3CE Annual Impact Report: Building a Secure Energy Future for the Central Coast
February 18, 2026
New report highlights affordability, customer-driven programs, and progress toward a cleaner, more reliable energy future
MONTEREY, Calif., February 18, 2026 – Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) today released its 2025 Annual Impact Report highlighting the value of locally controlled electric power serving more than 1.2 million customers across five counties. As a public agency with no shareholders or investors, 3CE invests revenue back into the community to deliver clean electricity while advancing economic development and climate action.
The report outlines 3CE’s community investments, customer-driven programs, and clean[1]energy milestones in fiscal year 2025 (October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025) demonstrating how local control translates into measurable benefits for the communities it serves.
“3CE customers are powering the energy transition through their support for our mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reinvest in our local economy,” said 3CE Chief Executive Officer Robert Shaw. “This Impact Report shows how we turn that community support into long-term renewable projects, innovative customer programs, and stable, fair rates.”
The report details the $15 million in rebates distributed by 3CE in its fiscal year 2025, including $6.2 million supporting equity-focused projects alongside major milestones in clean-energy delivery, customer enrollment, and local engagement. Since launching service in 2018, 3CE has invested nearly $38 million to help electrify Central Coast homes, businesses, transportation, and agriculture.
As a local public agency, 3CE emphasizes customer input and accessibility throughout the year, including community events, public meetings and webinars, workshops, and targeted outreach to Spanish speakers.
In early 2025, 3CE began serving unincorporated San Luis Obispo County and the City of Atascadero, bringing its clean-energy service to 140,000 more people and unifying its five Central Coast counties with a shared commitment to local control, clean power, and community investment.
Today, 3CE serves 93% of households and businesses in its service area, offering customers tools to manage energy use and reduce costs. Customers who want to do even more with their energy dollar can opt up to 3Cprime, 3CE’s 100% renewable option.
The Annual Impact Report highlights how customers are using 3CE programs to lower energy expenses while transitioning away from fossil fuels through rebates and incentives for electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, all-electric appliances and equipment, home batteries and energy management tools, with enhanced support for income-qualified customers.
In 2025, 3CE delivered more than 1.5 million megawatt-hours of clean and renewable energy, enough to power 352,646 households, while avoiding 599,217 metric tons of CO₂, the equivalent of removing nearly 140,000 gasoline-powered vehicles from the road for a year. The report also highlights 3CE’s investments in innovative and reliable clean-energy projects, including the Willow Rock Energy Storage Center in Kern County, which uses compressed air instead of lithium batteries. Five additional renewable energy projects are expected to come online in 2026, further strengthening grid reliability and long-term price stability.
Since 2018, 3CE’s customers have helped avoid 19,668 metric tons of CO₂, equivalent to taking 4,588 gasoline-powered vehicles off the road for one year while supporting the adoption of 3,851 electric vehicles, 3,148 EV chargers, 55 electric buses, 1,850 heat pump water heaters and HVAC systems, 1,018 all-electric affordable housing units, and 115 agricultural electrification projects. The Annual Impact Report underscores 3CE’s steady progress toward 100% renewable energy, while continuing to prioritize affordability, local accountability, and community benefit.
Click here to view the full Annual Impact Report and learn more about how 3CE customers are using Power for Good.
About Central Coast Community Energy
Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) is a public agency that sources competitively priced electricity from clean and renewable energy resources. 3CE is governed by local officials who represent the communities that make up 3CE and serves more than 1.2 million people throughout the Central Coast, including residential, commercial, and agricultural customers in Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz counties. Revenue generated by 3CE supports the transition to carbon-free power and is invested locally through innovative energy programs designed to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Learn more at 3CEnergy.org and on social media, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X/Twitter.
Central Coast Community Energy | 3CE
Meridith Cook
Communications Specialist
Tel: +1-831-641-7238