Thank you for your coverage of this great news for Novato residents.

Extremely pleased! I watched the council meeting till this joyful end - thank you Madeline, Denise and Carole - you did the right thing by us! I'm looking forward to signing up "deep green" -- I believe the additional expense (minimal for my family) will be more than worth it. I can think of few gifts I could give my children and grandchildren (OK, anything Star Wars would be much preferred by my grandson) than my household being able to lower our greenhouse gas use. Though a small contribution, this is how positive change often works. So kids, here's to you - and your cleaner, greener future! Thanks to those who stayed late and spoke on behalf of MCE/MEA - and again to Denise, Carole and Madeline for giving us this choice!!!

Thank you very much to the three council members who voted to give us not only the choice of power providers, but also access to the rebates and other help that MEA provides to people who want to install solar in their homes. I've been waiting for this eagerly. Soon Novato will be the leading solar generator among all Marin cities!

Dawn Weisz looks so happy in the picture!..oh, wait, she is paid $198k per year for managing 4 people, who basically just sign contracts with Shell (not exactly a green company) to purchase power. Want to go green?...change your light bulbs, clean your furnace filters, install solar panels...this is nothing more than a doubling of bureaucracy, but it is cloaked in green. They do not prepare your bills, they do not fix your power lines, they aren't there to re-light your pilot light.

Well choice is always good although I am suspicious of having to opt out of something rather than making a decision to join. It is like those "free" for 30 day deals, on the 31st day you spend 2 hours on the phone trying to not be billed by opting out.
I also like renewable energy choices but I would like to see a simple chart that shows 1. How much renewable energy each $100 gets you from either provider.
2. Where the non-renewable energy portion comes from. Bob mentioned Shell not a favorite choice for anything.
3. The costs differences between MEA & PG&E the above
4. How much it costs for that 100% renewable option
5. How much does PG&E remain responsible for the infrastructure and does MEA have the ability to handle if PG&E no longer is an option or chooses to raise their costs to MEA.
That way we can make an informed decision without all the rhetoric.
I will say it is nice to see the Council make decisions whether you agree or not it is better than being mired in the mud. Thank you to all of them for volunteering so much of their time to our town. It is sometimes a thankless job and I for one although not always in agreement am grateful for their service.

I will opt out....I already get my natural gas from out of state.

Here is the link:
http://tigernaturalgas.com/service-areas/

I am not going to pay higher electrical rates for green energy.
I am sticking with PG&E for electrical power for now. Wish I could go out of state to get my electrical power.

The PG&E union employees are getting the shaft by the greens.
Liberals are nutz!

I think MCE is a better solution than all the state mandated land use requirements for high density housing near transit stops. And more likely to have a real impact on green house gasses.

Tiger is available for commerical on electricity.
DIRECT ACCESS PHASE 3 UPDATE!
The Open Enrollment Window (OEW) for Year 3 of the Direct Access (DA) Program has now closed. PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E are no longer accepting notices. The OEW for Year 4 will open in January 2012; we will continue to accept our customers’ forms but will be unable to submit them to the utilities until that time.If you have any questions regarding the DA Program OEW Year 3, please contact our Marketing Department at (888) 875-6122, or email electricity@tigernaturalgas.com.
California Electricity Announcement

Tiger is excited to announce we are offering Electricity service in California! As you may know, the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) is partially opening up the state’s electric service to competition. The program is known as Direct Access (“DA”) and will allow Non-Residential customers to have a choice of purchasing Electricity from an independent Electric Service Provider (Tiger) rather than from their Local Utility Company. The CPUC has set limits as to how many customers will be allowed to switch each year. Please Note: If you have any interest in switching to DA service, you have a very limited time period to notify your Utility Company of your interest.

Marla, with regard to losing a $500 rebate on your furnace: PG&E and all utilities have had appliance rebate programs since you were a child--you just didn't check list of qualifying models on the PG&E website--of course, now, it's too late for that...I'll be opting out- thanks.

Thank you to all the tremendous speakers who passionately spoke in favor of Marin Clean Energy and for the leadership of Mayor Kellner, and Council members Athas and Dillon-Knutson who also voted in support. The City of Novato now can reduce their carbon footprint as mandated by law without having to spend a dime just by allowing their residents and businesses a choice of greener energy. Marin Clean Energy also offers a tremendous net metering/solar program that is far superior to anything PG&E has, and hundrreds of current MCE customers have already taken advantage of that and are receiving refunds for their solar generation. Imagine how our cash-strapped schools could produce energy all summer long with rooftop solar while school is closed and sell it at market rate to MCE, thereby allowing a tremendous source of revenue to be generated along with renewable energy. There are so many benefits of competition, but Bob, if you prefer to stick with PG&E's mix of largely nuclear and fossil fuel and under 20% renewable energy, that is your right. We just want the right to have an alternative choice, and now we do!

