MINUTES
Board of Directors of the
Clean Power Alliance of Southern California
Regular Meeting
Thursday, September 4, 2025, 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
City of Claremont
City Yard/Community Services Department
Conference Room
1616 Monte Vista Avenue
Claremont, CA 91711
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
357 Van Ness Way, Suite 90
Torrance, CA 90501
Whittier City Hall
Admin Conference Room
13230 Penn Street
Whittier, CA 90602
Hotel Dolce Vita Resort
3rd Floor Conference Room
43 Avenue Mwungo
Bujumbura, Burundi
CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL
Chair Klein Lopez called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. and Gabriela Monzon, Clerk of the Board, conducted roll call.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Director Hernandez led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Roll Call
1 Agoura Hills Deborah Klein Lopez Chair Present
2 Alhambra Jeff Maloney Director Present
3 Arcadia Absent
4 Beverly Hills Julian Gold Alternate Present
5 Calabasas Ed Albrecht Director Remote
6 Camarillo Susan Santangelo Director Remote
7 Carson Cedric Hicks Director Remote
8 Claremont Corey Calaycay Director Remote
9 Culver City Yasmine-Imani
McMorrin Director Present
10 Downey Absent
11 Hawaiian Gardens Absent
12 Hawthorne Alex Monteiro Director Present
13 Hermosa Beach Doug Krauss Alternate Remote
14 La Cañada Flintridge Stephanie Fossan Director Present 15 Los Angeles County Rita Kampalath Alternate Present
16 Lynwood Juan Muñoz-Guevara Director Present
17 Malibu Marianne Riggins Director Remote
18 Manhattan Beach David Lesser Director Remote
19 Monrovia Edward Belden Director Present
20 Moorpark Chris Barrett Director Remote
21 Ojai Michelle Ellison Alternate Remote
22 Oxnard Bert Perello Director Remote
23 Paramount Michelle Muller Alternate Remote
24 Port Hueneme Laura Hernandez Director Present
25 Redondo Beach Brad Waller Director Remote
26 Rolling Hills Estates Steve Zuckerman Alternate Remote 27 Santa Monica Absent
28 Santa Paula Jenny Crosswhite Director Present
29 Sierra Madre Robert Parkhurst Director Present
30 Simi Valley Rocky Rhodes Director Remote
31 South Pasadena Omari Ferguson Director Present
32 Temple City Ed Chen Director Present
33 Thousand Oaks David Newman Director Remote
34 City of Ventura Absent
35 Ventura County Vianey Lopez Vice Chair Present
36 West Hollywood John Erickson Director Present
37 Westlake Village Kristopher Galvez Alternate Remote
38 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 July 10, 2025, Board of Directors Meeting
2. Approve and Authorize the Chief Executive Officer to Execute the Memorandum of Understanding with the County of Los Angeles to receive up to $964,800 of Grant Funds from the California Energy Commission’s Equitable Building Decarbonization Direct Install Program through December 31, 2029
3. Approve and Authorize the Chief Executive Officer to Execute the Amendments to the Renewable Power Purchase Agreements with Solar Star 3, LLC and Solar Star 4, LLC, for the Solar Star Solar and Battery Energy Storage System Projects
4. Approve and Authorize the Chief Executive Officer to Execute the Professional Services Agreement with Yes Energy for Settlement Software, Cloud Hosting Services, Operational Support and Maintenance, and Implementation for a One-Year Initial Term with Two Optional Successive One-Year Terms for a Total Contract Value of up to $976,874
5. Receive and File Conflict of Interest Code Update
6. Receive and File Annual Electricity Usage by Jurisdiction
7. Receive and File Q2 Risk Management Team Report
8. Receive and File Q3 Communications Report
9. Receive and File Q3 Member Agency Programs Report
10. Receive and File September 2025 Bill Positions Report
11. Receive and File Monthly Community Advisory Committee Report Motion: Director Muñoz-Guevara, Lynwood
Second: Director Parkhurst, Sierra Madre
Vote: The consent agenda was approved by roll call vote.
