Information provided by Monterey Bay Community Power.

Monterey Bay Community Power (MBCP) has successfully paid off a $6.2 million loan after just seven months of operation.

According to a recent press release, the tri-county agency, comprised of representatives from San Benito County, Monterey County and Santa Cruz County, originally obtained the loan through lines of credit. The agency reimbursed Santa Cruz County for expenses incurred on behalf of MBCP prior to securing the lines of credit.

"Due to sound financial stewardship, low cost carbon free electricity procurement and smart decision making, MBCP will pay down this outstanding debt a year earlier than planned," said Bruce McPherson, board chair for MBCP and supervisor for Santa Cruz County. "This is an incredible success and demonstrates the value of having a locally controlled agency that can be a catalyst for economic and environment progress in the Monterey Bay."

By focusing on business fundamentals to achieve better financial stability, Monterey Bay Community Power expects to be in a stronger position to continue delivering on its promises around clean energy, lower cost and economic vitality for the tri-county businesses and residents. MBCP currently serves 97 percent of the eligible customer base across 16 cities and three counties that constitute the newest Monterey Bay public agency, the press release said.

"MBCP is big when it matters, small when it counts," Monterey Bay Community Power CEO Tom Habashi said. "Our service territory is large enough to afford attracting the majority of small and large energy developers and suppliers, yet small enough to move quickly when opportunities for acquiring clean, efficient and economical resources present themselves.

As part of the fast-growing, statewide Community Choice Energy (CCE) or Community Choice Aggregator (CCA) movement, Monterey Bay Community Power is playing an important role in helping the Monterey Bay region, and even the entire state of California, meet their ambitious climate-change goals, the press release said.

"MBCP continues to exceed expectations that were put forth as the first tri-county Community Choice program in the state of California," said Steve McShane, vice chair of the Monterey Bay Community Power Policy Board and city councilman for Salinas. "By retiring its debt early, MBCP exemplifies what is (sic) means to be a well-run public agency for the Monterey Bay region. I am excited for the future of MBCP in providing tangible value to its customers through outreach, education, customer rebates and customer programs."

In addition to being debt-free and fast-tracking statewide climate-action goals, Monterey Bay Community Power has made accomplishments in all three of its focus points during only seven months of operation:

Reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions

• MBchoice: Carbon-free electricity as default service offering
• MBprime: 100 percent eligible renewables service offering
• Close to 97 percent enrollment of customer electricity demand
• 90MW, 15-year New Wind Project to meet 10 percent of Monterey Bay Community Power annual demand
• 125MW Solar + 38MW storage – long term agreements near completion

Affordable rates and customer re-investment

• 3 percent rebate to all customers – est. $3.5 million applied to customer bills
• Higher rates for net energy generation for customers with on-site generation
• 2 percent of gross revenue set aside for customer energy programs – $2.5 million for Monterey Bay Community Power customers
• Over 230 voluntary customer enrollments to MBprime, MBshare and MBgreen+

Stimulate local economy

• Potential for 20MW of renewable local generation
• Employed 19 staff members, working and mostly living locally
• Supported the move of GridX, MBCP Data Manager, to our offices for a Tier 2 local call center
• Executed $450,000 in contracts with local service providers
• Hosted Cal-CCA 2018 Annual meeting at Asilomar conference center in Pacific Grove for over 300 attendees
• Sponsored and supported over 135 community events and organizations
• Examining the feasibility of partnering with MBARD and state agencies to deploy Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program for Level II and DC fast chargers in tri-county 

Monterey Bay Community Power (MBCP) provides competitively priced carbon-free electricity to our participating communities while reducing the need to consume fossil fuels to generate energy that powers all sectors of our local economy. MBCP actively promotes the economic vitality of the Monterey Bay region while preserving its clean water and air. For more information, visit www.mbcommunitypower.org.