Draft Minutes
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
• Council Conference Room, 333 Civic Center Plaza, Tracy, CA 95376 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. (0:14) Welcome & Roll Call
Present: Directors: Lopez (Albany), Barrientos (Livermore), Nygard (Tracy), and Chair Tregub (Berkeley).
Absent: Directors: Diallo (Lathrop).
Ava Community Energy
Board of Directors Page | 2
2. (0:29) 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 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. (0:47) Approval of Minutes from October 17, 2026 (Action Item) Director Lopez (Albany) motioned to approve the minutes. Director Nygard (Tracy) seconded the motion, which passed 3/0/0/0/2.
Yes: Lopez (Albany), Nygard (Tracy), and Chair Tregub (Berkeley).
No: None.
Abstain: None.
Recuse: None.
Not Present: Diallo (Lathrop) and Barrientos (Livermore).
There were no speakers for public comment.
4. (1:19) Regulatory Update (Informational Item)
RA Transactability, Large Loads, *PCIA.
John Newton and Michael Quiroz presented on resource adequacy and the need for hourly transactability, transparency issues with the power charge indifference adjustment (PCIA), and regulatory challenges of growing large electricity loads like data centers.
Selection of topics discussed by subcommittee members:
• PCIA proceedings, including Ava’s denied rehearing request, ongoing court appeal, and status of different regulatory tracks
• Timeline and next steps for the PCIA legal appeal process • The distinction between retail vs. wholesale loads
(19:30) Public Comment - Jim Lutz expressed concern that new large-load connections could drive up transmission costs, and urged Ava to ensure that those costs are assigned to the large-load customers responsible and not spread across all ratepayers.
5. (22:06) Legislative Update (Informational Item)
2026 Legislative Preview.
Sam Sadle, Dominic Faria, and Kendall Downie discussed Ava’s legislative strategy and key energy bills related to rate affordability, grid infrastructure, decarbonization, and large electricity loads like data centers. They also outlined priorities for advocacy including PCIA transparency and resource adequacy transactability.
There were no speakers for public comment.
Ava Community Energy
Board of Directors Page | 3
Selection of topics discussed by subcommittee members:
• Ava’s timeline on legislative positions, and the possibility of additional positions later in the session if bills change
• Confirmation that additional bill recommendations will be reviewed at the April 10 committee meeting before going to the board
• Clarification that SB 1215 expands EV charging requirements for IOUs only and does not directly apply to CCAs
• Clarification on SB 187 quorum rules, noting quorum would be based on total board seats, making it harder to meet with vacancies
• Concern about data center growth and interest in related bills like SB 886 and AB 2383
6. (59:03) Outreach Strategy Update (Informational Item) James Cunningham presented Ava’s outreach and community engagement strategy, highlighting insights from stakeholder feedback and past outreach efforts. He outlined a new approach focused on affordability, hyper-local presence, stronger community partnerships, practical education, and other improved metrics to drive deeper and more effective customer engagement.
Selection of topics discussed by subcommittee members:
• Suggestions to enhance outreach tactics, including using branded apparel to increase visibility at events
• Strategies to better target different demographics
• Ava’s participation in community events like Earth Day, and encouragement to continue to maintain strong local presence
• Individual efforts by board members to promote Ava programs and updates within their own cities
(36:29) Public Comment - Jim Lutz supported the outreach strategy’s focus on affordability and deeper community engagement. He also noted that Ava’s affordability messaging may become challenging to sustain as more customers move to higher-cost renewable plans.
7. (1:21:08) Committee Member and Staff Announcements including requests to place items on future Board Agendas
There were no committee member or staff announcements.
8. Adjourned at 11:32am.
The next Marketing, Regulatory and Legislative Subcommittee meeting will be held on Friday, April 10, 2026 at 10am.
Altamont Conference Room
Ava Community Energy
Ava Community Energy
Board of Directors Page | 4
1999 Harrison Street, Suite 2300
Oakland, CA 94612
Minutes Written by Raïssa Ngoma