___________________________________________________________
AGENDA
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 2025, 9:00 A.M.
EXCEPT AS PERMITTED BY GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54953(F), MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MAY PARTICIPATE IN THE APRIL 3, 2025, MEETING AT ANY OF THE LOCATIONS SHOWN BELOW.
SONOMA CLEAN POWER HEADQUARTERS
431 E STREET
SANTA ROSA, CA 95404
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC MAY PARTICIPATE IN THE MEETING AT THE ABOVE PHYSICAL LOCATIONS OR VIEW REMOTELY THROUGH:
Webinar link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88546704126
Telephone number: 1 (669) 444-9171
Meeting ID: 885 4670 4126
How to Submit Public Comment:
Comments may be provided in person at the physical meeting locations. Comments may be submitted in writing to [email protected]. For detailed public comment instructions, please visit this page. Please note that live remote public comment will not be taken unless required by Government Code section 54953(f). If required, it will be announced by the Chair. Members of the public should attend in person or provide written comment to ensure they can provide public comment.
For written comments, state the agenda item number that you are commenting on and limit to 300 words. Written comments received prior to the meeting and/or the agenda item you wish to comment on will be read into the record up to 300 words.
Written comments may be provided during the meeting.
DISABLED ACCOMMODATION: If you have a disability which requires an accommodation or an alternative format, please contact the Clerk of the Board at (707) 757-9417, or by email at [email protected] as soon as possible to ensure arrangements for accommodation.
For further clarification on any of the items listed please contact (855) 202-2139 and staff will be available to assist.
Agenda Page 1 of 2
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Staff recommendations are guidelines to the Board. On any item, the Board may take action which varies from that recommended by staff.
CALL TO ORDER
(Any private remote meeting attendance will be noticed or approved at this time)
BOARD OF DIRECTORS CONSENT CALENDAR
1. Approve March 6, 2024, Draft Board of Directors Meeting Minutes (Staff Recommendation: Approve)
2. Receive Monthly Financial Report (Staff Recommendation: Receive and File)
3. Receive Geothermal Opportunity Zone Update and Approve the Delegated Authority to the Chief Executive Officer or his Designee to Terminate the Geothermal Opportunity Zone Cooperation Agreement with Cyrq Energy, Inc. (Staff Recommendation: Approve)
4. Direct Staff to Study the Feasibility of Expanding Sonoma Clean Power Authority’s Service to Lakeport, California (Staff Recommendation: Approve)
5. Receive Internal Operations Report and Provide Feedback as Appropriate (Staff Recommendation: Receive and File)
6. Receive Legislative and Regulatory Updates and Provide Direction as Appropriate (Staff Recommendation: Receive and File)
BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGULAR CALENDAR
7. Approve a Draft Policy for Placing Items on the Board Meeting Agenda (Staff Recommendation: Approve)
8. Receive Update on Programs that Reduce Peak Demand and Shift Energy to Low-Carbon Electricity (Staff Recommendation: Receive and File)
9. Approve Proposed Energy Project Selection Criteria (Staff Recommendation:
Approve)
10. Review and Provide Direction on the Draft Annual Budget for Fiscal Year 2025- 2026 (Staff Recommendation: Receive and File)
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS
(Directors may report on their activities since the last Board meeting, including any reports required by Gov’t Code Section 53232.3(d).)
PUBLIC COMMENT ON MATTERS NOT LISTED ON THE AGENDA
(Comments are restricted to matters within the Board’s jurisdiction. Please be brief and limit spoken comments to three minutes, or 300 words if written.)
ADJOURN
pg. 5
pg. 13
pg. 31
pg. 37
pg. 45
pg. 49
pg. 55
pg. 59
pg. 69
pg. 85
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COMMONLY USED ACRONYMS AND TERMS
CAC Community Advisory Committee
CAISO California Independent Systems Operator – the grid operator CCA Community Choice Aggregator – a community-owned public power provider CEC California Energy Commission
CleanStart SCP’s default power service
CPUC California Public Utilities Commission
DER Distributed Energy Resource
ERRA Energy Resource Recovery Account – one of PG&E’s rate cases at the CPUC EverGreen SCP’s 100% renewable, 100% local energy service, and the first service in the United States providing renewable power every hour of every day.
Geothermal A locally available, low-carbon baseload renewable resource GHG Greenhouse gas
GRC General Rate Case – one of PG&E’s rate cases at the CPUC GridSavvy GridSavvy Rewards are available to SCP customers for reducing household energy use to help California increase power reliability.
IOU Investor-Owned Utility - for-profit distribution utilities like PG&E IRP Integrated Resource Plan – balancing energy needs with energy resources JPA Joint Powers Authority
MW Megawatt is a unit of power and measures how fast energy is being used or produced at one moment.
MWh Megawatt-hour is a unit of energy and measures how much energy is used or produced over time.
NEM Net Energy Metering. NEM is a billing mechanism that credits solar energy system owners for the electricity they add to the grid.
PCIA Power Charge Indifference Adjustment – a fee charged by PG&E to all electric customers to ensure PG&E can pay for excess power supply contracts that it no longer needs.
RA Resource Adequacy – a required form of capacity that helps ensure there are sufficient power resources available when needed.
RPS Renewables Portfolio Standard refers to certain kinds of renewable energy which qualify to meet state requirements, including wind, solar, geothermal.
SCP Sonoma Clean Power
TOU Time of Use, used to refer to rates that differ by time of day 3 of 107
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___________________________________________________________
DRAFT MEETING MINUTES
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 2025
9:00 A.M.
CALL TO ORDER
(9:02 a.m. - Video Time Stamp: 00:02:23)
Chair Hopkins called the meeting to order.
Board Members present: Chair Barnacle and Vice Chair Elward, Directors Laskey, Lemus, Fleming, Zollman, Farrar-Rivas, Potter, Haschak, and Hopkins. Director Peters was absent without prior notice.
Staff present: Geof Syphers, Chief Executive Officer; Mike Koszalka, Chief Operating Officer; Garth Salisbury, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer; Neal Reardon, Director of Regulatory Affairs; Miles Horton, Legislative Policy & Community Engagement Manager; Sean Dalton, Events Manager; Kate Kelly, Director of Public Relations & Marketing; Chris Golik, Finance Manager; and Josh Nelson, Special Counsel
BOARD OF DIRECTORS CONSENT CALENDAR
(9:03 a.m. - Video Time Stamp: 00:03:34)
1. Approve February 6, 2025, Draft Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
2. Approve and Authorize the Chief Executive Officer or his Designee to Execute an Amendment to the Legal Services Agreement with Keyes & Fox LLP, for Legal Services with a Not-to-Exceed Amount of $300,000 for a Term of 1 Year
3. Receive Monthly Financial Report
4. Receive Geothermal Opportunity Zone Update
Chair Barnacle introduced Directors Laskey and Potter to the Board of Directors. (Board)
Public Comment: None
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Motion to approve March 6, 2025, Board of Directors Consent Calendar by Director Hopkins
Second: Director Zollman
Motion passed by roll call vote
AYES: Laskey, Lemus, Barnacle, Elward, Fleming, Zollman, Farrar-Rivas, Potter, Haschak, Hopkins
ABSENT: Peters
BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGULAR CALENDAR
5. Direct Staff to Study the Feasibility of Expanding Sonoma Clean Power
Authority’s Service to Clearlake, California
(9:05 a.m. - Video Time Stamp: 00:05:37)
Geof Syphers, CEO, stated that this item was limited to directing staff to conduct a study to analyze the costs and benefits of potentially serving the City of Clearlake and potentially other jurisdictions in Lake County. CEO Syphers recommended the study of Clearlake, but he said that SCP should study all jurisdictions in Lake County as well, in anticipation that they might also make a request in the near future. He added that there was potential for the expansion of electrification in Lake County because there is no natural gas service in the area. CEO Syphers then said that Lake County had made a request for a feasibility study in the past but at the time the costs were restrictive.
Director Hopkins said that she remembered discussing adding Lake County to SCP’s service area in 2019 and she asked if SCP had received any preliminary questions, and CEO Syphers answered that SCP had not received any further questions other than the initial request. Director Hopkins then asked if the scope of the study could be expanded once it has started, and CEO Syphers answered that it could. Director Lemus asked if the Princeton study regarding transmission applies here, and CEO Syphers answered that it potentially does.
Director Haschak then asked if the costs would be spread out through SCP’s service territory and CEO Syphers answered that the study would look at the impact on current customers and rates over the service territory. CEO Syphers added that the Board’s policy states the costs of feasibility studies are paid through delaying customer programs in a new territory, though in the case of 6 of 107
Mendocino County, the Board agreed to waive the study expenses and could choose to do so again. Director Farrar-Rivas asked if Lake County could create their own CCA and CEO Syphers answered that the County had already rejected that. Director Lemus asked if SCP had customer centers in Mendocino County and if SCP would in Lake County and CEO Syphers answered that SCP didn’t and has increased its presence at community events instead. Director Zollman asked if The County of Lake had requested an analysis yet and CEO Syphers responded that they had not.
