Draft Minutes
Board of Directors Meeting
Wednesday, September 16, 2026
6:00 pm
In Person:
Board Room
Ava Community Energy
1999 Harrison St, Ste 2300
Oakland, CA 94612
Or from the following locations:
Commodore Lounge - 3 Commodore Drive, Emeryville, CA 94608 4917 Knowlson Terrace, Fremont, CA 94555
1100 Webster St, 2nd Floor Conference Room, Oakland, CA 94607 Larch Clover Community Center – 11157 West Larch Road, Tracy, CA 95376
New City Hall – 501 W Weber Ave, Building 1, Stockton, CA 95203 Via Zoom:
https://avaenergy-org.zoom.us/j/87023071843
Or join by phone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 669 900 6833 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 929 205 6099 or +1 301 715 8592 or 888 475 4499 (Toll Free) or 877 853 5257 (Toll Free)
Webinar ID: 870 2307 1843
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) 906- 0491 or [email protected].
If you have anything that you wish to be distributed to the Board of Directors, please email it to the clerk by 5:00 pm the day prior to the meeting.
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Public comment letters received for Ava Community Energy meetings are posted at https://app.box.com/v/avapubliccomment.
1. (0:12) Welcome & Roll Call
Present: Members: Marquez (Alameda County), Lopez (Albany), Tregub (Berkeley), Morada (Dublin), Kaur (Emeryville), Keng (Fremont), Roche (Hayward), Barrientos (Livermore), Brown (Oakland), Balch (Pleasanton), Rickman (San Joaquin County), Fugazi (Stockton), Nygard (Tracy), Sakakihara (Union City), CAC Chair Souza (Community Advisory Committee), Vice-Chair Gonzalez (San Leandro) and Chair Andersen (Piedmont)
Not Present: Members: Diallo (Lathrop) and Del Catancio (Newark) Members Keng and Barrientos joined the meeting after the consent agenda vote and before Item 12.
2. (1:24) Pledge of Allegiance
3. (1:48) Public Comment
This item is reserved for persons wishing to address the Board 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 two minutes per speaker and must complete an electronic speaker slip. The Board Chair may increase or decrease the time allotted to each speaker.
There were no public comments.
CONSENT AGENDA
4. (2:29) Approval of Minutes from July 15, 2026
5. Contracts Entered Into (Informational Item)
6. San Leandro Citywide default change request (Action Item) Requesting action from Ava’s Board to pass Resolution authorizing City’s request to change default from R100 to BC on a schedule to be determined by Ava’s CEO in consultation with City
7. LHi Group FY26-27 (Action Item)
Approving a Resolution of the Board of Directors of Ava Community Energy Authority authorizing the CEO to negotiate and execute Amendments to the two Staffing Services Agreements with LHi Group, Inc.
8. Fifth Amendment to Ascend Analytics Saas (Action Item) Approving a Resolution of the Board of Directors of Ava Community Energy Authority Ava Community Energy
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authorizing the CEO to negotiate and execute a fifth Amendment to the Ascend Analytics battery optimization Saas agreement
9. Treasurer’s Report (Informational Item)
Report on Ava’s cash balances as of June 30, 2026
There were no public comments.
Member Roche motioned to approve the Consent Agenda. Member Marquez seconded the motion, which was approved 14/0/0/0/4 (yes/no/abstain/recuse/not present):
Yes: Members: Marquez, Lopez, Tregub, Morada, Kaur, Roche, Brown, Balch, Rickman, Fugazi, Nygard, Sakakihara, Vice-Chair Gonzalez and Chair Andersen No: none
Abstain: none
Recuse: none
Not Present: Members: Keng, Barrientos, Del Catancio and Diallo
REGULAR AGENDA
Pursuant to Board direction, any agenda item not started by 9:00 p.m. will be continued to a future meeting unless the Board, by majority vote, elects to hear the item that evening.
The Board may also determine an alternate disposition of the item at its discretion.
10.(10:23) CEO Report
Howard Chang, CEO, presented the CEO Report and answered questions from the Board.
(26:24) Public Comment – Bradley Cleveland expressed appreciation for the Aramis solar and storage project, noting its construction by local workers and apprentices and its continuing agricultural use. He encouraged consideration of similar agrivoltaic projects in San Joaquin County.
11.(28:04) CAC Report
CAC Chair Souza presented the CAC Report and answered questions from the Board.
12.Chair and Vice-Chair Appointment (Action Item)
There were no public comments.
