Board of Directors Meeting
September 25, 2025
Item 3: CEO Operational and
Administrative Report
2 CEA Staffing
3 New CEA Employee:
Amy Williams Executive Assistant/Office Manager
Item 3
CEA Enrollment Stats
4 Member City Eligible
Accounts
Clean Impact –
50% Renewable
Clean Impact Plus
- 75% Carbon
Free
Green Impact –
100% Renewable
Participation
Rate
Carlsbad 54,998 178 49,227 654 91%
Del Mar 3,022 10 2,754 73 94%
Escondido 57,111 152 53,280 74 94%
Oceanside 74,227 202 68,881 103 93%
San Marcos 37,214 115 35,592 76 93%
Solana Beach 7,773 14 6,907 158 91%
Vista 39,471 84 36,957 327 95%
TOTAL 273,816 755 252,598 1,025 93%
Item 3
CEA serves a total of 254,378 customer accounts across its seven member agencies Completed Community Events
5 Item 3
Upcoming Community Events
02/29/24 6
Item 3
Solar Plus & Battery Bonus Update
7 Member City Solar Plus Solar Plus Connect Battery Bonus Battery Bonus Connect Status Active Complete Active Complete Active Complete Active Complete Carlsbad 4 1 3 0 0 0 11 0
Del Mar 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
Escondido 10 0 13 0 0 0 13 0
Oceanside 3 1 6 0 0 0 18 0
San Marcos 6 1 3 0 0 0 8 0
Solana Beach 2 0 1 0 0 0 2 0
Vista 2 1 7 0 0 0 12 0
TOTAL 27 4 34 0 0 0 65 0
Data as of 9/18/25
Item 3
Connect Programs SGIP Funding
8 Member City Solar Plus Connect Battery Bonus Connect
Carlsbad $91,080 $198,000
Del Mar $30,360 $19,800
Escondido $408,480 $217,800
Oceanside $188,520 $354,024
San Marcos $90,685 $158,400
Solana Beach $29,485 $39,600
Vista $156,250 $274,854
TOTAL $994,860 $1,262,478
Data as of 9/8/25
Item 3
PeakSmart Savers Update
9 Member City Participants
Carlsbad 2
Del Mar 1
Escondido 5
Oceanside 3
San Marcos 0
Solana Beach 0
Vista 5
TOTAL 16
Data as of 9/22/2025
Item 3
Rate Design Change Delay
10 Item 3
• Board had previously supported a rate design change to set our base rate at our default product, Clean Impact Plus (50% renewable/75% carbon-free)
• Staff has been working closely with Calpine and, although there would be no rate changes with this, the rate design change would require several bill presentation changes
including credit/premium adjustments and NEM bill
adjustments
Rate Design Change Delay
11 Item 3
• SDG&E is implementing its Base Services Charge next
month and will also be implementing its bill
presentation changes soon
• Given the bill presentment complexities involved, and to avoid creating customer confusion, staff recommends
delaying implementation of this rate design change and
to study other options to implement this rate design
• At its meeting on September 11, 2025, the Risk
Oversight Committee supported this recommendation
Questions/Discussion – Item 3
12 Item 4: Regulatory Update
13 Clean Energy Alliance: Regulatory Update
Tim Lindl – Keyes & Fox LLP
September 25, 2025
Item 4
15 Overview
● Application 23-08-001: Final Decision in SDG&E Phase II General Rate Case (GRC)
● Rulemaking 20-05-012: Proposed Decision on Demand Response (DR) Enrollment Requirement for Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP)
Item 4
A.23-08-001: SDG&E Phase II General Rate Case
● Purpose of a Phase II Rate Case
● Issues we litigated to improve
customer understanding of bills
● September 18 Final Decision:
○ PCIA listed on bundled
customer bills and tariffs as
separate line item
○ Volumetric charge (same as
CCA bill)
16 Item 4
17 R.20-05-012: SGIP Funding for CCAs
● From July CEA Board Meeting:
○ 12/20/23 - D.24-03-071 Commission ordered that SGIP PAs ensure SGIP incentive applicants enroll in an approved qualified DR program
○ 5/15/25 - CEA AL12-E to Update Qualified Demand Response Program List for AB 209 SGIP Incentives in Compliance With D.23-12-005 and D.24-03-071 (Now suspended) ○ 7/7/25 - ACR in Rulemaking asks: “Should the Commission remove the DR requirement for all residential low-income customers applying to the Residential Solar and Storage Equity budget?”
○ 7/15/25 - Joint CCAs, including CEA, filed in support ● August 29 Proposed Decision removes the DR requirement for all residential low-income customers
● September 18 comments on the PD urged the Commission to expand the exemption to all customers without access to a qualified DR program (not just low-income customers) Item 4
QUESTIONS?
Tim Lindl
[email protected]
(510) 314-8385
18 Item 4
Questions/Discussion – Item 4
19 Item 5: Amendment No. 1 to VAMO
Agreement with SDG&E
20 21
•That the CEA Board adopt Resolution No. 2025-041, approving Amendment No. 1 to the Voluntary Allocation Market Offer (VAMO) Renewable Energy Confirm Agreement with San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E)
•Authorize the Chief Executive Officer to execute the Amendment, subject to Transactions Attorney approval.
