PAID MEDIA
With targeted paid media, Pioneer has been able to quickly raise awareness for programs like the HVAC maintenance rebate, PowerShift Rewards, and GridGen while also building long-term visibility in the community.
Our paid media efforts delivered a total of 4,228,678 impressions, driving 22,815 clicks to the Pioneer website. This translates to an average Click-Through Rate (CTR) of 0.54%, which is more than double our benchmark CTR of 0.25%. These results show that the paid campaign is resonating well with our target audiences.
Our campaign used a variety of platforms, ensuring that we reached our audience through multiple touchpoints. Here’s a breakdown of where we delivered impressions:
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Google Search
• Google Display
• iHeart (Radio + Podcasts)
• Local News (Examples: Auburn Journal, Gold
Country Media, Mountain Democrat, etc.)
One standout in our performance was the GridGen ad, which despite running in just a few select zip codes, delivered the highest CTR. Considering the niche nature of this offering, the fact that we secured 30 sign-ups in a small geographic area is highly encouraging. It indicates that with a broader push, GridGen could achieve even greater success and engagement. This performance also shows the potential for scale in future campaigns, which could help in reaching more communities and driving further program adoption.
Paid efforts help us stay connected with our audience, educate them on new incentives, and encourage participation, which is critical for both the success of the programs and keeping Pioneer recognized over the long run. Without this continued visibility, these programs might not reach the adoption levels we need.
WEBSITE
Pioneer’s website had 26,937 views by roughly 13,081 users during September. The Opt-Out page re-entered the top five most visited pages, likely due to high summer bills. The number one source of website conversions during September is direct links embedded in emails from Pioneer to customers. Traffic also originated from paid search, organic social and other miscellaneous sources. ,a Pioneer Community Energy X ,1, Sponso,ed ~
Join Pion~·s PowerShift Rewards!
ploneercommunityenergy.org
Save Energy and Earn
Money
Learn more
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f) ~:~=:;o: munfty Energy X
Join Pioneer's GrldGen Program and get a Tesla
solar-plus-storage system installed with no
upfront cost and no cre-dlt cheek. Pay only for
the energy you use, with savings built in over
time. Sign up today!
pioneercommunltyenergy.org
Install Tesla Solar+Storage
with $0 Upfront
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1 .L\. Pioneer Community Energy X ,1, Sponsored· t/1
Haven't tuned up your HVAC unit yet? It's not too
late! Get up to $75 back on your A/C service.
Click the link below to start saving now!
pioneercommunityenergy.org
Cool Down Your Costs
P">NEER COMMUNITY INUGY
Learn more
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Webpage # of Visitors
Home 13,096
Programs: HVAC Tune-Up 6,472
Opt-Out 794
Residential Customers 892
OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT:
Outreach during September was geared both toward community-building and expansion efforts, with participation at:
Community Outreach Activities
• Loomis Chamber of Commerce Coffee Meeting
• Regional Economic Dev. Meeting, Placer County
• Sunrise Breakfast with Rocklin Chamber of
Commerce
• Pioneer in the Field Day, Auburn Senior Center
• Pioneer in the Field Day, Grass Valley
• Town of Loomis, State of the Town
• Joint Economic Development and Government
Affairs Meeting
• Community Advisory Committee Meeting
• Placer Plug in Day, Auburn
Expansion-related Outreach
• Impact Assessment Study findings shared with
staff for briefing
o Butte County
o City of Chico
o City of Oroville
o Town of Paradise
o Tuolumne County
o City of Sonora
o Nevada County
o Sutter County
o City of Yuba City
o City of Live Oak
CHATBOT
Chatbot interactions slowed in September, which may be due to bills leveling out after the heatwave. (A reminder that August had unusually high activity attributed to delivery of the delivery of hardcopy and email communications related to the Joint Rate Comparison mailers, PowerShift and GridGen.) • Number of interactions: 348
• Total Conversations: 43
• Avg. conversation length: 27 minutes, 21 seconds
Attachment 4: Program Updates
Date: 10/24/2024
Community Advisory Committee
• The Community Advisory Committee met September 25th.
• The progress of current programs was reviewed along with discussion and approval of a Low Carbon Fuel Standard program for Pioneer’s member agencies to be reviewed by the Pioneer Board.
