All electricity customers in the city of Los Banos now have the choice to receive cleaner power at lower rates without having to sign up or install solar panels on their roofs.

Peninsula Clean Energy since April 2022 is delivering greener electricity to Los Banos at a 5% savings compared to the electricity mix provided by PG&E.

Peninsula Clean Energy is a joint powers authority comprised of the City of Los Banos and all 20 cities within San Mateo County. The governing boards representing these jurisdictions all took action to join Peninsula Clean Energy.

Peninsula Clean Energy, which has been the official electricity provider for San Mateo County since 2016, has already saved its San Mateo County customers approximately $90 million since 2016. At a time when PG&E is raising its electricity rates across the state, the discount that customers will receive from the power generated by Peninsula Clean Energy could not come at a better time.

In October 2020, the Los Banos City Council voted to join Peninsula Clean Energy to not just bring cleaner and less expensive electricity but also allow Los Banos residents and businesses to enjoy a wide range of rebates, incentives, and other programs to help customers save even more on electric appliances, electric vehicles and emergency backup power.

Here’s how it will work:

Peninsula Clean Energy is a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) public agency.  As a CCA, Peninsula Clean Energy provides electricity generation, which is the source of your power.

PG&E will continue to own and operate existing wires, poles and other infrastructure to deliver the power generated by Peninsula Clean Energy to participating homes and businesses. PG&E also still owns and reads electric meters and provides the same maintenance and other repair services they always have. And customers will continue to receive their bills from PG&E and pay them in the same ways as before.

Customers with a special bill discount such as CARE, FERA, or Medical Baseline, don’t need to worry – it will remain in place. These customers will also enjoy additional savings tied to Peninsula Clean Energy’s discounted generation rates, which will show up as a separate line item on the PG&E bill.

Note that PG&E recently increased its rates for electricity delivery service, which all customers pay whether they belong to a CCA or not. The good news is that Peninsula Clean Energy customers’ electricity generation rates will be 5% less than if they purchased it from PG&E.

Energy customers won’t need to do anything to become a Peninsula Clean Energy customer because enrollment is automatic. Since April 2022, Los Banos customers are enrolled in Peninsula Clean Energy’s default service plan, ECOplus.

The average household will enjoy a few dollars of savings on their monthly energy bill compared to what they would otherwise pay, while receiving cleaner power.   

Customers also have the choice to opt out of Peninsula Clean Energy services and continue purchasing their electricity generation through PG&E. Keep an eye out for enrollment notices that have been mailed starting in February to all City of Los Banos customers explaining these new energy choices.

Peninsula Clean Energy launched in San Mateo County with a vision to build a sustainable world with clean energy for everyone. Peninsula Clean Energy purchases energy generated from clean sources like Wright Solar, a large solar farm on Billy Wright Road just outside of Los Banos. This local solar farm generates clean solar energy exclusively for Peninsula Clean Energy customers.

Learn more about Peninsula Clean Energy’s services, upcoming workshops, and frequently asked questions at PenCleanEnergy.com/los-banos or call them at 1-866-966-0110.

Sandra Benetti

Associate Manager of Community Relations, Peninsula Clean Energy