On March 8, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) certified Pioneer Community Energy’s (Pioneer) Amended Implementation Plan to expand services to the City of Placerville (Placerville) and El Dorado County (El Dorado). The addition of the two jurisdictions will increase Pioneer’s account base by approximately 68,000 to a total of approximately 161,000 accounts.

“The addition of Placerville and El Dorado County is great news,” said Jim Holmes, Placer County Supervisor for District 3 and Pioneer Board Chair. “El Dorado and Placerville’s request to become part of Pioneer is a testament to the success of our program and our commitment to electricity ratepayers in our service area.”

While Pioneer has received approval to provide service to El Dorado and Placerville, actual service (electricity supply) will not begin until 2022. Several administrative and regulatory steps must be taken, including customer notifications of enrollment. Customers eligible for Pioneer service will receive notices 60 days and 30 days prior to enrollment. Customers will have the option to stay with Pioneer or return to PG&E.

Meanwhile, a representative from each of the new jurisdictions will join the Pioneer Board in March 2021, taking the board from seven members to nine.

“In our discussions, prior to the expansion we found that El Dorado County and Placerville shared the same interests and priorities as the current Pioneer Board,” said Holmes. “We look forward to welcoming them.”