Community Choice Aggregation

Assembly Bill 117 (AB 117) enacted Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) in 2002. Under AB 117, "all electrical corporations must cooperate fully with community choice aggregators investigating, pursuing, or implementing community choice aggregator programs."

CCA is a program that allows cities, counties and other qualifying governmental entities available within the service areas of investor-owned utilities (IOUs), to purchase and/or generate electricity for their residents and businesses. IOUs continue to provide transmission and distribution, metering, billing, collection, and customer service to retail customers participating in CCA. AB 117 also provided guidance to communities about how to create a CCA program. AB 117 requires that the city or county pass an ordinance to implement a CCA program within its jurisdiction. Two or more cities or counties may participate in a CCA program as a group through a Joint Powers agency. A CCA can also be formed by a single city, such as those operated by the cities of San Francisco and San Jose. Potential customers within a community's service area are automatically enrolled in a CCA program unless they opt out, provided that they are notified in writing of their right to opt out. If a customer opts out of CCA service, the IOU will continue to serve them as “bundled” customers, providing both generation and transmission/distribution, and other services.

Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs) are required to meet a number of regulatory compliance requirements including those established for Resource Adequacy (RA), Integrated Resource Planning (IRP), Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), and Supplier Diversity. CCAs are responsible for tracking and compliance with all applicable CPUC regulations

Information about Registered CCAs

CCA Service Areas | Contact Information and Locations | Interactive GIS Map | Long-Term Power Purchasing | Rate Comparison website

CCA Formation Status Reports

The Energy Division compiles and publishes annually, a status update on the registration, expansion, and deregistration of Community Choice Aggregators (CCA) and Electric Service Providers (ESP).

2024 Status Report (.pdf format)

Previous Annual Status Reports: 2023 | 2022  | 2021 (.pdf format) 

CCA EnBanc Background Information

A number of new Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs) have formed in California in recent years, and there is a potential for significant additional CCA growth. On February 1, 2017, the CPUC held an EnBanc hearing considering how various programs and regulatory activities would be affected as CCA growth continued. The purpose of this paper is to provide background information on CCAs in support of the EnBanc hearing on CCAs.

CCA Registration Process

Resolution E-4907 established the process for city or jurisdiction to register and implement a CCA with CPUC. The ruling outlines regulatory requirements related to submission of an Implementation Plan, Resource Adequacy requirements, bond payments and customer notifications. CCA Implementation Plans must be submitted to the Director of the Energy Division both via email and a hard copy on or before January 1st in order to serve load in the following year.

The Energy Division requires that all CCA Registration, Implementation, and Expansion plans must be submitted to the CCA Notices Inbox, cca_notices@cpuc.ca.gov 

Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA)

The CCA's customers are responsible for the PCIA. PCIA ensures that customers staying with the IOU do not bear the cost of energy procured for customers leaving the IOU.

Provider of Last Resort

Providers of Last Resort (POLRs) are required to continue electric energy service when a CCA fails to provide it to customers. SB 520 passed in 2019 to require the CPUC to develop a comprehensive POLR framework. To enact SB 520, the CPUC established R.21-03-011. The IOU is currently responsible for being POLR.

Codes of Conduct

IOU Code of Conduct (D.12-12-036): In SB 790, the legislature directed the Commission to develop rules and procedures that facilitate the development of community choice aggregation programs, help foster fair competition, and help protect against cross-subsidization paid by ratepayers. Under the Commission’s code of conduct rules, independent performance audits are required every two years to evaluate IOU compliance (see below).

Code of Conduct Audit: To ensure compliance with the Community Choice Aggregation Code of Conduct Rules (CCA CCR) program adopted by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in Decision (D) 12-12-036, the utilities must complete a performance audit.

• Pacific Gas and Electric (.pdf format)
• Southern California Edison (.pdf format)
• San Diego Gas and Electric (.pdf format)

Previous Audits: 2014 Code of Conduct Audit (.pdf format)

Investor-Owned Utilities' CCA Information

Pacific Gas and Electric

• Community Choice Aggregation
• Electric Rule 23: Community Choice Aggregation Service

San Diego Gas and Electric

• Community Choice Aggregation | San Diego Gas & Electric
• Rule 27: Community Choice Aggregation Rules

Southern California Edison

• Community Choice Aggregation Overview
• Rule 23

Please send your updated contact information to CPUC's Energy Division by filling out the Regulatory Contact Info Update Request Form.