Clean Power Alliance of Southern California (CPA) is the City's electrical supply provider, offering clean, renewable energy at competitive rates to our community. CPA purchases clean power and Southern California Edison (SCE) delivers it.

CPA is a nonprofit entity and a community choice energy program, formed through a Joint Powers Authority. CPA is made up of 35 public agencies across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, including Manhattan Beach, working together to bring affordable, clean energy to our communities. CPA now provides more customers with 100% renewable energy than any other provider in the country!

CPA was established in 2017 to provide cost competitive electrical services, reduce electric sector greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, stimulate renewable energy development, implement distributed energy resources, promote energy efficiency and demand reduction programs, and sustain long-term rate stability for residents and businesses through local control. Manhattan Beach joined CPA in December 2017.

Clean Power Alliance will purchase clean power and SCE will deliver it.

Nothing else changes - SCE will continue to deliver power to your home or business, send one bill, and be responsible for resolving any issues with your electricity service.

What is Community Choice Energy?

Community Choice Energy, also known as Community Choice Aggregation (CCE or CCA), is an association of local governments who decide to procure electricity themselves instead of buying power from the local utility. Forming a CCA allows a city to advance sustainability goals by buying more renewable power than the utility standard, saves residents on their monthly bill with lower rates, and creates local jobs. Successful CCAs such as Marin Clean Energy and Sonoma Clean Power provide 50% renewable energy at a rate 4-5% lower than the utility.

California Assembly Bill 117 passed in 2002, and established the ability for local governments to form a non-profit Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) organization (also known as Community Choice Energy) to purchase electricity from power producers for sale to their constituents. More than 90 cities and counties in California have already joined seven CCAs.

A CCA:

• Negotiates wholesale rates for electricity through contracts with power producers.
• Takes control of decision making regarding sources of electrical power to achieve sustainability goals, such as the reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.
• Provides customers with an alternative to Southern California Edison (SCE) when selecting their electricity provider.
• Sets customer rates that may be lower than SCE.
• Develops energy programs to achieve their objectives.

Participation in CPA supports the City's Strategic Goal to "Enhance, Preserve, and Protect the Environment and Health of Our Beach Community". The City has a goal to reduce its GHG emissions, and a long history of supporting efforts that lead to climate protection. Community Choice is a tool local government can use to meet GHG emissions reduction goals. Further, joining CPA gives our City an opportunity to offer its citizens a renewable alternative to meet their electricity needs.

City Action

On June 17, 2014 City Council voted to oppose AB 2145 because the legislation would make it difficult for local governments to pursue Community Choice energy programs as an alternative to traditional utility power generation. The City of Manhattan Beach sent an additional opposition letter in August 2014, stating its continued opposition to AB 2145 and its amendments. The proposed bill did not pass, and the original legislation enacting Community Choice programs remained in place.

In 2014, the City held a forum discussion for Earth Hour at which Community Choice Aggregation was discussed in a presentation by Cordel Stillman, Deputy Chief Engineer of the Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA).

On October 21, 2014, the City Council unanimously adopted a resolution to authorize staff to participate in the pre-development exploration and feasibility phase of Community Choice Aggregation in Manhattan Beach.

In September 2016, the LA County Board of Supervisors approved a motion to conduct negotiations with interested cities for a Los Angeles Community Choice Energy Authority (now known as Clean Power Alliance) Joint Powers Agreement (JPA). The JPA will govern, operate, and be liable for the program. It will have its own staff and will report to a board of directors made up of representative members of the JPA. Cities had a 180-day window (June 27 through December 27, 2017) to join the JPA and secure their own enabling CCA ordinance. Those cities that do not meet the deadline may still join at a later date but will not have the same membership privileges that cities who meet the deadline will have and may pay an entry fee to join.

On October 3, 2017, City Council received a status update on CCA programs. The City Council directed staff to bring back an enabling ordinance to implement a CCA, to approve the Joint Powers Agreement to join a JPA, and to appoint a City Council Member and up to two alternates to serve on the CPA Board on behalf of the City.

On December 5, 2017, City Council introduced an enabling ordinance to implement a CCA in Manhattan Beach and authorized the Mayor to execute a Joint Powers Agreement to join the CPA. Later that evening, the Mayor, with concurrence of the City Council, appointed Mayor Amy Howorth as board director and Mayor Pro Tem Steve Napolitano as the Primary Alternate. Environmental Manager Dana Murray was appointed as the second alternate.

On November 17, 2020, City Council voted 4-1 to increase the default efficiency rate for Manhattan Beach to 100% "Green Power". The City was originally at 50% renewable energy default rate. The change went into effect in October of 2021.

