About Town MB: Annual Skechers Holiday fireworks, Green Victory
Holiday fireworks
The annual Skechers Manhattan Beach Holiday Fireworks Show is set for Sunday, Dec. 11. Fireworks will launch from the Manhattan Beach Pier at 7 p.m., but festivities get underway much earlier. The Mira Costa Choir Carolers will be singing all over downtown from 3:30 p.m. ‘til 6:30 p.m., a Santa float arrives for photos at p.m. on Manhattan Avenue, when the Hyperion Outfall Serenaders will begin its performance of a ¨Dixieland Christmas.” The Mira Costa Jazz Band performs at 5 p.m. Blanket seating will be permitted on Manhattan Beach Boulevard to Highland Avenue. In addition to the fireworks show, there will be a snow park at Live Oak Park. Children can enjoy sled runs and snow play areas. There will also be photo opportunities with snowmen. The snow park is open from 4 to 6:30 p.m. For more information about the day’s events, go to MBFireworks.com.
Green victory
In October 2021, more than 90 percent of Manhattan Beach homes and businesses transitioned to using 100 percent clean, renewable energy produced by the sun and wind. This follows a 2020 decision by Manhattan Beach City Council to change the City’s default renewable energy tier from 50 percent to 100 percent with the City’s electricity provider, the Clean Power Alliance (CPA).
The City last week announced that as a result of this action, Manhattan Beach is helping to reduce an estimated 74 million pounds of harmful greenhouse gas emissions annually, equivalent to planting 623,000 trees or taking 8,100 cars off the road.
At their November Board meeting, CPA provided a forecast that residential and small business customer bills will be 2 percent lower for at least the first half of 2023. CPA sets generation rates annually. Since Manhattan Beach chose to have 100 percent renewable sources as its preferred energy option two years ago, the cost premium for that zero-carbon rate has declined by almost two-thirds.
“This is exactly why we’re a founding member of the CPA,” said Mayor Steve Napolitano. “Not only are we helping the environment, and the long-term viability of our community, our residents and businesses are saving money too, even at the 100 percent clean energy level.”
CPA also provided its Board with comparisons between CPA’s rates and Southern California Edison’s (SCE) rates, based on SCE’s proposal to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for its 2023 rates. Conditional on approval and the timing of implementation of SCE’s 2023 rates by the CPUC, CPA customers are expected to have lower rates than SCE customers for at least the first part of 2023. ER