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Pioneer Community Energy briefs council on customer programs and claimed savings
Summary
A Pioneer Community Energy representative updated the Lincoln City Council on new customer programs, reported cumulative savings since 2018 and described rate reductions and local offerings including solar/battery financing, rebates and PowerShift demand-response incentives.
Jake Trumble, representing Pioneer Community Energy, briefed the Lincoln City Council on new programs and recent rate performance for Pioneer customers in the utility’s service area, which includes Lincoln.
Trumble said Pioneer supplies the generation portion of members’ electric bills (PG&E continues to provide transmission and distribution services) and that Pioneer has returned $108 million in cumulative savings to ratepayers since launch in 2018, with an additional $31 million planned for 2025. He said Lincoln customers saved roughly $10.1 million through 2024. Pioneer’s board — with member-agency representatives including a Lincoln councilmember — approved rate cuts last summer and again in December; Trumble said Pioneer’s generation rates for 2025 are, on average, about 10% lower than PG&E’s generation charges.
Trumble described new and ongoing customer programs: gridGEN (0-down, no-credit-check solar-plus-battery financing or battery retrofit options and partnerships with local retailers for discounted energy-efficient products), a $75 air-conditioner tune-up rebate, PowerShift incentive programs to curb energy use during system stress, community field days for bill-help and customer assistance, and plans to allocate funding to local microgrids to serve critical needs for vulnerable populations during outages.
Councilmembers and some residents praised Pioneer customer service and the potential for local microgrids; one councilmember who also serves on Pioneer’s board described the organization as professionally run and said expansion of customer base is likely to lower rates further. Trumble left flyers with residential and business program details and directed customers to Pioneer’s website for more information.
The presentation was informational and no city action was required.
