Science Buzz Cafe # 473 with Mary Fricker, Business Writer – Sonoma Clean Power

Community Choice Aggregator: Sonoma Clean Power 5 Years!
What We Know, Don’t Know – Where Are We Going?
Mary Fricker, Business Reporter
In 2014 government leaders in Sonoma County launched a Santa Rosa power company, Sonoma Clean Power, to buy electricity for locals instead of PG&E. Their main goal was to get greener power, to fight global warming. Today most of Sonoma and Mendocino counties buy their electricity from Sonoma Clean Power, not PG&E.

This is a giant experiment that moves millions of dollars of risk, responsibility and opportunity from the shoulders of PG&E and its shareholders to Sonoma Clean Power, you, and me. It’s a second try at energy deregulation, which 20 years ago ended in rolling blackouts, PG&E bankruptcy and a costly collapse of the state’s power market.

Mary Fricker, a business reporter in Sonoma County for 30 years, reported through the prior deregulation and is keeping an eye on this one. “So far so good” is how she sums it up today, but significant peril lies ahead. She believes the best way to make this experiment a success is for ratepayers to understand its strengths and its dangers.

For a preview, check out this recent Sonoma West publication: https://issuu.com/sonomawest/docs/scp_layout_-_web-amended2?