Public Comment: None
Motion to Direct staff to study the feasibility of expanding Sonoma Clean Power Authority’s service to Clearlake, California by Director Lemus Second: Vice Chair Elward
Motion passed by roll call vote
AYES: Laskey, Lemus, Barnacle, Elward, Fleming, Zollman, Farrar-Rivas, Potter, Haschak, Hopkins
ABSENT: Peters
6. Receive Legislative and Regulatory Updates, Approve Legislative Positions, and Provide Direction as Appropriate
(9:22 a.m. - Video Time Stamp: 00:22:13)
Neal Reardon, Director of Regulatory Affairs, gave an update on the upcoming Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) and he gave an overview of CAISO to the new Directors. Miles Horton, Legislative Policy & Community Engagement Manager, discussed the bills that SCP is focusing on in 2025: AB 526 (Papan) which would pave the way for offshore wind, AB 527 (Papan) which would create a permit exclusion for geothermal well drilling, and AB 531 (Rogers) which would create an opt-in process with the California Energy Commission as the sole permitting agency for geothermal. Mr. Horton discussed the March 4, 2025, lobby day in Sacramento and mentioned that SCP would be adding a second day in April. Director Lemus asked if Directors could bring anything to the Capitol in April and CEO Syphers said that there would be targeted materials.
Public Comment: None
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No positions were taken, so no vote was necessary.
7. Receive an Update on Events and Community Engagement Efforts (9:31 a.m. - Video Time Stamp: 00:31:47)
Sean Dalton, Events Manager, gave a presentation on SCP’s events and
community engagement efforts.
Chair Barnacle thanked staff for attending the events. Director Lemus asked if SCP did any targeted Spanish radio ads and CEO Syphers answered that SCP did. Director Farrar-Rivas encouraged SCP to work with KSVY in the Sonoma Valley.
Public Comment: None
8. Receive an Update on Educational Partnerships and Youth Workforce Development Efforts
(9:44 a.m. - Video Time Stamp: 00:44:06)
Mr. Dalton gave an update on SCP’s educational partnerships and youth workforce development efforts.
Director Hopkins thanked staff and discussed Sonoma County Water Agency and SCP partnerships, and she asked what access there was for Mendocino colleagues and Mr. Dalton said that getting buy-in has been difficult and he requested help from the Board in Mendocino. Vice Chair Elward asked if SCP had connected with Sonoma Avenues for training and Mr. Dalton said he would look into it. Kate Kelly, Director of Public Relations & Marketing, mentioned that SCP was working with Schools Rule Sonoma County. Director Zollman mentioned that working with the Superintendents of Sonoma County would be another way of developing partnerships. Director Lemus asked what SCP’s career preparation was and Mr. Dalton described working with CTE through the new school model and the LIME Foundation. Director Farrar- Rivas asked if SCP worked with La Luz and Director Kelly answered that SCP was in early talks with them. Chair Barnacle asked if SCP was working with the existing workforce and CEO Syphers stated that SCP has built a contractor network and is making the customer center available for outside use.
10:10 a.m. Director Fleming exited the meeting.
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Public Comment: None
9. Receive 2024 Annual Report
(10:14 a.m. - Video Time Stamp: 01:14:34)
Director Kelly gave an overview of SCP’s 2024 Annual Report, and she mentioned that it would be available on SCP’s website.
Public Comment: None
10.Discussion of Investment Opportunity for Reducing Ratepayer Costs Over Time (10:17 a.m. - Video Time Stamp: 01:17:29)
CEO Syphers stated that this was the beginning of a discussion for investment opportunities for SCP. He discussed the first 3 potential investment opportunities in the item: dual-use solar and grazing, single-use solar and battery and high value public benefit investments. He stated there could be a beneficial connection between SCP loaning money and rural broadband being a high value public benefit opportunity in the future. CEO Syphers then discussed the fourth opportunity of SCP making market rate loans or building leases to local non-profit organizations and he invited Hector Velasquez of the Latino Chamber of Commerce to discuss in more detail. Mr. Velasquez discussed wanting to create a business hub which would create a one stop shop to find local businesses and he pointed to the success of the “Central Community” in Okland as an example. CEO Syphers added that tying any investment to SCP’s mission is a priority and he stated that he would like to see an ad hoc committee created to discuss potential investments.
Director Zollman stated that he likes the idea of a business hub. Director Lemus said that she was excited about this idea and that she would like to serve on the ad hoc committee. Director Farrar-Lemus said that this idea would be great for small business, and she requested to be added to the ad hoc. Director Hopkins stated that she was excited about this idea and would like to be on the ad hoc. Director Elward said she would like to have the idea discussed with other local chambers of commerce and Mr. Velasquez stated that he had reached out to the Black and Asian chambers. Director Haschek said that he would like SCP to reach out to Mendocino County and Mr.
Velasquez said that he had. Member Laskey said this was a great idea and liked it because it was tied to SCP’s mission. Chair Barnacle said that he would 9 of 107
like to look for other investments that are scalable and investments in local agriculture.
Chair Barnacle appointed Directors Farrar-Rivas, Lemus, Hopkins and Zollman to the ad hoc committee to discuss “Investment Opportunities for Reducing Ratepayer Costs Over Time,” beginning with Hector Velasquez’ opportunity.
Public Comment: None
11.Approve the Proposed Budget Adjustments for Fiscal Year 2024-2025 (10:41 a.m. - Video Time Stamp: 01:41:36)
Public Comment: None
Garth Salisbury, CFO, gave an introduction regarding SCP’s FY 24/25 Budget Adjustments and introduced Chris Golik, Finance Manager. Mr. Golik stated that this adjustment was based on the last 6 months’ information, and he stated that the adjustments fall within the rate setting parameters that the Board had agreed to.
Motion to approve the proposed budget adjustments for fiscal year 2024-2025 by Vice Chair Elward
Second: Director Hopkins
Motion passed by roll call vote
AYES: Laskey, Lemus, Barnacle, Elward, Zollman, Farrar-Rivas, Potter, Haschak, Hopkins
ABSENT: Peters, Fleming
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS
(10:48 a.m. - Video Time Stamp: 01:48:38)
Directors’ announcements: Director Zollman requested that a process for the Board to agendize items. Director Lemus announced the Climate Ready fair in Cotati would be held on March 29, 2025. Director Hopkins announced that she will be sitting on the California Air Resource Board. Director Farrar-Rivas announced that the City of Sonoma would be hosting Sonoma County’s newest EV bus. Vice Chair Elward announced that March was Women’s History Month. Josh Nelson announced new language for Board disclosures on the 10 of 107
agenda. Vice Chair Elward disclosed that she attended a lunch paid for by the Building Trades and North Bay Business Council.
PUBLIC COMMENT ON MATTERS NOT LISTED ON THE AGENDA
(10:53 a.m. - Video Time Stamp: 01:53:24)
Public Comment: None
ADJOURN
(10:53 a.m. - Video Time Stamp: 01:53:44)
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Staff Report – Item 02
To: Sonoma Clean Power Authority Board of Directors
From: Garth Salisbury, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer Chris Golik, Senior Finance Manager
Issue: Receive Monthly Financial Report
Date: April 3, 2025
Monthly Financial Report
The Financial Report is to inform the Board of Directors (Board) of monthly financial results and investment activity. The unaudited monthly financial statements that were previously provided as part of the Internal Operations Report will now be provided in the Monthly Financial Report. Additionally, the Monthly Financial Report will include an Investment Report which is a summary of investments and investment activity in SCP’s portfolio. The Investment Report and associated attachments are to inform the Committee pursuant to the requirements of SCP’s Financial Policy B.5 Investments and Government Code Section 53607. This is an informational item only.
Monthly Compiled Financial Statements (January 31, 2025) The year-to-date change in net position is more than projections by approximately $50,343,000. Year-to-date revenue from electricity sales is over budget by approximately 11% and cost of energy is under budget projections by approximately 18%. Year-to-date electricity sales reached $170,556,000.
SCP maintains a balanced portfolio by procuring electricity from multiple sources.
Net position reached a positive $289,853,000. Approximately $231,889,000 is set aside for operating reserves as of June 30, 2024.
Budgetary Comparison Schedule (January 31, 2025)
The accompanying budgetary comparison includes the 2024/25 budget approved by the Board of Directors. The budget is formatted to make comparisons for both the 13 of 107
annual and the year-to-date perspective. The first column, 2024/25 YTD Budget, allocates the Board approved annual budget at expected levels throughout the year with consideration of the timing of additional customers, usage volumes, staffing needs etc. This column represents our best estimates, and this granular approach was not part of the Board approved budget.
