1 STAFF REPORT
DATE
:
TO:
FR
OM:
January 31, 2023
Justin Hess, City Manager
Dawn Roth Lindell, General Manager, Burbank Water and Power BY: Jeannine Edwards, Assistant General Manager, Sustainability, Marketing and Strategy
SUBJ
ECT: Overview of the Burbank Water & Power Sustainability Programs RECO
MMENDATION
Note and file.
BACKGRO
UND
Burbank Water and Power (BWP) is committed to helping the community achieve the highest level of water and energy sustainability and facilitating the transition to electric transportation. BWP has a portfolio of o ver 25 programs to empower customers to take control of their resources to reduce their environmental impacts and their utility bill. BWP efforts directly contribute to the city’s greenhouse gas reduction plan (GGRP), which is Burbank’s roadmap to achieving the 2030 target and state-mandated goal of 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 1 . To implement these programs, BWP dedicates approximately $4 million annually to electric efficiency funded by the state-mandated public benefits charge (PBC),2 which is equal to 2.85% of net operating electric revenue.
BWP budgets approximately $0.7M annually to improve water efficiency and conservation, a voluntary amount equal to 2% of net operating water revenue . The California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) 3 program funds $1.4M annually in electric transportation rebates. In total BWP invests about $6M annually in customer programs to improve environmental sustainability. 1 On May 3, 2022, the City Council adopted a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan (GGRP) Update. 2 AB 1890 requires all publicly owned electric utilities to establish a charge for programs that would benefit the public, the PBC is equal to 2.85% of net operating electric revenue or approximately $4.8 million annually. The difference in funds, approximately $0.8M is used to fund BWP’s low-income rate assistance programs. 3 LCFS was created in 2011 by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as part of several AB32 measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout the state 20% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. BWP receives a portion of Burbank’s electric vehicle registrations which funds these programs.
WATER AND
POWER
Jeannine Edwards
2 DISCUSSION
BWP is proud of our role in helping to facilitate a GHG -neutral community and has been developing programs for over 20 years. Over that time , BWP has learned that t aking action to improve efficiency and conservation requires customer readiness and the ability to invest time and money . BWP uses a variety of program structures , marketing, and education to make it easy for customers to identify opportunities for change. While efforts in water and energy efficiency have matured, BWP is excited to explore and implement the next generation of sustainability programs which include building electrification, electric transportation, time-of-use rates, and demand response programs. In anticipation of BWP’s fiscal year (FY) 2023-2024 and FY 2024-2025 two-year budget request, BWP wants to share with C ouncil and the community the sustainability programs that will be included.
Below is a list of BWP’s sustainability programs by residential, commercial and the community sector. BWP strives to provide the educational tools, services and financial incentives to make the transition to a sustainable community easier.
Residential Programs
Program Description
Home Energy Reports Residents may view energy and water usage and compare it with similar homes to get efficiency and conservation tips.
EV Buyers Guide A website that helps customers find the right electric vehicle (EV), take the guesswork out of charging , and provide
access to rebates.
Water Wise Gardening A website to virtually tour a variety of landscapes, find plants, and get inspired by the beauty and endless possibilities of California native plant gardening.
Home Improvement
Program
Offers residents and multi -family property owners the
opportunity to improve their property's comfort and efficiency through energy and water -saving improvements at no cost.
The program offers many efficiency improvements such as :
weatherization services, c eiling fans, duct sealing, energy - saving light bulbs , high- efficiency toilet(s), power strips, sprinkler system check and sprinkler controller
programming, thermostatic showerhead control valve,
water-efficient showerheads and faucet aerators, and water pipe insulation.
Home Rewards
Rebates
Provides rebates on efficient home items such as ceiling fans, refrigerators/freezers, room air conditioners , smart thermostats, variable speed pool pumps, central air
conditioning, pool covers, attic and wall insulation.
Metropolitan Water
District (MWD)
Regional Programs
In collaboration with SoCalWaterSmart.com , residents
receive rebates on turf removal, high- efficiency toilets, rotating sprinkler nozzles, rain barrels , cisterns, weather - based irrigation controllers, soil moisture sensors, and high- efficiency clothes washers.
3 Water Leak Detection Identifies leaks, notifies single-family customers, and tracks resolution.
Shade Tree Program Provides customers with up to 3 free trees per household.
Low-Income
Refrigerator Exchange
Income-qualified and Lifeline -approved customers can
exchange their old refrigerators with a free Energy Star certified model.
AC Replace Before It
Breaks
Up to $1,500 rebate for replacing older less efficient central air conditioning units.
Used EV Rebates Up to $1,000 rebate for purchasing a pre-owned EV.
Residential Charging
Station
Up to $1,200 rebate with an electric panel upgrade, $1,500 if in a disadvantaged community (DAC4).
Green Choice Program A voluntary program for customers to opt -in to pay an additional 1.8 cents over their regular residential rate to support Renewable Energy in California.
Business Programs
Program Description
Business Rebates Rebates are awarded to Burbank businesses who retire their inefficient equipment and install new efficient products.
