Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
Wharfinger Building, Bay Room (downstairs)
1 Marina Way, Eureka, CA 95501
Thursday, July 23 2026
3:30 PM
Attendance
Present
Scott Bauer Elise Scafani
Carlos Diaz Sarah Schaefer, Vice Chair
Michael Gerace, Chair Frank Wilson
Skip Jorgensen Mike Wilson
Absent
Jason Ramos Jack Tuttle
Staff and Others Present
Name Title
Ken Beals Information Technology Technician
Lori Biondini Business Planning & Finance Director
Elizabeth Burks Executive Director
Faith Carlson Regulatory & Legislative Manager
Ronnie Chaussé Finance Coordinator
Nancy Diamond RCEA Legal Counsel
Richard Engel Power Resources Director
Jaclyn Harr The Energy Authority, Client Services Director Lori Taketa Board Clerk
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Open Session (Call to Order)
Chair Gerace called a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Redwood Coast Energy Authority to order at the above location and date at 3:35 p.m. Notice of this meeting was posted on July 17, 2026.
2. Reports from Member Entities
Vice Chair Schaefer reported on the Community Advisory Committee’s discussion on the Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) at its July meeting. The California legislature could make the PG&E charge more transparent by passing Assembly Bill 1761 (Rogers).
Board director Jack Tuttle submitted written comment asking the Board, staff and public to use multiple artificial intelligence platforms to analyze RCEA from a strategic perspective and identify opportunities to further RCEA’s mission into the future. Director Tuttle provided AI prompts and suggested comparing results from different platforms as part of RCEA’s strategic plan discussions.
4. Staff Reports
4.1. Executive Director’s Report
Executive Director Burks reported that the Director of Engagement and Regional Climate Planning recruitment opened with applications due August 3, highlighted community outreach work at countywide events, and noted that the number of Northern Rural Energy Network - RCEA customers served is now included in each month’s Executive Director staff report. So far in 2026, RCEA issued over $72,000 in energy efficiency upgrade rebates to Humboldt County customers. There were no public comments.
5. Consent Calendar
5.1. Approve Minutes of June 25, 2026, Board Meeting.
5.2. Approve Disbursement Reports for May 2026, and Financial Reports for this Fiscal Year through May 2026.
5.3. Adopt Resolution 2026-6 Adopting an Amended Conflict of Interest Code Due to Changed Board Membership and Agency Reorganization and Authorize the Board Clerk to Submit the Amended Conflict of Interest Code to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors as the Code Reviewing Body.
5.4. Adopt Resolution 2026-7 Approving the Form of and Authorizing the Execution of the Paradigm Wind Power Purchase Agreement with Paradigm Energy LLC.
5.5. Approve Submission of RCEA’s 2026 Integrated Resource Plan Filing to the CPUC Consistent with Attachment 1, Draft 2026 Integrated Resource Plan Narrative.
5.6. Approve NREN Payment of $133,938.57 to County of Ventura/Tri-County Regional Energy Network to Fund CivicWell and the California Climate and Energy Collaborative Forum, and Authorize the Executive Director to Execute All Applicable Documents.
There were no requests to remove items from the consent calendar. Members of the public Dr. Corinne Frugoni and Jon Reisdorf submitted comment opposing including Humboldt Sawmill Company biomass power in RCEA’s Integrated Resource Plan portfolio due to expense and undetermined health risks.
M/S: M. Wilson, Bauer: Approve Consent Calendar items.
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The motion passed with a unanimous voice vote. Ayes: Bauer, Diaz, Gerace, Jorgensen, Scafani, Schaefer, F. Wilson, M. Wilson. Noes: None. Absent: Ramos, Tuttle. Abstain: None.
Community Choice Energy (CCE) Business
6. New CCE Business
8.1. Rate Change for Maintaining Financial Stability and Customer Affordability Executive Director Burks and Business Planning and Finance Director Biondini presented a proposed rate change strategy based on Board direction to maintain a minimum cash reserve of $26 million while keeping rates below a 10% premium over PG&E generation rates. The minimum reserve amount avoids triggering creditor fees. If a rate increase larger than 9.5% over PG&E rates is needed to maintain the minimum reserve, staff will ask the Board to authorize the increase. Staff will report any rate increase below 9.5% to the Board. Based on revenue projections, a 6% increase in the electricity generation portion of the bill, or about $2 per month for an average customer, is needed beginning in September 2026 to maintain reserve minimums through 2028.
