Executive Committee Meeting
Wednesday, September 4, 2024
9:00 am
In Person:
Conference Room 5
Ava Community Energy
1999 Harrison St., Suite 2300
Oakland, CA 94612
Or from the following remote location:
Dublin City Hall - 100 Civic Plaza, Dublin, CA 94568
Via Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88267670367
Or join by phone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or 877 853 5257 (Toll Free) or 888 475 4499 (Toll Free) Webinar ID: 882 676 70367
Meetings are accessible to people with disabilities. Individuals who need special assistance or a disability-related modification or accommodation to participate in this meeting, or who have a disability and wish to request an alternative format for the meeting materials, should contact the Clerk of the Board at least 2 working days before the meeting at (510) 906- 0491 or [email protected].
If you have anything that you wish to be distributed to the Executive Committee, please email it to the clerk by 5:00 pm the day prior to the meeting.
1. Welcome & Roll Call
2. Public Comment
This item is reserved for persons wishing to address the Executive Committee on any Ava Community Energy-related matters that are not otherwise on this meeting agenda. Public comments on matters listed on the agenda shall be heard at the time the matter is called.
As with all public comment, members of the public who wish to address the Committee are customarily limited to three minutes per speaker and must complete an electronic speaker slip. The Executive Committee Chair may increase or decrease the time allotted to each speaker.
Ava Community Energy
Executive Committee Page | 2
3. Approval of Minutes from June 5, 2024
4. Closed Session Public Comment
5. Closed Session
A. Conference with Real Property Negotiators pursuant to Government Code § 54956.8: 251 8th Street (Negotiators: CEO Howard Chang, General Counsel Inder Khalsa) (price and terms of payment).
6. General Report Out of Closed Session
7. Resilience Initiative Overview (Informational Item)
Overview of what work is being done
8. Committee Member and Staff Announcements including requests to place items on future Executive Committee Agenda
9. Adjourn
The next Executive Committee meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 2, 2024.
Draft Minutes
Executive Committee Meeting
Wednesday, June 5, 2024
9:00 am
In Person:
Conference Room 5
Ava Community Energy
(formally East Bay Community Energy)
1999 Harrison St., Suite 2300
Oakland, CA 94612
Or from the following remote location:
• Member Marquez – 24301 Southland Drive, Suite 101 Hayward, CA 94545 • Member Hu – Dublin City Hall - 100 Civic Plaza, Dublin, CA 94568 Via Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88267670367
Or join by phone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or 877 853 5257 (Toll Free) or 888 475 4499 (Toll Free) Webinar ID: 882 676 70367
Meetings are accessible to people with disabilities. Individuals who need special assistance or a disability-related modification or accommodation to participate in this meeting, or who have a disability and wish to request an alternative format for the meeting materials, should contact the Clerk of the Board at least 2 working days before the meeting at (510) 906- 0491 or [email protected].
If you have anything that you wish to be distributed to the Executive Committee, please email it to the clerk by 5:00 pm the day prior to the meeting.
1. Welcome & Roll Call
Present: Members: Marquez (Alameda County), Kalb (Oakland), Balch (Pleasanton) and Chair Tiedemann (Albany),
Not Present: Member Hu (Dublin),
Member Kalb joined the meeting at 9:15am.
Ava Community Energy
Executive Committee Page | 2
2. Public Comment
This item is reserved for persons wishing to address the Executive Committee on any Ava Community Energy-related matters that are not otherwise on this meeting agenda. Public comments on matters listed on the agenda shall be heard at the time the matter is called.
As with all public comment, members of the public who wish to address the Committee are customarily limited to three minutes per speaker and must complete an electronic speaker slip. The Executive Committee Chair may increase or decrease the time allotted to each speaker.
(3:15) Public Comment - Jessica Tovar from Local Clean Energy Alliance spoke in opposition to PG&E's nuclear allocation and stated that Ava should focus instead on implementing the local development business plan.
(5:23) Dan Schoenholz, the Community Development Director for the City of Fremont, announced his presence and stated that he was tracking the Renewable 100 item on the agenda.
(5:52) Chair Tiedemann announced that Agenda Items 7, 8 and 9 – Closed Session would be moved immediately after Agenda Item 2 – Public Comment.
7. Closed Session Public Comment
There was no public comment for the closed session.
8. Closed Session
A. Public Employee Appointment pursuant to Code § 54957(b)(1)): Chief Executive Officer.
9. General Report Out of Closed Session
There were no actions to report out of Closed Session.
