Update: Current and Future MCE Electricity Rates

Due to increased electricity usage during the cold winter months, many of our customers have been receiving higher bills than usual. Some customers have been using twice or even three times as much electricity as they normally use to stay warm during this year’s exceptionally cold December and January months. To help customers better understand the charges on their bill, we at Marin Clean Energy wanted to reach out to customers about their current charges and what they can expect from MCE through 2013.

One of the biggest misconceptions about MCE is that our charges are an added premium to electricity bills. It’s a reasonable misunderstanding – electricity bills can be quite complex and are far from self-explanatory. But the fact is MCE electric generation charges replace the charges normally assessed by PG&E for electric generation. In addition, PG&E assesses certain smaller charges on our customers for leaving their standard service, which we always include in cost comparisons. In most cases, because MCE rates are currently lower than PG&E’s, our residential and commercial customers are paying lower electric bills with MCE than they would with PG&E’s standard service.

While protecting the environment is important to us, we recognize the importance of competitive and stable rates, and typically only change our rates once per year. The MEA Board of Directors, made up of locally elected officials from each of its member jurisdictions, is reviewing a proposed rate increase of about 7%. The proposed rate change would cover the cost of procuring 50% renewable electricity for MCE customers. This increase is needed to reflect the rising cost of energy in the market. Even with this modest increase, the total cost of service for MCE customers will remain very comparable to PG&E’s. On average, residential customers will pay about $0.90 more for MCE’s 50% renewable energy service than they would with PG&E’s 20% renewable energy service. Most commercial customers should continue to see a small savings with MCE.

The proposed rates are scheduled for approval by the MEA Board at a public meeting on April 4^th, following input from MCE customers. These rates, including a rate calculator which shows how they will affect customer bills, are available for review on our website at www.mceCleanEnergy.com/rates. Hard copies are also available at MCE’s offices at 781 Lincoln Avenue, Suite 320, San Rafael. We encourage customers to provide input on the proposed rates by emailing us at info@mcecleanenergy.com, or by submitting comments in-person at our monthly Board meetings.

MCE is proud to offer price stability and affordability to its customers. Adjusting rates is common practice for electricity providers given the fluctuating cost of energy, regulations, and other market factors. MCE typically sets its rates annually, and the newly proposed April rates are expected to stay in effect until April 2014. Therefore, we expect our rates to be quite competitive for the foreseeable future.