Public Works staff have been working with MCE staff to better understand the costs and benefits of the Deep Green 100% renewable electricity product offering. The Deep Green product comes at a cost premium of $0.01/kWh (one cent per kWh) relative to the default MCE Light Green. For reference, the County spends approximately $7,500,000/year on electricity.
An MCE analysis of Contra Costa County (CCC) load indicates that approximately 40,000,000 kWh are purchased from MCE per year and that opting up to Deep Green would result in an increase in electric utility costs to the County of approximately $400,000/year (see Attachment A). The estimated associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions from moving to Deep Green electricity would equal approximately 2,000 metric tons of CO2e/year. This reduction in emissions would help the County to meet its Climate Action Plan goals.
Given that the County has solar at a number of its major buildings and is planning to install solar at an additional ten sites in 2020, Public Works requested that MCE provide an additional analysis on opting up to Deep Green for the non-solar facilities.
As can be seen in Attachment B, also provided by MCE, non-solar facilities could potentially purchase approximately 29,000,000 kWh/year with a Deep Green premium of approximately $290,000/year and a GHG reduction of 1,500 metric tons/year.
For the purpose of this update, Public Works staff considered these approaches as Option 1 (All Buildings Serviced), anticipated increase of $400,000/year or a 5.3% increase in annual electricity expenditures; and Option 2 (All Buildings minus Buildings with Solar or Going Solar), anticipated increase of $290,000/year or a 3.9% increase in annual electricity expenditures.
Additional Benefits of Deep Green for Contra Costa County
In addition to providing energy that is 100% renewable, it is important to note that half of the premium paid by customers for Deep Green is allocated to MCE’s Local Renewable Energy & Program Development Fund which funds local projects and programs for MCE customers. The Fund is currently supporting “MCEv”, which includes MCE’s program for installation of electric vehicle charging equipment and MCE’s recently launched low-income EV rebate program. Based on the estimated cost to Contra Costa County for enrolling accounts in Deep Green, it is estimated that approximately $200,000 would be contributed to this fund annually if Option 1 were selected, and approximately $145,000 annually should the County pursue Option 2. For perspective, in calendar year 2019, the County took advantage of MCE rebates for EV charger infrastructure totaling $85,000.
Participation in Deep Green by other Jurisdictions
Attachment C, Contra Cost County at a Glance, provides community level information on participation rate for the default Light Green product and for the Deep Green product. Within Contra Costa County, El Cerrito and Lafayette currently have the highest penetration rates for Deep Green of all communities at 7% and 5% respectively. Attachment D shows a map of municipalities that have opted up to Deep Green. |