LED Discount
• The program now has 20 stores participating:
Store Name Address City
Ace Hardware 10868 Combie Rd. Auburn
American Cancer Society Discovery Shop 2376 Grass Valley Highway Auburn Colfax Thrift 130 N Main St. Colfax
Garden Valley Feed & Hardware 4702 Marshall Rd. Garden Valley Goodwill 1145 Sutton Way Grass Valley
Goodwill 2460 Grass Valley Highway Auburn
Goodwill 3836 Forni Rd. Placerville
Habitat For Humanity 6168 Pleasant Valley Rd. El Dorado Habitat For Humanity Restore 12359 Loma Rica Dr. Grass Valley Hills Flat Lumber Co. 1000 South Canyon Way Colfax
Hospice Gift & Thrift of Grass Valley 840 E Main St. Grass Valley Mt. Aukum Store 8080 Mt Aukum Rd. Mt Aukum
Mt. St. Mary's Thrift Store 410 S Church St. Grass Valley Snowline Hospice Thrift Store 3300 Coach Ln. Cameron Park Snowline Hospice Thrift Store 3961 El Dorado Rd. Placerville Swasey's Hardware & Hobbies 140 E McKnight Way Grass Valley Sweet Life Thrift 144 Hughes Rd. Ste. E Grass Valley
True Value 4571 Missouri Flat Rd. Placerville
True Value 441 Main St. Placerville
True Value 6416 Pony Express Trail Pollock Pines
Online Marketplace
• Sixteen (16) leads have been generated through the Electrum Marketplace; ten (10) leads were for solar inquiries, three (5) leads were for a battery, and one (1) was for a heat pump water heater. • Pioneer is working with Electrum to address improving local contractor participation in the program to increase customer satisfaction and utilization of the marketplace.
HVAC Tune-up
• The HVAC tune-up program closed on October 1st. The next season of the program will open April 1, 2025.
• Pioneer has received 931 applications for the tune-up program. 862 applications were approved, 29 applications were not eligible, and 40 were incomplete. • Over $62,000 was paid out in tune-up rebates.
• 138 contractors participated in the program.
Plf)NEER
COMMUNITY ENERGY
Attachment: 4 x Agenda Date: 5/25/2023
GridGen (Solar+Storage)
• Delays with Tesla impacted the launch timeline for this program. • The first territories to launch for the GridGen program was on August 15, 2024 and included Auburn, Lincoln, and El Dorado Hills.
• The second territory launch for GridGen was on October 3, 2024 and included Colfax, Rocklin, the Town of Loomis, unincorporated Placer County and Placerville. • The third territory launch for GridGen is expected early November 2024 and will include unincorporated El Dorado County, Nevada City, and Grass Valley.
• 46 customers have started the process with Telsa, 30 of those customers have moved forward with the design phase, and 5 have signed contracts to have the Telsa system installed. • Organic social posts, hyper-local paid digital ads, radio, and email campaigns are being utilized to promote the program.
PowerShift Rewards (Incentives for conservation)
• PowerShift Rewards launched August 20, 2024.
• There are currently 427 customers enrolled in the program. o All enrolled customers receive a $25 incentive for enrolling in the program. o Pioneer also is offering a $10 incenter for referrals. o Pioneer will pay $2/kWh for energy saved, based on historical usage. • Pioneer has called 3 events, all of which occurred when temperatures passed 100 degrees, this program season. We will evaluate the overall load shed and energy savings at the end of the program season. • The program season ends October 31, 2024, and will resume April 2025. • Organic social posts, paid ads, radio, and email campaigns are being utilized to promote the program.
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Pioneer Community Energy
Glossary of Terms
CAISO - California Independent System Operator - a non-profit independent system operator that oversees the operation of the California bulk electric power system, transmission lines and electricity market generated and transmitted by its members (~80% of California's electric flow). Its stated mission is to "operate the grid reliably and efficiently, provide fair and open transmission access, promote environmental stewardship and facilitate
effective markets and promote infrastructure development. CAISO is regulated by FERC and governed by a five-member governing board appointed by the governor.
CALCCA - California Community Choice Association -Association made up of Community Choice Aggregation {CCA) groups which represents the interests of California's community choice electricity providers.
CARB - California Air Resources Board - The CARB is charged with protecting the public from the harmful effects of air pollution and developing programs and actions to fight climate change in California.
CEC- California Energy Commission
CPUC - California Public Utility Commission
C&I - Commercial and Industrial - Business customers
CP - Compliance Period -Time period to become RPS compliant, set by the CPUC {California Public Utilities Commission)
DA- Direct Access - An option that allows eligible customers to purchase their electricity directly from third party providers known as Electric Service Providers (ESP).
DA Cap- the maximum amount of electric usage that may be allocated to Direct Access customers in California, or more specifically, within an Investor-Owned Utility service territory.
