CEO Report Item 4
CEO Report Item 4
TO: Ava Community Energy Board of Directors
FROM: Howard Chang, Chief Executive Officer
SUBJECT: CEO Report (Informational Item)
DATE: June 16, 2025
________________________________________________________________________ Recommendation
Accept Chief Executive Officer (CEO) report on update items below.
Executive Committee Meeting
An Executive Committee Meeting was held on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. Members received an update on the FY2025-26 Draft Budget and a follow-up report on Prepay Financing. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 2, 2025 at 3pm.
Board and Committee Meeting Location Update
Ava is undergoing tenant improvements (TIs) in its office suite from July 14 through September 12, 2025. Such TIs are fully paid for through by the building landlord per the terms of the lease agreement. Ava will remain fully operational during this period, but Ava offices will be closed and staff will work remotely. All scheduled board and committee meetings will be held in the Large Conference Room in the Rotunda Building, located at 300 Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland, CA 94612.
Meetings to be held at the Rotunda Building:
• July 14, 2025 – Community Advisory Committee
• July 16, 2025 – Board of Directors
• September 3, 2025 – Executive Committee
• September 10, 2025 – Financial, Administrative, and Procurement Subcommittee Rotunda Building parking and access instructions will be made available on Ava’s website in the corresponding public meetings pages.
Launch to Stockton & Lathrop
Ava’s newest customers in Stockton and Lathrop received their second bill with Ava’s generation service in June. The “first bill” has, based on previous enrollments, resulted in higher call volumes and customer opt-out activities, as the bill may be their first experience with Ava Community Energy. The second bill aligns with customers receiving their first bill with summer/Air conditioning usage on it, which also drives more customer calls which can result in CEO Report Item 4
an opt out as well. This will be the final regular update regarding the Stockton & Lathrop enrollment process.
The overall opt-out rate for Ava's new communities has increased from 5,996 opt-outs to 6,449 total. The total opt out percentage as of June 6, 2025 is 5.35% Jurisdiction Number of Accounts Number of Opt Outs Percentage Opt Out Stockton 112,168 6,138 5.47%
Lathrop 8,272 311 3.76%
Total 120,440 6,449 5.35%
Downtown Stockton Alliance
I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Courtney Wood of the Downtown Stockton Alliance on June 11, 2025 regarding our recent launch to Stockton to share more about Ava, what a CCA is, our offering of programs and services, and explain our bill. Link to video below.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/events/7332996231100567552/comments/ Fremont Residential Transition to Renewable 100
Ava staff continue to coordinate closely with Fremont’s City staff to prepare for the City’s residential default enrollment to Renewable 100 this August (note: Fremont’s non-residential/commercial and industrial customers are scheduled to default to R100 in August of 2026, per Ava’s Board action on July 17, 2024). The bullets below summarize updates since last month:
• The webform on Ava’s dedicated Fremont webpage became active on Monday, June 2.
As such, residential customers in Fremont are currently able to choose Bright Choice if they prefer to do so instead of transitioning to Renewable 100 in August—and some already have! As of June 10, Fremont’s residential customer actions are summarized as follows:
o 22 residential customers have chosen to remain on Bright Choice; o 2 residential customers have chosen to opt out
• Ava staff co-presented an outreach and enrollment update to the Fremont Sustainability Committee along with City staff on Thursday, June 5. • Ava provided Fremont’s City staff with a customized social media/newsletter marketing toolkit.
• Staff finalized four (4) customer enrollment notices (mail & electronic), the first of which is scheduled to be mailed to Fremont residents the week of June 23. • Ava will be participating in the following Fremont events to educate on this transition:
o Jun 21: Pride Fair at the Fremont Library
o Aug 2-3: Festival of the Arts (also event sponsors)
o Aug 16-17: Festival of India (also event sponsors)
o TBD: 1-2 Farmers markets (at least 1, but up to 2 depending on expectations/logistics
San Joaquin County (unincorporated) 2026 Enrollment Update Since the start of the year, Ava staff have been busy preparing for the launch of service to unincorporated San Joaquin County in 2026 and coordinating with Supervisor Rickman and county staff. On May 7, 2025, Ava staff presented an initial item to the Board’s Executive Committee to discuss considerations for enrollment timing. Based on recent ERRA filing and CPUC Proposed Decision on PCIA, staff is updating material changes to the forecasted 2026 rates and PCIA for SJ County’s specific vintage. With this updated analysis, staff will be CEO Report Item 4
discussing further with SJ County and anticipate bringing forward an update for discussion with the board in July.
Resilience Hub Focus Groups
Ava’s Community Innovation Grantee, Emerald City Collaborative, has hosted three Focus groups to confirm the definition and eligibility criteria for Ava’s upcoming Resilience Hub Program, which will be launching later in 2025. The first focus group was virtual and two in-person Focus Groups were hosted in Oakland and Stockton. Close to 200 participants and 36 CBOs attended the workshops. There has been active discussion about the Services that Resilience hubs can provide and positive feedback on Ava’s proposed Resilience Hub definition. Ava will be reviewing findings and presenting an overview of the Resilience Hub Program to the Board in the fall.
Ava in the Community
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. Stop by to say hello at any of these upcoming events between June 18 and July 16. Learn more at https://avaenergy.org/about-ava/meetings-events/events/ Date Event Location
6/20/2025 Stockton Ports vs Inland Empire 66ers Banner Island Ballpark 6/21/2025 Fremont Pride Fair Fremont Main Library
6/22/2025 Oakland Soul vs San Juan SC Merritt College
6/26/2025 Oakland Soul vs The Olympic Club Merritt College 6/28/2025 Oakland Roots vs Monterey Bay FC Oakland Coliseum 7/1/2025 Lathrop Birthday Celebration Generations Center 7/10/2025 Lincoln Summer Nights Lincoln Square Park
7/11/2025 San Leandro Pride Downtown San Leandro
7/12/2025 Oakland Roots vs Phoenix Rising FC Oakland Coliseum