Revenue from electricity sales to customers exceeded the budget by approximately 11% at the end of the reporting period.
Interest earnings continue to trend higher than budget due to the persistence of higher interest rates and because of an investment strategy focused on locking in higher interest earnings over the near to intermediate term (3-5 year) investment horizon.
The cost of electricity was less than the budget-to-date by approximately 18%.
Variation in this account is typically due to fluctuating market cost of energy on open-position purchases.
Major operating categories of Data Management fees and PG&E Service fees are based on the customer account totals. Current actual costs exceed the original budget due to onboarding costs of the new data manager.
In addition to the items mentioned above, SCP continues its trend of remaining near or under budget for most of its operating expenses.
Monthly Investment Report
This report is to verify and report in writing to the Board regarding the responsibilities designated to the SCP Treasurer pursuant to SCP Financial Policy B.5 Investments.
The Investment Policy was amended in 2024 expanding the definition of Permitted Investments, adding several investment diversification requirements, best practices and requiring additional reporting requirements to the Board and stakeholders as follows.
Monthly Obligation to Report on New Investment Transactions Government Code Section 53607 and SCP’s Investment Policy require SCP to report to the Board and stakeholders any investment transactions (defined as purchases, sales or exchanges of securities) made during the month as soon as is practicable after the end of the month. Given the scheduling of the SCP’s Board meetings during the first week of the month, the investment report will indicate investment 14 of 107
transactions that occurred two months prior (February 2025). SCP currently maintains bank accounts and investments at River City Bank (RCB), Summit State Bank, the State of California Local Agency Investment Fund (LAIF) and USBank. Active individual securities are held at both RCB and USBank. Staff will provide Statements of Investments as required throughout the year.
Reportable Activities
USBank
In November of 2024, the Board approved amendments to SCP Investment Policy as recommended by SCP’s investment advisor, Chandler Asset Management (CAM). As of February 28th, CAM managed about $40 million of SCP’s reserves. All investments directed by CAM are held at SCP’s custodian, USBank. All investments held as of February 28, 2025, at USBank appear as Attachment 3 with new holdings purchased in February highlighted. USBank transaction details for the month of February, including sales and maturities of securities, are in Attachment 4.
River City Bank
A detailed statement of the investments held at River City Bank as of February 28, 2025, appears as Attachment 5. River City Bank transaction details for the month of February, including sales and maturities of securities, are in Attachment 6.
State of California Local Agency Investment Fund
The LAIF investment balance as of February 28, 2025, appears as Attachment 7.
Community Advisory Committee Review
The Community Advisory Committee (CAC) reviewed this item at their March 20, 2025, meeting. While the item was on the Consent Calendar, Vice Chair Kelly posed a brief question inquiring about the investments in corporate bonds as it relates to risk mitigation and alignment with SCP’s mission. CFO Salisbury replied to state 15 of 107
SCP’s investments are managed by Chandler Asset Management in accordance with SCP’s Board-approved investment policy.
Attachments
Attachment 1 – December 2024 Financial Statements
Attachment 2 – December 2024 Budgetary Statement
Attachment 3 - Statement of Investments Held at USBank Attachment 4 – Statement of Transactions at USBank
Attachment 5 – Statement of Investments Held at River City Bank Attachment 6 – Statement of Transactions at River City Bank Attachment 7 – Statement of Investments Held at the Local Agency Investment Fund
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ACCOUNTANTS’ COMPILATION REPORT
1101 Fifth Avenue, Suite 200 San Rafael, CA 94901 415 459 1249 mahercpa.com Management
Sonoma Clean Power Authority
Management is responsible for the accompanying financial statements of Sonoma Clean Power Authority (a California Joint Powers Authority) which comprise the statement of net position as of January 31, 2025, and the related statement of revenues, expenses, and changes in net position, and the statement of cash flows for the seven months then ended in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. We have performed a compilation engagement in accordance with Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services promulgated by the Accounting and Review Services Committee of the AICPA. We did not audit or review the accompanying statements nor were we required to perform any procedures to verify the accuracy or completeness of the information provided by management. Accordingly, we do not express an opinion, conclusion, nor provide any assurance on these financial statements.
Management has elected to omit substantially all of the note disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America in these interim financial statements.
Sonoma Clean Power Authority’s annual audited financial statements include the note disclosures omitted from these interim statements. If the omitted disclosures were included in these financial statements, they might influence the user’s conclusions about the Authority’s financial position, results of operations, and cash flows. Accordingly, these financial statements are not designed for those who are not informed about such matters.
We are not independent with respect to the Authority because we performed certain accounting services that impaired our independence.
Maher Accountancy
San Rafael, CA
March 13, 2025
1
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SONOMA CLEAN POWER AUTHORITY
STATEMENT OF NET POSITION
As of January 31, 2025
ASSETS
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents - unrestricted $ 126,461,186
Cash and cash equivalents - restricted for grant purposes 2,046,643 Accounts receivable, net of allowance 20,539,363
Other receivables 2,264,130
Accrued revenue 12,924,385
Prepaid expenses 924,637
Deposits 6,126,464
Investments 59,087,211
Total current assets 230,374,020
Noncurrent assets
Cash and cash equivalents - unrestricted 56,000,000
Investments 67,681,597
Other receivables 980,546
Deposits 16,256
Capital assets, net of depreciation 17,955,695
Total noncurrent assets 142,634,094
Total assets 373,008,114
LIABILITIES
Current liabilities
Accrued cost of electricity 19,276,174
Accounts payable 1,035,111
Advances from grantors 2,046,643
Other accrued liabilities 2,053,128
User taxes and energy surcharges due to other governments 728,280 Supplier security deposits 636,000
Total current liabilities 25,775,338
Noncurrent liabilities
Supplier security deposits 1,380,121
Total liabilities 27,155,459
DEFERRED INFLOWS OF RESOURCES
Rate Stabilization Fund 56,000,000
NET POSITION
Investment in capital assets 17,955,695
Unrestricted 271,896,960
Total net position $ 289,852,655
See accountants' compilation report. 2
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SONOMA CLEAN POWER AUTHORITY
�
STATEMENT OF REVENUES, EXPENSES
�
AND CHANGES IN NET POSITION
�
Seven Months Ended January 31, 2025
�
OPERATING REVENUES
Electricity sales, net
Evergreen electricity premium
Miscellaneous income
Grant revenue
Total operating revenues
$ 168,653,509
1,902,825
2,296,916
335,733
173,188,983
OPERATING EXPENSES
Cost of electricity
Contract services
Staff compensation
Program rebates and incentives
Other operating expenses
Depreciation
Total operating expenses
Operating income
106,532,643
5,385,280
6,214,612
1,485,928
1,361,493
836,744
121,816,699
51,372,283
NONOPERATING REVENUES (EXPENSES)
Investment income
Nonoperating revenues (expenses), net
8,961,755
8,961,755
CHANGE IN NET POSITION
Net position at beginning of year
Net position at end of period $
60,334,038
229,518,617
289,852,655
See accountants' compilation report. 2
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SONOMA CLEAN POWER AUTHORITY
�
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
Seven Months Ended January 31, 2025
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Receipts from customers $ 176,464,525
Receipts of security deposits 3,762,000
Other operating receipts 2,745,166
Payments to electricity suppliers (110,410,908)
Payments for other goods and services (6,735,315)
Payments for staff compensation (6,113,435)
Payments for program rebates and incentives (1,457,895) Payments of taxes and surcharges to other governments (2,197,844) Net cash provided (used) by operating activities 56,056,294
CASH FLOWS FROM CAPITAL AND RELATED
FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Purchases of capital assets (219,467)
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Investment income received 7,759,693
Proceeds from sales and maturities of investments 148,547,134 Purchase of investments (97,318,950)
Net cash provided (used) by investing activities 58,987,877 Net change in cash and cash equivalents 114,824,704
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year 69,683,125 Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 184,507,829 Reconciliation to the Statement of Net Position
Cash and cash equivalents - unrestricted (current) 126,461,186 Cash and cash equivalents - restricted (current) 2,046,643 Cash and cash equivalents - unrestricted (noncurrent) 56,000,000 Cash and cash equivalents 184,507,829
See accountants' compilation report. 2
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SONOMA CLEAN POWER AUTHORITY
�
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
(Continued)
�
Seven Months Ended January 31, 2025
�
RECONCILIATION OF OPERATING INCOME (LOSS) TO NET
CASH PROVIDED (USED) BY OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Operating income (loss) $ 51,372,283
Adjustments to reconcile operating income to net
cash provided (used) by operating activities:
Depreciation expense 836,744
(Increase) decrease in:
Accounts receivable, net 1,631,184
Other receivables 86,381
Accrued revenue 2,050,234
Prepaid expenses (32,631)
Deposits (3,471,104)
Increase (decrease) in:
Accrued cost of electricity 2,146,522
Accounts payable (17,473)
Advances from grantors (335,733)
Accrued liabilities 1,328,957
User taxes due to other governments 28,929
Supplier security deposits 432,000
Net cash provided (used) by operating activities $ 56,056,294
NONCASH INVESTING ACTIVITES
Unrealized appreciation and timing differences in investment income $ 1,202,062 See accountants' compilation report. 2
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ACCOUNTANTS’ COMPILATION REPORT
1101 Fifth Avenue, Suite 200 San Rafael, CA 94901 415 459 1249 mahercpa.com Board of Directors
Sonoma Clean Power Authority
Management is responsible for the accompanying Budgetary Comparison Schedule for the Operating Fund of Sonoma Clean Power Authority (a California Joint Powers Authority) for the seven months ended January 31, 2025, and for determining that the budgetary basis of accounting is an acceptable financial reporting framework. We have performed a compilation engagement in accordance with Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services promulgated by the Accounting and Review Services Committee of the AICPA. We did not audit or review the accompanying statement nor were we required to perform any procedures to verify the accuracy or completeness of the information provided by management. Accordingly, we do not express an opinion, a conclusion, nor provide any assurance on this special purpose budgetary comparison statement.
