Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) Data Access Guide

Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) is a Community Choice Aggregator (a public-agency JPA) that procures clean electricity generation for 448,000+ accounts on California's Central Coast. As a CCA it does not operate meters or bill directly: PG&E (and SCE in part of Santa Barbara County) handle delivery, metering, and consolidated billing, so customer data access runs through PG&E's Green Button and Share My Data programs.

California · Municipal Utility·448,049 customers·Fully supported by Nectar·Last updated June 3, 2026

How to Get Your Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) Data: All Access Methods

Method1st Party3rd PartyCustomer TypesData TypesLatencyFormat
PG&E Billing PortalAll 3CE customers (PG&E territory)Bills, history, 3CE chargesReal-time to 1 dayWeb, PDF
PG&E Green Button DownloadAll 3CE customers15-min interval usage1-3 daysCSV, XML
PG&E Share My Data (CMD)Authorized vendorsInterval, billing, customer data~2 business daysGreen Button XML / API
Aggregators (Nectar)Authorized vendorsInterval, bills, tariffs1-2 daysJSON / XML
CEC MIDAS APIAll (aggregated rates)Time-varying rates, GHG signalsMinutes/hoursREST / JSON
01

Billing Data Access

3CE customers receive a single consolidated bill from PG&E that itemizes 3CE generation charges ("Central Coast Community Energy Electric Generation Charges") alongside PG&E delivery charges. All billing data is accessed through PG&E's My Account portal — 3CE does not operate its own billing portal or accept direct payments.

What Data Is on Your Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) Bill

  • Consolidated PG&E bills itemizing 3CE generation charges
  • Monthly usage and cost summaries
  • Generation vs. delivery charge breakdown
  • Payment history
  • PDF statements

How to Download Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) Bills (Business & Commercial)

  1. 01Log in to the PG&E business account at pge.com
  2. 02Open Billing & Payment to view consolidated bills with 3CE charges
  3. 03Export interval/usage data via Green Button (CSV/XML)
  4. 04For automated access, authorize a vendor through PG&E Share My Data

How to Download Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) Bills (Residential)

  1. 01Log in to or create a PG&E account at pge.com
  2. 02Open Billing & Payment / Bill & Payment History
  3. 03View or download bill PDFs (3CE generation charges itemized)
  4. 04Use Green Button to export usage as CSV/XML
PDF (bills)CSV (Green Button)XML (Green Button / ESPI)

Want to understand the charges on your bill?

See the Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) Rate Schedules & Tariff Guide →

02

Interval Data & Smart Meters

Interval (smart meter) data for 3CE customers is provided by PG&E, which has deployed SmartMeter AMI across its territory. Data is accessed via PG&E's Green Button Download My Data (self-service) or Share My Data / Green Button Connect My Data (automated, API-based for authorized third parties).

Meter Technology
PG&E SmartMeter AMI (and Edison SmartConnect for SCE-territory customers).
Electric Granularity
15-minute intervals for electric service in PG&E territory.
Gas Granularity
Not applicable (3CE provides electric generation only).

How to Download Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) Interval Data via Green Button

  1. 01Log in to your PG&E account at pge.com
  2. 02Open Energy Usage Details / Solar & Energy Details
  3. 03Select Green Button - Download My Data
  4. 04Choose a date range (e.g. 12-13 months) and CSV or XML format
  5. 05Export and download the ZIP of 15-minute interval data

Interval data is essential for rate comparison and TOU analysis.

See which Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) rate schedule is best for your usage pattern →

03

Green Button Access

Download My Data

Self-service Green Button Download My Data through PG&E exports 15-minute interval usage as CSV or XML. This covers 3CE customers since PG&E owns the meter and delivery relationship.

Formats
CSV, XML (ESPI)
Available To
All PG&E-territory customers (residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural)

Connect My Data

PG&E's Share My Data (Green Button Connect My Data) provides automated OAuth 2.0 API access to 15-minute interval, billing, and customer data once the customer authorizes the vendor — applicable to 3CE customers via PG&E.

API Standard
Green Button Connect My Data (ESPI) / OAuth 2.0
Available To
Authorized third parties via PG&E Share My Data / Green Button Connect My Data

04

Third-Party API Access

Because 3CE is a CCA, third-party API access to customer usage and billing data is provided by PG&E's Share My Data program (Green Button Connect My Data), not by 3CE directly. Vendors register with PG&E, the customer authorizes via OAuth, and data flows automatically. Nectar provides API access to this billing and interval data as a turnkey integration — see docs.nectarclimate.com.

Program
PG&E Share My Data (Green Button Connect My Data)
Auth Method
OAuth 2.0 (customer authorization via PG&E Share My Data); vendor client ID/secret.
Rate Limits
Per PG&E developer/vendor agreement; not publicly fixed.
Interval Latency
About 2 business days for Share My Data; 1-3 days for Green Button download.

Available Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) API Endpoints

FunctionEndpointMethodFormat
Retrieve customer profile/api/customer/profileGETXML/JSON
Retrieve electric interval usage/user/ElectricUsageDataGETGreen Button XML
Retrieve interval blocks/user/IntervalBlocksGETGreen Button XML

How to Register as a Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) API Vendor

  1. 01Register as an approved PG&E Share My Data vendor
  2. 02Sign the vendor agreement and receive OAuth client credentials
  3. 03Implement the OAuth 2.0 authorization flow
  4. 04Have the customer authorize data sharing via PG&E
  5. 05Retrieve interval and billing data via the Share My Data API

05

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)

Supported Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) EDI Transaction Sets

CodeNamePurpose
810InvoiceBilling data from PG&E to CCAs / service providers.
814General Request / DASRAccount changes, enrollment, and service requests (CCA-specific variants).
820Remittance AdvicePayment order and remittance processing.
867Meter DataInterval / smart meter data exchange.
997Functional AcknowledgmentConfirmation that EDI messages were received.

