No, reliability will not be affected. SVCE provides electric generation services, and responsibility for power transmission, distribution, billing and service reliability remains with PG&E. PG&E continues to maintain the power distribution network.
Direct Access (DA) customer accounts are not automatically enrolled with Silicon Valley Clean Energy. DA customers in SVCE’s service area will stay with their current DA provider, unless they choose to change providers and enroll in Silicon Valley Clean Energy’s generation service.
Silicon Valley Clean Energy’s commercial rate schedules are designed to “parallel” PG&E rate schedules, and apply to generation-related charges only. For instance, SVCE maintains an equivalent schedule for all current commercial rate schedules (e.g. A-1, A-10, E-19) provided by PG&E. This includes time-of-use and NEM rate schedules.
View commercial rates.
Silicon Valley Clean Energy rate schedules describe generation-related charges only. By law, PG&E delivery charges remain the same, whether you receive generation services from SVCE or PG&E.
Only slightly. Large commercial energy customers are usually on rate schedules that have demand charges. These are complicated, comprised of generation, distribution and transmission-related charges. Demand charges are based on peak monthly kilowatt demand for a given interval. The distribution and transmission portion of the demand charge remains with PG&E, as it is on the current PG&E rate schedule. This represents the majority of the current demand charge. The rate for the smaller generation portion of the demand charge is set by SVCE.
As a Silicon Valley Clean Energy commercial customer, you are no longer eligible for PG&E’s Peak Day Pricing (PDP) program, an opt out program that offers regular rate demand credits in return for peak period energy surcharges on 9-15 event days.
SVCE customers are eligible for all other Demand Response-related programs, through direct enrollment with a program aggregator or PG&E as applicable. These include the Base Interruptible Program (BIP), Capacity Bidding Program (CBP), Demand Response Auction Mechanism (DRAM), Automated Demand Response (ADR) and others.
Yes. The California Public Utilities Commission authorizes PG&E to collect fees (called public goods charges) from all customers to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy incentive programs. PG&E will still collect these fees and Silicon Valley Clean Energy commercial customers remain eligible for the broad range of energy efficiency rebates, incentives and services currently offered by PG&E.
PG&E charges Silicon Valley Clean Energy customers a Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) and a Franchise Fee Surcharge. Both of these charges are factored into SVCE’s rate setting process so that in total, customers still save money compared to PG&E’s generation rates. The PCIA and Franchise Fee are calculated based on the number of kilowatt-hours used each month. The PCIA is intended to ensure that SVCE customers pay the difference between what PG&E paid for power contracted to serve them prior to their switch, and the current market value of that power. For most SVCE customers, the PCIA is currently two to three cents per kilowatt-hour, depending on when the customer switched to Silicon Valley Clean Energy and whether they are a residential or a commercial customer.
Other fees such as non-bypassable charges and taxes are assessed similarly by PG&E, for customers receiving their electric generation service from SVCE or PG&E.
Rates are developed by SVCE staff, and are approved by the Silicon Valley Clean Energy’s governing Board of Directors in a public meeting process.
