Draft Minutes
Executive Committee Meeting
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
9:00 am
In Person:
Conference Room 5
Ava Community Energy
1999 Harrison St., Suite 2300
Oakland, CA 94612
Or from the following locations:
Dublin City Hall - 100 Civic Plaza, Dublin, CA 94568
City of Pleasanton, City Council Conference Room – 200 Old Bernal Ave., Pleasanton, 94566
Via Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88267670367
Or join by phone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
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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. (0:00) Welcome & Roll Call
Present: Members: Hu (Dublin), Kalb (Oakland), Marquez (Alameda County), Balch (Pleasanton) and Chair Tiedemann (Albany)
Member Marquez joined the meeting at 9:12am.
Member Kalb joined the meting at 9:22am
2. (1:47) Public Comment
Ava Community Energy
Executive Committee Page | 2
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.
There was no public comment.
3. (2:00) Approval of Minutes from September 4, 2024
Member Balch motioned to approve the minutes. Chair Tiedemann seconded the motion which was approved 3/0/0/0/2 (yes, no, abstain, recuse, not present):
Yes: Members: Hu, Balch and Chair Tiedemann
No: none
Abstain: none
Recuse: none
Not Present: Members Kalb and Marquez
4. (6:14) SMUD Contract Extension (Informational Item)
Report on recommendation to extend SMUD agreement for two years Kelly Brezovec spoke about Ava Community Energy's collaboration with SMUD for billing, data management, and customer service operations. Kelly Brezovec detailed the proposed two-year contract extension, which includes a rate adjustment from $1 to $1.10 per meter per month and noted that this rate remains below inflation-adjusted costs. Kelly also underscored enhancements in the agreement, including preparations for serving new territories like Stockton and Unincorporated San Joaquin County, a reduction in liability thresholds for billing errors, and ongoing recruitment efforts to hire customer service representatives locally.
(26:59) Public Comment - Jessica Tovar spoke about the historical expectation of establishing an in-territory call center and urged the board to develop a plan to fulfill this goal.
Board members discussed:
• Location of SMUD operations
• In-House call center considerations
• SMUD’s hiring of in-service territory employees
• Proposal for satellite call center
• Cost sensitivity and rate-payer Impact
• Operational risk
• General satisfaction with SMUD services
• Recognition of union labor
5. (33:33) Resilience Hub Project Management and Technical Assistance (Informational Item)
Ava Community Energy
Executive Committee Page | 3
Report on recommended contract for project management and technical assistance for resilience hubs
JP Ross spoke about the technical assistance program in Ava's Resilience Hub initiative.
He recommended contracting with NV5, a leading engineering consultancy with microgrid expertise, to provide program management and technical support for up to 100 resilience hubs over three years. JP Ross outlined a timeline, aiming for board approval in November 2024 and phased launches of related program elements, including solar and storage incentives by early 2025.
Board members discussed:
• How the 200 potential resilience hub sites will be selected • Clarification sought on whether the goal is to have 100 sites operational by the end of the contract or just ready to apply for funding
• Role of technical assistance support for projects
• Complexity of the process and the voluntary nature of site participation in the technical assistance program
• Site-specific considerations and challenges
• Suggestions for periodic updates on technical assistance progress and learnings from the rollout
• Appreciation for the inclusion of a future work session on the program
6. (50:24) Committee Member and Staff Announcements including requests to place items on future Executive Committee Agendas
There were no Committee Member or Staff Announcements.
7. (50:49) Adjourned at 10:22 am.
The next Executive Committee meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 4, 2024.