Agenda packet — Ava Community Energy Marketing, Regulatory and Legislative Subcommittee, March 6, 2026

Marketing, Regulatory and Legislative Subcommittee
Meeting
Friday, March 6, 2026
10:00 am
In Person:

Altamont Conference Room
Ava Community Energy
1999 Harrison Street, Suite 2300
Oakland, CA 94612
Or from the following locations:
• 1249 Marin Avenue, Albany CA 94706
• 333 Civic Center Plaza, Council Conference Room
Zoom:
https://avaenergy-org.zoom.us/j/88008124818
Or join by phone:
+Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):

US: +1 669 444 9171 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 719 359 4580 or +1 253 205 0468 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 309 205 3325
Webinar ID: 880 0812 4818
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) 707-1764 or [email protected].

If you have anything that you wish to be distributed to the Marketing, Regulatory and Legislative Subcommittee, please email it to the clerk by 5:00 pm the day prior to the meeting.

1. Welcome & Roll Call

2. Public Comment
This item is reserved for persons wishing to address the MRL Subcommittee on any Ava-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 Ava Community Energy
Board of Directors Page | 2
public comment, members of the public who wish to address the Board are customarily limited to three minutes per speaker. The MRL Chair may increase or decrease the time allotted to each speaker.

3. Approval of Minutes from October 17, 2026 (Action Item)

4. Regulatory Update (Informational Item)
RA Transactability, Large Loads, *PCIA.

5. Legislative Update (Informational Item)
2026 Legislative Preview.

6. Outreach Strategy Update (Informational Item)

7. Committee Member and Staff Announcements including requests to place items on future Board Agendas

8. Adjourn
The next Marketing, Regulatory and Legislative Subcommittee meeting will be held on Friday, April 10, 2026 at 10am.

Altamont Conference Room
Ava Community Energy
1999 Harrison Street, Suite 2300
Oakland, CA 94612
Draft Minutes
Marketing, Regulatory and Legislative Subcommittee
Meeting
Friday, October 17, 2025
10:00 am
In Person:

Altamont Conference Room
Ava Community Energy
1999 Harrison Street, Suite 2300
Oakland, CA 94612
Or from the following locations:
• 735 Gooding Way, Albany, CA 94706
Zoom:
https://avaenergy-org.zoom.us/j/88008124818
Or join by phone:
+Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):

If you have anything that you wish to be distributed to the Marketing, Regulatory and Legislative Subcommittee, please email it to the clerk by 5:00 pm the day prior to the meeting.

1. (0:30) Welcome & Roll Call

Present: Directors: Lopez (Albany), Barrientos (Livermore), and Chair Tregub (Berkeley).

Absent: Directors: Diallo (Lathrop) and Nygard (Tracy).

2. (0:51) Public Comment
This item is reserved for persons wishing to address the MRL Subcommittee on any Ava- Ava Community Energy
Board of Directors Page | 2
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 Board are customarily limited to three minutes per speaker. The MRL Chair may increase or decrease the time allotted to each speaker.

There were no speakers for public comment.

3. (1:09) Approval of Minutes from June 21, 2025 (Action Item) Director Barrientos (Livermore) motioned to approve the minutes. Chair Tregub (Berkeley) seconded the motion, which passed 3/0/0/0/2.

Yes: Lopez (Albany), Barrientos (Livermore), and Chair Tregub (Berkeley).

No: None.

Abstain: None.

Recuse: None.

Not Present: Diallo (Lathrop) and Nygard (Tracy).

There were no speakers for public comment.

4. (1:56) 2025 Legislative Session in Review (Informational Item) Review of the 2025 California legislative session.

Todd Edmister, Dominic Faria, and Kendall Downie reviewed Ava’s 2025 legislative activities, highlighting advocacy on energy affordability, decarbonization, EV charging, and data center policies. They noted successes in shaping battery safety, climate credit timing, and CCA autonomy, while several dynamic rate and clean energy bills were vetoed due to agency jurisdiction concerns. They also flagged the extension of California’s cap-and-trade program, growing CCA influence, and the need to address resource adequacy, large load management, and transmission issues in 2026.

