Empowered communities: The rise of community choice aggregation in the United States

Empowered communities: The rise of community choice aggregation in the United States

Community choice aggregation (CCA) is an emerging model of energy procurement that allows local governmental entities to procure electricity on behalf of retail electricity customers. Through CCA, local governments can control local electricity portfolios while investor-owned utilities remain respon...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energy policy Vol. 132; no. C; pp. 1110 - 1119
Main Authors: O'Shaughnessy, Eric, Heeter, Jenny, Gattaciecca, Julien, Sauer, Jenny, Trumbull, Kelly, Chen, Emily
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01-09-2019
Elsevier Science Ltd
Elsevier
Subjects:
Agglomeration
Communities
Community
Community choice aggregation
Customers
Deregulation
Electric utilities
Electricity
Electricity markets
Energy
ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
Energy policy
Expansion
Government procurement
Local government
Markets
Portfolios
Renewable energy
Renewable resources
Retail choice
United States > US
Deregulation
Renewable energy
Community choice aggregation
Retail choice
Electricity markets
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Summary:Community choice aggregation (CCA) is an emerging model of energy procurement that allows local governmental entities to procure electricity on behalf of retail electricity customers. Through CCA, local governments can control local electricity portfolios while investor-owned utilities remain responsible for transmission and distribution. In this article, we use a combination of publicly-available data, data obtained directly from CCAs, and stakeholder interviews to explore the rise of CCAs, the current and potential future impacts of CCAs on demand for renewable energy, and the factors that will determine future CCA expansion. We estimate that CCAs procured about 42 million megawatt-hours of electricity on behalf of about 5 million customers in the United States in 2017. We estimate that CCAs already procure about 8.9 million megawatt-hours more renewable energy than required by state mandates, and that CCAs could procure as much as 28.9 million megawatt-hours of voluntary renewable energy if the CCA model is permitted in more states. The ongoing expansion of CCAs could significantly affect electricity markets, electricity portfolios, and the future role of utilities. We explore various challenges associated with the further expansion of CCAs. •Community choice aggregation (CCA) allows local governments to buy electricity on behalf of retail customers.•In 2017, CCAs procured about 42 million megawatt-hours of electricity.•CCAs procured about 8.9 million megawatt-hours of renewable energy above policy-mandated levels.•CCAs could change grid electricity portfolios and the responsibilities of utilities.•The rise of CCAs entails policy challenges for grid planners.
Bibliography:USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office
AC36-08GO28308
NREL/JA-6A20-72726
ISSN:0301-4215
1873-6777
DOI:10.1016/j.enpol.2019.07.001