Item 1a Update – Amended May 15, 2025 Meeting Minutes
To: The Governing Board
From: Teresa Willock, Board Clerk
Item 1a: Amended May 15, 2025 Meeting Minutes
Date: 6/19/2025
The June 19, 2025 Board Agenda packet was posted on June 13, 2025 with Consent Agenda Item 1a, but the document contained an error in reporting the vote lines for Entry No. 2 and Entry No. 4. The amended document is being provided at the June 19, 2025 Board meeting and will be uploaded to the Pioneer Community Energy website following the meeting.
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the May 15, 2025 Minutes as amended.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Redline showing changes made to Item 1a – May 15, 2025 Meeting Minutes
2. Clean copy with changes made to Item 1a –May 15, 2025 Meeting Minutes DRAFT
PIONEER COMMUNITY ENERGY
GOVERNING BOARD
MINUTES
May 15, 2025
REGULAR MEETING & PUBLIC HEARING
Entry No. 1
Heard General Administrative Functions – Part I
Call to Order
Pioneer Community Energy Governing Board met in regular session at 3:00 PM on May 15, 2025. The Members convened in person and the meeting was accessible to the public at Pioneer Community Energy, 2510 Warren Drive, Suite B, Rocklin, California 95677; at remote location Nevada City – City Hall, Wetherall Conference Room, 317 Broad Street, Nevada City, California 95959; the meeting was accessible for viewer participation on the Zoom platform at the following link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89020017279; and, was live streamed for viewing on the Pioneer website:
https://pioneercommunityenergy.org/about-us/meetings-and-agendas/.
Roll Call
Present: City of Auburn (Dowdin Calvillo), City of Colfax (Lomen), County of El Dorado (Parlin), City of Grass Valley (Ivy), Town of Loomis (Ring), Nevada City (Petersen), County of Placer (DeMattei), City of Placerville (Carter), City of Rocklin (Janda).
Absent: City of Lincoln (Pearl), County of Placer (Jones).
Chair Dowdin Calvillo presided over the meeting.
Agenda Review
Reviewed and made no revision to the meeting agenda.
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 the amended minutes of the April 17, 2025 regular meeting.
Received Fiscal Year 2024-25 Draft Monthly Financial Reports through March 2025.
Adopted Resolution 2025-16 Delegating Authority to the Governance Committee to discuss and provide Recommendations to the Board regarding Employee Compensation and Benefits; and, Authorized those Discussions to be Conducted in Closed Session Under the Brown Act.
Adopted Resolution 2025-17 Establishing July 1, 2027, for the Cities of Chico, Live Oak, Orland, Oroville, Sonora, Willows, and Yuba City; the Town of Paradise; and the Counties of Butte, Glenn, Nevada, Sutter, and Tuolumne, as the effective date for Representatives of the New Members to assume office as voting members of the Pioneer Community Energy Governing Board.
ITEM 1a - AMENDED
AMENDED – May 15, 2025 – page 2
MOTION: Janda/DeMattei. Vote: 9:0:2.
ROLL CALL: Carter, DeMattei, Dowdin Calvillo, Ivy, Janda, Lomen, Parlin, Petersen, Ring.
No/Abstain: Jones, Pearl.
NOES: None.
ABSENT: Jones, Pearl.
Entry No. 3
Presentation on California Community Choice Association Received presentation by Beth Vaughn, Chief Executive Officer of California Community Choice Association, on its mission, past victories, and future challenges facing the industry.
Director Pearl joined the meeting during this presentation.
Entry No. 4
Public Hearing on the Status of Vacancies and Recruitment and Retention Efforts at Pioneer Community Energy under Assembly Bill 2561; and Approve Resolution Adopting Procedures for Holding Public Hearings and Retention Efforts in Compliance with Assembly Bill 2561 (Government Code § 3502.3)
Received staff report and presentation; conducted the public hearing with no written or verbal comments received from members of the public.
Adopted Resolution 2025-18 adopting procedures for holding Public Hearings and reporting on Pioneer Community Energy workforce vacancies, and recruitment and retention efforts in compliance with Assembly Bill 2561 (Government Code § 3502.3).
MOTION: Janda/DeMattei. Vote: 10:0:1.
