Huntington Beach residents will maintain its membership with the community choice energy (CCE) program following a Feb. 1 council vote.
The confirmation of program participation means local government will provide energy to power the city, rather than Southern California Edison (SCE).
The Orange County Power Authority is spearheading the effort with the regional community choice aggregate Joint Powers Authority, which will subsidize a green energy farm and obtain energy credits.
It will use the credits to purchase electricity on the open market, and resell it to people within the city, utilizing the same transmission lines as SCE.
Power will be produced by renewable energy—solar and wind—as opposed to gas.
Residents who don’t want to participate in the CCE must opt out and join SCE, to avoid automatic registration.
City council initially voted to join in the program last Dec. 10.
It moved to maintain its membership on Feb. 1, rather than withdrawing.
Councilmember Erik Peterson opposed the decision, saying government should play no part in providing energy.
“The government is inefficient for the most part,” he told The Epoch Times. “I think of every government organization, it always comes with greater costs, [and] greater overhead.”
But Councilmember Michael Posey, who voted in favor of the motion, said the move made financial sense.
“We can finance the buying [of energy cheaper than SCE],” Posey said, alluding to the tax-free advantage of a municipality, which borrows money at 4 percent, compared to SCE, which borrows money at 8 percent.