Item 5
Recommendation
Background & Discussion
• In December 2021, CEA executed a renewable energy purchase agreement (the “Agreement”) with SDG&E as a part of a State-mandated VAMO process
• VAMO provides a structure for incumbent investor-owned utilities to offer a share of the output of their existing portfolio of renewable energy projects to unbundled customers moving over to Community Choice Aggregators
• California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Decision D.21-05-030, which was executed after the initial agreement, sets additional guidelines for VAMO contracts – the VAMO contract must extend through the contract term of all underlying contracts • VAMO Agreement is scheduled to end in 2032, however, many of the underlying projects (primarily wind and solar) have contracts that extend past that date with some extending out to the early 2040s
• Amendment No. 1 is required to bring CEA’s VAMO Agreement into compliance with D.21-05-030
22 Item 5
Questions/Discussion – Item 5
23 Item 6: Amending CEA’s Privacy and
Customer Confidentiality Policy
(Administrative Policy CEA-03) and Delegating
Authority to the CEO to Adopt and Modify
Administrative Policies
24 25
•That the Board consider and adopt:
• Resolution No. 2025-042 Amending CEA’s Privacy and Customer Confidentiality Policy (Administrative Policy CEA-03); and • Resolution No. 2025-043 Delegating Authority to the Clean Energy Alliance (CEA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to Adopt and Modify Administrative Policies.
Item 6
Recommendation
26 • Privacy & Customer Confidentiality Policy (CEA-03) • Implements CPUC D.12-08-045 extending privacy protections to CCAs including protections of customer information, data and specific data retention rules • Resolution No. 2025-042 aligns Administrative Policy CEA-03 with D.12-08-045 and with CEA’s Records Retention Schedule (CEA-11) to state that customer data shall be retained “as long as is reasonably necessary or… for a specific secondary purpose authorized by the customer” and for a period for “not more than five (5) years and not less than two (2) years.” • Resolution No. 2025-042 adopts this proposed amendment along with other minor amendments related to SMS notifications and updating CEA’s email and address for purposes of Policy CEA-03
• Finally, Resolution No. 2025-042 authorizes and delegates authority to the CEO to make further modifications to Administrative Policy CEA-03 with any such modifications being reported to the CEA Board at its next regular meeting thereafter
Item 6
Background & Discussion
27 • Delegation of Authority to Adopt/Amend Administrative Policies • CEA JPA Agreement provides that the Board appoints a CEO to be responsible for the day-to-day operations and management of CEA and states the Board shall exercise specific powers except those which the Board may elect to delegate to the CEO, including “adoption of rules, regulations, policies, bylaws and procedures governing the Authority” • As such, it is recommended that the Board authorize the CEO to establish and modify Administrative Policies to properly carry out necessary operational and management duties and responsibilities without first having to receive prior Board approval • Resolution No. 2025-043 delegates that authority to the CEO and also requires that any adoption or modification of an Administrative Policy must be reported to the CEA Board at its next regular Board meeting
Item 6
Background & Discussion
Questions/Discussion – Item 6
28 Item 7: Long-Term Power
Procurement Strategy
29 Background
CEA must balance different priorities when developing a long-term procurement strategy:
1. Contract for renewable energy to meet 100% renewable by 2035
2. Procure for compliance products to meet state-mandated compliance requirements:
▪ Resource Adequacy (RA) – grid reliability
▪ Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) – grid renewable content
3. Hedge against market price volatility by purchasing power ahead of time and locking in power supply costs
30 Item 7
Procurement Considerations - Affordability
CEA has a commitment to provide reliable and renewable electricity to its customers at an affordable cost.
In fact, CEA’s customers rank affordability as the most important issue relating to energy/electricity:
•In our 2025 Community Needs Survey, 81% of CEA customers ranked reducing their energy costs as extremely important.
31 Item 7
Other Procurement Considerations
•Balancing the number of long-term (i.e., Power Purchase Agreements) and short-term agreements in CEA’s portfolio • 65% of CEA’s RPS portfolio must come from long-term agreements •Assess whether additionality (new-build resources) should be emphasized as part of CEA’s procurement strategy
•Evaluate the overall value each potential project / resource provides • How do different generation profiles fit with CEA’s load shape? • What is the compliance value for each resource type/project? • How do contract costs differ between resource types?
32 Item 7
CEA’s load profile varies significantly
across seasons
33 Item 7
Meeting reliability (RA) involves adding a
buffer on top of average and peak load
34 Item 7
Solar vs CEA’s RA Needs – May
35 Item 7
Solar vs CEA’s RA Needs – May (cont.)
36 CEA would be oversupplied
during midday hours
Item 7
Wind vs CEA’s RA Needs – May
37 Item 7
Wind vs CEA’s RA Needs – May (cont.)