ROLL CALL: Carter, DeMattei, Dowdin Calvillo, Ivy, Janda, Lomen, Parlin, Pearl, Petersen, Ring.
No/Abstain: None.
NOES: None.
ABSENT: Jones.
Entry No. 5
Presentation on the Calpine Energy Solutions Community Give Back Program Received presentation by Matt Messina, Director of Client Services at Calpine Community Energy, on the Calpine Energy Solutions Community Give Back Program.
Director DeMattei excused himself from the meeting due to scheduling conflicts.
Entry No. 6
Update on Program Efforts
Received update on program efforts including reigniting programs from last year and the introduction of new programs as we approach the cooling season.
Entry No. 7
Proposed Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget
Received presentation on the Proposed Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget and provided direction as appropriate.
The Recommended Budget will be brought to the Board for approval at the June 19, 2025, Board meeting.
Finance & Administration Director Koehn provided an amended Draft Proposed Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget Summary; and sited updates which occurred since the May 12, 2025 Audit & Finance Committee presentation. (1) Power Supply Cost Reduction of $1.5 million related to Feed-in Tariff; (2) Debt Service Cost Reduction of $800 thousand related to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Financial AMENDED – May 15, 2025 – page 3
Security Requirement to be paid in the current Fiscal Year 2025; and (3) the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget is balanced with small contribution to Reserves.
Discussion and comments included areas regarding Pioneer’s credit rating, increased staffing in regard to the current number of consultants, timing for increased staffing to work in advance of expansion, the Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) that PG&E charges when customers join a CCA and if a CCA could charge the reverse for customers that opt out of the CCA, increased operating expenses due to expansion, and facility space to accommodate the expanding Board and additional staff.
Next steps include incorporating feedback from the Board of Directors into the Recommended Budget.
Chair Dowdin Calvillo congratulated Pioneer and expressed appreciation for a balanced budget.
Entry No. 8
Heard General Administrative Function – Part II
Board Member Communications
Audit & Finance Committee
Committee Chair Ring reported that On May 12, 2025, Richard Pearl, Gary Petersen, and I attended a meeting of the Audit & Finance Committee.
The Committee (1) approved the meeting minutes of January 9, 2025, and April 7, 2025. (2) Received and discussed a presentation of the proposed Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget; and, provided feedback toward the recommended budget. (3) Received and discussed a presentation on proposed facility options in preparation for expansion of the Governing Board and additional staff; and, provided direction to staff.
Energy Procurement Review ad hoc Committee
Committee Chair Petersen reported that on May 9, 2025, Ryan Carter, Alice Dowdin Calvillo, Sean Lomen, and he attended a meeting of the Energy Procurement Review ad hoc Committee. Pioneer staff, support including Commercial Counsel and General Counsel, were also in attendance.
The Committee (1) Received and discussed a presentation on the changes in market conditions. (2) Reviewed, discussed, asked questions, and accepted with no objections the updated Power Purchase Agreements for the Chief Executive Officer to execute with: Origis (Chalan Project), Origis (Huaso Project), RWE (Janus Project), Matrix (Gaskell-West Project), and Ormat (Griffith Project). (3) Reviewed, discussed, asked questions, and accepted with no objections two Power Purchase Agreements for the Chief Executive Officer to execute with: Terra-Gen (Enterprise Project) and Shell Energy.
Board Chair Dowdin Calvillo reported that she had attended Cap-to-Cap to participate on the Wildfire and Forest Health Team along with Director Parlin; met with Representatives Kevin Kiley and Doug LaMalfa, and with Senator Adam Schiff; met with the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the House Government Affairs Committee in regard to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). There was great reception and representation overall.
Director Ring also reported that he had attended Cap-to-Cap to participate on the Air Quality Team and found an increased presence for biomass and interest in a white paper regarding air quality following the Mosquito Fire; also reported that biomass is pushing toward agriculture for farmer “buy in” and more interest in developing biomass.