Member Marquez motioned to nominate Vice-Chair Gonzalez as Chair and Member Roche as Vice-Chair, effective December 1, 2026. Member Tregub seconded the motion, which was approved 16/0/0/0/2 (yes/no/abstain/recuse/not present):
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Yes: Members: Marquez, Lopez, Tregub, Morada, Kaur, Keng, Roche, Barrientos, Brown, Balch, Rickman, Fugazi, Nygard, Sakakihara, Vice-Chair Gonzalez and Chair Andersen
No: none
Abstain: none
Recuse: none
Not Present: Members: Del Catancio and Diallo
13.(35:42) Approve a resolution on a suite of power related products with Sentinel Energy Center, LLC from a hybrid battery project (Action Item) Approving a Resolution of the Board of Directors of Ava Community Energy for the CEO to negotiate and execute agreements for BESS, RA and Financially Settled products.
Scott Harding, Director of Origination, presented the item and answered questions from the Board.
(1:05:11) Public Comment – Jim Lutz asked how the proposed resource adequacy and financial hedging arrangements would operate, including how they protect Ava against price volatility and account for longer-term market risks.
Vice-Chair Gonzalez motioned to adopt the resolution authorizing the CEO to negotiate and execute agreements for Battery Energy Storage System Resource Adequacy and Financially Settled products with Sentinel Energy Center LLC.
Member Roche seconded the motion, which was approved 16/0/0/0/2 (yes/no/abstain/recuse/not present):
Yes: Members: Marquez, Lopez, Tregub, Morada, Kaur, Keng, Roche, Barrientos, Brown, Balch, Rickman, Fugazi, Nygard, Sakakihara, Vice-Chair Gonzalez and Chair Andersen
No: none
Abstain: none
Recuse: none
Not Present: Members: Del Catancio and Diallo
14.(1:11:32) Update on Customer Programs Strategy (Informational Item) Updating the board on the status of the Customer Programs Strategy development process
Annie Henderson, Chief Customer Officer, presented the update on the Customer Programs Strategy development process and answered questions from the Board. (1:38:37) Public Comment – Jim Lutz encouraged the Board to align customer programs with Ava’s joint powers agreement objectives for local renewable development and community ownership, and recommended measures of local energy production and economic retention.
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(1:40:22) Public Comment – Bradley Cleveland expressed support for stakeholder engagement in the strategy process, particularly inclusion of labor organizations in workforce development and training.
15.(1:42:44) Board Member and Staff Announcements including requests to place items on future Board of Directors Meeting Agendas
CEO Chang reminded board members to complete the meeting location survey circulated by Deputy General Counsel John Perkins, aimed at scheduling one to two formal board meetings per year in San Joaquin County. CEO Chang also noted that he is continuing to present Ava's impact report to member jurisdictions, with Union City scheduled for the following week.
Member Marquez announced the upcoming Science in the Park event, to be held on Saturday, October 3rd from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM at Cal State East Bay. The free family event will feature STEAM activities, interactive educational programming, and community exhibits. Ava Community Energy will be tabling and sponsoring the event.
16.(1:45:29) Closed Session Public Comment
There were no public comments.
17.(1:46:46) Closed Session
a. PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957. Title: Chief Executive Officer
b. CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.6. Agency Representatives: Inder Khalsa, Jonathan Tedesco, Betsy Andersen, and Juan González. Unrepresented employee: Chief Executive Officer.
18.(2:39:45) Report Out of Closed Session
There were no items to report out of closed session.
19.(2:39:52) Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 8:46pm
The next Ava Board of Directors meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 21, 2026 at 6:00 pm.
9/16/26 – Ava Board of Directors
AI Generated Courtesy Summary - not official minutes
This summary has not been reviewed for accuracy
Board of Directors
September 16, 2026, 6:00 PM
1. Welcome & Roll Call
Chair Andersen called the September 16, 2026 meeting of the Ava Community Energy Board of Directors to order at 6:00 PM. Board Clerk Adrian Bankhead called the roll.
Present: Member Marquez (Alameda County), Member Lopez (Albany), Member Tregub (Berkeley), Member Morada (Dublin), Member Kaur (Emeryville), Member Keng (Fremont), Member Roche (Hayward), Member Barrientos (Livermore), Member Brown (Oakland), Member Balch (Pleasanton), Member Rickman (San Joaquin County), Member Fugazi (Stockton), Member Nygard (Tracy), Member Sakakihara (Union City), CAC Chair Souza (Community Advisory Committee), Member Gonzalez (San Leandro / Vice-Chair), Chair Andersen (Piedmont)
Absent: Member Diallo (Lathrop), Member Del Catancio (Newark) A quorum was established.