REGULAR AGENDA
12. Approve and Authorize the Chief Executive Officer to Execute Two 15-Year Renewable Power Purchase Agreements with SunZia Wind North LLC for 37.3 MW and with SunZia Wind South LLC for 87.7 MW for a Combined Total of 125 MW of Incremental Capacity
Lindsay Descagnia, Vice President, Power Supply, presented the item. The proposed SunZia North PPA is 37.3 MW; the South PPA is 87.7 MW. Wind projects are scarce and projects in earlier stages of development face an uncertain future due to changes in tax credits, tariffs, and other federal policies. However, SunZia is in an advanced stage of construction and is unlikely to be impacted by these changing policies. Ms. Descagnia provided a project overview. Some considerations for moving the project forward include portfolio diversity, project maturity, lack of tariff and tax credit risks, and RA compliance.
In response to Director Ferguson’s questions regarding ranking, staff explained that higher scores are given to projects in Los Angeles or Ventura Counties and those in a federally designated energy community of high level of fossil fuel employment and a high level of unemployment overall. The development score takes into account transmission and interconnection aspects. In response to Director Gold’s inquiry about risk, staff indicated that risk is low because the SunZia project is under construction and ahead of schedule; there would be more concern about portfolio concentration if the project was earlier in the development stage. Risks such as earthquakes, are addressed by the fact that the developer has to deliver the energy to get paid, providing a strong incentive to correct any operational problems quickly. Staff added that they did not procure more energy because CPA will receive the amount of renewable energy needed at the right time; the delivery date was negotiated in favor of CPA. Director Perello asked if President Trump had canceled the Lava Ridge wind project in Idaho; staff responded affirmatively and stated that the cancellation had been done under Executive Order. Director Krauss asked why the SunZia project was not canceled by Executive Order, and staff stated that this project is on private land and federal leverage over the project was small. Director Parkhurst praised staff for ensuring RA was part of the project.
Motion: Director Parkhurst, Sierra Madre
Second: Director Muñoz-Guevara, Lynwood
Vote: Item 12 was approved by roll call vote.
13. (A) Adopt Resolution 25-09-092 Authorizing the Offer of Membership to the Cities of Cudahy and Fillmore to Join CPA with Service to Customers to Begin in 2027 or the Year Specified by the California Public Utilities Commission in its Approval of CPA’s Addendum to its Implementation Plan, if Later than 2027; and, (B) Direct Staff to Prepare an Implementation Plan Addendum and any Related Documents as Required by the CPUC for Consideration by the Board of Directors at a Public Hearing at the December 4, 2025, Meeting
Ted Bardacke, Chief Executive Officer, stated that the Cities of Cudahy and Fillmore are proposed to be CPA member agencies with service starting in 2027, bringing CPA membership to 40 jurisdictions. The addition of these cities meets Board priorities for expansion and would add 11,331 new customers. Feasibility studies have concluded that the overall financial impact on CPA will be minimal.
CPA would fill out its service territory and strengthen its market position and political impact. Mr. Bardacke discussed projected first-year financial impacts and noted that the Executive Committee supports the proposed expansion.
Director Erickson asked if any efforts are underway to shorten the timeline for joining CPA. Mr. Bardacke explained that the CPUC regulators added a one-year waiting period to address concerns about Resource Adequacy (RA) and system reliability. Director Muñoz-Guevara expressed support for Cudahy to be a CPA member, noting the timeliness of joining CPA as the city recently agreed to a settlement with Delta Airlines for dumping jet fuel on the city in 2020. In response to Director Hicks’ question about considerations for expansion, Mr. Bardacke stated a one-year pause on expansion had been put in last year as the organization took in six new cities and shored up renewable energy availability. After Cudahy and Fillmore, the main consideration would be governance structure, which would be a topic for a future Board retreat. Director Zuckerman asked about the possible impacts of candidate cities in the future, choosing energy options that include high amounts of renewables or having high-volume electricity consumers, such as industrial customers. Staff responded that the feasibility study examines consumer composition and load profile.
Motion: Director Hicks, Carson
Second: Director Zuckerman, Rolling Hills Estates
Vote: Item 13 was approved by roll call vote.