Chief Executive Officer Communications
Chief Executive Officer Eckert reported that Assembly Bill 706 – Forest Organic Residue, Energy, and Safety Transformation (FOREST) and Wildfire Prevention Fund Act continues to gain momentum. This effort has been a collaboration between Pioneer and many biomass allies such as California Biomass Association of AMENDED – May 15, 2025 – page 4
CalForest. The bill has passed through the Assembly Natural Resources Committee and the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee with the next step of presentation to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
CEO Eckert announced upcoming presentations to the Board with CAISO presenting their summer readiness program in June and with Dr. Faruqui returning to speak on the state of the electric utility industry in California in July.
Items for Information
Received the Glossary of Terms.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 4:58 PM.
PIONEER COMMUNITY ENERGY
GOVERNING BOARD
MINUTES
May 15, 2025
REGULAR MEETING & PUBLIC HEARING
Entry No. 1
Heard General Administrative Functions – Part I
Call to Order
Pioneer Community Energy Governing Board met in regular session at 3:00 PM on May 15, 2025. The Members convened in person and the meeting was accessible to the public at Pioneer Community Energy, 2510 Warren Drive, Suite B, Rocklin, California 95677; at remote location Nevada City – City Hall, Wetherall Conference Room, 317 Broad Street, Nevada City, California 95959; the meeting was accessible for viewer participation on the Zoom platform at the following link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89020017279; and, was live streamed for viewing on the Pioneer website:
https://pioneercommunityenergy.org/about-us/meetings-and-agendas/.
Roll Call
Present: City of Auburn (Dowdin Calvillo), City of Colfax (Lomen), County of El Dorado (Parlin), City of Grass Valley (Ivy), Town of Loomis (Ring), Nevada City (Petersen), County of Placer (DeMattei), City of Placerville (Carter), City of Rocklin (Janda).
Absent: City of Lincoln (Pearl), County of Placer (Jones).
Chair Dowdin Calvillo presided over the meeting.
Agenda Review
Reviewed and made no revision to the meeting agenda.
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 the amended minutes of the April 17, 2025 regular meeting.
Received Fiscal Year 2024-25 Draft Monthly Financial Reports through March 2025.
Adopted Resolution 2025-16 Delegating Authority to the Governance Committee to discuss and provide Recommendations to the Board regarding Employee Compensation and Benefits; and, Authorized those Discussions to be Conducted in Closed Session Under the Brown Act.
Adopted Resolution 2025-17 Establishing July 1, 2027, for the Cities of Chico, Live Oak, Orland, Oroville, Sonora, Willows, and Yuba City; the Town of Paradise; and the Counties of Butte, Glenn, Nevada, Sutter, and Tuolumne, as the effective date for Representatives of the New Members to assume office as voting members of the Pioneer Community Energy Governing Board.
MOTION: Janda/DeMattei. Vote: 9:0:2.
ROLL CALL: Carter, DeMattei, Dowdin Calvillo, Ivy, Janda, Lomen, Parlin, Petersen, Ring.
NOES: None.
ABSENT: Jones, Pearl.
May 15, 2025 – page 2
Entry No. 3
Presentation on California Community Choice Association Received presentation by Beth Vaughn, Chief Executive Officer of California Community Choice Association, on its mission, past victories, and future challenges facing the industry.
Director Pearl joined the meeting during this presentation.
Entry No. 4
Public Hearing on the Status of Vacancies and Recruitment and Retention Efforts at Pioneer Community Energy under Assembly Bill 2561; and Approve Resolution Adopting Procedures for Holding Public Hearings and Retention Efforts in Compliance with Assembly Bill 2561 (Government Code § 3502.3)
Received staff report and presentation; conducted the public hearing with no written or verbal comments received from members of the public.
Adopted Resolution 2025-18 adopting procedures for holding Public Hearings and reporting on Pioneer Community Energy workforce vacancies, and recruitment and retention efforts in compliance with Assembly Bill 2561 (Government Code § 3502.3).
MOTION: Janda/DeMattei. Vote: 10:0:1.
ROLL CALL: Carter, DeMattei, Dowdin Calvillo, Ivy, Janda, Lomen, Parlin, Pearl, Petersen, Ring.
NOES: None.
ABSENT: Jones.
Entry No. 5
Presentation on the Calpine Energy Solutions Community Give Back Program Received presentation by Matt Messina, Director of Client Services at Calpine Community Energy, on the Calpine Energy Solutions Community Give Back Program.