Clean Power Alliance (CPA) is a not-for-profit electricity provider serving 35 Southern California communities with clean energy options. CPA's customer programs help enhance community resilience, conserve energy, reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions, and save residents and businesses money on their electric bills. 

Residential Customers 

Clean Power Alliance offers a variety of programs and rebates for residential customers. Visit Clean Power Alliance to more about the available programs. 

Commercial Customers

Power Response - Commercial Leaders: Business owners can earn $80/kW-year for reducing energy use during high electricity demand. Eligible devices can be enrolled, or equipment can be adjusted manually to help relieve stress on the electrical grid. 

Green Leader Program: Businesses and public entities on 100% Green Power can highlight their sustainability efforts through the Green Leader program. Promote your business through marketing and networking benefits provided at no charge.

Clean Power Alliance cares about the communities it serves, and offers many programs for low-income and disadvantaged communities. If you want to keep your bill what it currently is, just give CPA a call at (888) 585-3788 or email customer service at customerservice@cleanpoweralliance.org.

CPA offers customer assistance programs that help everyone go green. Please visit their Financial Assistance webpage. A few programs include:

• Power Response program allows you to save up to $200 a year by reducing your energy usage during peak times.
• Power Share Program: Eligible residential customers can save 20% on their electric bill each month while receiving 100% clean energy and helping to save the environment. 
• Summer Discount Program: Earn up to $180 off your electric bill with the Summer Discount Plan by allowing SCE to turn off your air conditioning during emergencies or periods of high electricity demand.
• AMP is a debt-forgiveness program for customers with at least $500 in past due electricity bills with some portion at least 90 days past due.
• Budget Billing Plan offers eligible customers the opportunity to pay for their annual electricity service across equal monthly payments.
• The California Alternative Rate Energy Program (CARE) reduces energy bills for eligible customers by approximately 30%. You may qualify for CARE depending on your participation in public assistance programs or your household income.
• The Family Rate Reduction Program (FERA) reduces the electric bills of eligible households by 18%. You may qualify for FERA depending on your participation in public assistance programs or your household income.
• Medical Baseline Program: If you or someone in your household requires the regular use of electrically powered medical equipment or other qualifying medical devices, you may be eligible for our Medical Baseline Allowance program. This program provides an additional 16.5 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per day. Provided at the lowest baseline rate, this helps offset the cost of operating the medical equipment. 

In May of 2019, the Manhattan Beach City Council voted to have all City facilities powered with 100% clean, renewable energy through the City's community choice program, Clean Power Alliance (CPA).  Public entities like Manhattan Beach who are part of CPA have the option to purchase up to 100% renewable, clean electricity - procured from non-polluting, clean and renewable sources such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power. CPA does not use coal or nuclear power in any of their programs. Unlike fossil fuels, such as oil, natural gas, and coal, which cannot be replaced and produce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, renewable energy regenerates naturally in a short period of time.

Selecting the 100% Green Power energy enables Manhattan Beach to join other regional jurisdictions in meeting the California's SB 100 mandate early, to power 100% of the state's electricity consumption with zero-carbon, clean renewable energy electricity by 2045.

Joining Clean Power Alliance in December of 2017 and now deciding to move to 100% renewable energy is the most impactful environmental climate action Manhattan Beach has taken to date, and will cut the City's GHG emissions by nearly half. This is important for our own responsibility as a City, but will also count toward our State required reductions now and in the future.

Beginning October 9, 2021, the City of Manhattan Beach's default renewable energy rate moved to 100% Green Power, relying entirely on wind and solar power procured by the electricity provider, CPA.

What does this mean for you?

• Financial impact of action: Because clean energy is more expensive, the average electricity bill will increase by about 2.7% or $4.47 per month.
• Environmental impact: For most municipalities, electricity usage produces the greatest amount of greenhouse gas emissions than any other sector. Switching to 100% green energy prevents 36,603 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from being released into the atmosphere (equivalent of 603,947 trees planted or 7,942 cars off the roads).
• With the city-wide switch to 100% renewable energy, Manhattan Beach continues to be a leader in climate action and moves us toward a clean energy future. Additionally, the community is provided with a sense of pride and improvements in public health.

The City has joined many others that have switched to 100% renewable energy in Southern California including: Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Culver City, Malibu, Ojai, Oxnard, Rolling Hills Estates, Santa Monica, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, Thousand Oaks, Ventura City, Ventura County, and West Hollywood.

Though residents will automatically be enrolled in 100% renewable power as of October 2021, the choice to opt-down to other renewable energy remains an option. Residents can fill out an online form, or contact CPA customer service through phone at (888) 585-3788 or email at customerservice@cleanpoweralliance.org.

CPA Opt-Out Instructions