Nov. 19, 2025
To: Ava Board of Directors, CAC members and Staff
From: Audrey Ichinose, People’s Clean Energy Alliance and the CA Alliance for Community Energy
RE: Resilence Hubs Program
The CAC’s discussion Monday night of Ava’s proposed SmartHome Battery and Resilience Hub Programs was very useful. Staff cannot be commended enough for regarding solar battery power as an unequivocal bright spot for Ava customers in this fractious time for clean energy progress.
Like PG&E, Ava has felt the financial burden of CA’s enthusiastic embrace of rooftop solar. But unlike PG&E, which seeks to suppress rooftop solar, Ava advances ways to make rooftop solar work for all its customers.
There is a part of the Resilience Hub proposal that needs deeper thought, however. It was exciting to hear about the work done so far by the Emerald Cities Collaborative. Nine candidate Resilience Hubs have been identified so far. These existing hubs provide many valuable services, but most, if not all, already have solar systems and can take advantage of the Battery incentive program. And only four are in Disadvantaged Communities.
But there is one--and potentially others in Ava service territory--that provides critical services and support to the community that has no rooftop solar at all. West Side Missionary Baptist Church near the West Oakland BART station offers safe overnight parking for people living out of their vehicles, the chance for a weekly shower, food distribution, and much more. The church is led by the Rev.
Ken Chambers, who incidentally was a member of Ava’s original Community Advisory Committee. West Side has not yet been able to secure for itself a solar system. It is in a DAC.
Can the Resilience Hub Program be modified to make it possible for an invaluable center like West Side to acquire a rooftop solar system so that it could benefit from the Battery Incentive Program? I’m sure that Ava’s resourceful and dedicated staff could come up with a viable solution.
Thank you very much.