3. (1:00:08) Approval of Minutes from May 1, 2024
Member Kalb motioned to approve the minutes. Member Balch seconded the motion which was approved 3/0/0/0/2:
Yes: Members: Kalb, Balch and Chair Tiedemann
No: none
Abstain: none
Recuse: none
Not Present: Members Hu and Marquez.
Member Marquez returned from closed session at 10:05 am, after the vote for the approval of minutes vote was taken.
4. Draft Budget 2024-2025 (Informational Item)
Review changes to the budget due to the June 2024 Energy Resource Recovery Account filing by PG&E
Ava Community Energy
Executive Committee Page | 3
(1:01:21) Howard Chang presented a revised draft budget for 2024-2025. This budget reflects significant changes prompted by PG&E's Energy Resource Recovery Account filing, which forecasts lower energy rates for 2025. This rate reduction reduces Ava’s financial margin and necessitates adjustments to the value proposition. Adjustments include maintaining the current 5% discount rather than increasing to 7% and eliminating the proposed $50 CARE/FERA bill credit. Howard Chang outlined modifications to the net position forecast and reserve allocations, and introduced a new tiered structure for distributing any budget surplus. He also noted that the projected surplus has decreased from $139 million in May 2024 to $42 million in June 2024. (1:09:41) Member Balch asked about the $7 million increase in energy costs over just one month and expressed concern about potential ongoing cost increases. Howard Chang explained that this 1% increase was due to continued upward pressure on renewable energy pricing but emphasized that it's a modest increase relative to the overall budget. Howard also clarified that while there is market volatility, he does not expect this trend to continue.
(1:23:44) Member Marquez asked when updates on revenues and expenses for energy purchasing would be available, specifically for the next fiscal year, to determine if there's a surplus and if the waterfall can be implemented. Howard Chang responded that the Financial, Administrative and Procurement subcommittee meets bimonthly to review financials, with the next meeting scheduled for early July, and after the anticipated budget approval.
(1:25:44) Public Comment – Jessica Tovar spoke in support of increased grant opportunities for smaller community-based organizations. Tovar specifically requested $50,000 Community Innovation Grants with three-year commitments to support organizations at different stages of work, particularly those focused on solar and storage solutions. She also spoke about the need for an ongoing debt relief program. (1:27:41) Public Comment – Aya Peters Paz spoke in support of expanding funding for resilience hubs beyond just solar and storage, stating that these hubs serve broader climate resilience needs such as disaster relief, cooling centers, and power outage support. Peters Paz also spoke about the importance of including community-based organizations and existing resilience hubs in discussions about their funding needs. (1:30:05) Public Comment – Carli Yoro, representing Emerald Cities Collaborative, spoke in support of holding a public learning session on resilience hubs. Carli Yoro also asked Ava to think about developing a resilience program that goes beyond solar and storage to address holistic community needs.
(1:32:40) Member Marquez asked about the commitment to a work session on resiliency hubs and suggested a strategic planning retreat for the board to establish priorities.
Howard Chang responded that while there's no specific date set for the work session, Ava has initiated outreach to better define resilience hub needs and has two grants in progress to gather information and case studies, which will be presented to the board in the coming months.
Ava Community Energy
Executive Committee Page | 4
(1:39:47) Member Marquez requested a briefing memo for the board on the resilience hub topic, including a timeline of efforts. Howard Chang agreed to provide a summary of historical actions and future plans,
5. Renewable 100 Updates (Informational Item)
Updates on Renewable 100
(1:41:29) Howard Chang presented updates on the Renewable 100 (R100) program, highlighting potential opt-ups from Fremont and Oakland that could significantly increase the R100 load by nearly 75%. He discussed the need to revisit the cost allocation methodology for R100 pricing due to recent market volatility and increased renewable energy costs. Howard also outlined various scenarios for phasing in the opt-ups, particularly for Fremont, and spoke about the importance of board approval for any changes to the cost allocation methodology and city opt-ups. (1:56:53) Member Balch asked about the cost allocation method for renewable energy between Bright Choice and R100 products, particularly focusing on how long-term renewable contracts are incorporated into pricing. Howard Chang responded that while all long-term contracts are currently factored into both products' costs, there's a need to consider how to allocate the marginal costs of new, more expensive renewable energy procurement. Member Balch suggested a baseline approach where the majority of marginal costs (e.g., 70-80%) could be allocated to R100, with a portion going to Bright Choice.
