What Has SJVCEO Been up to in October

Now that the little ghouls and goblins have had their fun in October we move more into winter and gain back an hour...YAY! We hope that you are preparing your home for those chilly days that are ahead of us now. As SJVCEO begins to wrap up its work for the year we happy to say we have had much success in all aspects of our work in 2016 and are now eyeing goals for 2017.

With the VIEW Partnership we have working hard on wrapping up items related to SoCal Edison Energy Leader Partnership tier movement. Many of our partners, three to be exact, are right on the cusp of moving up one tier level. The items in progress to hit the next tier level are initiating an energy action plan. Our staff has been hard at work shaping these guiding documents for our partners and now they are in the final stretch of approval. We are very excited to see how city/county councils take to these items and hope to share good news by the end of the year. Outside of EAP's the partnership wrapped up its Energy Awareness Month activities the last week of October. In all, the partnership participated in four outreach events. Partnering with our city/counties on these events we are able to bring energy efficiency information as well as community services out to residents. During the events we are happy to hear from residents how much these events mean to them. For 2017 we will continue our outreach efforts and may look into spring events.


Our HDR Partnership just finished its first complete year with SJVCEO as implementer. We are very thankful to have such engaged energy champions as well as amazing support from SoCal Edison. We cannot wait to see how the partnership will continue to grow in the years to come. One exciting piece of news that the partnership has for October is the City of Hesperia has initiated its energy action plan and has been awarded silver level within the ELP tier model. Our staff along with city staff have been hard at work on this guiding document and we cannot be more excited to see the city council accept it.

Finally for the Municipal Energy Tune-Up we are beginning to gain steam with our new project analyst on board. She has been hard at work since day one and is now beginning to benchmark the City of Taft. We cannot wait to update you on projects in the coming months. Also, the METU program will also be launching its website and brand new logo in the coming months so keep your eyes peeled.

That is all for this month! 

What Has SJVCEO Been Up to in October?

SJVCEO hopes that everyone had a safe and fun Halloween this year. We hope that everyone was able to avoid many of the energy vampires that occur in the home during this spooky month. The SJVCEO staff has been very busy helping all of our partners with steering clear of those vampires. We have been busy with our south valley partners as well as our north valley partners. 

For our south valley partners the VIEW Partnership has been very busy with continuing to benchmarking energy usage for all buildings. The Partnership is also very happy to announce that the City of Visalia achieved gold tier status in the energy leader partnership (ELP) with Southern California Edison. We cannot wait to announce our other partners that achieve this status in the coming months. Achieving the gold status in the ELP model is a very large achievement. For a partner to achieve this status they must lower their energy usage, complete energy awareness outreach as well as approving an energy action plan. To all of our partners; continue the great work! The Partnership was also on the road for the Local Government Commissions Central California meeting that happened in Paso Robles. This was a great event that showed how local government partnerships are doing more with less. Doing more with less was the main theme for the meeting. It was also great to get together with the IOU partners and other peers to check in and hear everyone's progress.

As for our north valley partners the municipal energy tune up (METU) program they are continuing to be benchmarked with energy projects in sight. Our METU team has also been on the road for much of the month of October going to training's on new emerging technology. The first training was on programmable logic controllers (PLCs). These items are most often used in industrial, manufacturing and wastewater treatment applications, and can improve operations considerably by automating processes normally done by hand or to allow for another point of data collection to determine if a process is working effectively and efficiently. The second training was on designing thermal energy storage (TES). TES tanks work as a battery for your air conditioning by “charging” a large tank by creating ice at night, when there’s low or no demand charges, and “discharging” it in the daytime so chiller(s) don’t have to run during the daytime.  The technology first debuted in the 1980s, was fraught with problems, but is now matured to the point that utility incentives for the technology are at a whopping $875 per kW permanently shifted.  In some instances, especially when designing new buildings, installing thermal energy storage can be a lower first cost than just using nothing but chillers.

As you can see SJVCEO has been busy during the past month. We are always happy to stay busy when it comes to saving our partners and communities energy sand money.

Stay Tuned for Next Months Update!

Look For Your Climate Credit in October

       
Look for a Climate Credit from the State of California on Your October Utility Bill

This month your electricity bill will include a credit identified as the "California Climate Credit." Twice a year, in April and October*, your household and millions of others throughout the state will receive this credit on your electricity bills.  

The Climate Credit is a payment to Californians from a program designed to fight climate change by limiting the amount of greenhouse gas pollution that our largest industries put into the atmosphere.

This program is one of many developed as a result of landmark legislation called the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which puts California at the forefront of efforts to battle climate change. Other programs under this law increase clean, renewable forms of electricity, promote energy efficiency in homes and businesses, and require cleaner fuels, and more efficient cars and trucks.

Together, these programs will aid in reducing greenhouse gas emissions that trap heat in the atmosphere–helping to clean the air and protect our food, water, and public health, as well as the beauty of our state.

The Climate Credit is designed to help you join with California in its efforts to fight climate change and clean the air. You can use the savings on your electricity bills however you choose, but you can save even more money by investing the bill savings from your Climate Credit in energy-saving home upgrades, including more efficient lights and appliances. You can find more information and receive rebates for these and many other energy efficient choices for your home at www.EnergyUpgradeCA.org/credit.

California's greenhouse gas reduction programs provide a range of powerful solutions to help slow climate change, one of the greatest challenges facing society. By gradually reducing emissions each year and moving to cleaner forms of energy, we are taking an important step to preserve the health and prosperity of our state for generations to come.

* Billing periods vary by utility and may not always coincide with a calendar month. If you don't see a Climate Credit in the bill that arrives in October, it will appear in the bill you receive in November.

The CPUC regulates privately owned electric companies and serves the public interest by protecting consumers and ensuring the provision of safe, reliable utility service and infrastructure at reasonable rates, with a commitment to environmental enhancement and a healthy California economy. For more information about our work contact us at:
news@cpuc.ca.gov, 800-253-0500, or visit www.cpuc.ca.gov.