The special purpose statement is prepared in accordance with the budgetary basis of accounting, which is a basis of accounting other than accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. This report is intended for the information of the Board of Directors of Sonoma Clean Power Authority.
Management has elected to omit substantially all of the note disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America in these interim financial statements.
Sonoma Clean Power Authority’s annual audited financial statements include the note disclosures omitted from these interim statements. If the omitted disclosures were included in these financial statements, they might influence the user’s conclusions about the Authority’s financial position, results of operations, and cash flows. Accordingly, these financial statements are not designed for those who are not informed about such matters.
We are not independent with respect to the Authority because we performed certain accounting services that impaired our independence.
Maher Accountancy
San Rafael, CA
March 13, 2025
1
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SONOMA CLEAN POWER AUTHORITY
BUDGETARY COMPARISON SCHEDULE - OPERATING FUND
Seven Months Ended January 31, 2025
2024/25 YTD
2024/25 YTD 2024/25 YTD Budget Variance 2024/25 YTD 2024/25 Budget Budget Actual (Under) Over Actual / Budget % 2024/25 Budget Remaining REVENUE AND OTHER SOURCES:
Electricity (net of allowance) * $ 151,718,686 $ 168,653,509 $ 16,934,823 111% $ 239,147,000 $ 70,493,491
Evergreen Premium (net of allowance) 1,575,000 1,902,825 327,825 121% 2,700,000 797,175 Investment returns 4,200,000 8,961,755 4,761,755 213% 7,200,000 (1,761,755) Miscellaneous Income 583,100 399,233 (183,867) 68% 1,000,000 600,767 Total revenue and other sources 158,076,786 179,917,322 21,840,536 114% 250,047,000 70,129,678
EXPENDITURES AND OTHER USES:
CURRENT EXPENDITURES
Cost of energy and scheduling 127,276,617 104,299,227 (22,977,390) 82% 221,586,000 117,286,773 Data management 1,563,333 2,096,369 533,036 134% 2,680,000 583,631 Service fees- PG&E 577,500 569,601 (7,899) 99% 990,000 420,399 Personnel 6,585,685 6,214,612 (371,073) 94% 11,490,000 5,275,388 Energy Center, marketing & communications 1,970,802 1,375,780 (595,022) 70% 3,379,000 2,003,220 Customer service 153,250 71,059 (82,191) 46% 220,000 148,941 General and administration 1,063,912 968,446 (95,466) 91% 1,832,000 863,554 Legal 277,083 79,760 (197,323) 29% 475,000 395,240 Regulatory and compliance 268,333 239,795 (28,538) 89% 460,000 220,205 Accounting 206,000 205,900 (100) 100% 312,000 106,100 Legislative 128,333 105,000 (23,333) 82% 220,000 115,000 Other consultants 314,317 187,600 (126,717) 60% 535,000 347,400 Industry memberships and dues 518,434 393,047 (125,387) 76% 888,000 494,953 Program implementation 5,865,585 1,940,344 (3,925,241) 33% 10,136,000 8,195,656 Total current expenditures 146,769,184 118,746,540 (28,022,644) 81% 255,203,000 136,456,460
OTHER USES
Capital outlay 650,000 169,513 (480,487) 26% 1,150,000 980,487 Total expenditures, other uses 147,419,184 118,916,053 (28,503,131) 81% 256,353,000 137,436,947 Net increase (decrease) in available fund balance $ 10,657,602 $ 61,001,269 $ 50,343,667 $ (6,306,000) $ (67,307,269) * Represents sales of approximately 1,295,000 MWh for 2024/25 YTD actual.
Balance - as of Long-Term % of Long-Term
RESERVES June 30, 2024 Targeted Target
Operating Reserve $ 231,889,000 $ 255,203,000 91%
See accountants' compilation report. 2
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SONOMA CLEAN POWER AUTHORITY
BUDGETARY COMPARISON SCHEDULE - OPERATING FUND (CONTINUED)
RECONCILIATION OF NET INCREASE IN AVAILABLE FUND BALANCE
TO CHANGE IN NET POSITION
Seven Months Ended January 31, 2025
Net increase (decrease) in available fund balance
per budgetary comparison schedule: $ 61,001,269
Adjustments needed to reconcile to the
changes in net position in the
Statement of Revenues, Expenses
and Changes in Net Position:
Subtract depreciation expense
Add back capital asset acquisitions
Change in net position $
(836,744)
169,513
60,334,038
See accountants' compilation report. 2
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Attachment 3: Statement of Investments Held at USBank
Sonoma Clean Power
Statement of Investments Held at USBank
As of February 28, 2025
Investment Description Issue Purchase Date Maturity Date Par Value $ Market Value $ Purchase Price $ Purchase Yield in % Cash Cash --- 2/28/2025 $ 367 $ 367 $ 367 -
First American Govt Oblig fund Money Market Fund --- 2/28/2025 97,201 97,201 97,201 4.0 Government of The United States US Treasury 10/24/2024 9/30/2029 500,000 489,375 488,516 4.0 Government of The United States US Treasury 10/24/2024 4/30/2028 500,000 492,832 491,543 4.0 Government of The United States US Treasury 10/24/2024 4/30/2029 500,000 478,516 476,172 4.0 Government of The United States US Treasury 10/24/2024 9/30/2026 500,000 495,957 494,824 4.1 Government of The United States US Treasury --- 10/15/2027 1,000,000 997,500 993,672 4.1 Government of The United States US Treasury 10/30/2024 2/15/2027 500,000 501,172 500,020 4.1 Government of The United States US Treasury 10/31/2024 8/15/2027 500,000 497,324 495,137 4.1 Government of The United States US Treasury --- 6/30/2028 1,000,000 1,000,586 994,473 4.1 Government of The United States US Treasury 10/24/2024 4/15/2026 500,000 498,066 497,285 4.1 Government of The United States US Treasury 10/31/2024 1/15/2027 500,000 499,941 498,574 4.1 Government of The United States US Treasury --- 11/15/2028 1,000,000 970,313 962,734 4.1 Government of The United States US Treasury --- 6/30/2027 1,000,000 984,258 977,813 4.1 Government of The United States US Treasury 10/31/2024 2/28/2029 500,000 504,473 501,914 4.2 Government of The United States US Treasury 10/31/2024 8/31/2028 500,000 506,191 503,809 4.2 Government of The United States US Treasury --- 6/30/2029 1,000,000 969,844 960,449 4.2 Government of The United States US Treasury --- 10/31/2026 1,000,000 1,001,563 998,711 4.2 Government of The United States US Treasury --- 6/15/2026 1,000,000 1,000,859 998,379 4.2 International Bank for Recon and Dev Supranational 12/12/2024 10/16/2029 400,000 396,115 393,488 4.3 Government of The United States US Treasury 10/30/2024 1/31/2026 500,000 500,277 499,941 4.3 Government of The United States US Treasury 10/24/2024 10/2/2025 500,000 487,982 480,635 4.3 Government of The United States US Treasury 12/30/2024 12/31/2026 1,000,000 1,004,141 999,844 4.3 Government of The United States US Treasury 10/24/2024 4/30/2027 500,000 487,285 485,039 4.3 Government of The United States US Treasury 11/12/2024 11/15/2027 1,000,000 1,003,711 995,000 4.3 FHLMC Agency CMBS 10/25/2024 6/25/2028 400,000 394,593 393,480 4.3 Government of The United States US Treasury 1/23/2025 4/24/2025 700,000 695,728 692,620 4.3 FHLMC Agency CMBS 10/25/2024 7/25/2028 400,000 395,170 394,000 4.3 Government of The United States US Treasury 12/18/2024 12/15/2027 1,000,000 1,000,859 990,156 4.4 Government of The United States US Treasury 1/7/2025 1/15/2028 1,000,000 1,007,422 996,719 4.4 State of California Municipal Bonds --- 8/1/2029 400,000 403,788 402,083 4.4 UnitedHealth Group Incorporated Corporate 10/29/2024 10/15/2027 300,000 289,377 288,213 4.4 Government of The United States US Treasury --- 10/31/2029 1,000,000 1,004,688 997,285 4.4 FHLMC Agency CMBS 12/11/2024 12/25/2028 885,000 868,462 864,500 4.4 Deere & Company Corporate 10/29/2024 9/15/2027 300,000 298,715 297,975 4.4 Caterpillar Inc. Corporate 10/31/2024 10/15/2027 300,000 300,539 299,919 4.4 FHLMC Agency CMBS --- 9/25/2028 800,000 793,101 788,161 4.4 Government of The United States US Treasury 1/23/2025 11/30/2029 1,000,000 1,005,156 985,664 4.5 Government of The United States US Treasury 10/31/2024 5/1/2025 500,000 496,520 489,177 4.5 FHLMC Agency CMBS --- 3/25/2029 800,000 776,512 769,713 4.5 Mercedes-Benz Auto Lease Trust ABS 10/28/2024 1/18/2028 300,000 304,107 304,383 4.5 FHLMC Agency CMBS --- 9/25/2029 800,000 759,029 751,094 4.5 25 of 107