Selection of topics discussed by subcommittee members:
• Concerns over large AI/data center energy use and enforcing permitting laws to prevent excessive consumption
• Battery storage installation delays caused by late-stage fire marshal requirements and SB 283 coordination improvements
• Challenges in marketing and customer engagement, with discussion of multi-year brand strategy and direct incentive programs • Legislative landscape and IOU influence, including limited overrides of vetoes and advocacy successes by Ava and CalCCA
• Future policy priorities for T&D alternatives, distributed energy resources, demand response, adapting to reduced federal incentives, and preserving funding for distributed generation and resiliency programs (36:29) Public Comment - Jim Lutz asked what efforts Ava is taking to advance desired policy and legislative changes, how the board sets priorities and legislative language, and Ava Community Energy
Board of Directors Page | 3
why the California Legislature rarely overrides the governor’s vetoes.

5. (57:08) Committee Member and Staff Announcements including requests to place items on future Board Agendas
There were no committee member or staff announcements.

6. Adjourned at 11:18am.

The next Marketing, Regulatory and Legislative Subcommittee meeting will be held on Friday, December 19, 2025 at 10am.

Altamont Conference Room
Ava Community Energy
1999 Harrison Street, Suite 2300
Oakland, CA 94612
Minutes Written by Raïssa Ngoma
Staff Report Item 4:

To: Ava Community Energy Authority
From: John Newton, Director of Regulatory Affairs
Subject Regulatory Update
Date: March 6, 2026
__________________________________________________________________ Summary/Recommendation
This staff report provides the Marketing, Regulatory, and Legislative sub-committee with regulatory context relevant for corresponding legislative items.

This is informational. No action is required.

Financial Impact
N/A
Analysis and Context
This presentation will provide regulatory context for Ava’s Public Policy legislative team presentation at the March 6, 2026 MRL, specifically relevant to (1) hourly transactability within the California Public Utility Commission’s resource adequacy program, (2) power charge indifference adjustment transparency, and (3) the evolving new large load California regulatory framework.

Committee Recommendation (if applicable)
None recommended.

Attachments (if applicable)
Presentation entitled “Marketing, Regulatory, and Legislative Sub-Committee Regulatory Update.”
Marketing, Regulatory, and Legislative
Sub-Committee
Regulatory Update
Michael Quiroz & John Newton | March 6, 2026
Regulatory Update Roadmap
2 • Purpose: Provide regulatory context for the following topics that are part of today’s Legislative Update ▪ Resource Adequacy Hourly Transactability
▪ Power Charge Indifference Adjustment Transparency
▪ Evolving California Large Load Regulatory Framework
• Key Takeaways
▪ Resource Adequacy Hourly Transactability within the CPUC’s Slide of Day Framework presents a key opportunity to improve customer affordability
▪ Ongoing CPUC Reforms to the Power Charge Indifference Adjustment that can produce significant electric rate uncertainty for customers need to be predictable and the methodology needs to be transparent ▪ As the default load serving entity for all new loads in the communities Ava serves, new large loads in California are beginning to drive a range of changes in the regulatory landscape Resource Adequacy Overview
3 • What is Resource Adequacy?
▪ Resource adequacy ensures that there is enough energy generating capacity and reserves to maintain a balanced supply and demand across an electric system
• Goal of the CPUC's Resource Adequacy Program
▪ Ensure enough capacity is under LSE contract in the near term (1–3 years) to reliably serve customer demand ▪ Incentivize the siting, construction, and retainment of resources needed for future grid reliability • How CPUC RA Program works today
▪ Load serving entities like Ava must show they have procured sufficient generating capacity to meet expected energy demands as well as additional capacity in reserve for grid stress events ▪ 1 annual showing (year ahead) and 12 monthly showings (month-ahead) Slice of Day and Transactability
4 • Prior to 2025, LSEs were required to procure capacity to cover a single peak demand hour each month • Slice of Day (“SOD”) regulations, first implemented in 2025, require LSEs to procure capacity to cover 24 hours in the worst day of each month
• Under existing rules, LSEs are restricted in how they can transact with other entities to ensure compliance.
▪ Adjustments to an LSE’s portfolio are limited to transacting product for the whole month even though obligations are unique to each hour.
▪ This mismatch means LSEs must purchase more RA than they need to meet their obligations, creating artificial market scarcity and unnecessarily driving up RA demand (and prices) • CCAs have supported transactability to address this mismatch ▪ Transactability would allow CCAs to trade obligations at the hourly level in order to reduce costs to consumers ▪ If RA requirements are set on an hourly basis, some or all of the products should be transactable on an hourly basis
• Parties are evaluating transactability in the current RA proceeding Legislative Companion: SB 1138 - Padilla
Power Charge Indifference Adjustment Transparency
5 Power Charge Indifference Adjustment Is Meant to Prevent Unintended Cost Shifts • The CPUC is tasked with ensuring that electric energy consumers neither impose nor receive unintended benefits from customers that remain with investor-owned utility service. • The CPUC accomplishes this by determining a Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) based on the imputed value of legacy utility resources relative to recent market values.

