The City of Lancaster aggregated energy demand from its citizens to secure long-term, fixed contracts with renewable energy producers and created its own electric service provider, which offers competitively priced, clean energy.
Lancaster Choice Energy (LCE) is the City of Lancaster’s municipal energy supplier, which offers customers two tiers of renewable energy service. The first tier, Clear Choice, provides a 35% renewable plan and is the most cost-effective, with lower rates than the incumbent energy supplier. The second tier provides 100% renewable energy content for an extra $10 per month. In addition to a tiered tariff structure, LCE also pays customers $.06 per kWh for solar electricity fed back into the grid.
The City of Lancaster created LCE after becoming a Community Choice Aggregator, which is a non-profit organization capable of aggregating community energy demand in order to secure renewable energy contracts. The model, available to all communities across California, allows customers to act cooperatively, while utilizing cleaner energy options at affordable rates. Utility bill savings and positive customer experiences contribute to LCE’s 94% customer retention rate.
60K tons of CO2 expected to be saved annually from the shift to renewables
The challenge
Developing socially inclusive, clean energy tariffs with strong customer support was a serious challenge for the region’s first Community Choice Aggregator, but by focusing on schools, malls, and large businesses first, LCE could soon let the bill savings speak for themselves.
Co-benefits
Economic Lancaster’s local school districts, auto mall, and several large businesses were among its first customers. In the first year of operation, customers together saved more than $1 million in energy costs.
Environmental LCE’s efforts led to a more than threefold increase in the city’s solar power capacity in just two years, from 118 MW to 430 MW. Located in a part of California that receives 300 days of sunshine annually, Lancaster expects to reach zero-net energy status in 2017.
Social By offering renewable energy resources to citizens at affordable rates, LCE provides all of the city’s energy customers the ability to participate in climate change mitigation.
About Lancaster
Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California. As of 2013, Lancaster was the 31st largest city in California. Lancaster is part of a twin city complex with its southern neighbor Palmdale and together they are the principal cities within the Antelope Valley region and California’s High Desert. According to the Greater Antelope Valley Economic Alliance report of 2015, Lancaster has a population of 168,049.