Investment Description Issue Purchase Date Maturity Date Par Value $ Market Value $ Purchase Price $ Purchase Yield in % Bank of America Credit Card Trust ABS 10/28/2024 5/15/2029 325,000 329,670 328,644 4.5 Prologis, Inc. Corporate 10/24/2024 2/1/2029 300,000 298,615 298,323 4.5 Government of The United States US Treasury 1/10/2025 12/31/2029 1,000,000 1,015,625 993,242 4.5 FHLMC Agency CMBS 11/20/2024 8/25/2028 800,000 789,504 781,563 4.5 State Street Corporation Corporate 10/31/2024 10/22/2027 300,000 299,960 298,212 4.5 PACCAR Inc Corporate 10/29/2024 9/26/2029 300,000 294,772 292,719 4.6 The Home Depot, Inc. Corporate 10/29/2024 6/15/2029 300,000 282,253 280,077 4.6 The Toronto-Dominion Bank Corporate 12/10/2024 12/17/2026 500,000 500,693 499,990 4.6 Toyota Auto Receivables Owner Trust ABS 10/31/2024 10/16/2028 300,000 301,816 301,559 4.6 Honda Auto Receivables Owner Trust ABS 10/31/2024 8/15/2028 300,000 302,961 303,434 4.6 Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Corporate --- 10/22/2027 500,000 499,538 498,034 4.6 Bank of Montreal Corporate --- 9/10/2027 500,000 500,131 499,493 4.6 Royal Bank of Canada Corporate --- 10/18/2027 500,000 499,709 498,673 4.6 GM Financial Securitized Term ABS 10/30/2024 12/18/2028 300,000 301,994 301,406 4.6 Ford Credit Auto Owner Trust ABS 11/19/2024 8/15/2029 240,000 241,595 239,992 4.7 Deere & Company Corporate 1/6/2025 1/7/2028 340,000 343,639 339,898 4.7 Toyota Motor Corporation Corporate --- 8/9/2029 500,000 500,356 497,616 4.7 Realty Income Corporation Corporate --- 12/15/2028 500,000 501,682 500,591 4.7 John Deere Owner Trust ABS --- 6/15/2029 619,000 615,366 611,120 4.7 GM Financial Securitized Term ABS 1/9/2025 12/17/2029 160,000 161,111 159,988 4.7 The PNC Financial Services Group, In Corporate --- 7/23/2027 500,000 503,561 503,401 4.7 Toyota Auto Receivables Owner Trust ABS 1/22/2025 8/15/2029 240,000 241,932 239,990 4.7 PepsiCo, Inc. Corporate 2/7/2025 2/7/2030 550,000 553,690 547,091 4.7 Caterpillar Inc. Corporate 11/14/2024 11/15/2029 300,000 303,229 299,523 4.7 Morgan Stanley Corporate --- 1/24/2029 500,000 488,048 485,111 4.8 U.S. Bancorp Corporate --- 7/22/2028 500,000 499,176 497,086 4.8 JPMorgan Chase & Co. Corporate --- 7/23/2029 500,000 492,108 489,899 4.8 Bank of America Corporation Corporate --- 7/23/2029 500,000 492,946 490,483 4.8 Wells Fargo & Company Corporate 1/16/2025 1/24/2028 400,000 402,018 400,000 4.9 Mercedes-Benz Auto Receivables Trust ABS 1/14/2025 12/17/2029 235,000 237,584 234,950 4.9 Morgan Stanley Corporate 1/16/2025 1/12/2029 250,000 252,347 250,215 5.0 UnitedHealth Group Incorporated Corporate 1/10/2025 1/15/2030 250,000 251,665 246,965 5.1 Wells Fargo & Company Corporate 1/22/2025 1/23/2030 300,000 304,247 300,741 5.1 BMW Vehicle Owner Trust ABS 10/29/2024 2/26/2029 235,000 237,835 237,882 5.2 Total and Weighted Average Yield $ 40,726,568 $ 40,500,991 $ 40,238,591 4.4 26 of 107
Sonoma Clean Power
Statement of Transactions at USBank
February 2025
Transaction Type Settlement Date CUSIP Quantity Security Description Price Acq./Disp. Yield Amount Purchased/Sold Interest Total Amount Net Realized Gain/Loss Buy 2/18/2025 31846V203 89,358 FIRST AMER:GVT OBLG Y
1 --- $ (89,358) $ - $ (89,358) $ -
Buy 2/10/2025 713448GB8 550,000 PEPSICO INC 4.6 02/07/2030 99 4.72 (547,091)
211
(547,301)
-
Sell 2/10/2025 31846V203 (241,173) FIRST AMER:GVT OBLG Y 1 --- 241,173
-
241,173
-
Sell 2/10/2025 912797NC7 (300,000) UNITED STATES TREASURY 04/24/2025 99 4.32 297,437
-
297,437 2.68
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Attachment 5: Statement of Investments Held at River City Bank Sonoma Clean Power
Statement of Investments Held at River City Bank
As of February 28, 2025
Investment Description Purchase Date Maturity Date Interest Rate Purchase Price Yield to Maturity Most Recent Price (MTM) % Total Portfolio River City Bank CDARS, 52 weeks 8/22/2024 8/21/2025 4.53% $7,000,000 4.63% $7,000,000 10% River City Bank CD, 2 years 9/1/2024 9/1/2026 4.25% 10,000,000 4.40% 10,215,967 14% River City Bank CD, 2 years 9/10/2024 9/10/2026 3.75% 20,000,000 3.88% 20,190,475 29% River City Bank CDARS, 26 weeks 9/26/2024 3/27/2025 4.46% 3,000,000 4.56% 3,000,000 4% River City Bank CDARS, 52 weeks 9/26/2024 9/25/2025 3.59% 12,000,000 3.66% 12,000,000 17% River City Bank CDARS, 52 weeks 10/17/2024 10/16/2025 4.28% 7,000,000 4.37% 7,000,000 10% River City Bank CDARS, 52 weeks 2/13/2025 2/12/2026 4.39% 10,000,000 4.49% 10,000,000 14% Total $69,000,000 $69,406,442 100%
Weighted Average Interest and Yield 4.05% 4.13%
*Most Recent Price (MTM) does not include accrued interest for CDARS 28 of 107
Attachment 6: Statement of Transactions at River City Bank Sonoma Clean Power
Statement of Transactions at River City Bank
February 2025
Transaction Type Investment Description Effective Date Maturity Date Principal Interest Paid Total Amount Realized Gain Realized Loss Yield Maturity River City Bank CDARS, 13 weeks 11/7/2024 2/6/2025 10,000,000 $118,869 $10,118,869 $118,869 $0 4.85%
Buy River City Bank CDARS, 52 weeks 2/13/2025 2/12/2026 10,000,000 $ - 10,000,000 - - 4.49%
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Attachment 7: Statement of Investments Held at the Local Agency Investment Fund Sonoma Clean Power
Statement of Investments Held at the Local Agency Investment Fund
As of February 28, 2025
Investment Description Ending Balance Yield Market Value Local Agency Investment Fund $28,616,581 4.33% $28,605,764 30 of 107
Staff Report – Item 03
To: Sonoma Clean Power Authority Board of Directors
From: Ryan Tracey, Director of Planning & Analytics
Geof Syphers, Chief Executive Officer
Miles Horton, Legislative Policy & Community Engagement Manager Claudia Sisomphou, Public Affairs & Advocacy Manager
Issue: Receive Geothermal Opportunity Zone Update and Approve the Delegated Authority to the Chief Executive Officer or his Designee to Terminate the Geothermal Opportunity Zone Cooperation Agreement with Cyrq Energy, Inc.
