Dohee Kim
Local Clean Energy Alliance
339 15th Street Suite 208 Oakland, CA 94612
[email protected]
Subject: Item 5. Customer Programs Strategic Roadmap (Informational Item) September 3, 2025
Dear Executive Committee of the Ava Community Energy Board, Given the upcoming Customer Programs Strategic Roadmap, the Local Clean Energy Alliance (LCEA) appreciates Ava Community Energy’s commitment to decarbonize while maintaining energy affordability for our local communities during this critical time of state and federal deregulation and rollbacks that are directly harming our renewable energy ecosystem.
As established by the monumental Local Development Business Plan (LDBP) and foundational Joint Powers Authority (JPA) agreement, we urge Ava Community Energy to uphold its original commitment to develop local renewable energy resources with emphasis on healthier and sustainable communities, clean energy jobs and local workforce development, and smart investments in local energy projects that will result in more reliable and self-sufficient energy supplies for our communities.
The transformative LDBP was a landmark strategy, led by a dedicated project team that connected with stakeholders and industry professionals, which continues to guide how Ava Community Energy can meet the public’s energy needs boldly and equitably. But LCEA is deeply concerned by the limited scope, structure, and ambition of the agency’s approach for the Customer Programs Strategic Roadmap.
While the energy landscape shifts dramatically, we must not abandon the objectives of the LDBP, but instead expand upon this visionary roadmap with the proposed customer programs.
We ask the agency to:
● Fully integrate community stakeholders to guide all phases of the RFP. We support the Community Advisory Committee’s (CAC) request in its participation in the selection of a contractor.
● Include review, analysis, and expertise from the initial project team of the LDBP. ● Foster high-road training partnerships, clean energy jobs, family-sustaining wages, and local workforce development for those in the Ava service territory. ● Develop local energy supply and distributed energy resources (DERs). ● Design programs beyond electrification, such as solar installations and community resilience hubs, that directly reinvest into our communities, especially in environmental justice communities, including disadvantaged, disinvested, and heavily pollution-burdened neighborhoods.
● Secure financial stability for the long-term beyond ratepayer dependence. ● Commit to a strong political strategy that counters PG&E and CPUC rate hikes and other challenges.
● Include opportunities in San Joaquin County for local clean energy programs and projects that bring the above community benefits.
The goal to decarbonize must not come at the expense of ratepayer affordability, equity, community design, public health, climate resilience, and local economic development for our communities to truly thrive. Thank you for your continued support.
Clean Power to the People,
Dohee Kim, Campaign Organizer with the Local Clean Energy Alliance (LCEA)