City Services, Community, Sustainability

Electricity accounts in Hayward to transition to 100 percent renewable energy January 22

December 14, 2021

Array of solar panels on green grass.

Hayward electricity customers served by East Bay Community Energy (EBCE) will transition next month to energy that is 100 percent renewable, produced entirely from California solar and wind energy. The new product, called Renewable 100, will help Hayward achieve its ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals.

All accounts not enrolled in discount programs (such as CARE, FERA, or Medical Baseline) will be automatically enrolled in the Renewable 100 product in January. The exact date will depend on each customer's billing cycle. Renewable 100 energy costs an additional 1 cent per kilowatt-hour above PG&E rates—about $4-7 more per month for a typical home and varies more widely for businesses based on the amount of power used.

Customers may switch to EBCE’s less expensive Bright Choice product at any time.  Bright Choice is sourced from a power mix that includes 40 percent renewable energy.  Customers also can choose to opt out of EBCE altogether and return to PG&E-derived sources of electrical power.

Customers on lower income-qualifying discount programs such as CARE or FERA or Medical Baseline will automatically remain on Bright Choice service.  To learn if you are eligible for any of these programs, visit www.EBCE.org/Paying-Bills/.

EBCE will host a series of webinars to review the upcoming changes and answer questions:

For a recorded webinar in Mandarin Chinese and for more information on EBCE in Hayward, visit https://ebce.org/hayward/.