CARLSBAD — The Clean Energy Alliance is exploring options to ease the burden of rising energy rates, as preliminary data indicate that monthly bills could exceed those of San Diego Gas & Electric in the coming year.
Formed in 2019, the Clean Energy Alliance, or CEA, is a community choice aggregate providing alternative energy resources to multiple North County cities. The group began servicing Carlsbad, Del Mar, and Solana Beach in 2021 and has since expanded to include Escondido, San Marcos, Vista, and Oceanside.
As 2026 rate projections begin to materialize, CEA leaders have been discussing ways to temporarily reduce customer costs for those struggling to make ends meet.
While projections still need to be updated at the end of the year, data indicate that most customers could pay between $5.27 and $9.96 more on their monthly bill than under SDG&E’s bundled rate, depending on their vintage (the year they began CEA service).
Residents across the region are seeking relief from rising utility costs and the overall cost of living.
“Anything that would reduce rates would be welcome,” Oceanside resident Daniel Dominguez said at a Nov. 20 board meeting. “This is an extraordinary time for people.”
CEA staff said rising rates can be attributed to an increase in Power Charge Indifference Adjustment, or PCIA, rates. These rates, which are baked into monthly charges for SDG&E but appear as a separate line item on CEA bills, reflect the difference between the actual costs SDG&E pays for energy resources and their current market value.
The PCIA has an inverse relationship with market rates for renewable energy — when one rises, the other falls. Currently, the market value of utility portfolios is declining, which is driving up PCIA rates.
CEA customers aren’t the only ones facing this rise in PCIA rates, according to public utilities law firm Keyes and Fox LLP, which advises CEA.
“The increases are large across the board,” said Tim Lindl of Keyes and Fox.
At the Nov. 20 meeting, Clean Energy Alliance CEO Greg Wade presented several rate relief options, including reducing rates across all rate classes and allowing customers to opt down to CEA’s base plan to achieve rate parity with SDG&E.
Two options are to reduce rates by 3% or 5% across all rate classes. While this would reduce the premium paid by CEA residential customers relative to SDG&E, they would still pay slightly more per month on average, and the agency would lose between $12 million and $20 million in annual revenue.
CEA has also considered providing low-income customers with energy assistance credits on their bills. However, SDG&E’s billing system does not allow a credit to be passed to a customer if it results in a negative amount owed to CEA, leaders said.
The final option, preferred by CEA staff and the board, would allow Clean Impact Plus customers who voluntarily opt down to the base level of CEA service to pay an amount equal to or less than SDG&E’s bundled service.
New CEA customers are enrolled by default in Clean Impact Plus, the second-tier service, which includes 50% renewable energy and 75% carbon-free energy. Around 92% of CEA’s approximately 275,000 accounts are enrolled in Clean Impact Plus, according to Wade.
Currently, customers can opt down from Clean Impact Plus to the base product Clean Impact (50% renewable energy only) to achieve minimal cost savings. However, under this rate relief option, CEA would adjust the Clean Impact rate to align with SDG&E’s rate for that vintage.
“For the 2017 vintage, you can see that for Solana Beach, it would be $180 — same as SDG&E — and then for all other customers who enrolled in that product, you see rate savings,” Wade said, referencing sample projection data.
At the board’s direction, CEA will continue to work with the consultant Calpine Energy Services to develop a process for implementing this rate-parity option. The board will hold a public hearing in January 2026 to consider the proposed rate relief and a timeline for implementation.
Across these options, the agency also needs to consider how to maintain financial stability, leaders said.
One of CEA’s main goals is to achieve an investment-grade credit rating, which would reduce collateral requirements and lower overall energy prices. One way to achieve the rating is to maintain a certain number of days’ liquidity on hand relative to daily costs.
At this point, the agency is aiming to achieve this rating by late 2027 or early 2028.
Wade said that while the percentage decrease in rates would negatively impact the organization’s financial position and timeline for obtaining the credit rating, the opt-down option would carry far fewer risks.
“It has the least impact to our net position, relatively no impact to our days liquidity on hand and our ability and timeline for applying for and receiving a credit rating, which can reduce costs overall, not only to our portfolio over time, but also to our rate payers,” Wade said.
Wade said that letting people know about the program will require a somewhat counterintuitive marketing approach, as CEA balances sharing information with those most in need with the risk that all Clean Impact Plus customers opt down simply because it’s cheaper.
Because of this, Wade suggested relying on a “word of mouth” strategy for telling the highest-need customers.
Some board members questioned how this would work and said they want to share news about this rate relief program on social media with their communities most impacted, including low-income, Spanish-speaking, and senior residents.
“I just think about the members in my district that are underserved … how do we get this information out there to let them know that this will be an option?” asked CEA Board Member and Oceanside City Councilmember Jimmy Figueroa. “On a fixed income, every dollar matters.”
Wade said staff can bring back a plan for targeted marketing to those most in need.
At this point, CEA plans to implement this rate relief program for residential customers only, but the board said they need more information before they can authorize it for commercial customers as well.
“Its difficult to balance our long-term financial goals with the immediate needs or our constituents, and just the cost challenges that they’re experiencing,” said CEA Board Chair and Vista City Councilmember Katie Melendez.
The rate relief program would be in place for approximately 12 months, with staff assessing its impact before deciding whether to extend it.
CEA will present to the city councils of several member cities in the coming weeks. Some cities have already been discussing the impacts of rising rates.
At a Del Mar City Council meeting on Dec. 1, CEA Board Member and Del Mar City Councilmember John Spelich told his fellow council members that it’s not a guarantee anymore that renewable energy is the more cost-effective plan for customers.
“When they sold CEAs to CCAs, they said, ‘we’re always gonna be less expensive than SDGE.’ That is not true anymore, full stop. Now, my sense is, it’s gonna morph to, ‘how much does it mean to you to be more aligned on renewable energy?’” he said.
