The Coronado City Council is expected to discuss whether or not to direct the City to enter into an agreement with a local Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) at an upcoming council meeting. This item follows multiple years of information gathering by the City (including, most recently, the establishment of a CCA Subcommittee in June of 2025) to analyze the potential benefits or drawbacks of Coronado being a part of a CCA.
CCAs are nonprofit entities that procure energy in place of an investor-owned company (IOU), such as San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E). Thirteen cities in San Diego County are now part of one of the two local CCAs that currently exist, Clean Energy Alliance (CEA), which mainly serves more northern cities in the region, and San Diego Community Power (SDCP).
For municipalities within a CCA, San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) still sends the bill for electric and gas use as they maintain the ownership of the energy infrastructure and provide customer service on energy matters, but the actual energy procurement is done by the CCA. CCAs can prioritize utilizing energy from greener sources than is currently procured by SDG&E at comparable rates. As a nonprofit, CCAs are also governed by a board of directors of local agency representatives from member cities, and are also required to reinvest profits into the member jurisdictions.
Discussion around CCAs by the current and previous City Councils has focused on CEA and SDCP, the two local CCAs operating in the region, and was first suggested within the context of the City’s Climate Action Plan as one way to help reach Coronado’s goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The City has also partnered with the USD Energy Policy Initiatives Center (EPIC) to evaluate these CCA options, including information on the enrollment and exit processes and a comparison of the benefits and risks of the CCA programs in the San Diego region.
EPIC has previously stated that new rules at the state level (revolving around energy reliability requirements during high energy demand time periods) could make joining a CCA more difficult in the short term. The state’s Public Utilities Commission has stated that any violation of the reliability requirement by more than 1% would trigger a pause, where, before a CCA can add new member cities, they must prove that they can supply the power.
As such, 2028 is likely the earliest Coronado could become part of either of the local CCAs, should they be on track to meet those requirements, and EPIC recommended that the City discuss that specifically with CEA or SDCP if there is interest in moving forward with joining either.
Both CCAs feature a three-category energy system based on procurement from clean energy sources. An opt-down service option generally represents the lowest cost but with the highest amount of environmental impact. An opt-up service option generally represents a higher cost option but with the lowest level of environmental impact, sourcing energy from greener methods. CCA’s clean energy is sourced from biomass and biowaste, geothermal, hydroelectric, solar, wind, and nuclear energy sources. Both CEA and SDCP’s opt-up service options equate to 100% procurement from renewable and zero-carbon sources.
There is also a third, default option that exists between the opt-up and opt-down services. CEA’s default option includes 77% of clean energy, and SDCP’s default service includes 55% clean energy. Both CCA default options surpass SDG&E’s default service of 42% clean energy, which is comparable to CEA’s opt-down service of 46% clean energy.
The average rates for CEA for lighting and larger commercial rates are about 10% lower than SDG&E’s rates (residential rates average around 1.36% lower than SDG&E rates with their opt-down service, and around 1% higher with the opt-up service). Some opt-up service rates are also typically lower than SDG&E rates, depending on the customer class (residential, commercial, agricultural, etc.). SDCP’s default and opt-down rates are currently between 0.5% and 3% lower than SDG&E’s rates across all customer classes, while their opt-up rates are typically higher than SDG&E’s rates.
Both of the local CCAs also offer energy programs such as solar and battery, additional credits for net energy metering, community grants, and other opportunities for funding local renewable energy projects.
The enrollment process for both CEA and SDCP is very similar and is generally an 18 to 36-month-long process in total. Joining includes an element of passing an ordinance, obtaining load data for procuring and supplying electricity for the new area (complete with a certified implementation plan), and any other negotiations and forms within that process before being authorized to join. This process is governed by the terms established by the Joint Powers Authority (JPA) and the Public Utilities Code. When a city joins, all residents are automatically opted into the CCA, but residents will also have the option to opt out.
The process for leaving a CCA requires an affirmative vote by the JPA members to exit. The exiting city may be subject to continuing liability and further assurance clauses, which are aimed at covering costs from exiting CCA customer rates. For SDCP, the exit process requires a 180-day notice, effective at the beginning of the next fiscal year. CEA requires a 365-day exit notice, unless a shorter notice period is approved. At the time of the last discussion of this item, there had been no examples of a city leaving a CCA.
Both CEA and SDCP have similar governance structures with a board of directors made up of member city representatives, and have voting requirements for approvals. The SDCP JPA does allow for a weighted vote, which is only triggered if three or more directors call for one, though the organization has not had cause to use that voting method.
SDCP is also the second-largest CCA in the state of California, representing just under one million accounts. In comparison, CEA represents around 255,000 accounts (which is the average among CCAs). Both have participation and opt-out rates consistent with other CCAs and have seen growth in retail sales (with profits reinvested in member cities) as new customers have been added, while maintaining fiscal responsibility.
EPIC also previously noted that there would be minimal risk should the City choose to remain with SDG&E, as rates are unlikely to undergo dramatic changes at this point in time. Per current state legislation, SDG&E also has a target goal of sourcing 90% of its output through clean energy by 2035, and 100% by 2045.
To stay up to date with agendas for upcoming city council meetings, please visit https://www.coronado.ca.us/449/Agendas-Minutes.
VOL. 116, NO. 2 – Jan. 14, 2026