MINUTES
Board of Directors of the
Clean Power Alliance of Southern California
Regular Meeting
Thursday, December 5, 2024, 2:00 p.m.
Meeting videos are available on CPA's YouTube Channel.
http://www.youtube.com/@CPApublicmeetings
Board members participated from the following locations:
Calabasas City Hall
Council Conference Room
100 Civic Center Way
Calabasas, CA 91301
Clean Power Alliance
Diana Mahmud Board Room
801 S. Grand Ave., Suite 400
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Whittier City Hall
Admin Conference Room
13230 Penn Street
Whittier, CA 90602
Ventura County Government Center
Point Mugu Conference Room, 4th Floor
Hall of Administration
800 South Victoria Avenue
Ventura, CA 93009
South Bay Cities Council of Governments
Conference Room
2355 Crenshaw Blvd., Suite 125
Torrance, CA 90501
Mercure Hotel
Second Floor Conference Room
Building 5 No. 178 Puhui Road
Shanghai, China 201615
CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL
Chair Klein Lopez called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. and Annie Mendoza, Deputy Clerk of the Board, conducted roll call.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Director Primuth led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Roll Call
1 Agoura Hills Deborah Klein Lopez Chair Present
2 Alhambra Absent
3 Arcadia Paul Cheng Director Remote
4 Beverly Hills Julian Gold Alternate Present
5 Calabasas Ed Albrecht Director Remote
6 Camarillo Absent
7 Carson Reata Kulcsar Alternate Remote
8 Claremont Corey Calaycay Director Present
9 Culver City Yasmine-Imani McMorrin Director Present
10 Downey Horatio Ortiz Director Remote
11 Hawaiian Gardens Absent
12 Hawthorne Alex Monteiro Director Present
13 Hermosa Beach Doug Krauss Alternate Present
14 Los Angeles
County Lindsey Horvath Vice Chair Present
15 Malibu Marianne Riggins Director Remote
16 Manhattan Beach David Lesser Alternate Remote
17 Monrovia Edward Belden Director Present
18 Moorpark Renee Delgado Director Remote
19 Ojai Michelle Ellison Alternate Remote
20 Oxnard Bert Perello Director Remote
21 Paramount Michelle Muller Alternate Remote
22 Redondo Beach Absent
23 Rolling Hills
Estates Debby Stegura Director Remote
24 Santa Monica Gleam Davis Director Present
25 Santa Paula Jenny Crosswhite Director Present
26 Sierra Madre Robert Parkhurst Director Present
27 Simi Valley Rocky Rhodes Director Remote
28 South Pasadena Jon Primuth Director Present
29 Temple City Ed Chen Director Present
30 Thousand Oaks Absent
31 City of Ventura Absent
32 Ventura County Vianey Lopez Vice Chair Remote
33 West Hollywood Absent
34 Westlake Village Rob De Geus Alternate Remote
35 Whittier Mary Ann Pacheco Director Remote
All votes are unanimous unless otherwise stated.
GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
CONSENT AGENDA
1. Approve Minutes from the November 7, 2024, Board of Directors Meeting
2. Approve the 2025 Legislative & Policy Platform as Recommended by the Legislative & Regulatory Committee
3. Adopt Resolution No. 24-12-077 Approving a Peak Management Pricing (PMP) Tariff
4. Receive and File the Board of Directors and Standing Committee Meeting Schedule for 2025
5. Receive and File Quarterly Financial Report
6. Receive and File Quarterly Risk Management Team Report
7. Receive and File Quarterly Member Agency Programs Report
8. Receive and File Quarterly Communication Report
9. Receive and File Monthly Community Advisory Committee Report Motion: Director Calaycay, Claremont
Second: Director Parkhurst, Sierra Madre
Vote: The consent agenda was approved by roll call vote, with an abstention from Director Lesser on Item 1.
REGULAR AGENDA
This item was discussed out of order.
14. Election of One Regular Director for the Executive Committee At-Large Position Representing Jurisdictions in Ventura County for the Remainder of the Term, Ending June 30, 2026
Ventura County Board members elected Director Jenny Crosswhite, Santa Paula, for the Executive Committee position.
