PIONEER COMMUNITY ENERGY
AUDIT & FINANCE COMMITTEE
May 11, 2026
Minutes
Entry No. 1
Heard General Administrative Functions, Part I.
Call to Order
Pioneer Community Energy Audit & Finance Committee met in open session at 4:05 PM on May 11, 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; and was accessible for viewer participation on the Zoom platform at the following link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86098566406; and live streamed for viewing on the Pioneer website:
https: //pioneercom mun ityenerqy. orq/about-us/meeti nqs-a nd-aqendas/.
Roll Call
Committee Chair Petersen (Nevada City), Committee Vice Chair Pearl (Lincoln), Committee Member Lomen (Colfax), Committee Member Janda (Rocklin),
Absent: Committee Member Ring (Loomis).
Committee Chair Petersen acknowledged that he was participating from a remote location per the "just cause" provision due to contagious illness; and, that no persons age 18 or older were in the room with him and that he would declare if anyone does enter the room during this meeting.
Per Cornrnittee Chair Peter!en'! reque!t, Committee Vice Chair rearl presided over the meeting.
Agenda Review
Reviewed the meeting agenda for May 11, 2026, and agreed to move Item 3, Power Prepay Transaction, before Item 2, Overview of Fiscal Year 2026-27 Operating Budget, allowing the guest presenter to leave this meeting at any time following item presentation.
Public Comment
There were no comments from the public regarding items not listed on this agenda.
Entry No. 2
Acted on the Consent Agenda as follows:
Approved Minutes of the April 7, 2026, Audit & Finance Committee regular meeting as presented.
MOTION: Janda/Lomen. Vote: 4:0:1.
ROLL CALL VOTE :
AYES: Janda, Lomen, Pearl, Petersen.
NOES: None.
ABSENT: Ring.
Entry No. 3
Power Prepay Transaction
The Committee received a progress report on the Power Prepay Transaction from Michael Berwanger, PFM; and, discussed next steps.
Audit & Finance Committee
May 11, 2026
The Committee considered and discussed the Power Prepay Transaction execution parameters as (1) the aggregate principal amount of bonds would not exceed $1.25 billion; (2) a minimum discount of at least seven percent of the fixed cash flows; (3) total issuance costs would not exceed 1.50% of the amount of bond proceeds issued; and, (4) that the bonds are not obligations of Pioneer.
Staff confirmed that the risk is low for the bond to fail and Pioneer would not be responsible to repay the bonds, would only lose the discount on the negotiated Power Purchase Agreement.
The Committee was in favor of the Transaction as the risk is low for Pioneer; and, recommended staff to provide more information regarding "low risk-great reward" when presenting the Transaction to the Board of Directors.
Next steps included consideration and approval by Pioneer's Board of Directors on May 21; approval by the California Community Choice Financing Authority (CCCFA) Board on May 28; and closing the transaction during the week of June 8.
Entry No. 4
Overview of Fiscal Year 2026-27 Operating Budget
Received overview and discuss presentation of the Fiscal Year 2026-27 Operating Budget.
In preparation for expansion, Pioneer will need increased personnel to support expansion preparation with additional communication, outreach, strategy, planning, and customer engagement efforts. Staff proposed adding seven new full-time positions at of cost of $2.4 million per fiscal year.
Thf' C:ommittP.e rP.rnmmended staff to enlarQe the organi;::ational chart for the Board presentation; and, agreed to present the recommended budget to the full Board of Directors for their approval.
Entry No. 5
Review Use of Put Options as a Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) Hedge (KANG) Received follow up on Joint Powers Agencies ability to utilize derivatives and next steps.
Staff confirmed that this is an approved method for use as a mitigation hedging tool; and, reported that General Counsel had provided guidance on the use of put options: "The proposed CAISO-indexed option would likely exceed Pioneer's authority if it were characterized as an "investment" of public funds. The same structure, however, may be justified under Pioneer's procurement if it is clearly and consistently treated as a risk management tool tied to Pioneer's obligation to manage wholesale price exposure, rather than as a means of generating returns on surplus cash."
The next step would be to issue a Request For Information to banks with commodity desks; then, to study those proposals.
Regarding the PCIA, staff confirmed that Pioneer's exposure may increase due to the relative load of new member agencies with differing vintage years and not yet knowing what the PCIA would be for 2027; and, informed the Committee that there are current legislation efforts regarding more transparency on the PCIA formula .
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 5:21 PM. ATTEST:
Minutes approved as presented by a majority vote
of the A dit & Finance ColT)mittee on July 13, 2026.
Teresa Willock, Board Secretary
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