2. Pledge of Allegiance
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Chair Andersen.
3. Public Comment
No members of the public requested to speak during general public comment.
CONSENT AGENDA
Prior to the vote, Member Morada requested clarification on two line items under Item 5. CEO Howard Chang explained that the Dakota Press Inc. contract, with a current-year value of $180,000 and a cumulative not-to-exceed of $1,400,000, covers a range of regulatorily required mailers sent to customers upon jurisdictional expansion as well as annual mailers such as the power content label. Regarding General Counsel AI Inc., CEO Chang confirmed the $7,000 contract is a flat-rate software service, which accounts for the "N/A" not-to-exceed designation.
Member Roche inquired about the process and implications of cities changing their default product, specifically in light of the San Leandro opt-down request — the first instance of a jurisdiction opting down rather than up.
CEO Chang acknowledged that existing policy addresses timing and procurement adjustments to accommodate such changes and noted that widespread simultaneous changes across jurisdictions would require revisiting the policy with the full board.
Member Brown offered remarks of appreciation for Ava's sponsorship of an e-bike education course at an East Bay BART station in partnership with Bike East Bay.
Motion to approve the Consent Agenda (Items 4–9) was made by Member Roche and seconded by Member Marquez. The motion carried unanimously.
REGULAR AGENDA
10. CEO Report
CEO Howard Chang presented the CEO Report, highlighting the following:
Subcommittee Updates: The Executive Committee (XCOM) met on September 2nd and September 9th, covering an update on Ava Charge and a closed session item. The next XCOM meeting is October 7th at 3 PM.
The Financial, Administrative, and Procurement (FAP) Subcommittee met on September 9th and received updates on the FY25-26 audit, working capital management, and a renewable energy credit exchange transaction. The next FAP meeting is October 28th at 3 PM. A Marketing, Regulatory, and Legislative Subcommittee meeting is scheduled for the following Friday.
Alameda County Green Business Program Mixer: Approximately 40 small and medium-sized businesses attended a sustainability-focused mixer hosted at Ava's offices on July 16th.
Aramis Project: A 100 MW solar and 100 MW storage facility located in Livermore within Ava's service territory achieved its commercial operation date in early August. Ava holds a 10-year contract for 25 MW of resource adequacy from the project, with energy products commencing October 1st. The project, developed and operated by IPX Power, supports Ava's 2027 midterm reliability obligation.
Energy Prepayment Financing Results: Two additional energy prepayment transactions approved by the board in June were priced and closed in July, bringing Ava's total to seven such transactions. The Morgan Stanley transaction, at approximately $1.2 billion in bond principal, yields savings of approximately $17/MWh or $9.7 million per year, totaling roughly $88 million over the term. The Goldman Sachs transaction, at just under $1 billion, yields approximately $14/MWh or $7 million per year, totaling approximately $51 million over the term. Across all seven transactions, Ava will save over $30 million per year through 2032, representing approximately $11/MWh in savings. Ava is currently at approximately 49% of expected retail load through these transactions and retains headroom for additional prepayment activity.
New Web Content and Community Events: CEO Chang highlighted recent web content additions, including articles on the Mandela Partners partnership, EV ownership guidance, the Sequoia Grove project, and the Healthy Communities pilot program. Upcoming community outreach events are scheduled across multiple jurisdictions, including Albany, Lathrop, Stockton, Tracy, Newark, Hayward, Piedmont, Emeryville, Oakland, and unincorporated San Joaquin County.
E-Bike Test and Ride Event: A recap video was shared from the second e-bike test and ride event, held June 27th. The next event will take place on October 11th at the Hayward BART parking lot in partnership with Bike East Bay. The event is free and open to the public, with preregistration encouraged.
Legislative Update: CEO Chang announced that AB 1761, Ava's first-ever CalCCA-sponsored legislative bill addressing PCIA transparency, has passed through the legislature and is currently on the Governor's desk for signature. He thanked board members for providing letters of support.
Member Marquez requested that short 20-to-30-second clips from the e-bike video be made available for board members to share on their respective social media platforms. CEO Chang confirmed staff would follow up accordingly.