Energy Division Report Asserts PCIA Calculation Methodology Needs Reform • Early in 2025, CPUC Staff published a report asserting that the way the PCIA was calculated was flawed— resulting in a distorted valuation of legacy utility resources—and urgently needed reform.

CPUC’s Accelerated Rulemaking
• In a conspicuously brief first track of its rulemaking, the CPUC largely adopted the findings of CPUC Staff’s report and implemented PCIA calculation changes that resulted in meaningful impacts for Ava and other CCA customer electric costs.

Lack of Transparency
• Despite requests from Ava, our trade association, and other parties to the rulemaking, the CPUC did not share the information CPUC Staff had used to conclude that the previous methodology was flawed and that rapid change was needed.

Legislative Companion: AB 1761 - Rogers
Evolving Large Load California Regulatory Framework
6 • PG&E’s Application to establish Electric Rule
30 would establish a new standardized
process to connect retail load interconnection
at electric transmission voltage.
• New loads have typically connected to
distribution level gride (below 60 kV), with
standard processes evolving to meet this type
of load.
• More recently, there has been an uptick of
large loads seeking to connect at transmission
level voltages (above 60kV).

Legislative Companion: Various
0 400
800
1,200
1,600
2,000
2023 2028 2033 2038 2043 2048
GWh
CEC Forecasts of Ava Data Center Loads have varied
2024 IEPR (Feb 2026) Draft 2024 IEPR (Feb 2026) Final
2025 IEPR Draft 2025 IEPR Final
Staff Report Item 5:

To: Ava Community Energy Authority
From: Sam Sadle, Principal Legislative Manager
Subject: 2026 California Legislative Preview
Date: March 6, 2026
_________________________________________________________________ Summary/Recommendation
This staff report provides the Marketing, Regulatory, and Legislative sub-committee with an overview of the current state of play in the California legislature and previews future Board action to take legislative positions at the March and April Board meetings.

This is informational. No action is required.

Financial Impact
N/A
Analysis and Context
This presentation provides a summary of the current state of play in the California Legislature as it relates to legislative and budget proposals that may have an impact on Ava Community Energy and our Legislative Program. The presentation also provides frameworks through which to analyze the various proposals working through the legislature and background ahead of Board position proposals in March (SUPPORT: AB 1761 and SB 1138) and April (TBD).

Attachments (if applicable)
Presentation entitled “2026.03.06 2026 MRL Item 5 2026 California Legislative Preview” 2026 California Legislative
Preview
Sam Sadle, Kendall Downie, Dominic Faria – March 6, 2026 2026 California Legislative Timeline
2 January
5: Legislature reconvenes
10: Governor submits
budget
February
20: Bill introduction
deadline
March April
24: Policy cmtes move
fiscal bills to fiscal cmtes
(1st chamber)
May
1: Policy cmtes move
non-fiscal bills to floor
(1st chamber)
29: Last day for bills to be
passed by 1st house
June
15: Budget bill must be
passed
July
2: Policy cmtes move bills
to fiscal cmtes or
floor (2nd chamber)
August
14: Fiscal cmtes move
bills to floor (2nd
chamber)
31: Last day for each
chamber to pass bills
September
30: Last day for Governor
to sign/veto bills
October November December We are here
2026 Ava Legislative Review Process
83 bills related to our JPA
Securing electrical energy
supply
Addressing climate change by
reducing energy related
greenhouse gas emissions
Promoting electrical rate price
stability
Fostering local economic
benefits such as jobs creation,
community energy
programs, and local power
development
Promot[ing] the development
and use of a wide range of
renewable energy sources and
energy efficiency programs 3
Full universe of bills Today: Short list of bills
that demand further
analysis
37 bills related to the Ava
Legislative Program
Making Electricity More
Affordable
Protecting Community
Choice
Accelerating Decarbonization
Promoting Local
Development
Increasing Bill Transparency
and Understanding
April: Bill position
recommendations
3 criteria
Directly impacts our
operations or legislative
program
Supports the JPA's vision of an
affordable, sustainable, and
local energy ecosystem and
has broad-based support.