Date: April 3, 2025
Recommended Action
Staff recommend the Board approve the delegated authority to the Chief Executive Officer or his designee to terminate the Geothermal Opportunity Zone (GeoZone) Cooperation Agreement with Cyrq Energy Inc (Cyrq).
Background
The Cyrq agreement proposed for termination was approved by the Board of Directors in their March 2, 2023, meeting. It allows for termination by mutual agreement in writing. The text of the recommended termination letter is included as an attachment.
As described in greater detail below, the cooperation agreement with Cyrq requires the completion of a number of project milestones by May 31, 2025, that are no longer achievable. Cyrq has also let staff know that the company’s priorities have changed so that continuing with the GeoZone project is no longer realistic. Cyrq has asked for a mutual termination as a result. Staff believe that terminating the agreement will enable SCP to refocus efforts on maintaining momentum for the GeoZone.
The Cyrq agreement is part of three public-private cooperation agreements approved by SCP’s Board of Directors in 2023 to progress the GeoZone—an initiative to secure affordable, reliable clean energy for our customers by building 600 megawatts of new 31 of 107
geothermal power capacity in Sonoma and Mendocino Counites. In response to a SCP solicitation for GeoZone industry partners in 2022, Cyrq proposed installing a thermal storage system at an existing geothermal power plant at the Geysers that is heated with grid electricity during solar hours and in the evening is used to superheat steam from the geothermal field to increase the output of the steam turbine. The SCP selection team, which included several technical experts as well as staff, recommended moving forward with the Cyrq proposal because of the strong capabilities of the Cyrq team, technological readiness of the proposal, and the value of adding flexibility to local geothermal resources.
The cooperation agreement with Cyrq established mutual obligations by SCP and Cyrq to progress the proposed technology to commerciality. SCP committed to supporting the project with stakeholder engagement, grant funding, political and regulatory advocacy, commercial assessments, and a commitment as an offtaker. Cyrq committed to maturing the project through feasibility studies, commercial agreements with a site host, submitting an interconnection application, and initiating permitting. In return for SCP’s early support of the project, Cyrq provided SCP with a first right of refusal on any Cyrq projects in the GeoZone—giving SCP ratepayers advantageous pricing on projects SCP expects will be needed as the state continues to decarbonize.
Following the execution of the cooperation agreement, both Cyrq and SCP have made significant efforts to progress the proposed project. Cyrq worked with Calpine, the primary operator of the Geysers geothermal field, to select a candidate facility for a pilot project and hired an engineering contractor to provide an assessment of the feasibility and cost of installing thermal storage leveraging plant-specific data. Cyrq submitted a full application for grant funding from the Department of Energy’s Long-Duration Energy Storage Demonstration program. Meanwhile, SCP led commerciality assessments of the technology, initiated regulatory advocacy to address the project’s potential impact to the eligibility of renewable energy from the facility, incorporated Cyrq’s project in stakeholder outreach, and led submission of concept papers to other Department of Energy and California Energy Commission grant funding opportunities.
During the project, Cyrq and SCP also evaluated two potential thermal storage vendors—a configuration licensed by Babcock & Wilcox from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and a separate configuration using Rondo Energy’s heat battery.
Despite the efforts described above, the project will not achieve most of the milestones due by May 31st, 2025. Technical and commerciality risk have made it difficult to secure a site host. Changes in the eligibility of energy storage for resource adequacy and reduced market volatility have added significant uncertainty to the market value of 32 of 107
the project. Meanwhile, the California Independent System Operator’s delay of Cluster 16 until October 2026 have made it impossible to progress an interconnection application and the Trump administration has nearly eliminated the potential for federal grant funding to offset early project costs.
Cyrq has also undergone recent organizational and strategic changes that make an extension of the cooperation agreement unrealistic milestones. In 2024, Cyrq’s longtime Chief Executive Officer, who supported the company’s involvement in the GeoZone, left. Following the leadership change, Cyrq has prioritized optimization of its existing fleet of geothermal plants and deemphasized emerging technologies. In February 2025, Cyrq’s Director of Technology and Innovation, who led the Cyrq GeoZone project and invented the thermal storage for superheat technology, also left the company. With his absence, Cyrq no longer has interest in further pursuing the GeoZone project and is amenable to a mutual termination. The cooperation agreement allows for a mutual termination in writing and includes provisions that preserve the effect of the non-compete, confidentiality, and indemnification clauses for two years.
Next Steps
Staff ask the Board to approve the termination in order to refocus efforts on sustaining momentum on geothermal legislation, partnerships and local community outreach.
Staff have also collected lessons learned from the partnership with Cyrq to start planning the structure and requirements of potential new public-private partnerships in the GeoZone, including opportunities to support and expand the capabilities of existing resources at The Geysers. As part of that effort, staff have begun reaching out to Calpine. Calpine has expressed an interest in continuing to discuss opportunities with SCP beyond the scope of the Cyrq project while it continues to honor its contractual relationship to supply geothermal power from The Geysers to SCP.
Other GeoZone Updates
Partner Updates
Chevron New Energies presented at the Geyserville Planning Committee in February, to answer questions from the community on fire safety, permitting, and the development timeline associated with their GeoZone project at the Pocket Ranch. 33 of 107
Both Chevron New Energies and Eavor have shared that their agreed-to milestones in SCP’s GeoZone cooperation agreements are at-risk given project risks and delays.
Unlike Cyrq, both Chevron New Energies and Eavor retain a strategic interest in developing their GeoZone projects, though timing will likely be later than originally anticipated. Staff are considering how to best proceed and will return with recommendations for the Board in the future.
CPUC State Portfolio Planning
In late February, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) released draft inputs and assumptions for statewide electric system portfolio planning for the next two years.
The inputs and assumptions are the first step in the state’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) process which will ultimately select a preferred set of resources and guidance to the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) on needed transmission upgrades. The CPUC has made two impactful changes that could reshape the landscape of California’s future energy system: 1) for the first time, Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) are included as a candidate resource and 2) the cost assumptions for offshore wind have been increased substantially compared to previous portfolios. SCP has been advocating for the State to take a more serious look at EGS as a candidate resource for several years, and staff is appreciative of the CPUC’s proposed changes—which include leveraging up-to-date and comprehensive data sources for calibrating resource potential and costs. Although the preferred portfolio ultimately used for transmission planning will be dependent on the results of a cost-optimization model, SCP is confident the CPUC’s inclusion of 3.5 GW of near-field EGS and 26.6 GW of deep EGS will lead to transmission planning that is more supportive of geothermal development in the GeoZone and beyond.
Staff submitted comments in response to the inputs and assumptions supporting the CPUC’s approach. Staff also provided recommendations on several refinements— including separating the deep EGS into two gradational buckets, increasing the potential for conventional geothermal, updating the resource plans from load serving entities, and increasing the cost assumption associated with retaining natural gas capacity.
Attachments
Mutual Termination of GeoZone Cooperation Agreement between Sonoma Clean Power Authority and Cyrq Energy Inc. Letter
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_______________________________ ________________________________
P.O. Box 1030, Santa Rosa, CA 95402
April 4, 2025
Cyrq Energy Inc. (n/k/a Cyrq Energy, LLC)
Attn: Mark Sudbey
15 W South Temple, Suite 1900
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Re: Mutual Termination of GeoZone Cooperation Agreement between Sonoma Clean Power Authority and Cyrq Energy Inc.
Dear Mr. Sudbey:
This letter is to request your written acknowledgement of the mutual termination of the GeoZone Cooperation Agreement (“Agreement”) between Sonoma Clean Power Authority (“SCPA”) and Cyrq Energy Inc. (“Cyrq”), effective as of March 2, 2023, pursuant to Section
2.2.1 of the Agreement.
SCPA and Cyrq has been working together to further the Agreement’s objectives since March 2023. However, we understand that at this point it has been determined that further efforts under the Agreement are not in our shared best interests. Accordingly, we seek your mutual agreement to terminate the Agreement so that SCPA and Cryq can pursue other opportunities.
Pursuant to Section 2.3 of the Agreement, this voluntary, mutual agreement does not affect the validity of Sections 8.2, 10, 13, 14 and 15.2 and any other provisions that survive termination for the period set forth in the Agreement.