38 Item 7
Geothermal vs CEA’s RA Needs – May
39 Item 7
Geo vs CEA’s RA Needs – May (cont.)
40 Item 7
CEA’s Darden S+S project vs May
reliability needs
41 Item 7
S+S vs CEA’s RA needs – May (cont.)
42 Item 7
Meeting CEA’s May RA with S+S Only
43 Item 7
Meeting CEA’s May RA with S+S Only
(cont.)
44 1,380 MW
of S+S can meet
CEA’s May RA
requirements across
all hours, or
approximately:
• 10x contracted
Darden volume
• ~140,000
residential
rooftop
installations
Item 7
Relative Value
•Contract Cost
• Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
•Energy Value
• Energy prices when the resource is generating, and whether the timing of this generation can be used to supply CEA’s load
•Compliance Value
• Resource Adequacy
45 Item 7
Contract Costs
• Project developers offer CEA
fixed PPA pricing for projects,
based on their construction and
financing costs.
• PPA pricing can vary dramatically
between projects and between
resource types
•Newer or high demand
technologies may come at a cost
premium
46 Contract Cost
(PPA Pricing)
Solar ●
Solar + Storage ●
Wind ●
Geothermal ●●
Biomass/Biogas ●
Item 7
Energy Value
Energy Value
Solar ●
Solar + Storage ●
Wind ●
Geothermal ●
Biomass/Biogas ●
47 Energy value depends on:
• Pricing where the project is
located on the grid and how this
may change over time (e.g., as
other projects are built)
•Time of day when the resource
generates
•Layout of the grid and other
resources
Note: PPA contracts are often 10+ years; power prices could change dramatically this far out and depend on how many projects of resource types (geothermal, solar, wind, etc.) are added in different locations on the grid. This can impact a project’s value significantly.
Item 7
Compliance Value – Resource Adequacy
48 •CEA’s RA needs are tied closely
to CEA’s load profile, while also
accounting for generation
reliability (dispatchability vs
intermittency)
•Resources that closely match
CEA’s load and are reliably
generating will provide strong
RA value to CEA
RA Value
Solar ●
Solar + Storage ●
Wind ●
Geothermal ●
Biomass/Biogas ●
Item 7
Relative value and long-term portfolio
development
49 Contract Cost
(PPA Pricing) Energy Value RA Value Relative Value
Solar ● ● ● ●
Solar + Storage ● ● ● ●
Wind ● ● ● ●
Geothermal ●● ● ● ●
Biomass/Biogas ● ● ● ●
Item 7
Note: shifts in Contract Cost dynamics (technology development, supply/demand balance, tax credits / tariffs) could change Relative Value conclusions.
What might a 24/7 100% renewable
portfolio entail?
• As an initial analysis, CEA can consider how to achieve this goal during a load month such as May.
• Meeting CEA’s RA requirements – which account for time-of-use, resource reliability, and a buffer – offers an illustrative view of how a fully renewable portfolio could achieve 24/7, approximately 100% renewable energy
• From CEA’s JPA:
50 Item 7
CEA’s Recent Procurement Efforts
51 • Some Cluster 14 projects were constrained by
transmission upgrades, unable to start operating
until the early 2030s
• Local San Diego / Imperial Valley options were
extremely limited
• Responses were indicative of a high demand, low
supply market
• Other concerns raised included:
• Tariff/tax law and project cost uncertainty
• Interconnection queue delays
• Transmission constraints and transmission upgrade
delays are limiting deliverability for multiple
projects
Spring 2025 Non-S+S RFP
Less than 10
total Responses
• Mostly Wind offers were received
• Very limited geothermal
participation
Fall 2024 RFP
40+ total Responses
9 Cluster 14 (nearer-term) responses
• 5 standalone storage
• One standalone solar
• 3 solar + storage
Item 7
Key Takeaways
• Potential strategies for near-term renewable procurement, centering on affordability:
1. Move quickly to lock in contracts with pre-2030 projects
2. Limit near-term procurement and prioritize facilitating better-fit resource types in anticipation of better policy environment
• Explore earlier stage project opportunities and market development initiatives for key resource types such as geothermal
• There is potential for state and local policy and advocacy efforts to improve CEA’s future renewable energy options:
• Transmission upgrades and expansion
• New technology development facilitation (e.g., geothermal) • Nuclear as another 24/7 GHG-free option
• Permitting improvements
52 Item 7
Future Board Decisions
• Should CEA prioritize achieving 100% renewable faster, if this comes at a potential cost premium?
• Is there a preferred direction for near-term procurement strategy (lock in projects now vs wait until 2030s)?
•Nuclear as a 24/7 GHG-free option for CEA?
• Should CEA’s 100% renewable product also be 24/7 renewable? 53 Item 7
Questions/Discussion
54 Questions/Discussion – Item 7
55 Meeting CEA’s May RA with Wind Only
56 Item 7
Meeting CEA’s May RA with Wind Only
(cont.)
57 1,000 MW
of in-state onshore
wind can meet CEA’s
evening peak May RA
requirements
Item 7