Ava's perspective has specific
resonance with key
decisionmakers and could
impact the legislative language
or path forward.

Full Universe of Bills
AB 13 Ransom (D) PUC membership and reporting
AB 34 Patterson (R) Extends the authority of POUs to count large hydro towards RPS AB 61 Pacheco (D) Require PAO to analyze ratepayer impacts of mandated programs AB 705 Boerner (D) Creates independent PUC audit office AB 706 Aguiar-Curry (D) Fire fuel reduction procurement program AB 710 Irwin (D) Dynamic pricing and advanced metering mandate AB 942 Calderon (D) Changes climate credit
AB 1016 Gonzalez (R) State certification exemption for geothermal power plants AB 1020 Schiavo (D) Requires IOUs to report taxpayer funding AB 1117 Schultz (D) Require IOUs to offer optional dynamic rate AB 1156 Wicks (D) Updates farmland solar-use easement statute AB 1553 Connolly (D) Spot bill -- CEQA reform
AB 1577 Bauer-Kahan (D) Data Center Monthly Reporting
AB 1677 Boerner (D) Require IOUs to cut rates by 25%
AB 1761 Rogers (D) PCIA data transparency
4 Full Universe of Bills
AB 1774 Boerner (D) Spot bill -- IOU rates
AB 1787 Schultz (D) Require IOUs to offer a dynamic tariff if smart meter infrastructure is in place AB 1791 Sanchez (R)
Prohibits CARB from adopting regulations that would add more than 2 cents to a gallon of gas or $2,000 to a home
AB 1942 Bauer-Kahan (D) Restrictions on class 2 and class 3 ebikes AB 1975 Schultz (D) PUC to consider of maintenance costs for IOU structure siting decisions AB 1995 Patel (D) State Fire Marshal lithium battery working group AB 2057 DeMaio (R) Prohibits city and counties from implementing gas bans AB 2111 Papan (D) Transmission planning alignment with affordability and FERC Order 1920 AB 2175 Garcia (D) Removes advanced electricity storage from smart grid deployment objectives AB 2181 Petrie-Norris (D) Requires PUC commission diversity AB 2182 Irwin (D) Creates IOU run industrial decarbonization program AB 2234 Papan (D) CEQA exemptions for geothermal exploratory projects AB 2239 Carillo (D) Infrastructure-constrained energization areas and IOU energization timelines AB 2266 Schultz (D) RA valuation standardization
AB 2369 Rogers (D) Spot bill
5 Full Universe of Bills
AB 2383 Zbur (D) Require creation of a large load customer class and rate schedule AB 2396 Harabedian (D) Spot bill
AB 2408 DeMaio (R) Require all PPPs be detailed on bill and an annual report to each ratepayer AB 2459 Wallis (R) Spot bill -- climate credit
AB 2463 Petrie-Norris (D) Require PUC to study IOU return on equity AB 2464 Wicks (D) Require PUC to study clean firm's role in 2045 goal AB 2493 Petrie-Norris (D) Require IOUs to have an interconnection auditor AB 2508 Hoover (R) Creates PPP vehicle to spend GGRF funds on EE programs run by RENs AB 2516 Petrie-Norris (D) California Grid Manufacturing Initiative AB 2518 Sharp-Collins (D) Spot bill -- utilities
AB 2554 Addis (D) Spot bill -- utilities
AB 2589 Irwin (D) Requires PUC to analyze OBBBA and adjust rates to reflect impacts AB 2611 Bains (D)
Require PUC to develop rates that do not impose an "unreasonable hardship" on low-income communities in hot climate zones
