Solar, wind to power Berkeley homes

 Wind and solar power will be the default choice for electricity for all Berkeley residences starting in March.

This shift toward entirely renewable sources as customers' default electricity plans will cost $5 more per month per typical Berkeley home, requires no action to stay on that plan, and reduces the City's reliance on fossil fuels.

All City buildings and streetlights had already transitioned to wind and solar power last year through East Bay Community Energy, the non-profit local energy provider for Berkeley.  The Berkeley City Council voted in June 2021 to make solar and wind power the default choice for residential and commercial customers, the latter of which will happen in October.

This transition is being mirrored across Alameda County, including the cities of Albany, Dublin, Hayward, San Leandro, and Pleasanton. EBCE recently sent notices about the change in the default choice, which EBCE labels as Renewable 100.

EBCE's Renewable 100 costs about a penny more per kilowatt hour compared to PG&E rates. Learn more about your choices below, via the EBCE website, or a February 18 webinar.

Choices with your electricity service

Power your home with whichever option works best for your household. Take no action and you'll be transitioned to Renewable 100. If you want to stick with your current plan, do so by February 22.

Your electric service choices through East Bay Community Energy are:

• Renewable 100 service, which is 100% wind and solar energy, costs an additional one cent per kilowatt-hour over PG&E rates, or about $5 more per month for a typical Berkeley home.
• Bright Choice service, the current default plan, which is 40% eligible renewable energy. It costs 1% less than PG&E rates and has approximately 5% more renewable energy than PG&E.

To remain with the current default plan, Bright Choice, and avoid automatic enrollment to Renewable 100, update your online settings by February 22.

Customers who are on bill assistance programs such as CARE, FERA, and Medical Baseline programs will automatically remain on the default Bright Choice service, but can still choose Renewable 100.

Learn more about changes at webinar

To learn more and ask questions about the service changes, join online webinar hosted by East Bay Community Energy (ECBE):

ECBE, our local community choice green energy supplier, has been serving Berkeley customers with Bright Choice since 2018. They provide electricity to the grid that PG&E delivers. PG&E also delivers gas, maintains the power lines, responds to outages, and provides the billing services.

Learn more about your electric service choices. Customers can also contact EBCE's call center at (833) 699-3223 during business hours, 9 am - 5 pm on weekdays. 

Links

• Change your Electricity Service
• Contact EBCE Call Center
• Compare Electricity Service Plans
• Energy Bill Assistance Options
• Webinars about your Electricity Service Options