Valley Clean Energy holds ‘solar’ workshops

Valley Clean Energy will host two public workshops in October to review upcoming enrollments for PG&E customers who have solar panels.

The workshops, which are designed to review VCE’s solar policies and answer customers’ questions, are set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, in the Community Chambers at Davis City Hall, 23 Russell Blvd. in Davis, and again at 5:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 14, in the Council Chambers at Woodland City Hall, 300 First St. in Woodland.

Residents of Valley Clean Energy’s service area who had solar panels installed on their roofs or property prior to VCE’s launch in June 2018 have continued as PG&E Net Energy Metered customers. That’s about to change, as VCE begins enrolling these customers starting in January 2020.

VCE’s service area includes the cities of Woodland and Davis as well as the unincorporated area of Yolo County.

At its June meeting, the VCE board of directors voted to begin transitioning existing PG&E metered customers to VCE beginning in January. As a public power supplier operating under state rules for community choice aggregation, VCE follows the regulations regarding the automatic enrollment of customers. These NEM customers will automatically be enrolled in VCE service during their true-up month in 2020.

Enrolling on their “true-up date” allows customers to optimize the use of their energy credits at full retail value, said Mitch Sears, VCE’s interim general manager.

Metered customers will receive notices prior to enrolling with VCE, alerting them to the change. Two notices will be mailed — one during each of the two months prior to the customer’s enrollment date.

Customers who would like to enroll in VCE service prior to their annual true-up date may do so beginning in February 2020. But they should be aware of possible consequences, Sears says.

“It’s important that you know that PG&E will true-up your account prior to your enrollment in VCE, which means that any credits you have will be paid by PG&E at the wholesale level (slightly less than VCE’s rate) and your true-up date will be reset to coincide with the start of your VCE service,” Sears said.

“Before deciding to voluntarily opt into VCE service before your 2020 true-up month, be sure to review your PG&E bill to ensure that you won’t lose credits.”

Valley Clean Energy is a not-for-profit public agency formed to provide electrical generation service to customers in Woodland, Davis, and the unincorporated areas of Yolo County. Its mission is to source cost-competitive clean electricity while providing product choice, price stability, energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emission reductions and reinvestment in the communities we serve.

Valley Clean Energy holds ‘solar’ workshops,  by Woodland Daily Democrat Staff, Woodland Daily Democrat, September 28, 2019.