AB 2612 Schultz (D) Building standards for plug-in solar systems AB 2647 Calderon (D) Bans new nuclear power plants without fuel reprocessing capacity or adv tech 6 Full Universe of Bills
AB 2688 Zbur (D) Spot bill – offshore wind
AB 2699 Zbur (D) Spot bill -- utilities
AB 2700 Gallagher (R) Spot bill -- rates and air pollution AB 2710 Bauer-Kahan (D) Intent of legislature to make changes in IOU bankruptcy processes AB 2748 Quirk-Silva (D) Revert EV regulations to 2022 state building code for BMR housing AB 2762 Boerner (D) Spot bill -- rates
SB 222 Weiner (D) Heat pump water heater and HVAC system permitting streamlining SB 327 McNerney (D)
Prohibits IOUs from using ratepayer funds for advocacy activities related to municipalization
SB 330 Padilla (D) Transmission infrastructure financing pilots SB 332 Wahab (D) Study breaking up IOUs
SB 453 Stern (D) Microgrid incentive program
SB 742 Perez (D) IOUs to remove unused transmission facilities SB 842 Stern (D) Report on firm zero-carbon resources
SB 868 Wiener (D) Plug-in solar interconnection exemption SB 875 Wiener (D) PG&E municipalization advancement 7
Full Universe of Bills
SB 886 Padilla (D) Large load cost shift prevention
SB 887 Padilla (D) Large load CEQA application
SB 905 Becker (D) Spot bill -- Non-bypassable charges
SB 913 Becker (D) Spot bill
SB 924 Hurtado (D) PUC to consider affordability when looking at home weatherization SB 925 McNerney (D) Spot bill -- Energy efficiency
SB 943 Becker (D) Industrial billing and NBC/TAC reform SB 978 Perez (D) Special tariff for large load customers SB 1035 Strickland (R) Suspend gas tax for one year
SB 1097 Weiner (D) Spot bill -- Energy permitting
SB 1138 Padilla (D) RA transactability
SB 1158 Stern (D)
Adds status of utility transmission upgrades and electrical grid infrastructure to Reliability Planning Assessment
SB 1167 Blakespear (D) Clarifies ebike definition and bans advertising of non-eligible bikes SB 1168 McNerney (D) Data center gas usage surcharge
SB 1187 Durazo (D) Brown Act meeting updates
SB 1215 Cortese (D) Require IOUs to 3x the number of multifamily level 2 and 3 chargers 8 Full Universe of Bills
SB 1219 Strickland (R)
Requires PUC to consider discontinuation of nonperforming EE programs within 180 days
SB 1233 Allen (D) Spot bill -- rates
SB 1245 Stern (D) Intent of legislature to address cost containment of renewable integration into grid SB 1282 Becker (D) V2G standards
SB 1295 Stern (D)
Requires PUC to consider procurement of 40GW of storage and allocate procurement to LSEs
SB 1354 Archuleta (D) Spot bill -- renewable energy
Budget
Trailer Dept of Finance
Reallocates outstanding funding from the Distributed Energy Backup Assets (DEBA) program to the Demand Side Grid Support (DSGS) program 9 2026 Ava Legislative Review Process
10 Full universe of bills Today: Short list of bills
that demand further
analysis
37 bills related to the Ava
Legislative Program
Making Electricity More
Affordable
Protecting Community
Choice
Accelerating Decarbonization
Promoting Local
Development
Increasing Bill Transparency
and Understanding
April: Bill position
recommendations
3 criteria
Directly impacts our
operations or legislative
program
Supports the JPA's vision of an
affordable, sustainable, and
local energy ecosystem and
has broad-based support.

