Effort Underway to Create Local Government Sustainable Energy Coalition

Local governments are increasingly aware of the critical roles that energy (including electricity, heating, and cooling) plays in building and maintaining sustainable communities; the environmental implications of centralized electricity production from fossil and nuclear sources, and of power delivery over long distances; the major contribution of energy activities to greenhouse gas emissions and associated climate change; the looming limitations on conventional resource supplies and infrastructure that demand more efficient resource use; and the potential to capture clean energy from community resources (such as sunlight, wind, and water) and waste streams (from landfills, wastewater treatment plants, agriculture, dairy farming, and other sources) that otherwise entail substantial disposal costs and environmental degradation.

Following the successful effort to represent local government interests in the 2004-2005 California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) rulemaking decisions on Community Choice Aggregation, a group of cities, counties, the Local Government Commission and consultants are working on a plan to create a more formal coalition to continue this work.

The utilities are well represented at the CPUC and California Energy Commission (CEC). Trade associations represent large energy consumers, labor unions, independent power producers, and others. Consumers have several groups representing them. But so far, local governments have either had to go it alone, or struggle to pull together a coalition to raise the substantial funds needed to participate in a CPUC proceeding.

This effort strives to put local governments on an equal footing with other interest groups in their interactions with the CPUC and CEC. The information provided here is still in the draft stage. Comments from local governments are welcome.

The Local Government Sustainable Energy Coalition (LGSEC) will be an association of California public entities formed to share information and resources to strengthen and leverage their communities’ commitments to a sustainable energy future – a future that provides for essential energy resources, restrains energy demand, increases energy efficiency and renewable energy production, and improves energy security and reliability, while enhancing environmental values and community well-being.

LGSEC’s mission will be to provide a central resource to help California cities, special districts, counties and regional governments to:

• Stay informed of energy policy, regulatory and market developments affecting their interests;
• Expand local competence to shape energy issues and developments;
• Share energy experience and expertise that can benefit other communities;
• Leverage their resources to inform and advocate in public forums for energy policies and programs that support local sustainability initiatives; and
• Empower them to speak with a credible and cohesive voice on energy matters affecting their communities.

LGSEC’s initial goals will be to:

1. Establish decision-making, funding and staffing mechanisms for joint representation of Coalition interests in priority proceedings before state agencies, and on selected legislative proposals affecting local and regional energy interests. Examples include:
   • CPUC post-2005 Energy Efficiency proceedings
   • California Solar Initiative
   • CPUC Water Action Plan & CEC Water & Energy RD&D
   • CPUC& CEC Distributed Resource proceedings
   • Greenhouse gas reduction and utility procurement proceedings
2. Develop a web-based system accessible to participating entities that will monitor, analyze, and report on important energy policy, regulatory, and market developments likely to impact their activities and constituents.
3. Enhance local government capabilities to integrate sustainable energy practices and energy efficiency initiatives with demand response and the development of clean, efficient local energy supply options from renewable, recyclable and waste resources.

LGSEC will be a coalition of like-minded local governments that believe that local governments can increase their influence on the impacts, availability and reliability of future energy use in California by speaking with one voice at regional, state, and federal venues. The LGSEC proposes the following basic principles as a foundation for planning and action to secure a sustainable energy future for our communities and the larger regions they comprise.

1. Local governments should recognize energy as a critical element of community planning, health and prosperity, and should dedicate community resources to understanding energy issues and influencing their outcome.
2. Local governments should develop, acquire, and apply the expertise needed to plan, advocate, and implement energy initiatives that strengthen their communities and contribute to regional energy capacity.
3. Local governments should proactively identify and develop community resources that enhance clean, efficient energy usage, supply, and delivery.
4. Local governments recognize the strong linkage between energy-related activities, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate change concerns, and should ensure not only that community energy usage, supply, and delivery do not exacerbate these problems, but contribute to their solution.
5. Communities should recognize their individual responsibility and seize the opportunity to supplement conventional forms of energy supply and delivery with local resources that reduce energy consumption and peak demand, increase clean, efficient and renewable supply, diversify the resource base, integrate community needs, and strengthen local self-reliance and emergency response.
6. Local and regional entities should commit to implementing a preferred ‘loading order’ for energy resources, according the highest priority to energy efficiency and demand response, then to renewable resources and distributed generation such as combined heat and power, then to clean and efficient fossil-fired generation and improved delivery infrastructure.
7. Communities should redouble efforts to integrate local and regional energy usage, production, and delivery systems with other community initiatives such as zoning, green building standards, waste disposal, transportation, economic and redevelopment.
8. Community energy initiatives should take advantage of distinctive community and regional resources, recognizing that differing local circumstances support differing approaches to energy sustainability.
9. Local and regional governments should actively support and participate in effective joint representation before government agencies responsible for energy policy and implementation, and should advocate for and protect community interests in sustainable energy alternatives.

We are in the process of developing the governing structure and membership costs, and the roles and responsibilities of participants. If you would like to learn more about LGSEC, or have ideas or comments to share on what we have developed so far, please contact Pat Stoner, Local Government Commission, pstoner@lgc.org, or call (916) 448-1198, ext 309.

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