(2:02:33) Public Comment – Jessica Tovar spoke about the need for an ongoing debt relief or disconnection prevention program, particularly for households eligible for but not enrolled in CARE/FERA programs and are opted up to R100. Jessica Tovar stated that resilience hubs could facilitate such programs and help with enrollment in assistance programs.
(2:05:08) Public Comment - Jim Lutz spoke in support of Ava's efforts to help more cities default to 100% renewable energy and stated that making Renewable 100 cheaper than PG&E's base rate would make the process easier for cities with significant low-income populations. Jim Lutz also proposed additional ideas, including a premium-priced 100% local renewable rate option and the consideration of 24/7 renewable energy. (2:10:08) Chair Tiedemann spoke about the importance of customer engagement and awareness when opting up to Renewable 100, citing Albany's experience where many customers chose to opt back down to Bright Choice. Chair Tiedemann stated that this initiative by customers was a sign of successful engagement.
6. Committee Member and Staff Announcements including requests to place items on future Executive Committee Agenda
• (2:11:04) Member Balch suggested agendizing strategic planning and resilience hub informational items at future meetings.
Ava Community Energy
Executive Committee Page | 5
10. Adjourn
The next Executive Committee meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 3, 2024.
Energy Resilience
Activities Overview
Executive Committee 9/4/24
Overview of Resilience Efforts to Date
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o
3 Resilient Critical Municipal Facilities
Phase 2
Technical Evaluation &
Pre-development
Phase 1
Municipal Outreach &
Project Identification
Phase 3
Contract Execution &
Development
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Community Resilience Hubs
Community
Resilience
Needs
Evaluation
Site
Identification /
Assessments
Technical
Assistance
Solar & Storage
Deployments
5 Community Resilience Hub Initiative
Phase 2
Technical Assistance
Phase 1
Community Outreach & Project Identification
Phase 3
Solar+Storage
Incentive
•
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provide research on the
types of potential site control, and
expand understanding of
organizations that are currently
operating resilience hubs
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State Case Study: Resilient Maryland
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Municipal Case Study: County of Santa Barbara Energy Assurance Services •
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CCA Case Study: Clean Power Alliance Power Ready Program •
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Q4
Critical Municipal Facilities, Phases 1 & 2
Development, RFP Community Grants
Technical Assistance
Solar + Storage Incentive
Overall Budget
10 •
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Ayla Peters-Paz
Local Clean Energy Alliance
339 15th St Suite 208
Oakland, CA 94612
[email protected]
510-619-8948
Subject: Include Community Organizations in a Resilience Hub Study Session for the Ava Community Energy Board and Community Advisory Committee
September 4th, 2024
Dear Ava Community Energy Board Members, Alternates, Community Advisory Committee and Alternates,
Local Clean Energy Alliance was pleased to hear that members of the Board of Directors are interested in a resilience hub study session for the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) and the Board of Directors (Board). During the Ava Community Energy Board meeting on May 15th 2024, the Board identified the need for a study session to better understand resilience hubs and their role in climate and energy resilience. During the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting on May 13th 2024, CAC members expressed a similar desire for their own study session. At the June and July Board meetings, Local Clean Energy Alliance offered public comment about the resilience hub study session. We formally extended an offer to work collaboratively with the Board in designing a resilience hub study session at the July 17th 2024 Board meeting.
We appreciate Ava Community Energy’s decision to understand what resilience hubs are and how they play a role in strengthening climate resilience in their communities. We believe that a community’s cohesion, day to day needs, and ability to withstand climate changing impacts is directly tied with a community’s energy independence. We have no doubt that through a study session, Ava Community Energy will understand the importance of resilience hubs and the intersection of local clean energy and climate resilience.
However, we want to point out the need for community voices to represent themselves and their resilience hub work at this study session. Resilience hubs have been in frontline-environmental justice communities out of necessity, and the work they do is incredibly deep and longstanding. They are trusted by their communities in their day-to-day needs, as well as during times of social and climate disaster.
These community-based organizations would be an amazing source of knowledge and information to any kind of study session that Ava Community Energy holds.
Including them not only builds strong relationships with organizations working in frontline communities, but would also offer Board members the opportunity to learn from experts in climate and community resilience.
We would like to formally extend an invitation on behalf of Local Clean Energy Alliance to the Board and the CAC to coordinate a study session together. We can bring key organizational leaders to present directly to Board members and the Community Advisory Committee. If this is of interest to the CAC or the Board, please feel free to email me at [email protected].
Thank you,
Ayla Peters Paz
Energy Democracy Organizer
Local Clean Energy Alliance