WATSONVILLE — Monterey Bay Community Power (MBCP), a regional initiative among local government agencies to provide electricity to residents and businesses throughout Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties, selected Tom Habashi as interim CEO by the MBCP Policy Board.
The decision was made at the July 12 joint meeting of the Policy and Operations Boards, held in Marina. The boards have also selected Santa Cruz County Supervisor Bruce McPherson as chair of the Policy Board and Gonzales City Manager Rene Mendez as chair of the Operations Board.
Serving as MBCP’s first executive officer, Habashi will oversee and direct MBCP’s strategic plan, implementation, operations, regulatory affairs and communications and outreach.
“Tom brings a wealth of experience and leadership in the clean energy sector, most recently launching and building the Silicon Valley Clean Energy organization,” McPherson said. “We’re confident that Tom’s expertise will help MBCP deliver on our mission of providing renewable energy while giving a boost to the local economy.”
Following the Community Choice Energy model (CCE), MBCP will enable more than 750,000 residents in the tri-county region to choose clean-source power at a cost equivalent to PG&E, while retaining PG&E’s role in maintaining power lines and providing customer service. The new agency will be financially self-sustaining and will be developed at no cost to local government.
“Joining Monterey Bay Community Power is an exciting opportunity to launch California’s first tri-county CCE public agency,” Habashi said. “A tremendous effort took place for 19 jurisdictions to come together for the public good of residents and our environment. I look forward to launching a program that successfully balances the triple goal of local choice, clean energy and economic vitality for the Monterey Bay area.”
Prior to joining MBCP, Habashi served as chief executive officer at Silicon Valley Clean Energy, a community choice energy public agency serving customers in Santa Clara County. Prior to that, Habashi spent 30 years serving community-owned utilities in Burbank, Palo Alto and Roseville, where his responsibilities included managing a wide range of energy sector activities including energy acquisition, rate development, finance, supply distribution and customer programs.
The MBCP Implementation Plan will be considered for final approval at a special meeting of the MBCP Policy Board, Aug. 16 at 9 a.m. at the Watsonville City Council Chambers, 275 Main St., fourth floor.
