PIONEER COMMUNITY ENERGY
GOVERNING BOARD
April 21, 2022
Minutes
Entry No. 1
Heard General Administration Functions, Part I.
Call to Order
Pioneer Community Energy Governing Board met in open session at 3:04 PM on April 21, 2022. Pursuant to Government Code section 54953(e) and other applicable provisions of the Brown Act, the meeting was conducted via live streamed teleconference accessed and viewed at the following web link:
https: //us06web .zoom. us/j/89967227073.
Roll Call
p A Title Name Agency
X Chair Alice Dowdin Calvillo City of Auburn
X Vice Chair Jeff Duncan Town of Loomis
X Director Wes Heathcock City of Colfax
X Director John Hidahl County of El Dorado
X Director Jim Holmes County of Placer
X Director Greg Janda City of Rocklin
X Director Suzanne Jones County of Placer
X Director Dan Karleskint City of Lincoln
X Director Dennis Thomas City of Placerville
Director Holmes informed the Board that he would be excusing himself at 3:50 PM due to a scheduling conflict.
Chair Dowdin Calvillo presided over the meeting.
Agenda Review
Reviewed the meeting agenda for April 21, 2022 and made no amendments.
Public Comment
There were no comments from members of the public on items not listed on this agenda.
Entry No. 2
Acted on the Consent Agenda as follows:
Approved minutes of the March 17, 2022 regular meeting.
Determined pursuant to Government Code Section 54953(e)(l) that, as a result of the COVID-19 state of emergency, conducting in-person public meetings would present imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees at the meetings of the Board of Directors and all other legislative bodies of Pioneer Community Energy (Pioneer), including all of the Board-appointed Committees. Directed that the meetings of the Board of Directors and all other legislative bodies of Pioneer be conducted by teleconferencing, pursuant to Government Code Section 54953(e), with an option for in-person attendance of up to five Directors.
Received Draft Financial Reports for February 2022.
MOTION: Holmes/Hidahl. Vote: 9:0:0.
ROLL CALL: Dowdin Calvillo, Duncan, Heathcock, Hidahl, Holmes, Janda, Jones, Karleskint, Thomas.
No/Abstain: None.
Absent: None.
Governing Board Minutes
April 21, 2022
Entry No. 3
Received a high-level report on the Cybersecurity Assessment and Automated Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Audit from Hutchinson and Bloodgood, LLP.
Chair Dowdin Calvillo expressed appreciation for receiving the audit results, commented that cybersecurity is such an important part of a successful organization, and that she was pleased that Pioneer received such a high rating.
Staff confirmed that Pioneer conducts a cybersecurity and informational technology assessment every year, and that the California Public Utilities Commission requires the automated metering infrastructure audit every three years.
Entry No. 4
Received a presentation from JSR Strategies introducing the new Pioneer website to the Board.
Director Hidahl requested clarification regarding the Time-of-Use calculator and if it can really verify savings.
Director Riffey confirmed that the calculator is not connected to the individual actual energy usage database but is based upon the actual cost billed and depends on the user to input actual cost from monthly bill which it then calculates the average savings over a 12-month period at that cost. As use in July may be higher than use in February, a user must add up the actual costs billed over 12 months then divide by 12 to find the actual cost number to enter into the calculator to produce the actual annual savings.
Director Hidahl emphasized that the monthly bill is confusing and his concern for possibly losing customers thinking that PG&E is cheaper due to not being able to easily see Pioneer savings.
Executive Director Eckert commented that along with the calculator there is a section on "Understanding Your Bill" related to actual savings which combined would better address these concerns. So, Pioneer will go back and make sure that these features tie together which should improve and best inform the customer.
Director Riffey confirmed that content for Understanding Your Bill, includes similar features for Solar, Commercial, and Commercial Solar bills. As of now, anyone can access the calculator to input their current month billing cost to find the Pioneer/PG&E comparison savings.
Director Janda inquired if it would be possible to add the percentage of cost savings to the calculator which should be somewhat consistent over the year.
Director Riffey confirmed that the percentage of savings is incorporated in another page but will check into adding it to the calculator function as well.
Director Duncan suggested using bold type for the disclaimer associated with the PCIA vintage rate so customers utilizing the calculator would not miss it then feel mislead in the calculated savings as compared to their actual bill.
Director Karleskint requested that the website content be viewed and reviewed by the Board prior to its release to the public.
