Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors' agenda includes a disturbing item: “Consideration of waiving the competitive bidding process and authorizing staff to negotiate a contract with California Clean Power" to provide community choice energy services as an alternative to Pacific Gas and Electric.

Evading the competitive procurement procedures normally required of government entities is both imprudent and of dubious legality.

Although the staff memo accompanying the agenda states that “CCP is a sole-source provider of commercially managed turnkey CCA [community choice aggregation] services,” that assertion simply isn’t true.

Numerous other consultants offer the same basic services though the precise details of their offerings may differ.

Instead of issuing a request for proposals and then comparing the alternatives to achieve the best deal for the community and local ratepayers, the county appears to want to plunge ahead without the due diligence, transparency and open public process that has been promised, and that common sense and the law demand.

What is the rush to commit to a company that has no track record, has contracted with no other local governments, and is disclosing no crucial details about the precise services being offered, their fee structure, or rate offered to consumers?

All we know is that the faulty service offering originally presented has been dramatically changed, and that there will no longer be a “rate reduction or public benefit payment guarantees made by CCP.”

What does Lake County get out of this arrangement, and why should we be the first to plunge into murky waters that other California municipalities are avoiding?

Why has the county made no attempt to inform the community about this proposal, or to encourage participation from the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport, which together have almost 30 percent of the local market?

Will any efforts be made to shield ratepayers from the dramatic increase in electricity rates that would befall them if they enter a CCA that fails?

Please contact your supervisors to urge them not to engage in contractual negotiations on this momentous matter without preliminary competitive bidding.

You can leave a voice mail for any of them by calling 707-263-2368 or send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Victoria Brandon lives in Lower Lake, Calif.