Please let us know what you think about where you get, and would like to get, your power.

The City is seeking input from Palm Desert residents regarding their electric power, the price and sustainability of that power, and whether they would be interested in purchasing it locally rather than from a large utility. The City of Palm Desert values input from its residents and business community. We hope you will participate in this survey to share your thoughts about your electric power and who you buy it from.

Background:

Communities across California are looking into a different way to acquire power for their communities – Community Choice Aggregation (CCA).

CCAs are a relatively new and increasingly popular way for local governments to buy wholesale electricity and sell it to their residents and businesses. The utilities, such as Southern California Edison (SCE), would still maintain the power lines and other infrastructure that delivers the electricity, but the CCA would replace the utility as the power purchaser/broker.

Most residents and businesses in Palm Desert get their electrical power from SCE, an investor owned utility. The Imperial Irrigation District (IID) serves a relatively small number of Palm Desert customers, but because IID is a public utility, State law does not allow its customers to participate in CCAs.

CCAs differ from investor owned utilities, like SCE, by providing more local control over the source of the purchased energy. CCAs can choose to acquire more of their power from renewable sources, such as solar and wind generation, than from coal or gas-fired power plants. CCAs also provide increased local control over any revenues resulting from the sale of the power to customers.

Because large utilities typically enter long-term contracts to purchase energy, the price they pay for power can be higher (or lower) than the market price a CCA would pay. Current market prices are allowing many CCA customers to save money on their utility bills.

The Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG) is looking into forming a CCA that would include some Coachella Valley cities including, potentially, the City of Palm Desert.

The City wants to know what you think and whether you would be interested in purchasing your power from a Coachella Valley CCA rather than an investor owned utility like Southern California Edison. City leaders will review your feedback and consider it as part of their decision making process on whether to participate in a CCA.