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Clean Power Alliance (CPA) was founded by Los Angeles County and the cities of Rolling Hills Estates and South Pasadena with goals that were very ambitious: provide clean, reliable, cost competitive electricity to Southern California communities, reduce greenhouse gas emissions to address the impacts of climate change, stimulate local renewable energy development by investing in local sources, and offer local programs that improve the lives of the residents in the communities we serve. Service began in 2018 with 2,000 customer accounts.
This month, CPA is celebrating our fifth anniversary of serving our first customers and are giving thanks to the three million residents and businesses we now serve through more than one million accounts across 32 communities. We lead the nation in serving the most customers with 100% renewable energy and have become the fourth largest electricity provider in California. We are celebrating this milestone with our partner communities and customers who are actively participating in creating a more sustainable future by choosing clean energy.
Collectively, CPA customers have avoided over 6.6 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions since 2018. That is equivalent to taking 639,000 gasoline-powered cars off the road or planting 49 million trees.
“It’s extraordinary that we have reached this moment and are in the position of helping dozens of communities reach climate goals and provide their residents a cleaner, healthier environment,” said Ted Bardacke, CEO of Clean Power Alliance. “It’s taken partnership and regional commitment to get us to the point and I’m encouraged by the momentum we are seeing and looking forward to the next important chapter in our history.”
The progress is the direct result of the tireless work of renewable energy advocates who pioneered the community choice model that provides residents with cleaner energy options.
“Much of CPA’s success builds on the hard work of the countless community leaders and green energy champions who had a dream of a California powered by renewable energy and have now brought it closer to reality,” said Dr. Julian A. Gold, CPA’s Board Chair. “As we celebrate our fifth anniversary, and the 20th year of Community Choice Aggregators such as CPA in California, I am honored to work alongside such amazing leaders and staff members and am excited about the next years as we work to ensure we are making our communities greener and more resilient for future generations.”
Former Los Angeles County Board Supervisor and former CPA Board Los Angeles County Vice Chair Sheila Kuehl was on the front lines of creating and launching CPA.
“It’s truly exciting to see how far we have come since we first launched the Clean Power Alliance in order to provide affordable clean energy options to our many communities. I’m so proud to have had a hand in bringing CPA to life and happy to have seen it grow into a national leader in community choice for renewable energy.”
CPA is confronting climate change and enhancing resiliency for California’s energy grid, through historic investments in battery storage such as the Luna battery storage facility and the High Desert solar plus storage facility. Projects such as these have generated hundreds of jobs in our region and provide energy to the grid when sun and wind power sources are intermittent.
In addition to CPA’s focus on local clean energy, the past few years have also seen the launch of numerous customer focused programs that provide opportunities for our customers to actively participate in the transition to a decarbonized electricity system. Through our Power Response Smart Home demand response program customers are provided financial incentives for reducing stress on the grid and using smart technology to save energy. Power Share provides income-qualified customers in under-resourced communities with access to 100% renewable energy at a 20% discount on their monthly bills. A new community rooftop solar project coming online this year in two disadvantaged communities will provide discounted local renewable energy to more Power Share customers.
CPA investments in workforce development and scholarships are growing the next generation of green economy talent to ensure our clean energy future has skilled workers poised to move our region’s efforts ahead.
“CPA was launched to provide clean energy choices to consumers and make a difference in the lives of families and businesses throughout the Los Angeles County and Ventura County communities that we call home,” said Bardacke. “On this fifth anniversary, we celebrate our customers, stakeholders, and staff who are making Clean Power Alliance efforts central to a more sustainable future.”
Learn more about CPA programs and projects over the years in our About Us online feature.