DA Lottery - a random drawing by which DA waitlist customers become eligible to enroll in DA service under the currently-applicable Direct Access Cap.
DA Waitlist - customers that have officially registered their interest in becoming a DA customer but are not yet able to enroll in service because of DA cap limitations.
DAC - Disadvantaged Community
DASR - Direct Access Service Request - Request submitted by C&I to become direct access eligible.
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Demand - The rate at which electric energy is delivered to or by a system or part of a system, generally expressed in kilowatts {kW), megawatts {MW), or gigawatts {GW), at a given instant or averaged over any designated interval of time. Demand should not be confused with Load or Energy.
DER - Distributed Energy Resource -A small-scale physical or virtual asset {e.g., EV charger, smart thermostat, behind-the-meter solar/storage, energy efficiency) that operates locally and is connected to a larger power grid at the distribution level.
Distribution - The delivery of electricity to the retail customer's home or business through low voltage distribution lines.
DLAP- Default Load Aggregation Point- In the CAISO's electricity optimization model, DLAP is the node at which all bids for demand should be submitted and settled. Pioneer settles its CAISO load at the PG&E DLAP as Pioneer is in the PG&E transmission access charge area.
DR - Demand Response - An opportunity for consumers to play a significant role in the operation of the electric grid by reducing or shifting their electricity usage during peak periods in response to time-based rates or other forms of financial incentives.
DWR - Department of Water Resources - DWR manages California's water resources, systems, and infrastructure in a responsible, sustainable way.
ELCC- Effective Load Carrying Capacity -The additional load met by an incremental generator while maintaining the same level of system reliability. For solar and wind resources the ELCC is the amount of capacity which can be counted for Resource Adequacy purposes.
EPIC - Electric Program Investment Charge -The EPIC program was created by the CPUC to support investments in clean energy technologies that provide benefits to the electricity ratepayers of PG&E, San Diego Gas & Electric Company {SDG&E), and Southern California Edison Company {SCE) ERRA - Energy Resource Recovery Account - ERRA proceedings are used to determine fuel and purchased power costs which can be recovered in rates. The utilities do not earn a rate of return on these costs, and only recover actual costs. The costs are forecast for the year ahead. If the actual costs are lower than forecast, then the utility gives money back, and vice versa.
ESP- Energy Service Provider - An energy entity that provides service to a retail or end-use customer.
EV - Electric Vehicle
GHG - Greenhouse gas - water vapor, carbon dioxide, tropospheric ozone, nitrous oxide, methane, and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). A gas that causes the atmosphere to trap heat radiating from the earth. The most common GHG is Carbon Dioxide, though Methane and others have this effect as well.
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GRC- General Rate Case - Proceedings used to address the costs of operating and maintaining the utility system and the allocation of those costs among customer classes. For California's three large IOUs, the GRCs are parsed into two phases. Phase I of a GRC determines the total amount the utility is authorized to collect, while Phase II determines the share of the cost each customer class is responsible and the rate schedules for each class. Each large electric utility files a GRC application every three years for review by the Public Advocates Office and interested parties and approval by the CPUC.
GWh - Gigawatt-hour - The unit of energy equal to that expended in one hour at a rate of one billion watts. One GWh equals 1,000 megawatt-hours.
IEP - Independent Energy Producers - California's oldest and leading nonprofit trade association, representing the interest of developers and operators of independent energy facilities and independent power marketers.
IOU - Investor Owned Utility- A private electricity and natural gas provider.
IRP- Integrated Resource Plan -A plan which outlines an electric utility's resource needs in order to meet expected electricity demand long-term.
kW - Kilowatt - Measure of power where power (watts)= voltage (volts) x amperage (amps) and 1 kW= 1000 watts
kWh - Kilowatt-hour - This is a measure of consumption. It is the amount of electricity that is used over some period of time, typically a one-month period for billing purposes. Customers are charged a rate per kWh of electricity used.
LCFS- Low Carbon Fuel Standard -A CARB program designed to encourage the use of cleaner low-carbon fuels in California, encourage the production of those fuels, and therefore, reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
LCR - Local (RA) Capacity Requirements -The amount of Resource Adequacy capacity required to be demonstrated in a specific location or zone.
LMP - Locational Marginal Price - Each generator unit and load pocket is assigned a node in the CAISO optimization model. The model will assign a LMP to the node in both the day- ahead and real time market as it balances the system using the least cost. The LMP is comprised of three components: the marginal cost of energy, congestion, and losses. The LMP is used to financially settle transactions in the CAISO.
Load - An end use device or customer that receives power from an energy delivery system. Load should not be confused with Demand, which is the measure of power that a load receives or requires.