Staff reviewed the impact of the Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) on customer bills. The PCIA collected by PG&E from RCEA customers increased over 200% from last year and is now half as large as the generation charges RCEA collects from customers. The PCIA is sent to PG&E to make up for prices PG&E paid for renewable energy contracts before RCEA’s Community Choice Aggregator (CCA) program was created in 2017. In other states with CCAs, the PCIA eventually ends. In California, the charge is ongoing. RCEA customers paid PG&E $118 million in PCIA charges since RCEA’s CCA program began. Assemblymember Rogers introduced AB 1761 this session to require the California Public Utilities Commission to allow the public to see how they and PG&E calculate the PCIA.
The directors expressed appreciation to staff for incorporating Board feedback into the proposed rate strategy, reluctance to increase rates given community member financial hardship, and understanding as to why the increase is necessary. Directors requested outreach to the public and member jurisdiction councils, emphasizing how RCEA has cumulatively saved Humboldt County electricity customers over $5 million on their bills, and how RCEA brings money from the public purpose program fund, into which Humboldt County customers pay and from which they previously did not benefit, back to County residents through low and no-cost energy saving programs. PG&E does not do this work locally. There were no public comments on this item.
M/S: Schaefer, Bauer: Adopt Resolution 2026-9 Adopting a Rate Strategy to Maintain $26,000,000 in Cash Reserves for Fiscal Soundness.
The motion passed with a unanimous voice vote. Ayes: Bauer, Diaz, Jorgensen, Scafani, Schaefer, F. Wilson, M. Wilson. Noes: None. Absent: Ramos, Tuttle. Abstain: None. Non-Voting:
Gerace.
8.2 California 2026 Summer Market Conditions Readiness Assessment Jaclyn Harr, The Energy Authority’s Director of Client Services, presented the annual California Summer Market Conditions Readiness Assessment. The California electricity grid is well prepared to weather peak summer heat events, largely due to battery resources added statewide in the last five to six years. 7/23/26
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Harr reviewed RCEA’s readiness measures for peak load times, including energy hedging to decrease financial risks, procurement of all required resource adequacy products, operational preparedness of contracted resources, and implementation of a communication response protocol for high-price or emergency market events. Staff also highlighted the addition of the recently-added Tumbleweed long-duration battery storage project. There were no public comments.
M/S: M. Wilson, Schaefer: Accept 2026 California Summer Market Conditions Assessment.
The motion passed with a unanimous voice vote. Ayes: Bauer, Diaz, Jorgensen, Scafani, Schaefer, F. Wilson, M. Wilson. Noes: None. Absent: Ramos, Tuttle. Abstain: None. Non-Voting:
Gerace.
End of CCE Business | Resume RCEA Board Business
9. Old Business
9.1. General Counsel Recruitment and Salary Schedule Update Executive Director Burks reported on recruitment efforts for the new General Counsel position, which the Board appoints, and described the process which recruitment firm Tripepi Smith will facilitate and which the Board has authority to direct. There were no public comments on this agenda item.
M/S: M. Wilson, Schaefer: Adopt the updated salary schedule, adding the General Counsel position.
Delegate authority to Michael Gerace, Elise Scafani, Sarah Schaefer and Mike Wilson, the ad hoc Legal Counsel Recruitment Committee, to review the received applications and select candidates for initial interviews, review staff interview videos and notes to select top candidates, interview top candidates, make a recommendation for selecting candidates to the full Board, and meet and communicate on behalf of the Board with the recruitment firm.
The motion passed with a unanimous voice vote. Ayes: Bauer, Diaz, Gerace, Jorgensen, Scafani, Schaefer, F. Wilson, M. Wilson. Noes: None. Absent: Ramos, Tuttle. Abstain: None.
9.2. RCEA Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Budget Adjustment
Business Planning & Finance Director Biondini presented an amended Fiscal Year 2026-2027 budget reflecting a 6% rate premium over PG&E’s generation rates. There was no public comment on this item.
M/S: Schaefer, Jorgensen: Adopt Amended RCEA Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Amended Budget.
The motion passed with a unanimous voice vote. Ayes: Bauer, Diaz, Gerace, Jorgensen, Scafani, Schaefer, F. Wilson, M. Wilson. Noes: None. Absent: Ramos, Tuttle. Abstain: None.
Chair Gerace adjourned the meeting at 4:46 p.m.
Lori Taketa, Clerk of the Board
The author used Microsoft 365 CoPilot to generate a draft of these minutes. After using this tool, the author reviewed, edited and takes full responsibility for the content of these minutes.