Incentive amounts depend on the type of retrofit conducted, capped at 25% of the installed cost, and may not exceed $100,000 annually. Equi pment may include LED light
retrofits, exit signs, HVAC systems, heat pumps, chiller, motor replacements, new construction and tenant
renovation, power factor correction, thermal energy storage, and PC network management software. For projects that
meet BWP ’s Business Rebate criteria but don’t fall neatly into one of the categories, BWP will pay $0.05 per kilowatt - hour saved over a one-year period.
Shade Tree Program Provides businesses up to 20 free trees.
Metropolitan Water
District (MWD)
Regional Programs
In collaboration with SoCalWaterSmart.com businesses
receive rebates on turf removal, high- efficiency toilets, urinals, potable water into recycled water, rotating sprinkler nozzles, rain barrels and cisterns, weather -based irrigation controllers, soil moisture sensors, high- efficiency clothes washers, and more.
Water Leak Detection Identifies leaks, notifies businesses, and tracks resolution.
Business Bucks
Program
Provides small business customers with an energy audit and up to $5,000 in retrofits.
Commercial Charging
Station
Provides up to $15,000 per charging station to BWP
commercial customers to offset some of the costs of
purchasing and installing qualified EV charging stations, including Level 2 charging stations and DC fast chargers.
4 DACs are the most pollution -burdened and vulnerable communities as designated by the California Environmental Protection Agency based on potential exposures to pollutants, adverse environmental conditions, socioeconomic factors, and the prevalence of certain health conditions 4 Level 1 charging stations deployed in common areas of multi-family residences may also qualify for a rebate.
Upstream HVAC
program
Provides HVAC distributors an incentive to stock and install efficient HVAC equipment into Burbank businesses.
Community Programs
Program Description
LED Street Lighting
Project
Replacement of all city streetlights to LED.
Drought Tolerant
Demonstration Garden
Will provide up to $15,000 to non-profits to install native and drought-tolerant landscaping and educational signage.
LivingWise Provides all sixth-grade students with a “Resource Action Kit.” The kits contain energy and water -saving devices, which the students install in their homes and complete a home audit report.
Public Charging Ports Burbank currently has 73 public EV charging ports at 17 sites, with plans to install more throughout the City.
Looking towards the future, BWP will be preparing to expand programs to increase our impact to reduce GHG emissions in alignment with Burbank’s GGRP.
Residential Programs
Program Description
Home Rewards Rebates Expand program to include rebates and incentives to electric heat -pump water heating, HVAC units, and
electrical panel upgrades (GGRP initiative).
Low-Income Refrigerator
Exchange +
Pilot providing electric heat-pump water heaters and HVAC units to low-income households (GGRP initiative).
Demand Response –
Bring Your Own Device
Allow residential customers to enroll in a demand response program where they will be incentivized to reduce their AC usage during peak electric events.
Time of Use Rate Transition all residential customers to time-of-use rates to incentivize usage when power is cheapest.
Utility-owned solar +
storage pilot
Explore the potential to install and maintain utility -owned solar + storage on residential rooftops.
Business Programs
Program Description
Business Rebates Expand to include rebates and incentives to electric heat - pump water heating, HVAC units, and electrical panel
upgrades (GGRP initiative).
Demand Response Incentivize business customers to reduce energy when power prices are high and assist in reducing Burbank’s peak load.
5 Utility-owned solar +
storage
Partner with local organizations and businesses to install and manage solar + storage systems (e.g. the Regional
Intermodal Transportation Center and Burbank Unified
School District).
Community Programs
Program Description
In-school education Expand in -school sustainability education programs to elementary schools, high schools, and adult school.
Collaboration with EV
charging manufacturers
Collaborate with EV charging manufacturers to share in the cost of charging infrastructure and allow more public
charging (e.g. Electrify America and Tesla).
Non-profit partnerships Partner with non -profit agencies to help facilitate the adoption and investment of sustainability programs within disadvantaged communities. For example, reach more low- income households by streamlining qualification and
program participation (GGRP initiative).
With these programs, BWP is not only preparing to reduce overall usage for water and electricity, but also reduce peak energy demand, which at the margin can be up to $1,000 per megawatt . For context , in the September 2022 California heat dome , BWP spent about $6 million dollars in peak energy to ensure the Burbank community had power.
These sustainability strategies will not only assist in creating a more sustainable community, but also assist in lowering costs and keeping our rates affordable.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This activity has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and as such, is not a “project” subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 14 Cal. Code Regs § 15378.
FISCAL IMPACT
Existing programs have been budgeted in FY 2022 -2023, there is no fiscal impact. New programs will be included in BWP’s FY 2023- 2024 and FY 2024- 2025 budget requests utilizing electric public-benefit funds, water funds, and CARB’s LCFS5 program.
CONCLUSION
BWP is still refining the plans for these programs and is looking to prudently invest what is needed to accelerate our clean- energy future. Prior to increasing rates, BWP will propose the utilization of unspent public -benefits funds 6, grants and funds from other
entities (SoCalGas, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD), etc.) to run new programs.
5 LCFS was created in 2011 by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as part of several AB32 measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout the state 20% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. BWP receives a portion of Burbank’s electric vehicle registrations which funds these programs. 6 BWP has approximately $7M in unspent PBF, and $3.5M in unspent LCFS funds. 6 ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – BWP’s Residential Programs
Attachment 2 – BWP’s Commercial Programs