MINUTES
Board of Directors of the
Clean Power Alliance of Southern California
Regular Meeting
Thursday, October 16, 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
Simi Valley City Hall
City Manager’s Conference Room
2929 Tapo Canyon Road
Simi Valley, CA 93063
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
Hawthorne City Hall
Administrative Office
4455 W. 126th Street
Hawthorne, CA 90250
Sheraton Waikiki Beach Resort
Waikiki Room
2255 Kalakaua Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96815
CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL
Chair Klein Lopez called the meeting to order at 2:03 p.m. and Gabriela Monzon, Clerk of the Board, conducted roll call.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Director Parkhurst led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Roll Call
1 Agoura Hills Deborah Klein Lopez Chair Present
2 Alhambra Jeff Maloney Director Remote
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 Present
9 Culver City Joe Susca Alternate Remote
10 Downey Absent
11 Hawaiian Gardens Ramie Torres Alternate Remote
12 Hawthorne Alex Monteiro Director Remote
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 Absent
17 Malibu Absent
18 Manhattan Beach Nina Tarnay Alternate Remote
19 Monrovia Edward Belden Director Present
20 Moorpark Absent
21 Ojai Michelle Ellison Alternate Remote
22 Oxnard Bert Perello Director Remote
23 Paramount Michelle Muller Alternate Remote
24 Port Hueneme Laura Hernandez Director Remote
25 Redondo Beach Brad Waller Director Present
26 Rolling Hills Estates Steve Zuckerman Alternate Remote 27 Santa Monica Gleam Davis Alternate Present
28 Santa Paula Absent
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 Ryyn Schumacher Director Remote
35 Ventura County Vianey Lopez Vice Chair Remote
36 West Hollywood Absent
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 September 4, 2025, Board of Directors Meeting
2. A. Approve Professional Services Agreement with Municipal Capital Markets Group, Inc. with a Per-Transaction Fee of $281,500 and a Total Not-to-Exceed Amount of $1,126,000, to be Paid from Bond Proceeds, for Municipal Financial Advisory, Guaranteed Investment Contract Broker, and Qualified Independent Representative Services on One of More Future Energy Prepayment Bon Transactions; and,
B. Approve Legal Services Agreement with Chapman and Cutler, LLP with a Per-Transaction Fee of $175,000 for the First Two Completed Transactions and $125,000 for Every Completed Transaction thereafter and a Total Not-to-Exceed Amount of $600,000 for Prepay Legal Counsel Services on a One or More Future Energy Prepayment Bond Transactions
3. Approve and Authorize the Chief Executive Officer to Execute a One-Year Professional Services Agreement with Help Good LLC for Creative Services in a Not-to-Exceed Amount of $348,300 for the One-Year Initial Term and for Each of the Two Optional One-Year Renewal Terms for a Total Not-to-Exceed Amount of $1,044,900
4. Receive and File Monthly Bill Positions Report
5. Receive and File Monthly Community Advisory Committee Report Motion: Director Gold, Beverly Hills
Second: Director Hicks, Carson
Vote: The consent agenda was approved by roll call vote.
REGULAR AGENDA
6. Approve and Authorize the Chief Executive Officer to Execute Amendments to the Eleven Power Purchase Agreement Special Conditions with Coast Energy DevCo LLC for the Power Ready Program
Matt Langer, Chief Operating Officer, explained that the Power Ready program is a community benefit program offered to CPA’s member agencies to support their community critical sites by installing a clean energy backup source available during power outages. In February 2024, The Board approved the first round of the Power Ready multi-site Power Purchase Agreement (PPAs), with Coast Energy, for solar photovoltaic systems paired with battery energy storage (BESS) capacity collectively at 11 sites owned by 8 member agencies. The PPA for the Power Ready projects is a multi-site PPA containing a General Conditions PPA and 11 Special Conditions PPAs.