10. Adopt Resolution 24-12-078 Approving the FY 2025/26 Rate Setting Approach, as Specified Herein, for Customers in the Cities of La Cañada Flintridge, Lynwood, and Port Hueneme (“Phase 7 Customers”) and Authorizing the Chief Executive Officer to Update Phase 7 Customers’ Rates, as Needed, Whenever Page 2 of 438 SCE and/or PCIA Rates Change, to Maintain the Rate Setting Approach Throughout FY 2025/26
Karen Schmidt, Senior Director of Rates and Strategy, provided a presentation on the item. New communities will be placed on SCE’s 2025 vintage PCIA rate, which is projected to be lower than the 2018 vintage rate paid by most CPA customers, and SCE’s one-time generation-rate decrease will be reversed in October 2025, raising all bundled rates by 1.2 cents/kWh on average. Ms. Schmidt explained that new community target rates will allow consistent messaging and predictable choices for new customers. Residential and small business customers will have at least one rate option that is less expensive than SCE. The Executive Committee approved the recommendations presented to the Board of Directors.
Staff will develop scenarios for the FY 2025-2026 rate-setting approach for existing member agencies after SCE has finalized its first-quarter generation, delivery, and PCIA rate changes. The Board will approve final rate setting and rate schedules in June, along with next fiscal year’s budget. Director Parkhurst asked about new member agencies, and staff noted that they’ve already discussed the rate-setting process, and the goal is to have new Board members seated by March 2025.
Director Gold requested that the Board be notified if any adjustment to SCE’s rates resulted in CPA losing money on customers in the new communities.
Motion: Director Gold, Beverly Hills
Second: Director Monteiro, Hawthorne
Vote: Item 10 was approved by a roll call vote
11. Approve and Authorize the Chief Executive Officer to Execute the Professional Services Agreement with Haven Energy Inc. (Haven Energy) to Design, Install, Operate, and Maintain Photovoltaic Solar and Battery Storage Systems for Single Family Homes Owned by Low-Income Customers in a (3) Year Initial Term with Two Optional Successive One (1) Year Terms, with a Total Not-To-Exceed of $322,500
Alex Ricklefs, Program Manager, Community Solar, provided background information on the financial challenge experienced by low-income customers in adopting solar and storage systems, which can cost $35,500 on average. State and federal funds combined with innovative financing can reduce upfront costs.
CPA received a bid from Haven Energy for single-family customers; no bids were received for multi-family customers. The program allows customers to benefit from bill savings, resilience against power outages, eventual ownership of the system, and meeting their household clean energy goals. The program will allow CPA to reduce its Resource Adequacy (RA) obligations. Mr. Ricklefs discussed the Virtual Power Plant (VPP) and the agreement and noted that CPA will leverage federal tax credits and the California Self Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) incentives.
The project is budgeted for $322,500 over three years.
Chair Klein Lopez asked about the VPP once the homeowner takes ownership of the power system, and staff responded that CPA aims to benefit from the network for at least the first three years. If federal tax credits are discontinued, the contracts would be reworked so that no up-front costs remain; staff would like to secure as many contracts as possible in 2025 before any federal changes. In response to Director Monteiro’s question about the VPP, staff explained that it is like a microgrid in that the energy is stored and controlled by one entity, but it is not hard-wired. A true microgrid would take over a section of SCE’s grid. Director Gold asked how the energy in the VPP would be managed; staff explained that CPA would direct the contractor when to discharge power. The goal is to store power during the day and discharge it in the evening when electricity is in peak demand and more expensive. Some would always be in reserve for the customer during power outages. In response to Vice Chair Horvath’s question about the single response to the RFP, staff explained that the program size was not large enough for some firms, while timing and bandwidth were an issue for others. The multi-family program is complex, and the industry is still developing ways to make it commercially viable. Vice Chair Horvath encouraged staff to consider how communities that experience regular public safety power shutoffs can be targeted for this program.
In response to Director Stegura’s question about CPA’s financial liabilities, staff stated that the contractor, Haven Energy, would be responsible if federal tax credits were eliminated. Adjustments could be made to the program if that happened. Director Kulcsar asked what would happen if the homeowner sold the property. The contract, written with consumer protection as a priority, provides for the system to be transferred to the new owner. Director Calaycay encouraged staff to prepare for situations in which the new owner could exceed income limits. Staff clarified for the Board that the customer would not be charged if the system overproduces energy. The contractor would design the system to accommodate future electrification of the home.
