MINUTES
MEETING of the Legislative & Regulatory Committee of the Clean Power Alliance of Southern California
Wednesday, March 22, 2023, 10:00 a.m.
Committee participated in this meeting from the following locations:
Agoura Hills City Hall
Planning Conference Room
30001 Ladyface Court
Agoura Hills, CA 91301
CPA Office
801 S. Grand Ave., Suite 400
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Carson City Hall
Executive Conference Room
701 East Carson Street
Carson, CA 90745
Manhattan Beach City Hall
City Manager Conference Room
1400 Highland Avenue
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Los Angeles County
Hall of Administration
Sybil Brand Conference Room, Room 372
500 West Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL
Committee Chair Deborah Klein Lopez called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. and Gabriela Monzon, Board Clerk, conducted roll call.
Roll Call
Agoura Hills Deborah Klein Lopez Chair Remote
Carson Reata Kulcsar Alternate Committee
Member Remote
Los Angeles County Lindsey Horvath Committee Member Remote Manhattan Beach Amy Howorth Committee Member Remote
West Hollywood Absent
All votes are unanimous unless otherwise stated.
GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
CONSENT AGENDA
Clean Power Alliance Legislative & Regulatory Committee Page 2 of 3 March 22, 2023 Minutes
1. Approve Minutes from January 25, 2023, Legislative & Regulatory Committee Meeting
Motion: Alternate Committee Member Kulcsar, Carson
Second: Chair Lopez, Agoura Hills
Vote: The consent agenda was approved by a roll call vote.
REGULAR AGENDA
2. Receive Oral Overview of AB 1538
Gina Goodhill, Director, Government Affairs, provided an updated overview of AB 1538. The bill would create an incentive program to encourage Load Serving Entities (LSEs) to add more clean capacity on the grid in order to increase reliability and affordability. Ms. Goodhill indicated that reliability continues to be a challenge due to factors such as extreme weather, California’s aggressive climate goals, older resources exiting the grid, and numerous regulatory changes. Ms. Goodhill identified two approaches the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has taken to meet reliability needs, one being an emergency procurement order requiring all LSEs to take on new contracts, and the other requiring all LSEs to procure a specified capacity amount with an imposed penalty if an LSE falls short. Ms. Goodhill noted that without sufficient capacity, the penalties will be imposed and will increase costs for the ratepayers.
AB 1538 would accomplish two goals, including creating a monetary incentive for LSEs able to acquire additional clean capacity above their targets, and working in conjunction with the CPUC to set long-term 2035 targets to ensure clean resources are added to the grid. Ms. Goodhill added that this bill is the first proposal to use incentives to address liquidity in the RA market, and the bill requires project labor agreements or prevailing wage requirements.
Assemblymember Muratsuchi has agreed to offer the bill, and it has been assigned to its first committee on April 12. Ms. Goodhill requested that committee members submit letters of support for the bill by the first week of April. AB 1538 does not have a funding source currently but there have been conversations with various state agencies about funding that would not fall on the ratepayer.
Responding to Chair Klein Lopez’ question about the bill becoming a budget item, Ms. Goodhill indicated that is one possibility, adding that another possibility is that the California Energy Commission (CEC) aligns the bill with funding reserved for its Strategic Reliability Reserve. Chair Klein Lopez expressed that there were many positive discussions and feedback about the bill during Lobby Day. Ms. Goodhill shared that the bill is meant to be a regional statewide solution that can benefit all energy providers with the exception of publicly owned utilities.
3. Receive Legislative Update - Initial Outlook on Energy Related Bills Ms. Goodhill provided a presentation on 2023 legislative updates. 2023 will be the busiest legislative year to date for CPA, with legislative topics including reliability, budget change proposals, regionalization, vehicle and building decarbonization, interconnection and transmission, and additional issues. Ms.
Goodhill indicated that the highest profile legislative proposal is a budget change proposal; its three main components include central procurement, RA deficiency Clean Power Alliance Legislative & Regulatory Committee Page 3 of 3 March 22, 2023 Minutes
penalty, and Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) jurisdiction. AB 538 is the re-introduction of the 2018 regionalization bill and would enable the transition of the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) into a regional transmission operator with various western states and, if passed, would mean a radical change to the current structure. Responding to Chair Klein Lopez’ question, Ms.
Goodhill clarified that CPA did not take a position on the original 2018 regionalization bill. Ms. Goodhill indicated that over 20 bills are being tracked so far that are related to vehicle decarbonization and fewer bills that are related to building decarbonization. Interconnection, permitting, and transmission capacity planning continue to pose challenges, and various related bills have been presented. Ms. Goodhill identified additional legislative topics including equity, affordability, jobs, Brown Act flexibility, and the procurement of specific resource types.
Chair Klein Lopez expressed appreciation for the updates and specific timing of positions taken on bills, as many change dramatically through the legislative process. Committee Member Howorth echoed Chair Klein Lopez’ comments and thanked staff for the simple, organized, and prudent presentation. Committee Member Horvath inquired about Assemblymember Holden’s new declared interests and collaborative efforts. Staff indicated there has been proactive outreach from Assemblymember Holden’s office on this bill in particular.
Committee Member Horvath commented that it will be interesting to see how the challenges consumers are facing with increasing costs will affect legislators and inquired about the general attitude towards Community Choice Aggregations (CCAs). Ms. Goodhill indicated that in both the Senate and Assembly affordability hearings, the speakers were from a CCA and were able to distinguish the local benefits and bill protection they provide consumers. Staff commented that the general feedback towards CCAs from legislators and senators was overall positive, as many concerns about affordability and reliability from both parties now are aligning. Chair Klein Lopez expressed that the Brown Act will be another important discussion topic in the near future.
COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS
None.
ADJOURN
Chair Klein Lopez adjourned the meeting at 10:42 a.m.