Executive Director Eckert responded with appreciation, informed the Board that the implementation process will include testing by Pioneer staff, and welcomed the Executive Board to review as well.
Director Thomas mentioned the vernacular "vintage" as it is a well-known internal term, but most customers may not be so familiar with the term; and, how related items are shifted from one side to the other side of the page and not consistent in placement, such as for comparison items of Pioneer and PG&E.
Governing Board Minutes
April 21, 2022
Director Heathcock inquired if there would be value of adding a click from the calculator page to the "Understanding My Bill" page, so it could be more easily accessed.
Director Riffey responded that this feature is throughout the website pages and will go back to make sure one is close to the calculator.
Chair Dowdin Calvillo expressed appreciation to the design team for optimizing the great things about Pioneer with a focus on opting in; looks forward to the launch; and requested that all Members of the Board be included in the beta testing of the website pages prior to it going live.
Director Holmes excused himself from the meeting at 4:00 PM.
Entry No. 5
Adopted Resolution 2022-8 approving Amendment No. 7 to the By-Laws for Pioneer Community Energy related to Alternative Members' Participation on Committees.
MOTION: Heathcock/Karleskint. Vote: 8:0: 1.
ROLL CALL: Dowdin Calvillo, Duncan, Heathcock, Hidahl, Janda, Jones, Karleskint, Thomas.
No/Abstain: None.
Absent: Holmes.
Director Hidahl nominated Director Thomas to the existing vacancy on the Audit & Finance Committee through January 2023 effective immediately.
Vote: 8:0: 1.
ROLL CALL: Dowdin Calvillo, Duncan, Heathcock, Hidahl, Janda, Jones, Karleskint, Thomas.
No/Abstain: None.
Absent: Holmes.
Affirmed Committee Members through January 2023.
MOTION: Hidahl/Karleskint. Vote: 8: 0: 1.
ROLL CALL: Dowdin Calvillo, Duncan, Heathcock, Hidahl, Janda, Jones, Karleskint, Thomas.
No/Abstain: None.
Absent: Holmes.
Entry No. 6
Received and approved the revised 2022 Pioneer Legislative Policy and Platform that includes the following updates: added AB 1944 (Lee Garcia), AB 2449 (Rubio) to the "watch" list; added AB 2878 (Aguiar Curry), and SB 1109 (Caballero) to "support" positions, and updated SB 881 (Min) to "oppose unless amended" from "support if amended."
Acting General Counsel Khalsa confirmed that the two bills related to the Brown Act, AB 1944 and AB 2449 have a deadline of moving to Committee by May 6, 2022.
MOTION: Thomas/Duncan. Vote: 8:0:1.
ROLL CALL: Dowdin Calvillo, Duncan, Heathcock, Hidahl, Janda, Jones, Karleskint, Thomas.
No/ Abstain: None.
Absent: Holmes.
Governing Board Minutes
April 21, 2022
Entry No. 8
Heard General Administration Functions, Part II.
A. Board Member Communications
Director Hidahl reported that he along with Directors Dowdin Calvillo and Duncan attended the April 18, 2022 meeting of the ad hoc Energy Procurement Review Committee. Pioneer staff and support including Executive Director, Chief Operating Officer, Finance Director, Commercial Counsel, General Counsel, and Technical Consultants also attended. The Committee 1) elected Director Hidahl to serve as Chair and Director Dowd in Calvillo to serve as Vice Chair of the ad hoc Energy Procurement Review Committee through January 2023 effective immediately; 2) reviewed, discussed, asked questions, and approved the Executive Director's execution of a 20-year renewable energy and battery storage contract with NextEra that helps fulfill Pioneer's ling-term Renewables Portfolio Standard and Mid-term Reliability requirements; and, 3) reviewed the status of the WPWMA biomass project.
B. Executive Director Communications
Executive Director Eckert introduced Pioneer's new Key Accounts Manager, Paige Garcia, who brings a variety of communications and project management experience including serving as a consultant for SMUD, Roseville Electric, and MCE; and was part of the start-up team launching Silicon Valley Clean Energy. Paige has a bachelor's degree in environmental studies from San Francisco State.
C. Informational Items
Received the Glossary of Terms.
D. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 4:30 PM
ATTEST:
Minutes approved as presented by a majority vote of
the Governing Board on May J.9, 2022.
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Teresa Willock, Board Secretary