SB 1138 – Padilla
Require the PUC to permit LSEs to demonstrate compliance with RA requirements by selling to, or otherwise making transactions with, another LSE to meet not more than 25% of its compliance obligation, on a short-term basis, and to permit those transactions to be denominated in the same unit of time used to denominate RA compliance requirements.

Protecting Community Choice
13 Managing data center growth
AB 1577 – Bauer-Kahan
Require monthly energy and water use
reporting from all data centers
AB 2383 – Zbur
Creates large load tariff (>20 MW) to
prevent costs shifts and require facilities
to pay for interconnection over 15 years
SB 886 – Padilla
Require PUC to create large load definition
and tariff that prohibits costs shifts,
requires 50% onsite zero-carbon storage,
participation in demand response (among
other requirements)
SB 887 – Padilla
Subjects all data centers to CEQA unless
they install 100% zero-carbon energy
storage (4 hrs) and procure 100% zero-carbon generation (at least 75% net new) within 5 years (among other requirements)
SB 978 – Perez
Require PUC to create large load tariff (>75
mw) with upfront T&D upgrade payments
and require all backup generation to be
onsite solar paired with backup batteries
Accelerating Decarbonization
14 Supporting decarbonized utility-scale
generation
Supporting industrial and
large load decarbonization
AB 1156 – Wicks
Updates the Solar-Use
Easement law to encourage
development of solar on
water-constrained farmland
AB 2464 – Wicks
Require the PUC to do a
study on clean firm zero-carbon and what is needed
to achieve state’s 2045
goals
SB 1295 – Stern
Requires PUC to consider
procurement of an
additional 40GW of storage
and allocate procurement
to LSEs
SB 943 – Becker
Directs PUC to develop new
TAC and NBC regimes that
encourage industrial
decarbonization and
electrification
SB 1168 – McNerney
Impose a surcharge on all
gas generation used by data
centers and use funds to
support CARE/FERA
Promoting Local Development
15 Distributed energy resources Transportation electrification SB 868 – Weiner
Exempts portable solar
generation (max output of
1,200 watts) from
interconnection
requirements
AB 1942 – Bauer-Kahan
Require class 2 and 3
ebikes to be registered with
the DMV and plated
SB 1167 – Blakespear
Clarifies the definition of
ebikes and bans advertising
of non-eligible vehicles as
ebikes
SB 1215 – Cortese
Require IOUs to 3x the
number of level 2 and 3
vehicle chargers in
multifamily housing and
recover costs as O&M
SB 1282 – Becker
Require the Energy
Commission to study and
adopt Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G)
regulations
SB 222 – Weiner
Require local communities
to adopt heat pump water
heater and HVAC system
permitting streamlining
AB 2612 – Schultz
Requires the Building
Standards Commission to
adopt mandatory standards
for portable solar systems
Budget trailer – DSGS
Reallocates remaining
DEBA funding to DSGS
(~$20 million)
Increasing Bill Understanding and Transparency
16 Dynamic rates
AB 1787 – Schultz
Require IOUs to offer
dynamic pricing if smart
meter infrastructure is in
place
AB 710 – Irwin
Require IOUs to offer
dynamic pricing and require
IOUs and POUs to plan for
smart meter rollout to all
customers
Other
17 Brown Act updates PUC reform
SB 1187 – Durazo
Defines ”majority” for
purposes of open meetings
requirements
AB 2181 – Petrie-Norris
Requires Governor to
consider geographic
diversity in PUC
appointments
AB 13 – Ransom
Requires Governor to
consider diversity in PUC
appointments and PUC to
publish an annual
“affordability” report
IOU spending restrictions
SB 327 – McNerney
Prohibits IOUs from using
ratepayer funds for
advocacy activities related
to municipalization
20(!!!) spot or intent of legislature bills
AB 2396 – Harabedian
Spot bill – “Energy”
AB 1677 – Boerner
Intent of legislature to
reduce customer bills by
25%
2026 Ava Legislative Review Process
18 Full universe of bills Today: Short list of bills
that demand further
analysis
37 bills related to the Ava
Legislative Program
Making Electricity More
Affordable
Protecting Community
Choice
Accelerating Decarbonization
Promoting Local
Development
Increasing Bill Transparency
and Understanding
April: Bill position
recommendations
3 criteria
Directly impacts our
operations or legislative
program
Supports the JPA's vision of an
affordable, sustainable, and
local energy ecosystem and
has broad-based support.