IT IS AGREED THAT, UNDER SECTION 2.2.1 OF THE GEOZONE COOPERATION
AGREEMENT BETWEEN SONOMA CLEAN POWER AUTHORITY AND CYRQ ENERGY INC. EFFECTIVE AS OF MARCH 2, 2023 (“AGREEMENT”), THE AGREEMENT IS
HEREBY TERMINATED BY MUTUAL WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE PARTIES EFFECTIVE AS OF THE DATE OF THE FINAL EXECUTION HEREOF.
Geof Syphers, Chief Executive Officer Mark Sudbey, Chief Executive Officer Sonoma Clean Power Authority Cyrq Energy, LLC
Date: Date:
cc: Curt R. Ledford, Davison Van Cleve, P.C., [email protected] 35 of 107
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Staff Report – Item 04
To: Sonoma Clean Power Authority Board of Directors
From: Geof Syphers, Chief Executive Officer
Issue: Direct Staff to Study the Feasibility of Expanding Sonoma Clean Power Authority’s Service to Lakeport, California
Date: April 3, 2025
Recommendation
Direct staff to study the feasibility of expanding Sonoma Clean Power Authority’s service to Lakeport, California.
Background
In the March 2025 SCP Board meeting, the Board directed staff to study the feasibility of expanding service to include the City of Clearlake in Lake County, and also – in anticipation of potential additional requests from Lake County – study the feasibility of service to the City of Lakeport and the County of Lake.
This item would formally recognize that the City of Lakeport has made a request and direct staff to complete a detailed review of feasibility.
Discussion
The process for evaluating service to new communities is governed by the Board of Directors’ Administrative and General Policy D4 (attached). Step 1 (A letter of request) and Step 2 (Initial SCP staff assessment of agency capacity for an analysis and identification of any obvious concerns) are completed. There are no special or unusual concerns identified at this time.
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Community Advisory Committee Review
Due to the timing of the City of Lakeport’s request, this item came to the Board first but will be brought to the Community Advisory Committee in April.
Attachments
Administrative and General Policy D.4 (New Customer Communities) Request Letter from City of Lakeport
38 of 107
Administrative and General Policy D.4
New Customer Communities
Whereas, the Sonoma Clean Power Authority’s (SCPA) purposes include:
• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions related to the use of power in Sonoma County and neighboring regions;
• Providing electric power and other forms of energy to customers at a competitive cost;
• Carrying out programs to reduce energy consumption;
• Stimulating and sustaining the local economy by developing local jobs in renewable energy; and
• Promoting long-term electric rate stability and energy security and reliability for residents through local control of electric generation resources; and
Whereas, creating opportunities for new communities to benefit from community choice aggregation programs may allow SCPA to further progress towards these purposes; and
Whereas, SCPA’s default CleanStart service reduces greenhouse gas emissions when compared to the incumbent utility’s default service; and Whereas, the addition of new communities to SCPA’s service territory will accelerate progress toward SCPA’s and the State of California’s goals on renewable energy and greenhouse gas reductions;
Therefore, in light of these considerations, it is SCPA’s policy to consider providing electric service in new communities to further SCPA’s goals, consistent with the criteria set forth below.
Applications to serve new communities will be considered if all of the following criteria are met:
1. The community is relatively close to existing SCPA service territory, so that regular meeting attendance and community engagement is practical.
2. The community agrees to abide by the SCPA Joint Powers Agreement, all existing SCPA adopted policies, and any conditions of service proscribed by SCPA’s Board of Directors, and to take all steps required by the Joint Powers Agreement and California law to participate in the SCP program, with governance representation determined by the existing SCPA Board of Directors.
3. The SCPA Board of Directors finds that service to the new region:
a. will decrease greenhouse gas emissions;
b. will not increase costs or financial risks to existing SCP customers; c. will be consistent with SCPA’s purposes of promoting renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation
Adopted: December 3, 2015
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4. There should be significant political and public alignment of values between existing and proposed participants, so that fundamental conflicts over key underlying issues are less likely. This would be important, for example, in determining the balance of environmental and economic goals.
5. The addition of the new community is likely to increase the voice of SCPA in legislative and regulatory matters at the California Public Utilities Commission, California Energy Commission, California Air Resource Board, the California State Legislature and other relevant venues.
6. The addition of the new community will not harm SCPA’s autonomy over its portfolio of power sources, customer programs, and its ability to serve local, community interests.
7. The addition of the new community will not harm the quality of service to existing SCPA customers and will not give rise to operational risks that could significantly harm SCPA’s existing functions.
An applicant community that initially appears to meet the above criteria may be referred by the SCPA Board of Directors to SCPA staff for a more detailed analysis of the applicability of above criteria, and any other relevant issues, following the New Customer Community Application Procedure set forth below.
Adopted: December 3, 2015
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Sonoma Clean Power
New Customer Community Application Procedure
Step 1 Governing body of applicant community submits letter to SCP requesting consideration for service.
Step 2 Staff evaluates timing of request to determine if internal resources are available to consider request, and to ensure no impact to core agency functions.
Step 3 Staff submits request to SCPA Board of Directors along with staff’s initial opinion, and the Board determines whether a full analysis is warranted. If so, staff sends a letter of
acknowledgement to the applicant region.
Step 4 Staff executes contract with governing body of new community to fund costs of membership analysis and other SCPA costs relating to adding community (e.g., cost of updating
Implementation Plan). These costs would be deducted from program funding that normally would flow to the new territory until startup costs are reimbursed to SCPA’s operating fund. Staff undertakes and completes a full analysis.
Step 5 Results of membership analysis presented to governing body of new community and to SCPA Board of Directors. SCPA Board determines whether providing service to new community is consistent with Policy D-4, whether new community will be offered representation on the Board, and what other conditions will apply to new service.
Step 6 A 60-day period will be provided for SCPA Board members to request a presentation by SCPA staff before their city or town councils or county board of supervisors, and to allow adequate time for city/town and county staff to evaluate the proposed extension of service.
Step 7 SCPA Board of Directors votes on whether to extend a formal offer for service.
Step 8 Governing body of new community approves resolution requesting membership and ordinance authorizing community choice aggregation service through SCPA, and takes any other actions required by the SCPA Board of Directors as a condition of service.
Step 9 SCPA Board of Directors adopts resolution authorizing membership of the additional community, and staff submits updated Implementation Plan to CPUC.
Adopted: December 3, 2015
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Step 10 SCPA Staff develops service plan and schedule, begins buying additional energy, and starts community outreach.
Adopted: December 3, 2015
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CITY OF LAKEPORT
Over 130years ofcommunity
pride, progress andservice
March 19, 2025
Sonoma Clean Power
Attn: Chair Brian Barnacle
431 E. Street
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
[VIA EMAIL]
Dear Chair Barnacle,
On behalf of the City of Lakeport, I am requesting that Sonoma Clean Power conduct a membership analysis to assess the feasibility of expanding service to our community. The findings from this analysis will help inform the Lakeport City Council as we consider the potential benefits of joining Sonoma Clean Power.
Lakeport is interested in the potential for CCA service to address economic and environmental challenges for the city. We are eager to explore how partnering with Sonoma Clean Power could help us address these issues by offering our residents access to a non-profit energy provider, expanding participation in customer programs, and strengthening our representation in energy policy discussions.
We recognize Sonoma Clean Power's Administrative and General Policy D.4 on New Customer Communities and understand that any decision regarding expansion would require approval from both the Lakeport City Council and the Sonoma Clean Power Board of Directors following a review of the membership analysis. Additionally, we acknowledge that while Sonoma Clean Power would initially cover the costs of the analysis, these costs would be reimbursed through temporary deductions to program funding should the expansion move forward.
We appreciate your time and consideration and look forward to the opportunity to discuss this further.
Respectfully Submitted,
l<evin M. Ingram
City Manager, City of Lakeport
City Hall • 225Park Street • Lakeport, CA 95453
(707) 283-5815ext. 104 • [email protected]
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Staff Report – Item 05
To: Sonoma Clean Power Authority Board of Directors
From: Stephanie Reynolds, Director of Internal Operations Mike Koszalka, Chief Operating Officer
Issue: Receive Internal Operations Report and Provide Direction as Appropriate
Date: April 3, 2025
PROGRAMS UPDATES
Energy Savings Box – 1,000 Distributed
Launched in September 2024, Energy Savings Box provides free, easy-to-use products that help customers save energy and reduce their bills.
The Energy Savings Box comes with six LED bulbs, a 7-outlet advanced power strip, a Wi-Fi controlled smart outlet, and three weather proofing solutions for doors and windows. This kit also includes a detailed instructional booklet, QR code links to English and Spanish installation videos, and a flyer for SCP’s GridSavvy program.
