MINUTES
Board of Directors of the
Clean Power Alliance of Southern California
Special Meeting
Friday, June 21, 2024 9:00 a.m.
USC University Club
705 W 34th St King Stoops Hall
Los Angeles, CA 90089
I. ROLL CALL & OPENING REMARKS
Chair Klein Lopez and Ted Bardacke, provided opening remarks. Gabriela Monzon, Clerk of the Board, conducted roll call.
Roll Call
1 Agoura Hills Deborah Klein Lopez Chair Present
2 Alhambra Absent
3 Arcadia Absent
4 Beverly Hills Julian Gold Director Present
5 Calabasas Ed Albrecht Director Present
6 Camarillo Susan Santangelo Director Present
7 Carson
Cedric Hicks
Reata Kulcsar
Director
Alternate
Present
8 Claremont Absent
9 Culver City Joe Susca Alternate Present
10 Downey Absent
11 Hawaiian Gardens Absent
12 Hawthorne Alex Monteiro Director Present
13 Hermosa Beach Doug Krauss Alternate Present
14 Los Angeles County Rita Kampalath Alternate Present
15 Malibu Marianne Riggins Director Present
16 Manhattan Beach Absent
17 Monrovia Edward Belden Director Present
18 Moorpark Absent
19 Ojai Michelle Ellison Alternate Present
20 Oxnard Kathleen Mallory Alternate Present
21 Paramount Absent
22 Redondo Beach Absent
23 Rolling Hills Estates Debby Stegura
Steve Zuckerman
Director
Alternate
Present
24 Santa Monica Pam O’Connor Alternate Present
25 Santa Paula Jenny Crosswhite
Andy Sobel
Director
Alternate
Present
26 Sierra Madre Robert Parkhurst Director Present
27 Simi Valley Rocky Rhodes Director Present
28 South Pasadena Absent
29 Temple City Absent
30 Thousand Oaks David Newman Director Present
31 City of Ventura Absent
32 Ventura County Vianey Lopez Vice Chair Present
33 West Hollywood Chelsea Byers Alternate Present
34 Westlake Village Absent
35 Whittier Absent
All votes are unanimous unless otherwise stated.
II. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT
Jeff Bush provided public comment.
III. Study Session 1: CPA’s Customer and Community Programs Gina Goodhill, Senior Director, Government Affairs, provided Directors with an overview of CPA’s customer and community programs and a summary fact sheet describing the programs. Directors discussed existing programs and new program developments with CPA Program Managers, including:
1. Customer Solar Programs (Sun Storage, Power Share, Solar for Renters/MF Buildings
2. Backup Power for Municipal Facilities (Power Ready)
3. Load Management (Power Response, Managed EV Charging)
4. Building Electrification (Energy Advisor, Building Electrification Reach Codes)
5. Local Government Sustainability Project Funding (Energized Communities)
6. Low Income Efficient Air Conditioning Incentive
III. Study Session 2: CPA Expansion: Considerations and Priorities In this study session, Directors discussed CPA expansion mechanics and the current state of CPA expansion activities and priorities. Directors divided into four groups, with each group discussing one of the key issues.
Topic #1: Supply of Renewable Energy and Resource Adequacy Discussion Summary
Directors discussed various priorities related to the supply of renewable energy and RA and focused on strategies to balance costs while increasing the percentage of long-term contracts. Ideas discussed included focusing on battery storage and other flexible storage type technologies, considering ownership of renewable energy and storage resources, and having variation in contract lengths, including shorter terms, instead of the traditional 20-year contract.
Topic #2: Rate Competitiveness/Financial Outlook
Discussion Summary
Directors indicated that the decision to add new member agencies will have to made on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration factors including but not limited to the competitive environment, outlook for renewable energy markets, and expected financial impacts to existing CPA customers.
Directors discussed the reasons not to set a firm policy on rates for new member communities but arrived at a general consensus on the following principles:
• Residential and small business customers in new member communities should be offered at least one rate option for which the total bill will be at a discount to SCE.
Even if, or especially if, the community chooses 100% Green Power as its preferred energy option, having a lower-cost offering was a crucial element in building elected leaders’ support for joining CPA, marketing CPA to new customers, and retaining customers after enrollment.
