Never heard of CCCE or Central Coast Community Energy? If you live on the Central Coast, there's a good chance they are your energy provider.
Central Coast Community Energy is a public agency serving Santa Cruz to Santa Barbara counties.
While you still get your bill from PG&E, CCCE is listed as the energy provider. Its goal is to provide renewable energy to the community by purchasing long term utility scale renewable energy projects to provide solar, wind, and geothermal power to the Central Coast.
"It's really a model to provide local control in our energy choices and ensure that benefits are coming directly back to the communities," said Catherine Stedman, CCCE Director of Communication/Outreach.
Every year, they put millions of dollars into community programs like Electrify Your Ride, which is a rebate program that gives you money back for almost all things electric, like purchasing or leasing an electric car or bike, purchasing charging equipment and even any electrical upgrades your home might need to sustain an electric vehicle. Their rebates are stack-able with regional, state and federal rebates.
Barry Rands is a CCCE customer and longtime San Luis Obispo resident. He purchased his electric vehicle before Central Coast Community Electric started its rebate program but still got a lot of money back.
"The other rebates amounted to over $10,000 on the purchase of this vehicle, but if I would have waited until their program, I would have had an extra three or four thousand dollars," Rands said.
Rands is one of many that made the switch and never looked back. After originally buying an electric car for just his daughter, Stuart Tenggren now has the whole family going green.
"I was like, I wanna get one so I bought another and now we actually have four," Tenggren said.
If you own or are thinking of buying an electric vehicle and want to claim your rebate, head to 3CENERGY.org, fill out the application and your money will be on its way to you via check.