Motion: Director Monteiro, Hawthorne
Second: Director Belden, Monrovia
Vote: Item 11 was approved by a roll call vote
12. Approve and Authorize the Chief Executive Officer to Execute the Following Long-Term Resource Adequacy Agreements: (a) 15-Year Resource Adequacy Agreement with Olinda Reliability Project, LLC; (b) 10-Year Resource Adequacy Agreement with Sentinel Energy Center, LLC
Lindsay Descagnia, Vice President of Power Supply, stated that CPA’s long-term contracting efforts contributed to CPA becoming the largest supplier of renewable energy in the U.S. for the past two years and to meet state compliance requirements. In September, the Energy Committee approved the 2024 Clean Energy and Reliability Request for Offers (RFO) shortlist of six projects and a waitlist of six projects, and staff concluded negotiations for two of the shortlisted projects, Olinda and Sentinel Energy Center, both RA-only agreements. Located in Los Angeles County, Olinda is a 15-year, four-hour standalone storage project with 110 MW capacity, a contract start date of October 1, 2027, and high scores in the evaluation process. Sentinel is a 10-year natural gas generator project in Riverside County with 107.52 MW capacity and a start date of January 1, 2027. It does not include any energy generation, so it does not impact CPA’s power content label. Ms. Descagnia discussed CPA’s renewable energy procurement history, upcoming RFOs, and compliance strategies, described CCA’s impacts on the industry, and reviewed RA-only contracts. Ms. Descagnia described market challenges, challenges related to the slice-of-day framework, and the oversubscription of the CAISO interconnection queue. She also explained how CPA plans for and responds to curtailment. Market opportunities include early participation in the interconnection process, focusing on influencing policy, and leveraging CPA’s reputation as a leader in the industry.
Director Parkhurst, Chair of the Energy Committee, expressed his support for both projects and emphasized that the Sentinel capacity would only be used in cases of high demand and that it would serve as a backup for CPA. Staff clarified for Director Monteiro how the California Energy Commission calculates RA requirements.
Motion: Director Monteiro, Hawthorne
Second: Director Calaycay, Claremont
Vote: Item 12 was approved by a roll call vote
13. Salary Grades, Benefits, And Employee Handbook Updates:
a. Approve Salary Grades for CPA Employees, As Contained in Attachment 2. b. Adopt Resolution 24-12-079 Approving the Updates to CPA’s Employee Handbook as Contained in Attachment 4
Item 13 was postponed to the February 2025 Board meeting.
COMMITTEE CHAIR UPDATES
Director Calaycay reported on behalf of Finance Committee Chair Santangelo that the committee reviewed the issue of bad debt; CPA’s reserves have not been impacted.
MANAGEMENT REPORT
Ted Bardacke, Chief Executive Officer, reported that the CPUC has released a Proposed Decision on SCE’s 2025 ERRA application. It is unfavorable to CPA and its customers.
CPA staff and board leadership have advocated for an alternative ruling with the CPUC.
An official response is on record, and a vote could be taken on December 19, 2024. Rate changes go into effect January 1, 2025. Vice Chair Horvath thanked staff for preparing Board members for the meeting with the CPUC and and expressed hope that the results would be favorable for CPA customers.
Mr. Bardacke also reported that Westlake Village, South Pasadena, and Oxnard made progress with the Power Ready program; CPA’s third pre-pay bond has won Bond Buyer Magazine's “Deal of the Year” award in the Green Bond category.
BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS
Director Rhodes reported that he visited Southern California Gas Company’s hydrogen home and self-contained microgrid that generates electricity using renewable hydrogen.
The system may be an RA resource for CPA.
REPORT FROM THE CHAIR
Chair Klein Lopez congratulated Directors McMorrin and Calaycay on their re-election in their city elections and thanked Directors Massey, Delgado, and Davis for their service on the CPA Board.
ADJOURN
Chair Klein Lopez adjourned the meeting at 3:54 p.m.