Director DeMattei excused himself from the meeting due to scheduling conflicts.
Entry No. 6
Update on Program Efforts
Received update on program efforts including reigniting programs from last year and the introduction of new programs as we approach the cooling season.
Entry No. 7
Proposed Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget
Received presentation on the Proposed Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget and provided direction as appropriate.
The Recommended Budget will be brought to the Board for approval at the June 19, 2025, Board meeting.
Finance & Administration Director Koehn provided an amended Draft Proposed Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget Summary; and sited updates which occurred since the May 12, 2025 Audit & Finance Committee presentation. (1) Power Supply Cost Reduction of $1.5 million related to Feed-in Tariff; (2) Debt Service Cost Reduction of $800 thousand related to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Financial Security Requirement to be paid in the current Fiscal Year 2025; and (3) the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget is balanced with small contribution to Reserves.
Discussion and comments included areas regarding Pioneer’s credit rating, increased staffing in regard to the current number of consultants, timing for increased staffing to work in advance of expansion, the Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) that PG&E charges when customers join a CCA and if a CCA could May 15, 2025 – page 3
charge the reverse for customers that opt out of the CCA, increased operating expenses due to expansion, and facility space to accommodate the expanding Board and additional staff.
Next steps include incorporating feedback from the Board of Directors into the Recommended Budget.
Chair Dowdin Calvillo congratulated Pioneer and expressed appreciation for a balanced budget.
Entry No. 8
Heard General Administrative Function – Part II
Board Member Communications
Audit & Finance Committee
Committee Chair Ring reported that On May 12, 2025, Richard Pearl, Gary Petersen, and I attended a meeting of the Audit & Finance Committee.
The Committee (1) approved the meeting minutes of January 9, 2025, and April 7, 2025. (2) Received and discussed a presentation of the proposed Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget; and, provided feedback toward the recommended budget. (3) Received and discussed a presentation on proposed facility options in preparation for expansion of the Governing Board and additional staff; and, provided direction to staff.
Energy Procurement Review ad hoc Committee
Committee Chair Petersen reported that on May 9, 2025, Ryan Carter, Alice Dowdin Calvillo, Sean Lomen, and he attended a meeting of the Energy Procurement Review ad hoc Committee. Pioneer staff, support including Commercial Counsel and General Counsel, were also in attendance.
The Committee (1) Received and discussed a presentation on the changes in market conditions. (2) Reviewed, discussed, asked questions, and accepted with no objections the updated Power Purchase Agreements for the Chief Executive Officer to execute with: Origis (Chalan Project), Origis (Huaso Project), RWE (Janus Project), Matrix (Gaskell-West Project), and Ormat (Griffith Project). (3) Reviewed, discussed, asked questions, and accepted with no objections two Power Purchase Agreements for the Chief Executive Officer to execute with: Terra-Gen (Enterprise Project) and Shell Energy.
Board Chair Dowdin Calvillo reported that she had attended Cap-to-Cap to participate on the Wildfire and Forest Health Team along with Director Parlin; met with Representatives Kevin Kiley and Doug LaMalfa, and with Senator Adam Schiff; met with the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the House Government Affairs Committee in regard to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). There was great reception and representation overall.
Director Ring also reported that he had attended Cap-to-Cap to participate on the Air Quality Team and found an increased presence for biomass and interest in a white paper regarding air quality following the Mosquito Fire; also reported that biomass is pushing toward agriculture for farmer “buy in” and more interest in developing biomass.
Chief Executive Officer Communications
Chief Executive Officer Eckert reported that Assembly Bill 706 – Forest Organic Residue, Energy, and Safety Transformation (FOREST) and Wildfire Prevention Fund Act continues to gain momentum. This effort has been a collaboration between Pioneer and many biomass allies such as California Biomass Association of CalForest. The bill has passed through the Assembly Natural Resources Committee and the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee with the next step of presentation to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
May 15, 2025 – page 4
CEO Eckert announced upcoming presentations to the Board with CAISO presenting their summer readiness program in June and with Dr. Faruqui returning to speak on the state of the electric utility industry in California in July.
Items for Information
Received the Glossary of Terms.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 4:58 PM.