Entry No. 1
PIONEER COMMUNITY ENERGY
AUDIT & FINANCE COMMITTEE
January 6, 2026
Minutes
Heard General Administrative Functions, Part I.
Call to Order
Pioneer Community Energy Audit & Finance Committee met in open session at 3:00 PM on January 6, 2026.
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; was accessible for viewer participation on the Zoom platform at the following link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/ 84421300508; and live streamed for viewing on the Pioneer website: https://pioneercommunityenergy.org/ about-us/meetings-and -aqendas/.
Chair David Ring called the regular meeting of the Audit & Finance Committee to order at approximately 3:01 PM .
Roll Call
Director Pearl (Lincoln)
Director Ring (Loomis)
Director Petersen (Nevada City) - participated by Zoom; remote location was not noticed and he did not participate in the vote actions.
Director Janda (Rocklin)
Public Comment
There were no comments from the public regarding items not listed on this agenda.
Agenda Review
Reviewed the meeting agenda for January 6, 2026, with no amendments made to the agenda.
Entry No. 2
Consent Agenda
Acted on the Consent Agenda as follows:
Approved the minutes of the May 12, 2025, regular meeting.
MOTION: Pearl/Janda . Vote: Unanimous.
Entry No. 3
Financial Audit
Director of Finance & Administration Brad Koehn introduced representatives from Soar CPAs, PC, the independent auditor for Pioneer Community Energy.
Kellen Gilbert, Audit Partner, presented the results of the fiscal year 2024-25 audit. He reported that the audit was near completion and that an unmodified (clean) opinion was expected. No material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in internal controls were identified, and no audit adjustments were proposed. Mr. Gilbert also provided an overview of the firm's recent merger and rebranding as Soar CPAs, noting that there would be no changes to Pioneer's engagement team, costs, or scope of services.
Audit & Finance Committee
January 6, 2026
Committee members expressed appreciation for the consistent clean audit results and acknowledged staff and accounting support for their work during the audit process.
No action was required; the Committee received and filed the report.
Entry No. 4
2026 Rates
Chief Executive Officer Don Eckert provided opening remarks regarding Pioneer's rate competitiveness and the impacts of the Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA). Representatives from Pacific Energy Advisors presented an overview of PG&E's 2026 rate changes, including significant increases in PCIA charges and decreases in PG&E generation rates, and discussed how these changes affect Pioneer customers across different customer vintages.
The presentation included a review of multiple rate-setting scenarios, ranging from rate parity with PG&E generation rates to various discounted generation-rate options, along with the associated financial impacts to Pioneer, including effects on operating margins and reserves. Committee members engaged in extensive discussion regarding customer bill impacts, reserve levels, long-term financial sustainability, regulatory drivers of PCIA volatility, and advocacy efforts underway through CalCCA and other venues.
The Committee provided direction to staff to further refine rate scenarios and customer impact analyses for presentation at the upcoming Board of Directors meeting.
No formal action was taken.
Entry No. 5
Chief Executive Officer's Report
Chief Executive Officer Eckert provided brief additional context related to upcoming Board discussions.
The meeting adjourned at 4:26 PM.
ATTEST:
Minutes approved as presented by a majority vote of
the Audit & Finance Committee on February 18, 2026.
Teresa Willock, Board Secretary
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