Local Clean Energy Alliance of the Bay Area

Our Community Choice Energy program, Ava Community Energy, has proposed to develop a Customer Programs Strategic Roadmap and has put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) to seek potential consultants who will support the development of an agency-wide strategic plan or framework to guide program design and deployment from 2027-2032 to ensure that Ava Community Energy delivers customer programs focused on decarbonization, affordability, and other community priorities.

In August, the California Supreme Court ruled that the California Court of Appeals must revisit the decision regarding solar Net Energy Metering 3.0 (NEM 3.0). We celebrate the CA Supreme Court ruling that gives rooftop solar supporters their right to appeal, after the disastrous gutting of net energy metering by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in 2022.

This summer, we worked with our good friends at Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA) to present information about LCEA’s campaign efforts on Community and Climate Resilience at their Union City, San Francisco, and Oakland offices. 

 Local Clean Energy Alliance, along with Emerald Cities Collaborative, and our longtime and new community partners, hosted several community listening sessions. These listening sessions brought community based organizations, places of worship, community health organizations and city officials together in the same space. 

 Local Clean Energy Alliance (LCEA), the California Alliance for Community Energy, and 10 other organizations signed onto a “Friends of the Court” amicus brief, filed on December 20, with the California Supreme Court by a legal team at the Environmental Law & Justice Clinic.

The brief is in support of the original petition by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), Environmental Working Group, and Protect Our Communities Foundation. The petition objected to the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) Net Energy Metering (NEM) 3.0 decision and the refusal of the CA Appeals Court to consider that case.

 LCEA, in collaboration with Reclaim Our Power (ROP) and other partner organizations, is actively fighting against corporate greed and injustice in California’s energy system. On December 19th, just before the Christmas holiday, LCEA joined ROP and various organizations to rally outside the CPUC building in San Francisco to demand they vote against a proposed rate hike that keeps Aliso Canyon gas storage facility and Diablo Canyon Nuclear power plant open.

Challenges, Victories, and Movement Building Highlights

In 2024, where one door closed, many more opened. The Local Clean Energy Alliance (LCEA) rose from mourning the loss of long-time LCEA Coordinator Al Weinrub to find itself reinvigorated with new staff and a firm footing in growing energy democracy. With your support, we advanced community driven resilience hubs, advocated for equity in electrification, challenged the state’s gutting of rooftop solar incentives and fought against false solutions like nuclear energy.

Karinuelle Krisdiva is a Research Analyst Intern at the Local Clean Energy Alliance. She holds a Master’s in International Relations from San Francisco State University, graduating summa cum laude and receiving the Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence. Her academic focus has been on the intersections of international political economy and energy policy.

Kathy Liang is currently an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley. She is passionate about research, advocacy and community work around fostering an equitable clean energy transition. She joined LCEA in October, 2023 and has then worked on energy policy analysis, energy equity campaigns, home electrification education for underprivileged communities, and resilience hub planning. She enjoys gardening, reading, and playing tennis in her free time.