The projects encountered delays due to extended negotiation of Site Lease Agreements with member agencies. Since the PPAs were executed, financial conditions changed significantly, including material and labor costs, which negatively affected the viability of the projects. To address the impacts of these delays and changes in conditions, CPA and Coast Energy have negotiated an agreement to amend the PPAs to ensure the projects remain viable. Mr. Langer described the progress and challenges of Round 1 projects and discussed the amendments. Mr. Langer closed the presentation by stating that staff is considering enhancements to the Power Ready Round 2 program, including the implications of direct asset ownership.
Director Gold asked about the 4.6% increase in cost, and staff responded that it would be included in the cost of energy during the life of the PPA and that it would be around $50,000/year. Staff noted that Round 2 of the program, if CPA were to directly own the assets, would have a dedicated, Board-approved budget. Director Gold recommended that CPA staff account for potential cost increases and put in place additional measures to ensure adherence to that budget. Staff expressed openness to that approach and noted that the Round 2 contract structure is designed to avoid the delays experienced in Round 1.
Director Ferguson asked for a breakdown of the sites and the capacity of each, in particular for, South Pasadena, so that this information can be incorporated into the city’s climate change response reporting. Director Galvez expressed support for the projected construction start dates but expressed some concern regarding communication with Coast Energy. Mr. Langer stated that John Spector, Program Manager for Resiliency and Grants is available to assist with concerns.
Motion: Director Parkhurst, Sierra Madre
Second: Director Ferguson, South Pasadena
Vote: Item 6 was approved by a roll call vote.
7. Receive Presentation on the Implementation of Base Services Charge by Southern California Edison
Ted Bardacke, Chief Executive Officer, provided background on Assembly Bill 205, which required the CPUC to establish an income-graduated fixed charge in residential rates, aiming to reduce bills for low-income ratepayers and improve the cost effectiveness of electrification. In May 2024, the CPUC directed the investor-owned utilities to implement a three-tiered monthly fixed charge, now called the Base Services Charge. The new charge will be combined with a $0.5-7 cent/kwh reduction in energy delivery rates but will not impact generation charges and will not change CPA-SCE bill comparisons.
While the charge is revenue-neutral for IOUs, it will have a varying impact for different types of customers. Low-income customers and customers with higher electricity usage should see a decrease in their monthly bills. Customers with lower usage will likely see a bill increase. CPA customers will begin seeing the Base Services Charge on bills starting November 2025. SCE notified customers about the upcoming change via mail or email in mid-August. CPA staff and customer representatives are prepared to handle customer inquiries. Mr. Bardacke reported that the CPUC is developing a working group to create additional income tiers to the BSC. This effort could take up to two years to yield a proposal.
Chair Klein Lopez remarked that efforts to address this charge in the legislature were unsuccessful, leaving this provision in place and leading to unintended consequences.
COMMITTEE CHAIR UPDATES
Director Santangelo, Chair of the Finance Committee, reported that CPA’s financial audit is underway. The Committee reviewed and recommended selection of contractors for future prepay transactions, as reflected in the consent agenda.
Director Parkhurst, Chair of the Energy Committee, reported that the Committee approved the 2025 Clean Energy and Reliability Shortlist and Waitlist
MANAGEMENT REPORT
Ted Bardacke, Chief Executive Officer, reported that the cities of Cudahy and Fillmore have voted in favor of joining CPA with service to start in 2027. The written report also includes a summary of the Board Retreat discussion and an end-of-session legislative update. The latter included important information about the Wildfire Insurance Fund and the Cap and Invest program. Mr. Bardacke congratulated the City of Carson for implementing CPA’s first Innovation Fund project. CPA has received 14 applications for the next round of Innovation Fund grants, exceeding the amount of funds available by three times.
BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS
Director Susca asked if the cities of Cudahy and Fillmore have chosen the default tier rate, and Mr. Bardacke responded they both deferred that decision, wanting to review the most up-to-date rate comparisons. Director Hernandez suggested staff use FEMA’s cost-benefit analysis model to help member agencies describe the value of resiliency related to the Power Ready program.
REPORT FROM THE CHAIR
Chair Klein Lopez thanked Directors for participating in the Board Retreat.
ADJOURN
Chair Klein Lopez adjourned the meeting at 3:08 p.m.