Your Local Clean Energy Provider, At Your Service

You’ve seen “Silicon Valley Clean Energy” on your energy bill. Maybe you’ve wondered what that “generation charge” really means.

You’ve seen our Dream Home, an electric showroom at a community event. Maybe you’ve just kept walking.

Maybe until today, you’ve never considered, “Who is Silicon Valley Clean Energy?” And more importantly, “why should I care?”

We’re so glad you asked.

We’d love to tell you more about us, since we exist to serve you! Silicon Valley Clean Energy, or SVCE, is the Community Choice Aggregator (CCA) for 13 Santa Clara County communities.

So, why are we here?

We’re here because your community prioritized the need to reduce local emissions and dependence on fossil fuels (yay!). Dedicated city staff and climate warriors in your community spoke out at city council meetings and helped to shift your local government closer to a clean future with one aligned energy mission:

To reduce dependence on fossil fuels by providing carbon free, affordable, and reliable electricity and innovative programs through SVCE.

Our Board of Directors is made up of local representatives from our thirteen member communities. Each Director is an elected public official, and the alternate director can be an elected official, city staff, or member of the public appointed by the community.

Here is an overview of the timeline:

And the rest… is the history we’ve made together!

How we serve you

We’ve introduced ourselves, but who are you?

SVCE serves over 250,000 residences and 25,000 businesses. That’s over 700,000 people throughout Santa Clara County receiving clean and renewable energy procured by SVCE.

We’re proud of the impact we’ve made together.

The true magic of a CCA is the investment we make in the communities we serve. Unlike an Investor-Owned Utility (IOU) (IOUs include PG&E, SoCal Edison, SDG&E) SVCE is a public, not-for-profit agency.

How we serve the greater SVCE community

SVCE represents choice – formed by the community, for the community, giving residents and businesses like you a choice of where your power comes from. As a community agency, reinvesting locally is at the heart of what we do.

Here’s a snapshot of how SVCE is investing in its communities:

• Funding community grant projects
• Funding educational sponsorships and grants
• Community outreach and engagement
• Support for member agency planning and policy efforts
• Driving and funding local innovation
• Partnerships with community-based organizations

How it works

So, how are we able to bring all these benefits to you and your community? We were designed that way as a CCA. A CCA is an organization formed by cities and/or counties to enable local control and transparency when it comes to purchasing and/or generating electricity.

Some need-to-knows:

• CCAs are authorized in California by AB 117 (Migden, 2002). CCAs are made by law in states with enabling legislation. The desire to form CCAs came from communities wanting choice in their energy supplier after the California energy crisis that occurred in 2000 – 2001 put a hold on retail energy choice. This video does a great job of explaining our origin story and impacts today.
• CCAs operate within the service areas of IOUs like PG&E. SVCE procures the energy that runs through PG&E’s transmission lines and distribution system. That’s why you see SVCE on your PG&E bill as a generation charge and PG&E as a transmission and delivery charge (the SVCE charge replaces the PG&E generation charge and is not an extra charge!). SVCE and PG&E work together to provide electricity and to keep your lights on.
• To date, there are 25 CCAs throughout California, serving more than 14 million customers across more than 200 towns, cities, and counties.