TRC Will Help Support MCE’s Community and Vulnerable Customer Resiliency Efforts
PARA SA AGAD NA PAGLABAS
May 12, 2020
MCE Press Contact:
Jenna Famular, Communications Manager
(925) 378-6747 | jfamular@mcecleanenergy.org
SAN RAFAEL at CONCORD, Calif. — MCE is pleased to announce TRC as our partner to develop and implement an innovative, dispatchable, behind-the-meter battery energy storage resiliency program for MCE customers. MCE’s Energy Storage Program will deploy 15 megawatt hours of customer-sited storage throughout its four-county service area over a two-year period.
This program will allow participating customers to keep electricity flowing during Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) and other outages, and to lower energy costs and carbon emissions during normal conditions. MCE expects the Energy Storage Program to launch this summer and be available to all customer types, while prioritizing vulnerable customers and critical facilities to support community safety during PSPS and other grid outages. These priority customers will own and receive the benefits of the battery at little- to no upfront cost to them with support from MCE and resource programs.
“TRC is excited to work with MCE on this initiative,” said Mark Lorentzen, TRC Senior Vice President, Distributed Energy. “As a leader in the energy space, MCE’s innovative programs increase energy equity in their communities while thoughtfully tackling financial and market considerations. We believe that this partnership will provide benefits for customers for years to come.”
TRC will lead a team of 10 highly skilled firms and organizations with expertise in energy storage, technical implementation, and workforce development. TRC was selected for their deep experience and success in program implementation and distributed energy resource (DER) management. A competitive selection process included responses from 18 qualified vendors. TRC will maximize local workforce development opportunities by partnering with Rising Sun Center para sa Pagkakataon, an Oakland-based nonprofit that focuses on training and employing low-income youth and adults in traditionally underserved populations.
“As a community partner, MCE’s first priority is to help ensure the health and safety of our customers in relation to their energy needs,” said Dawn Weisz, CEO of MCE. “We are proud to announce our partnership with TRC on our Energy Storage Program, which will enable clean energy resources and backup power to be deployed, especially in vulnerable populations that are disproportionately impacted by the pollution and costs associated with fossil fuel generation resources.”
Priority residential customers include those who are low income or have a medical necessity that could become life threatening without power, and live in Tier 2 or 3 high-fire threat districts (HFTD) or have been impacted by two or more PSPS events. Priority critical facilities provide essential services during PSPS events or other community emergencies, such as police and fire stations, homeless shelters, and grocery stores. They must be located in Tier 2 or 3 HFTDs, or have been impacted by two or more PSPS events, and serve state-designated low-income or disadvantaged communities.
MCE’s Energy Storage Program and other resiliency efforts will be funded through MCE’s $6 million Resiliency Fund approved by its Board of Directors. The Marin Community Foundation also awarded a two-year grant of $750,000 to MCE through the Buck Family Fund to install solar plus storage at nonprofit critical facilities and affordable multifamily housing in Marin County. For more information on MCE’s resiliency efforts, please visit our website or contact Jamie Tuckey, MCE’s Director of Strategic Initiatives at jtuckey@mceCleanEnergy.org or (415) 464-6019.
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About MCE: As California’s first Community Choice Aggregation Program, MCE is a groundbreaking, not-for-profit, public agency that has been setting the standard for energy innovation in our communities since 2010. MCE offers cleaner power at stable rates, significantly reducing energy-related greenhouse emissions and enabling millions of dollars of reinvestment in local energy programs. MCE is a load-serving entity supporting a 1,000 MW peak load. MCE provides electricity service to more than 480,000 customer accounts and more than one million residents and businesses in 34 member communities across four Bay Area counties: Napa, Marin, Contra Costa, and Solano. For more information about MCE, visit mceCleanEnergy.org About TRC: For more than 50 years, TRC has delivered energy breakthroughs from distributed and renewable energy to energy efficiency and grid modernization. TRC is a tech-enabled, global consulting company with 5,700 employees and 140 offices, including 20 offices in California. They partner with energy providers, agencies, and communities to make energy visions actionable, from initial strategy through technical design and implementation.