• Board members were not in support of moving to an approach of setting CPA generation rates at the same levels across communities regardless of the communities’ PCIA vintage. Instead, residential and small business customers in new and existing communities should be provided with the same total bill comparisons regardless of PCIA vintage, provided that the financial impact to CPA is small. This approach simplifies CPA communications as communities are deliberating about joining CPA and as they select their community’s preferred energy option
Topic #3: Governance
Discussion Summary
Directors noted that one of the foundational principles that made CPA attractive was that all member agencies have an equal seat at the table and this principle should be maintained. Directors thought there was no current need to revisit the Board structure.
Directors also discussed the current committee structure and explored the idea of granting the Executive Committee additional authority to vote on emergency-related items (i.e., critical decisions where a delay in voting would disrupt key organizational functions), similar to COVID-19 provisions.
Directors discussed how the CPA Board can develop new leadership and avoid any negative consequences of excessive turnover. Directors requested that staff conduct periodic trainings for new Directors beyond the individual orientations conducted by the CEO and Clerk of the Board.
Topic #4: New Member Criteria
Discussion Summary
Directors acknowledged the challenge of providing renewable energy for new communities and noted that the level of effort required to enroll the new cities while supporting existing member agencies was significant and should be well resourced before expanding CPA’s membership. There was a strong sentiment to pause expansion until Phase 7 customers (to be enrolled in October 2025) are settled in to give staff the capacity to focus on serving the existing cities. Directors discussed adding cities adjacent to others already receiving CPA service, and considering cities that have climate and/or sustainability commitments. While formal climate plans may not be a requirement, there was consensus on considering climate and sustainability criteria to ensure the new cities are aligned with CPA’s mission and will be active participants in CPA programs.
Directors discussed re-engaging with cities in nine months to be able to onboard new communities for service in 2027. Directors also expressed a general desire not to turn away interested communities.
IV. Study Session 3: Big Ideas, New Strategies, The Next Big Thing Karen Schmidt, Senior Director, Rates and Strategy, provided a presentation summarizing staff-level brainstorming sessions that generated new ideas for CPA in the areas of Energy Supply, Rate Design, New Business Opportunities, Transportation Electrification, and Marketing. Directors then added to and built upon these ideas during round table discussions. A synopsis of each discussion is provided below.
1. Energy Supply
Directors expressed interest in getting all CPA rate products and/or communities to 100% renewable power by 2030 or 2035 (ahead of the 2045 state mandate). They also expressed interest in integrating mobile battery storage from vehicles and investing in more energy sources closer to our customers. There was discussion around nuclear power – ranging from “completely eliminate nuclear” from CPA’s energy sources (including that potentially contained in “unspecified” sources), to CPA owning its own “clean nuclear generation plant”.
2. New Business Opportunities
Directors expressed a high level of interest overall in pursuing new business opportunities, particularly in CPA owning its own generation and/or EV infrastructure projects. Other ideas included building and controlling its own billing system; developing an EV battery recycling business; and establishing or funding a research organization to patent new clean energy technologies.
3. Innovative Marketing
Directors supported making the CPA brand a household name, with strategies such as a customer raffle for “free electricity for life”, a CPA podcast, marketing partnerships, and Spanish-language and other non-English-language radio ads and content. Directors expressed particularly strong interest in the idea of a mobile clean energy demonstration and education truck.
4. Transportation Electrification
Directors were supportive of conversion of gas station infrastructure to EV charging in partnership with EV charging companies. Other ideas included providing discounts for EV charging near multifamily housing, free EV charging during off peak hours, and incentive rates for EV Uber/Lyft drivers; providing financing or rebates for customer EV purchases; providing municipal or mobile EV chargers for each member agency; and supporting electrification of public transit.
5. Experimental Rate Design
Directors supported staff interest in exploring new rates aimed at incentivizing load shifting and providing customized rate products for large commercial customers (e.g., a 24/7 renewable product).
6. Wild Cards
“Wild card” ideas included: expanding CPA’s presence and influence regionally, nationally and internationally as a model for effective climate solutions; expanding CPA’s programs, incentives and partnerships beyond electricity (e.g., partnering with water agencies to develop a whole-house climate resilience retrofit program); and lobbying for state/federal funding for discounted energy to CCAs versus large corporations that are competing for direct purchase of renewable resources.
V. ADJOURN