BB&K Partner Ryan Baron Advising Calif. Cities on CCA Energy Path

As Orange County cities decide whether to join together to create a community choice aggregation energy program, they are looking to Best Best & Krieger LLP Partner Ryan Baron for guidance.

Ryan, who serves as special counsel to the City of Irvine, is helping organize the cities into the program that will save residents money on their electricity bills, according to several news publications covering the effort.

But the clock is ticking, as the cities would have to file an implementation plan with the California Public Utilities Commission by Dec. 31, or wait another year to create a CCA program.

In a presentation to the Irvine City Council, Ryan, an energy and environmental law attorney who represents several California CCAs, including serving as general counsel to San Diego Community Power, explained that the cities would create a Joint Powers Authority, which would have increased local control over utility services and rates.

“The rates and terms of service are controlled by the JPA, not by the Public Utilities Commission,” he said, according to the L.A. Times’ Daily Pilot. “Ratepayers can address their grievances directly at the local level and not have to go through the maze of state regulation.”

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