Bob,

I also have solar on my rooftop; however, if I create any excess energy, PG&E doesn't pay me for it and the credits don't carry over after my annual "true-up" period. Marin Clean Energy will pay market rate for energy generation of solar as it helps them meet their goals of locally-produced renewables, and the credits can carryover. What this does is incentivize people to oversize their solar installations, and use it as a way to generate profit. I would guess you have a large house if you have 36 panels, but you should check and see if you are producing more energy than you are using. If so rather than having no bill, you could actually get a monthly check in the mail from MCE. I only have 18 panels on my roof, but will look into adding more once I am a customer of MC&E as it only covers about 90% of our energy needs for now. Isn't it nice to have choices? And Gail is right, this is by far, the most fiscally prudent way to reduce our mandated greenhouse gas emission reductions and a more likely scenrio than any transit-oriented development which won't pan out in this economy or offer the same level of reductions even if it could.

Marla
That is correct, the credits don't carry over after the annual true up period. That is interesting about the carryover, but unfortunately it doesn't apply to us, as we have to pay out annually.

Current rates at pge
.03552 Base
.04384
.12463
.14449
.14449

MEA rates

ENERGY CHARGE ($/KWH)

TIER 1 (Baseline Usage).................................... 0.037
TIER 2 (101-130% of Baseline).......................... 0.045
TIER 3 (131-200% of Baseline).......................... 0.134
TIER 4 (201-300% of Baseline).......................... 0.185
TIER 5 (Over 300% of Baseline)........................ 0.215

It pays to be green! Pay more...silly liberal!

So McLeamy and Kellner were No on Novato joining MEA, with the rest yes. When will Novato government agencies and more importantly, the candidates running for office for these agencies, announce their positions on whether they would vote to go along with MEA or to opt out and stick with PGE? Aside from environmental concerns there would be financial consequences for Novato agencies.

Already opted out!

Finally, Novato joins the 21st century and moves toward creating a greener, cleaner future and a sustainable environment. Sincere thanks to Madeline, Denise and Carole. Now we have a choice, and those who prefer to stay with PG&E have that choice as well. Please remember which city council members voted to join MEA, when it is time to place our votes in the next city council election.

Lloyd
It is all inter-connected, and SB375 connects to UN agenda 21...look it up. Agenda 21 is basically the idea behind "stack em and pack em". Local choice should rule, but it doesn't in this area. As an aside I rode my motorcycle down SFD on Sunday afternoon past the Art and Garden Center in Ross, and just chuckled a lot...Sausalito will be under water before Ross does AH.

Great decision. Being able to choose your energy provider always trumps being subject to a monopoly.

Thank you to Mayor Kellner and Councilmembers Athas and Dillon-Knutson for their yes votes. I am so excited to finally have a choice. And for those who oppose Marin Clean Energy - just think - you will be able to exercise your own choice to opt-out or opt-in. Democracy in action!!

How much more will this cost the city of Novato? We are now on the hook to pay higher rates through MEA for all of the city services. City fathers and mothers, you should have stayed away from this. Shame on you!

You claim you don't have money for police officers and fire men and then you increase you utility bills...Shame on you!

Opt out - this is where you have to go in April 2012 to Opt out

http://www.marincleanenergy.info/index.php?option=com_jforms&view=form&id=3&Itemid=114

Marin Clean Energy | 781 Lincoln Avenue, St. 320 | San Rafael, CA 94901 | (888) 632-3674

Tea bags - why are you so threatened by MEA. No one is forcing you to be a customer. And no one will force the City of Novato to be a customer. That is what REAL choice is all about. I do not, for the life of me, see the harm in this.

I'm sorry, but it is well known that Joe Nation is paid by PG&E. He doesn't even try to hide it. (If you don't believe me, go and watch the video from County of Marin Board of Supervisors' meetings when MCE was first being considered). If you're listening to him, you are definitely getting only one side of the story and are certainly not getting all the facts. But as I said, I have no interest in arguing about this. It will be up to each individual.

Mark,

Joe nation was a highly paid lobbyist for PG&E, and these talking points of doom and gloom did not materialize. In fact, MEA paid off its obligaitons to County early and is in such good financial health that the consolidated bank loan didn't even require any cosignatures.

Skip a vacation and do more for the environment than anything else!

Some perspective, in case you missed it: Flying from New York to San Francisco = 2.5 Tons of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, per http://planetgreen.discovery.com/travel-outdoors/cross-country-flight-carbon.html. So, 840,000 tons minus m 560,000 tons, (Current minus future Marin GHG output savings due MEA, from another Patch article) equals 280,000 tons. Divide that by 2.5 tons per trip and you get 112,000 one-way trips, or 56,000 round trips from San Francisco to the Big Apple. population of the three towns, Novato, Larkspur, and Corte madera is around 74,000, give or take. (In the US there are probably at least 5,000 airplane trips per day, of various lengths, per http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061127045006AA0NreR).

For fun go to http://www.whatsmycarbonfootprint.com/calculate.htm

Marla,
No, that wasn't the case with my friend in Mill Valley. She contacted MCE to opt out and was told ok it's complete, you are opted out. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. she went thru this for over three months before MCE got it right. BTW, my friend just told me this today.

