Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce | Santa Cruz, CA
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  • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • Membership
    • Marketing Opportunities
    • People of the Chamber >
      • Board of Directors
      • Ambassador Program
    • Internships
    • Contact Us
  • Events & News
    • Chamber Events Calendar >
      • Business After Hours
      • Ribbon Cutting
      • Annual Membership Meeting
      • Women in Business
      • Recognition Awards Gala >
        • Awards: Awards Gala
        • Sponsors: Awards Gala
        • Entertainment: Awards Gala
      • Community Leadership Visits
      • Golf Tournament
    • Community Calendar
    • Chamber News
  • Visit & Live
    • Annual Events
    • Local Events
    • Community Services
  • Resources
    • Emergency Resources
    • Inflation Reduction Act
    • Black Owned Santa Cruz
    • Business Intelligence
    • Learning & Consulting Resources
    • Employment/Intern Opportunities
    • Business & Project Startups
    • Starting Your Business
    • Employment Stats
  • Advocacy
    • Racial Equality Statement
    • Chamber Action
    • 2024 Candidate Interviews
    • Community Leadership Visits
    • Core Economic Issues
    • Projects & Policies
    • Santa Cruz County Governments
  • Directory
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utilities & public services

Utilities & Public Services

​Utilities and public services, a fundamental element of every locale’s economy, depend upon a mix of national and regional providers and local governments. Down below you can find brief summaries and contact information for the following areas: natural gas, electricity, communications, water and waste.

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Natural Gas & Electricity
Natural gas and electricity throughout the county are delivered by Pacific Gas and Electric. PG&E provides these services under a franchise in place for more than a century. Its role includes bulk purchase of power and delivery to subscribers. It maintains the local system utilizing public and private easements for transmission lines and equipment. There are two major transmission lines through Santa Cruz County, depicted below.


​PG&E:
1955 41st Ave
Capitola, CA 95010
(800) 743-5000
www.pge.com​

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Monterey Bay Community Power (MBCP)
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A consortium of local governments has created a proposal under State Law AB117, Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) that would permit the communities in the three Monterey Bay County’s to control purchasing and pricing of electrical power. Although still delivered by PG&E, this permits MBPC to select the sources of the electricity. A similar project in Marin has more than doubled the amount of clean electricity provided to customers without increasing rates. Other CCA has significantly reduced the cost of electricity. And it may be possible for the MBCP to develop its own sources of power generation such as wind and power to reduce reliance upon distant sources. In 2015 MBCP was awarded a  $344,000 State of California technical assistance grant to establish a CCA Joint Powers Agency with an estimated completion date of April 21, 2018, being administered by Santa Cruz County.

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Communications
The University of California Santa Cruz, its associated research agencies and institutes, and the broadband-dependent technology sector are dependent upon fast, reliable communications resources. In 2010 UC Santa Cruz contracted with Sunesys to bring fiber optic networks to Santa Cruz. This same system has been extended to downtown Santa Cruz and is being to Salinas and other communities.
 
However, much of the Santa Cruz County Community communications continues to be delivered with telephone lines, DSL, and coaxial cable administered by phone and cable companies and utilized by local internet service providers. The County is also served through satellite services. In addition the major wireless services provide cell access to all population centers in Santa Cruz County
 
Wire and Fiber
AT&T is the primary fix-line telephone operator in Santa Cruz County. AT&T provides phone lines, television (through AT&T U-verse and Direct TV) and Internet service including DSL and T-1 services. Their lines are also used by local Internet Service Providers. AT&T has four customer service centers in the county which can be seen on the map above.

​Cable  
Cable television and communications services in Santa Cruz County are provided by Charter Communications in Watsonville and Comcast in other areas of the county.
 
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Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce
Mailing Address - 7960 Soquel Dr Ste B112
Aptos CA 95003

Phone: (831) 457-3713

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