How to Enroll in Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) EDI

  1. 01Note that 3CE does not accept external EDI directly — EDI is handled by PG&E
  2. 02Determine your role (CCA, DASP, or other) and obtain PG&E EDI implementation guides
  3. 03Establish a connection (direct SFTP, VAN, or AS2)
  4. 04Execute a Trading Partner Agreement with PG&E
  5. 05Complete test transactions, then move to production

06

Rate Schedules & Tariff Analysis

For 3CE customers, the bill has two parts: PG&E delivery (regulated, set by PG&E) and 3CE generation (set by the CCA). 3CE generation rates track PG&E's rate-class structure so customers can compare apples-to-apples via the joint rate comparison. The Feb 15, 2026 ~24% generation rate cut (to ~$0.10/kWh average) lowered the supply third of the bill. The main C&I levers are class selection, demand management (which affects the PG&E delivery side), opt-up/opt-out, and the Hourly Flex Pricing pilot.

Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) Rate Schedule List

ScheduleApplicability
3CE Commercial GenerationCommercial (PG&E rate-class aligned)
3CE Agricultural GenerationAgricultural customers
Hourly Flex Pricing PilotVariable hourly pricing participants

Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) Rate Features & TOU Details

  • Generation (3CE) and delivery (PG&E) billed on one consolidated statement
  • ~24% generation rate reduction effective Feb 15, 2026 (~$0.13 to ~$0.10/kWh avg)
  • Generation ≈ one-third of total bill
  • Opt-out to PG&E or opt-up to 3Cprime 100% renewable
  • Time-varying Hourly Flex Pricing pilot available

For a deeper analysis including cost optimization strategies and historical rate trends:

Read the full Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) Rate Optimization Guide →

07

Other Data Access Programs

Hourly Flex Pricing Pilot

A 3CE/PG&E variable hourly pricing pilot for residential, commercial, and agricultural customers, publishing day-ahead and forecast hourly prices.

  1. 01Visit the 3CE Hourly Flex Pricing Pilot page
  2. 02Confirm eligibility and enroll
  3. 03Receive day-ahead and 7-day forecast hourly prices
  4. 04Shift discretionary load to low-priced hours

CEC MIDAS Rate & GHG Data

The California Energy Commission's MIDAS database exposes 3CE time-varying rates, GHG emissions data, and Flex Alert signals via a public REST API.

  1. 01Register for a MIDAS API account
  2. 02Query rate identifiers (RINs) for 3CE schedules
  3. 03Retrieve current and forecast time-varying rates and GHG signals

08

Limitations & Considerations

  • 3CE does not operate meters, billing, or a data portal — all customer data access routes through PG&E (or SCE in part of Santa Barbara County).
  • No real-time individual-customer interval feed; Green Button data posts 1-3 days after the meter read.
  • SCE-territory 3CE customers must use SCE's CISR process (per-request fees) rather than a free Share My Data API.
  • 3CE publishes generation rate sheets and joint rate comparisons rather than a traditional filed tariff book; specific C&I cents/kWh values vary by PG&E rate class and time period.
  • Specific per-schedule C&I generation $ values beyond the disclosed ~$0.10/kWh average are listed in the dated rate sheets, not summarized here.

09

Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) Data Access FAQ

3CE is our generation provider — how do we get our interval usage data?

Through PG&E, not 3CE. 3CE is a Community Choice Aggregator and does not operate meters or a data portal. Use PG&E's Green Button Download My Data for self-service CSV/XML exports of 15-minute interval data, or authorize a vendor through PG&E Share My Data for automated API access. The data reflects the same usage that 3CE bills generation against.

Can a consultant pull our 3CE/PG&E data automatically via API?

Yes — via PG&E Share My Data (Green Button Connect My Data). The vendor registers with PG&E and implements OAuth 2.0; you authorize the data share through your PG&E login. Nectar provides API access to this billing and interval data if you prefer a turnkey integration — see docs.nectarclimate.com.

How are 3CE generation charges shown, and did rates change in 2026?

Your single PG&E bill itemizes 3CE generation charges separately from PG&E delivery charges. Effective February 15, 2026, 3CE reduced its average generation rate roughly 24%, from about $0.13 to about $0.10 per kWh, reflecting lower wholesale costs. Generation typically accounts for about one-third of a total bill.

Do we have to take 3CE, or can a business opt out to PG&E?

Eligible customers are automatically enrolled in 3CE generation but may opt out and return to PG&E bundled (default) generation service at any time. PG&E still provides delivery and billing either way. Commercial customers comparing options should review the PG&E–3CE joint rate comparison.

We're in the SCE part of Santa Barbara County — is data access different?

Yes. For 3CE customers served by SCE rather than PG&E, data access runs through SCE: Green Button download for self-service and the CISR (Customer Information Service Request) process for third-party access, which carries per-request fees. SCE does not offer a Share My Data-style free API.

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