See Demand.
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SE - Load-serving Entity- Entities that have been granted authority by state, local law, or regulation to serve their own load directly through wholesale energy purchases and have chosen to exercise that authority.
NEM - Net Energy Metering -A program in which solar customers receive credit for excess electricity generated by solar panels.
NRDC- Natural Resources Defense Council
OIR - Order Instituting Rulemaking - A procedural document that is issued by the CPUC to start a formal proceeding. A draft OIR is issued for comment by interested parties and made final by vote of the five Commissioners of the CPUC.
MW - Megawatt - measure of power. A megawatt equals 1,000 kilowatts or 1 million watts.
MWH - Megawatt-hour- measure of energy
NP-15 - North Path 15 - NP-15 is a CAISO pricing zone usually used to approximate wholesale electricity prices in northern California in PG&E's service territory.
PCCl - RPS Portfolio Content Category 1- Bundled renewables where the energy and REC are dynamically scheduled into a California Balancing Authority (CBA) such as the CAISO. Also known as "in-state" renewables.
PCC2 - RPS Portfolio Content Category 2 - Bundled renewables where the energy and REC are from out-of-state and not dynamically scheduled to a CBA.
PCC3 - RPS Portfolio Content Category 3 - Unbundled REC PCIA or "exit fee" - Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) is an "exit fee" based on stranded costs of utility generation set by the California Public Utilities Commission. It is calculated annually and assessed to customers of CCAs and paid to the IOU that lost those customers as a result of the formation of a CCA.
PCL - Power Content Label - A user-friendly way of displaying information to California consumers about the energy resources used to generate the electricity they sell, as required by AB 162 (Statue of 2009) and Senate Bill 1305 (Statutes of 1997).
PD- Proposed Decision -A procedural document in a CPUC Rulemaking process that is formally commented on by Parties to the proceeding. A PD is a precursor to a final Decision voted on by the five Commissioners of the CPUC.
Pnode - Pricing Node - In the CAISO optimization model, it is a point where a physical injection or withdrawal of energy is modeled and for which a LMP is calculated.
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PPA- Power Purchase Agreement -A contract used to purchase the energy, capacity, and attributes from a renewable resource project.
RA - Resource Adequacy - Under its Resource Adequacy (RA) program, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) requires load-serving entities-both independently owned utilities and electric service providers-to demonstrate in both monthly and annual filings that they have purchased capacity commitments of no less than 115% of their peak loads.
RE - Renewable Energy - Energy from a source that is not depleted when used, such as wind or solar power.
REC - Renewable Energy Certificate - A REC is the property right to the environmental benefits associated with generating renewable electricity. For instance, homeowners who generate solar electricity are credited with 1 solar REC for every MWh of electricity they produce. Utilities obligated to fulfill an RPS requirement can purchase these RECs on the open market.
RPS - Renewable Portfolio Standard - Law that requires CA utilities and other load serving entities (including CCAs) to provide an escalating percentage of CA qualified renewable power (culminating at 33% by 2020) in their annual energy portfolio.
SCE - Southern California Edison
SDG&E - San Diego Gas & Electric
SGIP - Self-Generation Incentive Program - A program which provides incentives to support existing, new, and emerging distributed energy resources (storage, wind turbines, waste heat to power technologies, etc.)
TCR EPS Protocol - The Climate Registry Electric Power Sector Protocol - Online tools and resources provided by The Climate Registry to assist organizations to measure, report, and reduce carbon emissions.
Time-of-Use (TOU) Rates - The pricing of delivered electricity based on the estimated cost of electricity during a particular time-block. Time-of-use rates are usually divided into three or four time-blocks per 24-hour period (on-peak, mid-peak, off-peak and sometimes super off peak) and by seasons of the year (summer and winter). Real time pricing differs from TOU rates in that it is based on actual (as opposed to forecasted) prices that may fluctuate many times a day and are weather sensitive, rather than varying with a fixed schedule.
TURN - The Utility Reform Network - A ratepayer advocacy group charged with ensuring that California IOUs implement just and reasonable rates.
Unbundled RECs - Renewable energy certificates that verify a purchase of a MWH unit of renewable power where the actual power and the certificate are "unbundled" and sold to different buyers.
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VPP - Virtual Power Plant - A cloud-based network that leverages an aggregation of distributed energy resources (DERs) to shift energy demand or provide services to the grid. For example, thousands of EV chargers could charge at a slower speed and hundreds of home batteries could discharge to the grid during a demand peak to significantly reduce the procurement of traditional supply resources.