share. We want a better future, for ourselves, for the ones we love, for all things living on this planet,” said Dawn Weisz, MCE CEO. “The successes highlighted in this impact report demonstrate the great things that happen when communities are empowered to create their own choices. We are excited to celebrate our first ten years of service with our valued customers and partners and look forward to another decade of building a brighter future together.”
MCE led the way for the growth of CCAs around the state which now includes 21 programs responsible for over 170 communities, 10 million customers, and 3,600 megawatts of new clean energy.
MCE’s impact report features information across three main priority areas: environmental justice, workforce development, and the global reach local change can have. Key highlights include the following:
MCE is committed to creating more equitable communities while addressing climate change through renewable energy, energy efficiency, and local economic and workforce benefits. MCE serves diverse communities with unique opportunities to build an equitable future.
MCE’s Sustainable Workforce & Diversity Policy outlines MCE’s commitment to diversity and inclusion through contracting for power resources, procuring goods and services, and implementing hiring initiatives. The policy calls for quality training, apprenticeship, and pre–apprenticeship programs; fair wages; and the use of direct hiring practices that promote diversity in the workplace.
In 2002, MCE was a bold idea to help the planet and communities simultaneously. MCE’s vision was to provide alternatives to the costly global warming impacts of fossil fuels by investing revenues in renewable energy projects, good–paying jobs, and energy efficiency programs. This new model would deliver more than just clean power. It would offer the power of choice, the power of a transparent, publicly accountable agency, and the power of local economic reinvestment.
Stepping into the next ten years of service, MCE remains committed to strengthening energy resilience in its communities, investing in decarbonization of transportation and electrification infrastructure, continuing to develop innovative community energy programs, and ensuring that local workforce and diverse community benefits are anchored in all aspects of its work.
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About MCE: As California’s first Community Choice Aggregation Program, MCE is a groundbreaking, not-for-profit, public agency that has been setting the standard for energy innovation in its communities since 2010. MCE offers cleaner 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 to more than 480,000 customer accounts and more than one million residents and businesses in 34 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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