Ava's perspective has specific
resonance with key
decisionmakers and could
impact the legislative language
or path forward.
83 bills related to our JPA
Securing electrical energy
supply
Addressing climate change by
reducing energy related
greenhouse gas emissions
Promoting electrical rate price
stability
Fostering local economic
benefits such as jobs creation,
community energy
programs, and local power
development
Promot[ing] the development
and use of a wide range of
renewable energy sources and
energy efficiency programs
What comes next? Bill review and positions
• March Board informational item:
o Present 2026 legislative preview to the
MRL, CAC, and Board for feedback
o Continue cross-functional and cross-CCA legislative analysis 19 • March Board action items:
o Propose SUPPORT AB 1761 PCIA
transparency
o Propose SUPPORT SB 1138 RA
transactability
• April Board action items:
o Propose annual updates to the Ava
Legislative Program
o Propose additional bill positions
(Support, Support If Amended,
Oppose Unless Amended, Oppose) to
MRL, ExCo, CAC, and Board
What comes next? Legislative session
• April 24: First house policy committee
deadline (fiscal)
• May 1: First house policy committee
deadline(non-fiscal)
• May 15: First house suspense deadline
• May 29: First house passage deadline
• Throughout May: Budget trailer hearings
• June 15: Budget deadline
20 First house
• July 2: Second house policy committee
deadline
• August 14: Second house suspense
deadline
• Aug 31: Second house floor passage
deadline
• September 30: Veto/signature deadline
Second house
Outreach & Community Engagement
Strategy Update for MRL Committee
March 6, 2026
Prepared by James Cunningham, Outreach & Engagement Manager Purpose
● Share results of analysis and community survey conducted to inform refinement of outreach & community engagement strategy
● Solicit feedback from MRL Committee to further refine strategy for 2026 & beyond Agenda
● Background
● Analysis
● Strategy Update
Agenda
Background
3 Context: Outreach & Community Engagement
4 Marketing
Content and Creative
Studio (CCS) Outreach Campaigns
Customers CBO’s
Legacy Strategy
● Goals are to raise awareness, build trust, and educate customers ● Meet people where they’re at
● Say yes to almost everything
Tactics
● Event Outreach - Passive presence at events across our service area to build awareness and engage with customers where they are at
● Sponsorships - Broad exposure for the Ava logo and a platform for outreach ● CBO Engagement - Proactive delivery of a message or collaboration with a partner to reach stakeholders with a more focused message Context: Outreach & Community Engagement
5 Analysis
6 7
Learning From Experience
● Detailed look at the three core types of
outreach activity (event tabling,
sponsorships, CBO engagement)
Customer Perspective
● Aggregate customer feedback data
collected over the last ~3 years, along with
insights from experienced Outreach
Coordinators
Stakeholder Survey
● Solicit structured feedback from Board of
Directors, Community Advisory Committee,
and MuniPals
Analysis Approach
Strengths
● Locally rooted outreach staff with strong
reputation with those who know us
● Sponsorships are a great gateway to trust-building relationships ● Customer Programs attract lots of attention and
answer “what’s in it for me?”
Challenges
● Stagnant levels of overall awareness of Ava
● Low threshold for what qualifies as engagement
● Lack of clear metrics for success
● Limited Outreach team capacity
Initial Observations
Learning From Experience
Events Analysis
In 2025, we tabled at 71 events:
9 ● Having a clear call to action and/or
something to offer (programs, giveaways,
etc.)
● Physical props to attract engagement and
spark conversation (i.e. induction demo)
● Mission or brand alignment with event theme,
such as Earth Day events which offer both
high volume and quality engagement
● In general, any environment where the
customer is primed to pay attention to us
Events Analysis
What Works
● Being an outlier booth that doesn’t feel relevant
to the theme of the event
● Poor booth placement: especially when we are
placed among food and alcohol vendors
● Loud music or entertainment makes
conversation and engagement very difficult
● Low event attendance or unfocused audience
● Poorly organized by event-planners
● Bad weather (especially heat)
What Doesn’t Work
Sponsorships Analysis
Event
Sponsorships
Logo visibility
Local investment
May or may not include
tabling presence
Sports
Sponsorships
Logo visibility
Gameday activations
Hyperlocal brand
alignment
Community
Sponsorships
$2,500 awards for
community projects
Projects create good
media opportunities
~60 orgs funded per year
“Large Nonprofit”
Sponsorships
Co-branding with well
known, trusted entities
Platform for education
and demonstration
projects
Event & Sports Sponsorships
● Brand exposure: lots of eyes on our logo
● Affiliation with positive local brands
● Relationship building with event hosts &
attendees
Non-Profit Sponsorships
● Co-branding with trusted entities
● Sponsorship money goes towards mission-aligned outcomes ● Storytelling opportunities from projects
Sponsorships Analysis
What Works
Event & Sports Sponsorships
● Visibility not translating into enough
awareness or education
● Logo gets washed out in the noise
● Low engagement & activation
Non-Profit Sponsorships
● Missing out on opportunities for deeper
engagement due to time allocation
What Doesn’t Work
CBO Engagement Analysis
In 2025, we tracked 13 “engagements” with CBOs
(separate from Community Sponsorships)
14 ● Educational presentations to CBOs and/or the
communities they serve
● CBO Newsletter (over 60% open rate)
● Using Community Sponsorships as a starting
point to building relationships
● Cross-collaboration with Local Development’s
community investment grants
CBO Engagement Analysis
What Works
● Lacking holistic strategy
● Not spending enough time on high-impact
engagements relative to other activities
What Doesn’t Work
What Customers Are Saying
Customer Perspectives
Themes
● Who is Ava?
● Does this save me money?
● What are the benefits?
Year Events
Attended
Impressions /
Conversations
Feedback
Documented
2023 51 4500 25
2024 99 6000 60
2025 71 8000 160
Total 221 18,500 245
Common Customer Interactions
19 solar adopter
“Can you explain how
the true-ups work
again? Who’s buying
back my power?”
advocate
“This is awesome! I
love how you all give
back to the
community.”
high bills
“My bill was more
than $500 last month,
it is so expensive!”
low-income
“Sometimes I have to
choose between
putting food on the
table or paying my
electricity bill.”
confused
“But I thought PG&E
is my provider?”
skeptic
“But how do you get
the energy? And is it
really cleaner?”
unaware
“I’ve never heard of
this before.”
“I’ve never seen any
notice of this.”
enthusiast
“I already electrified
my whole home! I
love electric living!”
Survey (via Google Forms)
The Survey
18 Responses
By Audience: ● Board of Directors (4) ● CAC (4) ● Munipals (10) By Location: ● Berkeley (5) ● Hayward (4) ● Oakland (3) ● Union City (1) ● San Leandro (1) ● Dublin (1) ● Tracy (1) ● Fremont (1) ● Piedmont (1) Purpose
22 Trust
23 Education
24 Strategy Summary:

Outreach and Community Engagement
27 Ensure Outreach Work is Mission-Aligned
28 Goals: Outreach & Community Engagement

1. Raise awareness of Ava’s existence, purpose, and value

2. Build trust in Ava as a nonprofit public agency and source of information

3. Connect our customers & communities to the benefits of clean energy and electrification
Mission
Ava Community Energy's mission is to drive increasing access to clean energy, serving the needs of our customers and the well-being of our community.

Strategy: Outreach & Community Engagement
29 Hyperlocal Presence
Maintain ongoing brand awareness activities to ensure logo visibility, physical presence, and in-person relationships across service territory Community Partnerships
Leverage sponsorships and grants to deepen relationships and engagement with community partners who can amplify our message and deepen trust in the communities we serve Lead with Affordability
Attract attention and drive awareness by opening conversations with benefits Ava can deliver to address affordability (e.g. programs, bill savings assistance programs, sponsorships, etc.) Practical Education
Deploy creative activations and demonstration projects as a means to educate our customers about clean energy and electrification, while generating meaningful storytelling opportunities Strategy → Tactics → Metrics
30 Strategy Key Tactics Metrics
Lead with
Affordability

1. Promote Ava’s programs

2. Energy savings education

3. Encourage enrollment in bill savings assistance
# Program Enrollment
# Electrification Guide Page Hits
Hyperlocal
Presence

1. Sports & events sponsorships

2. Table & present at community events

3. Install signage in community spaces
% Awareness (survey)
# Events Attended
# Physical Installations
Community
Partnerships

1. Community sponsorships

2. Strategic sponsorships

3. Co-host events with partners
$ Invested in Community
# CBOs Actively Engaged
# Events Hosted
Practical
Education

1. Demonstration projects

2. Storytelling

3. Digital engagement
# Electrification Projects
# Media Features
# Newsletter Subscribers
What’s Changing?
Key Pivots: Outreach & Engagement Strategy
➔ CBO Strategy
◆ Connect Community Sponsorships more intentionally to broader CBO engagement strategy ◆ Double down on ‘Strategic Sponsorships’ (f.k.a. ‘Large Nonprofit Sponsorships’) ◆ Leverage sponsorship dollars to deliver tangible examples of clean energy & electrification with direct benefits, while also generating a platform for educational storytelling ◆ Focus on customers and communities with highest energy burden who stand to benefit the most from increased access to renewable energy and electrification 32 Key Pivots: Outreach & Engagement Strategy
➔ Events Strategy
◆ Move away from measuring impressions & move towards measuring engagement ◆ Do more co-branded events (i.e. E-Bike Test & Ride in partnership with Bike East Bay) ◆ Reduce overall share of sports game-day attendance
◆ Decouple events sponsorship from event tabling in certain cases ◆ Decline tabling invites that don’t meet success criteria for high quality engagement ● Are the event logistics conducive to meaningful engagement? ● Is the event mission-aligned or on-theme?
● Is the audience in any way primed to pay attention to us? ● Is there a clear call to action for the audience?
● Is there equity, relationship-building, or other strategic value to attending? ● Is there a good learning opportunity for us? (i.e. customer / community feedback) 33 Capacity Planning (CY)
34 Thank You

Ava Community Energy Marketing, Regulatory and Legislative SubcommitteeMarch 6, 2026

Ava Community Energy Marketing, Regulatory and Legislative Subcommittee
March 6, 2026