14. Receive Presentation on CPA’s TOU-SMART Rate and Provide Feedback on a Proposed Pilot Program
Karen Schmidt, Senior Director, Rates and Strategy, presented the TOU-SMART rate option, which provides a lower daytime rate between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., and higher overnight rates from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. The goal is to encourage customers to use power, for instance to charge EVs, during the day when solar power is abundant. In addition to offering TOU-SMART as an opt-in rate for interested customers, CPA staff propose launching a 2-year pilot program to default approximately 2,600 customers from the 36,000 currently on the standard TOU-D-PRIME rate. Their participation in the new rate would enable staff to assess impact on customer response and bills and on CPA energy costs and GHG emissions. Customers defaulted to TOU-SMART would be able to opt back to TOU-D-PRIME, or any other Domestic rate, at any time, and would receive bill protection if the program does not provide them with savings. The results of the pilot will inform future CPA rate and program design to support load shifting.
Voluntary participation is likely to garner low enrollment and will limit CPA’s ability to assess the rate’s impact. A default pilot program would allow evaluation of the impact of price signals on customer load-shifting and costs. The program would include a buffer for opt-outs and help inform new rates and programs. Ms. Schmidt described how the participants would be selected, notified, and surveyed.
Director Newman inquired about the selection process of the 2,600 customers and the efficacy of such a pool of customers. Ms. Schmidt explained that the 2,600 were chosen from the pool of customers already receiving the standard TOU-D-PRIME rate, reflecting the appropriate energy use profile. The load forecasting team is experienced in statistics and designed the program for the best distribution and data collection. Staff clarified for Director Riggins that marketing staff are preparing outreach materials and methods to educate customers on switching power use outside the peak hours of 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. In response to Director Zuckerman’s questions about customer access to their historic electricity usage and the fiscal impact in case of high enrollment in the TOU-SMART rate, staff explained that a customer can ask for a rate calculation in order to make a decision about participation; the TOU-SMART rates were designed to be revenue neutral.
The goal is to change customer behavior so that the energy is less expensive for the consumer and CPA.
Director Lesser asked for clarification on the benefits of the program to CPA. Staff noted that if customers use energy during the day, it costs less and generates less emissions because it is primarily renewable solar. After midnight, for example, energy sources can include more expensive power like natural gas because batteries have run out. Changing behavior can provide cost savings to both CPA and customers. Director Ferguson encouraged staff to consider the location and socioeconomic status of customers in the pilot, and to analyze customer’s peak usage times and their level of electrification. Director Fossan thanked staff for excluding the new member agencies from the program, as this can cause confusion to new CPA customers. In response to Director Belden’s inquiry about commercial customers, staff stated that most are on a Time-of-Use rate already, and some don’t have flexibility in shifting load. In response to Director Muñoz-Guevara’s question about the risk of high opt-outs, staff noted that the program includes an assumed buffer for opt-outs, and that additional customers could be enrolled as needed. Director Parkhurst suggested that staff provide customers with specific uses that could be shifted, such as running pool filters. Ms. Schmidt stated that CPA is working on informing customers about the benefits of load shifting.
Staff confirmed for Directors Gold and Crosswhite that the bill protection would run for two years instead of one, and the program will have no effect on transmission cost and will primarily save money on the acquisition of electricity. Director Gold raised a concern that the program may help people who work from home more and that combined with discounts affecting only the generation part of the bill, the random sampling may yield limited results. Director Chen commented that price incentives do work, pointing to charges for excessive water usage and solid waste generation.
COMMITTEE CHAIR UPDATES
Director Parkhurst, Chair of the Energy Committee, reported on RFO activities including the upcoming Innovation Solicitation RFO and approval of the 2025 Power Share Shortlist and Waitlist.
MANAGEMENT REPORT
Ted Bardacke, Chief Executive Officer, congratulated the Cities of Carson and Hawthorne for their new Power Share projects, and the City of Hermosa Beach for completion of an Energized Communities project. He echoed Director Parkhurst’s excitement over the approved projects from the Power Share RFO and reported on the enrollment activities in new member agencies La Cañada Flintridge, Lynwood, and Port Hueneme. He also announced that the application period for Round 2 of the Energized Communities Innovation Fund is open, and applications are due October 8, 2025.
BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS
None.
REPORT FROM THE CHAIR
Chair Klein Lopez encouraged Board members to attend the Board Retreat scheduled for September 26, 2025.
ADJOURN
Chair Klein Lopez adjourned the meeting at 4:13 p.m.