ITEM 6B
Desert Community Energy Board
Special Meeting Minutes
June 17, 2024
1. CALL TO ORDER
The special meeting of the DCE Board was called to order by Chair Lisa Middleton at 1:00 p.m. at Palm Springs City Hall, Large Conference Room, 300 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs, CA 92262.
2. ROLL CALL
Roll call was taken, and it was determined that a quorum was present.
Members Present Member Jurisdiction
Councilmember Lisa Middleton, Chair City of Palm Springs Finance Director Veronica Chavez, Vice Chair City of Palm Desert
3. AGENDA MODIFICATIONS (IF ANY)
None
4. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS
None
5. BOARD MEMBER / DIRECTOR COMMENTS
DCE Program Manager David Freedman gave an update on the long-term energy and storage project and reported a new request for proposals (RFP) would be launching this summer.
Mr. Freedman announced that staff is tracking key legislation, including AB1834 and AB 3228 that are both pending in Legislature.
Mr. Freedman reported there will be no Board meetings this summer and the next DCE meeting will be in September 2024.
6. CONSENT CALENDAR
Prior to a motion being made to approve the consent calendar, Director Chavez asked staff to answer some clarifying questions regarding Item 6C.
The audio file for this meeting can be found at: http://www.desertcommunityenergy.org Desert Community Energy Board of Directors
Special Meeting Minutes – June 17, 2024
IT WAS MOVED BY FINANCE DIRECTOR CHAVEZ AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER MIDDLETON TO APPROVE CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS:
A. Authorize the Executive Director to execute the necessary documents, including any agreements with College of the Desert, to apply for funding from the California Energy Commission’s Community Energy Reliability & Resilience Investment (CERRI) Program
B. Adopt DCE Policy No. 24-01 for DCE’s Wholesale Energy Procurement Risk Management Policy
C. Adopt Updated DCE Policy No. 22-01 Procurement Policy & Procedures THE MOTION CARRIED WITH 2 AYES.
Councilmember Middleton Aye
Finance Director Chavez Aye
7. DISCUSSION / ACTION
A. DCE Fiscal Year 2024/25 Budget
Director of Finance Claude Kilgore presented the staff report and introduced Accountant Jiajing Cheng to provide additional details of the proposal budget.
Brief member discussion ensued with Mr. Kilgore answering questions from the Board.
IT WAS MOVED BY FINANCE DIRECTOR CHAVEZ AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER MIDDLETON TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 2024-02 APPROVING DESERT COMMUNITY ENERGY’S FISCAL YEAR 2024/25 BUDGET
Councilmember Middleton Aye
Finance Director Chavez Aye
B. Southern California Edison Billing Issues and General Rate Case Testimony Mr. Kilgore presented the staff report and introduced Chief Operating Officer Erica Felci, resident of Palm Springs and DCE customer, to provide additional details of the bill she received from SCE and the issues she has encountered in resolving it.
Member discussion ensued. Chair Middleton requested DCE staff put together a letter to sign and send to SCE regarding on going billing issues and request that SCE escalate the issue to higher in commands to be addressed.
No further action was taken as this was an information item.
C. Presentation: Summer power supply outlook
Jaclyn Harr with The Energy Authority, joined the meeting via Zoom, and updated the Board on the summer power supply outlook.
Desert Community Energy Board of Directors
Special Meeting Minutes – June 17, 2024
No action was taken as this was an information item.
8. INFORMATION
The following items were included in the agenda packet for members’ information :
A) Attendance Record
B) Unaudited Year-to-Year Financial Report as of March 31, 2024 C) Summary of March 2024 and June 2024 Rate Adjustments D) Coachella Valley Association of Governments’ meeting calendar E) DCE’s 2024 Summer Readiness Outreach Strategy
F) Update on Distributed Energy Resources & Microgrids
G) 2023 Annual Supplier Diversity Report
9. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS
None
10. ANNOUNCEMENTS
The next DCE meeting is scheduled for September 16, 2024, at 3:00 p.m. at the Large Conference Room at Palm Springs City Hall, 3200 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs, 92262. Prior to the adjournment of the meeting, Chair Middleton notified the committee that she has a scheduling conflict for the meeting date in September. Staff will poll dates and send out details when confirmed.
11. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, Chair Middleton adjourned the meeting at 1:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Elysia Regalado
Management Analyst- Administration