CEO Report Item 13
CEO Report Item 13
TO: Ava Community Energy Board of Directors
FROM: Howard Chang, Chief Executive Officer
SUBJECT: CEO Report (Informational Item)
DATE: September 18, 2024
________________________________________________________________________ Recommendation
Accept Chief Executive Officer (CEO) report on update items below.
Executive Committee Meeting
An Executive Committee Meeting was held on Wednesday, September 4, 2024. Members received an update on Ava’s resilience initiatives. This includes our Critical Municipal Facilities program, a variety of grants, and our solar & storage incentive program. We are currently reviewing Grant Applications for the Community Organizing and Capacity Building for Resilience Hubs Community Innovation Grant. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 2, 2024 at 9am.
Financial, Administrative and Procurement Subcommittee Meeting A Financial, Administrative and Procurement Subcommittee meeting was held on Wednesday, September 11, 2024. Members received updates on the status of the fiscal audit and Ava’s participation in Hourly Flex Pricing pilot programs. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 13, 2024 at 1pm.
New Employees
Colin Krenitsky, Director, Clean Energy Structured Finance Colin joined Ava's Clean Energy Structured Finance team on 8/22/2024 as a Director, Clean Energy Structured Finance. Colin is responsible for structuring, negotiating, and closing strategic Ava financial transactions
Prior to Ava, Colin has spent 9 years in renewable energy project finance and capital markets, including roles at SolarCity, Tesla, Sunrun, Sunlight Financial, and Swell Energy. He has overseen the closing and management of over $5 billion in renewable energy transactions across various asset classes including tax equity, warehouse financing, asset-backed securitizations, whole loan sales, and more.
Colin holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Boston College, and Master in Business Administration from Boston University.
CEO Report Item 13
Community Grants Update
Ava staff have several workstreams in flight related to community grants.
1. Work continues with consumer education through live induction cooking demonstrations through our grant with Channing Street Copper. Live demonstrations were conducted at four different events in August and three events in September.
2. The board gave authority in May to staff to negotiate and execute contracts with Rising Sun Center for Opportunity and Advancing Green Apprenticeship Pathways (AGAPE) for clean energy jobs training and awareness. Those contracts are nearly complete.
3. We received four proposals to our solicitation for community electric vehicle charging.
Two contract awards are listed on tonight’s consent agenda for board approval resulting from the solicitation.
4. A request for proposals was issued in July for a community partner to support the workshops, development of case studies, and project support for community resilience hubs with a deadline of 8/30. Proposals are being evaluated by Ava staff and recommended contracts will be brought to the board in October.
Habitat for Humanity Groundbreaking
On August 28th, Ava staff were part of a ceremonial
groundbreaking for the new Habitat for Humanity community called Sequoia Grove – 10 all-electric homes in Hayward.
Ava provided funding for the installation of induction stoves, heat pump water heaters, heat pump heating and cooling
systems, and battery storage to supplement the photovoltaics that will also be installed on the homes. New homeowners are expected to move in during the Summer of 2026. Ava will develop content throughout the construction of these homes to support our customers' understanding of home
electrification. More information can be found at
avaenergy.org/habitat-for-humanity.
Community Sponsorships
Ava provides approximately 10-12 community sponsorships three times a year. Each award can be up to $2,500. Examples of community sponsorship recipients include but are not limited to youth sports teams, STEM programs, performing arts programs, and environmental groups.
Applications are open now through November for sponsorship awards that will be granted in December. More information can be found at avaenergy.org/community/grants-sponsorships/community-sponsorships.
New Website
As part of the on-going work to deliver on our brand promise, an updated website was launched on September 9th. The design of the website supports more frequent and relevant content updates to further engage with our customers. There is also a new feature – each member jurisdiction has its own landing page that includes key statistics about Ava’s service in that area.
CEO Report Item 13
The jurisdiction-specific data will be refreshed
regularly. The web address remains
unchanged at AvaEnergy.org.
Upcoming Events
To raise awareness of our service, support our
community, and stay close to our customers,
Ava sponsors and staffs events throughout
our service territory all year long. We welcome
board members, customers, and the public to stop by to say hello at any of these upcoming events. Email [email protected] if you have any questions.
Date Event Location
9/22/2024 Newark Days - Community Information Faire Newark Community Center 9/29/2024 Oakland Roots VS. FC Tulsa CSUEB Pioneer Stadium, Hayward 10/5/2024 Emeryville Harvest Festival Huchiun Park, Emeryville 10/5/2024 Science in the Park CSUEB, Hayward
10/5/2024
Alameda County Emergency Preparedness Day
(Ava staff will not be present at this event, but we
are an underwriter) Ed Roberts Campus, Berkeley
10/10/202 Lincoln Summer Nights Lincoln Square Park, Oakland 10/12/202 Oakland Roots VS. Phoenix Rising FC CSUEB Pioneer Stadium, Hayward July 2024 Rate Change Analysis, in brief
In comparison to June 2024, Ava's effective rates (which includes the Power Charge Indifference Adjustment) decreased by about 12% in July 2024. In comparison to July 2023 rates, Ava’s effective rates increased by 0.5% while PG&E's delivery rates have increased by about 30%.