Customer Account
Your SCE-assigned customer account number identifies your account. Please have your customer account number on hand if you would like to make changes to your Clean Power Alliance service.
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Summary of your billing detail
The first line in this section lists your total delivery charges from SCE. The second line lists your total generation charges from CPA. SCE assigns a separate service account number to track your CPA charges but these are NOT added fees – they simply replace supply/generation charges you previously received from SCE.
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Electricity usage
The amount of energy you used in the billing period, measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). Your energy usage may change significantly from month to month and year to year depending on weather, appliance use, and other factors. Increased usage is often the reason for larger bills. If you get a larger than normal bill, you can check your usage here (also check usage tiers, #7 below).
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Your rate (SCE)
In this section, “Your rate” refers to the SCE rate schedule that determines how you are charged for the delivery of electricity. The most common residential rate schedule is DOMESTIC.
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Delivery charges (SCE)
SCE’s charges for the delivery of electricity. They include the cost of moving energy from the grid to your home or business and maintaining the electric lines, are paid by all electricity customers, and are exactly the same even if you get your supply/generation from CPA. Prices may vary by season (Winter and Summer). Around June and October, your bill may reflect usage and charges for both the end of one season and the beginning of the next.
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CCA (Community Choice Aggregation) cost responsibility surcharge
These charges are paid by all electricity customers but they are itemized differently on your bill as a CPA customer. The DWR Bond Charge¹ and CTC (Competition Transition Charge)² are legacy charges related to the cost of deregulation of the California electricity system in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The PCIA, or Power Charge Indifference Adjustment³, reimburses SCE for above-market energy contracts SCE entered into in the past to serve its customers, including those now served by CPA. SCE receives these funds. CPA discounts its generation rates to account for the PCIA to keep our customers’ total bills competitive with SCE. Learn more about CPA rate options at cleanpoweralliance.org/residential-rates/
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Usage Tiers
For residential customers who are not on Time of Use (TOU) rates, this section indicates how much energy you used during the billing period at each rate tier for your SCE delivery charges. The tier levels are set by state law. Usage under Tier 2 and High Usage are charged at higher prices, which is another reason that high usage can result in an unusually high bill. CPA keeps things simple with with flat generation rates that do not vary by usage tier.
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Your rate (CPA)
In this section, “Your rate” is the CPA rate schedule that determines how you are charged for electricity supply/generation. If you are on a Time of Use (TOU) rate, the seasons and TOU periods for your CPA generation charges and your SCE delivery charges are identical.
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Generation charges (CPA)
CPA’s charge for the generation of electricity. This is NOT an additional charge. It replaces the generation charges that SCE would be collecting if it were your supply/generation provider. This section notes the CPA rate option currently selected for your account: Lean Power (36% renewable), Clean Power (50% renewable), or 100% Green Power (100% renewable).
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Energy Surcharge
This surcharge is collected from all electricity customers statewide to fund clean energy programs and projects including the activities of the California Energy Commission.
Notes
1. The DWR (Department of Water Resources) Bond Charge is a legacy charge to pay off bonds that were issued to rescue the California electricity system from the 2000-2001 energy crisis. It was set to expire in 2021 but was extended for another 15 years to establish a wildfire liability fund that Investor Owned Utilities like Southern California Edison (SCE) can draw upon in the event of a catastrophic event. This charge has been part of SCE customer bills since before Clean Power Alliance. The charges go to the State of California for potential disbursement to the Investor Owned Utilities if necessary.
2. The CTC (Competition Transition Charge) is a legacy charge related to electricity sector deregulation in the late 1990s. This charge provides an accelerated recovery of Investor Owned Utility investments made prior to deregulation. This charge has been part of SCE customer bills since before Clean Power Alliance. These charges go to SCE.
3. Although it is sometimes referred to as an “exit fee,” the PCIA (Power Charge Indifference Adjustment) collects funds to cover above-market energy contract costs that are paid for by all electricity customers, not just those who switched to a Community Choice Aggregator like CPA. These above-market costs are embedded in SCE’s generation rates for bundled SCE customers; starting next year these costs will be itemized for all customers, regardless of who is your energy supplier. These charges go to SCE.
Sergei Kotsan serves the Energy Risk Manager for Clean Power Alliance. He has over a decade of experience working on quantitative research and modelling of the wholesale power markets as well as hedging commercial risk and market monitoring. He led commercial operations at TexGen and fundamentals research at Talen Energy on the power supply side. He also has utility experience at Portland General Electric and Pacific Gas and Electric evaluating market risks and financial valuation on the demand side. In addition, he worked at the Market Monitoring Unit at CAISO, developing dashboards and preparing market reports. Sergei holds Ph.D. in Economics from West Virginia University.
Rachel serves as Project Manager, Settlements for Clean Power Alliance. Rachel is responsible for reviewing and identifying discrepancies with our California Independent System Operator (CASIO) and bilateral counterparty invoices, validating transactions of wholesale market products, and performing after the fact analysis on settlements and Congestion Revenue Rights (CRR) to influence resource optimization and CRR strategies. Prior to joining Clean Power Alliance, Rachel served as a Power Settlements Analyst at Utah Municipal Power Agency for two years where she developed and finalized all settlement processes. Rachel earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from Lewis-Clark State College.
Riju serves as the Website Developer, Communications and Marketing at CPA. He brings over 10 years of software development experience in addition to having a strong background in information technology and server infrastructure. Riju oversees all web related functions at CPA to ensure that the organization is able to effectively sustain meeting the requirements of its rapidly growing digital presence. Prior to joining CPA, Riju worked as a digital content developer at Claremont Graduate University where he developed and launched an online learning platform for the federally funded POLARIS mentoring program for museum professionals. More recently, Riju founded and operated a web development and digital marketing agency which served government organizations, non-profits, and other multi agency partners. Riju holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems & E-Business from Cal Poly Pomona. Riju supports CPA’s overall goal and mission to a cleaner, brighter future.
Jacob Adamson is an Analyst, Data and Systems, at Clean Power Alliance (CPA), where he collaborates with the Data and Systems team to develop and maintain robust data analytics frameworks. Jacob supports cross-functional departments in data enablement and business intelligence, focusing on automating reporting tasks and assisting staff with data requests. With a background in engineering, information technology, regulatory analysis, and data analytics, Jacob brings a wealth of expertise to CPA’s work in the renewable energy sector. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geological Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines, is a former licensed professional engineer in the state of Colorado, and is a GCP certified professional data engineer. Outside of work, Jacob is passionate about outdoor recreation, conservation, and engineering sustainable community development.
Ammad serves as the Analyst, Strategic Finance at CPA. He comes to CPA with 3 years of prior experience in financial planning and analysis. Ammad most recently served as a Financial Analyst at Georgia Power, the largest subsidiary of the Southern Company. In this role, he supported various areas in the Customer Experience division where he ensured timely and accurate financial reporting, conducted monthly expense forecasting, and created 5-year budgets with the approval of the Georgia PSC. He also sat on the 2024 Budget Committee where he contributed to developing guidelines for the company’s budgeting process and identifying areas for cost savings. Ammad earned his Bachelor’s in Finance from the University of Central Florida.