Member Roche and Member Fugazi both expressed enthusiasm for the upcoming Hayward e-bike event and requested expanded Ava outreach in their respective communities. Member Fugazi expressed particular interest in hosting a similar event in Stockton given the city's investment in new bike lanes.
One public comment was received from Bradley Cleveland, consultant with IBEW Local 595 and NORCAL NECA, who commended the Aramis project as having been built by local construction workers and apprentices and noted its agrivoltaic character, with agricultural land use continuing alongside power generation and storage.
11. CAC Report
CAC Chair Souza reported that a new CAC member, Andrew Krulowicz, has joined and attended his first meeting. She also reported that Vice Chair Inder Khalsa has resigned to pursue retirement. A vote for a new vice chair is anticipated at the following month's CAC meeting. No public comment was received on this item.
12. Chair and Vice-Chair Appointment (Action Item)
Chair Andersen noted that, pursuant to Ava's bylaws, the board is required to elect a chair and vice chair on an annual basis. She advised that she will be termed out of her elected position in December and therefore will not be able to continue serving on the board. Member Rickman inquired whether the agency maintains a practice of alternating the chair and vice chair roles between Alameda County and San Joaquin County jurisdictions, as is done on other regional bodies. Chair Andersen and CEO Chang confirmed that no such requirement exists in Ava's bylaws, though it was acknowledged as a concept worth considering in the future.
Motion to nominate Member Gonzalez as incoming Chair and Member Roche as incoming Vice Chair, effective at the December 2026 board meeting, was made by Member Marquez and seconded by Member Tregub. The motion carried unanimously.
Member Roche expressed appreciation for the nomination and her eagerness to serve in the role.
13. Approve a resolution on a suite of power related products with Sentinel Energy Center, LLC from a hybrid battery project (Action Item)
Scott Harding, Director of Originations, presented the item via remote participation. The board was asked to approve a resolution authorizing the CEO to negotiate and execute a package of five products with Sentinel Energy Center LLC in connection with the construction of a new 50 MW, 200 MWh lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS) to be co-located at Sentinel's existing 850 MW natural gas peaking facility in Desert Hot Springs, California.
The proposed transaction structure mirrors two previously approved deals: the Malaga facility (approved 2023, 16 MW/4-hour BESS, now operational) and the Tracy facility (approved April 2025, 13.3 MW/8-hour BESS, commencing 2028). The five products comprise: (1) resource adequacy (RA) from the newly constructed BESS for 10 years; (2) RA from the Sentinel gas plant for 10 years, with no energy taken; (3) a two-year, year-ahead RA call option for 2031–2032; (4) a top-4/bottom-4 financial hedge on the BESS for 10 years; and (5) a heat rate financial settlement hedge for 5 years. All products commence January 1, 2031. Ava will not take physical delivery of energy from the gas plant under any component of this package.
The BESS is projected to reduce NOx pollution by approximately 7% per year at the facility and eliminate approximately 2,000 metric tons of CO2-equivalent annually by displacing gas-fired generation with stored renewable energy. The project will also create 24 prevailing-wage construction jobs. The facility is owned 50/50 by Meridian Clean Energy and Diamond Generating Corporation, a Mitsubishi Corp subsidiary.
In response to board questions, Mr. Harding clarified that the 5-year term for the heat rate financial settlement was selected to bridge a specific coverage gap in Ava's portfolio and complements existing hedges running through the mid-2030s. He confirmed that the BESS will be charged primarily from excess grid renewable energy rather than from the gas plant itself, thereby actively displacing — not extending — fossil fuel generation at the site. CEO Chang noted the rarity of projects meeting the interconnection and land-use requirements for this structure and confirmed that pricing information remains confidential pending final execution, though further detail could be shared with board members through an ad hoc review process.
CAC Chair Souza relayed that the CAC had a robust discussion, raised concerns about natural gas usage, and suggested exploring geothermal alternatives. Staff confirmed that the BESS would function as a continuous power source rather than solely for cold-starting the gas plant, and that performance metrics for Sentinel are already in place.
Public comment was received from Bradley Cleveland, who expressed support for the transaction, and from Jim Lutz (Jim Woods), who posed several questions regarding the mechanics of RA products, hedge activation, and the risk of long-term solar and storage price declines. Mr. Harding addressed these questions, using the September 2022 heat wave — during which spot prices exceeded $1,000–$2,000/MWh — as an illustrative example of the exposure the heat rate financial settlement is designed to hedge against.