Patrice and Marla - I know that you are some of the biggest supporters of MCE but the fact is that regardless of whether or not Joe Nation was lobbying for PG&E the fact remains that the member cities (and therefore their residents) are on the hook to cover any loans taken out by MCE. Other points to consider is that MCE is not regulated by the CPUC and can set their rates to whatever they want. They even clearly state that their current rates are 'initial' rates and subject to change. If rates rise significantly then more county residents could opt out and then MCE could run into trouble paying off their loans. MCE also signing long term contracts up front and locking in a rate and if energy prices drop in the future they are still obligated to pay the higher rate.

While issues like these may or may not come to pass I think it is pollyannish to run around feeling so 'green' and being obvlivious to the risks. The public should have been presented with the pros and the cons and asked to vote on joining instead of leaving the decision to three council members who have other interests at heart then the prudent fiduciary oversight of taxpayer funds which come from and belong to the city residents.

Marla I do have a couple of basic questions. First let me say that choice is always better then no choice. I have been following this thread and I am concerned about what if any obligation the City of Novato can incur by joining MEA. Specifically is there some contract the City signs that obligates the town to debt incurred by MEA however unlikely, should it come to be? If not why is Mark suggesting there is? If so what is the actual worst case scenario? I am a little uncomfortable going into something that has strings. With PG&E at least the devil we know so to speak. There are no mega-million dollar obligations that could literally bankrupt the town if something bad and unforeseen occurred. Our portion of a $375 Million debt for Marin could be catastrophic.
The second question is this opt out policy. You explained that in the past people were unknowingly talking to the wrong parties. Regardless of blame wouldn't it make much more sense to have people take a proactive step and join MEA if that is their desire then this convoluted passive switch over that phone companies used to do and were found to be illegal, confusing and misleading. After all I have been a PG&E customer forever. If I want to join MEA and that is an option shouldn't it be up to me to voice the choice. Anytime, as I said earlier, you have to opt out it feels very wrong to me.
I'll look forward to hearing from you.

Mark and Lloyd - First of all, neither the City of Novato, or any other jurisdiction in the JPA has any financial obligations to the MEA. Early this year MEA paid back start-up loans from the Town of Fairfax and the County of Marin used as guarantees for their initial bank loan. (here is an excerpt from a local newspaper at the time - "Marin Energy Authority Interim Executive Director Dawn Weisz presented the town of Fairfax with a check for $7,300 Wednesday at the Fairfax Town Council meeting. The check was a payment for the $100,000 loan guarantee the town gave the fledgling authority last year as it brought Marin Clean Energy to the grid. Earlier this month, MEA also paid back $540,000 that was approved by the Marin County Board of Supervisors in 2008. In addition, a newly-consolidated loan relieves the county of a $950,000 loan guarantee along with the $100,000 guarantee by the town of Fairfax."

Mark and Lloyd - secondly, governance is through a Joint Powers Authority (JPA), which places a firewall between the MEA and its parties. There was a lengthy discussion of this indemnification at the City Council meeting on Tuesday evening. Here is an excerpt from MEA's Bylaws: "As provided by Section 2.3 of the Agreement, the debts, liabilities and obligations of the Authority shall not be debts, liabilities or obligations of the individual Parties unless the governing board of a Party agrees in writing to assume any of the debts, liabilities or obligations of the Authority. A Party who has not agreed to assume an Authority debt, liability or obligation shall not be responsible in any way for such debt, liability or obligation even if a majority of the Parties agree to assume the debt, liability or obligation of the Authority."

All these documents are available on MEA's website. Hope this answers your questions

Patrice so as long as there is no agreement to assume debt by Novato, which you are saying is the case we are clear of any burden. Excellent. Thank you for the info.

Mark - I promised myself I was not going to argue with folks on this forum, but I just couldn't resist responding to what you said - "The public should have been presented with the pros and the cons and asked to vote on joining instead of leaving the decision to three council members who have other interests at heart then the prudent fiduciary oversight of taxpayer funds which come from and belong to the city residents."

There are NO taxpayer funds used to pay for this!!! And Isn't it MORE democratic to allow EACH resident of Novato decide whether they want to get their power from PG&E or MCE - rather than three Councilmembers deciding for all of us that our only option is PG&E? How would that be more fair?

Patrice,

I am only trying to ensure transparency. According to your statement "unless the governing board of a Party agrees in writing to assume any of the debts, liabilities or obligations of the Authority". Has Novato agreed to assume any liability? Is there anything preventing the city for assuming liability in the future?

While I strongly dislike the opt out instead of opt in policy of the MEA if we can be ensured that the city will not be placing itself in any jeopardy by entering into the agreement then I have no arguement other than the fact that the council represents the residents and should do more to seek public opinion before making decisions. Obviously two council members disagreed with the vote.

Couple points on Novato's energy situation. First, Novato residents should be the ones voting directly for or against joining the MAE. Yes, we have elected officials assisting in the management of our town but some issues as significant as this should be put to the residents direct vote. Secondly, if there's an "opt in" or an "opt out" choice, it should be that we residents have to "opt in" not "opt out" of something.

All for clean energy that is dependable and reasonably priced. Will see how this plays out and will keep it in mind come voting time.

Why MEA doesn't add up http://www.marinij.com/opinion/ci_18998876