Vice Chair Gonzalez emphasized for the record that this transaction does not involve Ava taking any physical power and constitutes a compliance and financial risk management instrument. He also suggested that a brief educational session on resource adequacy would be valuable for board members.
Motion to adopt the resolution authorizing the CEO to negotiate and execute agreements for battery energy storage system resource adequacy and financially settled products with Sentinel Energy Center LLC was made by Vice Chair Gonzalez and seconded by Member Roche. The motion carried unanimously.
14. Update on Customer Programs Strategy (Informational Item)
Chief Customer Officer Annie Henderson presented an update on the development of Ava's Customer Programs Strategy. Staff has reframed the initiative under the title "Customer Programs Strategy" to better reflect the nature of the work, which centers on establishing a durable strategic framework — including a clear objective, strategic priorities, portfolio composition targets, and success metrics — before moving to program design and execution.
Ms. Henderson reported that staff has now met individually with all 18 member jurisdictions, completing outreach begun in May 2026. Staff also reviewed existing climate action plans, electrification plans, and mobility plans across member jurisdictions to leverage prior community engagement and avoid survey fatigue.
Key themes emerging from those discussions include interconnection and grid capacity concerns, staff and funding constraints at the local level, building and transportation electrification, and a strong, pervasive theme of affordability.
An RFP for an external engagement consultant was issued in late July, yielding nine conforming bids. Staff recommended proceeding with Option 2, which provides a greater number of community touch points (approximately 13 versus 6 under Option 1), to generate a richer and more representative dataset. The board was asked to confirm alignment with the proposed process, timeline, and the recommended level of stakeholder engagement.
The forward-looking timeline anticipates completion of the strategic framework by spring 2027 and a full program portfolio by fall 2027. An ad hoc group of board members will be sought for participation in the process. On an ongoing basis, individual programs will continue to come before the board for budget approval and program design review.
Board feedback was supportive of the proposed approach. Member Marquez requested that jurisdiction-specific feedback from the staff outreach meetings be shared with respective board members. Member Tregub encouraged staff to incorporate state-level mandates, such as the electrification plan under AD 39, into the framework and affirmed support for Option 2. Member Roche commended staff for bringing the work in-house rather than outsourcing the full process and emphasized the importance of Ava functioning as a regional complement to individual city programs rather than duplicating them. Vice Chair Gonzalez noted that strategy necessarily involves choosing what not to do and urged the board and public to be prepared for those trade-off discussions, with affordability identified as a central organizing priority.
CAC Chair Souza reported that the CAC approved the Option 2 engagement approach, with positive feedback on the focus on public engagement, ad hoc committees, equity metrics, labor, and integration with local climate action plans. The CAC also reiterated a prior request for a formal JPA policy governing the allocation of customer program funds when Ava is in a surplus position.
Public comment was received from Jim Lutz, who urged the board to adopt a strategic framework that connects customer programs to Ava's procurement power and JPA objectives, including local renewable resource development and community ownership, particularly in low-income communities. Bradley Cleveland, representing IBEW Local 595 and NORCAL NECA, expressed interest in participating as a stakeholder in the planning process and highlighted the role of labor apprenticeship and workforce development programs.
This item was informational; no action was taken.
15. Board Member and Staff Announcements including
requests to place items on future Board of Directors Meeting Agendas
CEO Chang reminded board members to complete the meeting location survey circulated by Deputy General Counsel John Perkins, aimed at scheduling one to two formal board meetings per year in San Joaquin County.
He also noted that he is continuing to present Ava's impact report to member jurisdictions, with Union City scheduled for the following week.
Member Marquez announced the upcoming Science in the Park event, to be held on Saturday, October 3rd from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM at Cal State East Bay. The free family event will feature STEAM activities, interactive educational programming, and community exhibits. Ava Community Energy will be tabling and sponsoring the event.
16. Closed Session Public Comment
No members of the public requested to speak on the closed session items.
17. Closed Session
The Board adjourned into closed session to consider the following items:
a. PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.
Title: Chief Executive Officer.
b. CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.6. Agency Representatives: Inder Khalsa, Jonathan Tedesco, Betsy Andersen, and Juan González. Unrepresented employee: Chief Executive Officer.
18. Report Out of Closed Session
There was nothing to report out of closed session.
19. Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 8:46 PM. The next Ava Community Energy Board of Directors meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 21, 2026 at 6:00 PM.