As of February 28, over 800 branded boxes had been mailed to customers’ homes.
Initial survey feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with 96% saying they would recommend Energy Savings Box to friends and family.
To better target our underserved communities, SCP created a tote bag version of this offering. In 2024, staff distributed 250 totes through local partner organizations, including the Laytonville and Leggett Valley Family Resource Centers, CA Homemakers Association, Nuestra Comunidad, and Petaluma Blacks for Community Development.
Additionally, SCP staff attended events hosted by Redwood Empire Food Bank and United Way to hand out flyers and help Spanish-speaking customers place orders.
Outreach and marketing efforts are continuing through 2025, with pre-built kits ready to ship to customers.
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Smart Thermostat Direct Install - Request for Proposals SCP launched a Request for Proposals (RFP) on March 3 for providers to deliver residential energy services across SCP’s service territory. The program will include:
• Installation of up to 1,000 smart thermostats
• HVAC system tune-ups
• Energy assessments
These services will specifically target low-income customers, with SCP serving as program administrator and covering all costs (equipment, labor, and administration).
This will ensure no out-of-pocket cost for participating residents. Funding for the smart thermostat installations comes as part of the recently awarded $4.9M California Energy Commission grant for Virtual Power Plants for Demand Flexibility (VPP-FLEX).
Businesses that are locally headquartered and/or owned by women, minorities, LGBTQ, and/or disabled veterans are encouraged to respond to this RFP. Businesses that may fit these criteria should be directed to
https://thesupplierclearinghouse.com/ to learn more about the Supplier Diversity Program of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).
Proposal Deadline: April 14th by 5:00 PM. For complete details and to access the RFP, visit www.sonomacleanpower.org/solicitations-business-opportunities SCP Decarbonization Project Proposal Selected
As part of SCP’s efforts to effectively plan for meeting statewide greenhouse gas goals at the local level, staff began consideration of a neighborhood decarbonization case study in late 2024.
This past January, Sonoma Clean Power submitted a related research project proposal to the University of California, Santa Barbara’s Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. In late March, this proposal was selected to move forward by the school’s Group Project Selection Committee.
This year-long thesis project will be led by a highly skilled and well-supported group of Bren School Master’s students looking to advance their careers in the environmental field. The purpose of these projects is to help the students build important professional skills and apply the technical expertise they’ve acquired in 46 of 107
their Master of Environmental Science and Management (MESM) program to complex, real-world environmental problems.
Between now and Spring 2026, the project group will produce a case study evaluating the barriers, needs, impacts, and opportunities associated with full neighborhood electrification in the Roseland neighborhood, a disadvantaged community in southwest Santa Rosa. The project will also provide valuable data and insights to inform SCP program and decarbonization priorities.
Sonoma Clean Power has a budget for and will provide funding to the Bren School for necessary expenses and potentially host internships at its headquarters during the summer of 2025. SCP staff members Adam Jorge and Scott Salyer will act as mentors and project sponsors throughout this effort.
Overall, Staff believe this partnership provides a unique opportunity to develop future leaders in the decarbonization space, better understand local barriers to electrification, and develop tools to support our customers through the clean energy transition.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
Community Advisory Committee – April 17, 2025
Board of Directors – May 8, 2025 (off cycle, due to CalCCA annual conference) Community Advisory Committee – May 15, 2025
Board of Directors – June 5, 2025
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Staff Report – Item 06
To: Sonoma Clean Power Authority Board of Directors
From: Neal Reardon, Director of Regulatory Affairs
Miles Horton, Legislative Policy & Community Engagement Manager Geof Syphers, Chief Executive Officer
Issue: Receive Legislative and Regulatory Updates and Provide Direction as Appropriate
Date: April 3, 2025
Requested Action
Receive legislative and regulatory updates and provide direction as appropriate.
Regulatory Updates
Sonoma Clean Power Advocates that Utilities Approach Neighborhood Decarbonization in Strategic and Transparent Manner
On March 11th, a Joint CCA group submitted comments in a new CPUC proceeding (R.24-09-012) tasked with establishing policies and rules to ensure safe and reliable planning of the gas system. This proceeding, following the passage of SB 1221, directs the utilities to begin planning for targeted decarbonization of specific neighborhoods by replacing gas infrastructure with increased electrical capacity.
Specifically, the legislation requires the utilities to identify and propose 30 pilot projects by 2026. To do this, they will begin by establishing criteria and processes by which to evaluate potential neighborhoods. CPUC staff issued a proposal for stakeholder comment which outlined their vision of how this process should proceed.
Overall, the Joint CCA group is supportive of both the intent of SB 1221 and most of the elements of how CPUC staff envision implementing it. Our comments recommend specific refinements to the process, many of which focus on requiring utilities to provide transparent and consistent information about areas under consideration. In addition, we note the intersection between natural gas and electrical distribution planning. Specifically, the comments recommend that:
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• Maps should include interactive, accessible layers with inputs that are updated at least semi-annually.
• To align with state climate goals and assess for impacts, the maps should integrate granular data from existing electrification maps. • Alignment between load-serving entities, CCAs, and local government electrification initiatives is critical to plan for needs on impacted electric circuits. The mapping effort should also account for predicted gas/load service reductions in line with planned building electrification initiatives. • To effectively prioritize pipeline replacement across the utilities, the Commission should establish a standardized risk score calculation methodology which considers electrification efforts to reduce extended reliance on gas infrastructure.
• The utilities should coordinate with CCAs, local governments and tribal authorities during the mapping process and include overlays of disadvantaged communities on the maps. Additionally, the utilities should solicit community input on mapping accuracy and completeness through periodic public workshops.
The Commission intends to establish specific guidance for utility mapping of gas distribution infrastructure by this Summer. Doing so will support the utilities’ efforts to identify specific pilot communities by July of 2026.
California Public Utilities Commission Staff Issue Response to Governor Newsom’s Executive Order on Affordability
CPUC staff issued a response to Governor Newsom’s Executive Order to mitigate the rising costs of electricity service. The Executive Order directed the CPUC to perform a cost-benefit analysis of current programs and rules. Following this analysis, staff were instructed to take specific action, including:
• Recommend changes to statute that would reduce costs without compromising public health and safety, reliability, or the 2045 GHG-free goal • Under existing authority, modify or sunset programs that are not cost-effective or well-utilized, return funds to ratepayers
• Work with CARB to maximize effectiveness of Climate Credit, especially for CARE customers
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• Work with Safety to maximize effectiveness of wildfire safety processes and procedures
CPUC staff’s response holistically evaluated many programs and drivers of customer costs. Below is a graphic from the CPUC report showing the contribution of various costs to rates:
Some media outlets have mischaracterized this staff response as a pending decision at the CPUC to lower Net Energy Metering (NEM) compensation. There is no such proposal under consideration at the CPUC, which recently reformed NEM rates by adopting the Net Billing Tariff (NBT). This new tariff provides a much lower payment to customers for energy exported to the grid and applies to all customers who 51 of 107
submitted interconnection applications after April 15, 2023. However, there is a potential that these ideas lead to future reductions in NEM compensation for legacy solar customers. Conceivably, legislators could see the CPUC staff report as inspiration for future policy changes, particularly in response to broad pressure to lower rates. The CPUC itself could also start proceedings to consider adopting rule changes that enact some of the recommendations.
The specific ideas CPUC staff shared about revising NEM and lowering its impact on non-participating customers include the following:
• Fund NEM with non-ratepayer sources like taxes
• Change NEM to:
o Shorten NEM legacy period from current 20 years
o Pay NEM customers the retail rate that was in place when they signed up for NEM instead of the higher retail rates today
o Increase fixed charge for NEM and NBT customers
o Tie 20-year legacy period to the customer, but not the system, so when customers move their NEM system transitions to NBT
SCP staff will continue to monitor developments that may impact the ability of our customers to generate their own clean energy and affordable rates for all customers.
If any of the staff concepts suggested on NEM or other drivers of retail costs are evaluated in a formal proceeding or legislation SCP staff will bring them to this Board for feedback and direction.
Legislative Updates
Sonoma Clean Power is sponsoring three geothermal bills in the California Legislature this year, in partnership with Fervo Energy, the International Union of Operating Engineers, and others: Assembly Bills 526 (Papan), 527 (Papan), and 531 (Rogers). AB 526 & 531 have been referred to both the Utilities & Energy and Natural Resources Committees, while AB 527 has been referred to the Natural Resources Committee. The first two bills will be heard in Utilities & Energy on April 2, while all three bills are tentatively slated for hearing in Natural Resources on April 21. SCP staff are engaging with a wide variety of stakeholders and potential supporters and opponents.
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In addition, the SCP team conducted outreach and education efforts on those bills, as well as CCA, geothermal, and transmission issues generally, over the course of two lobby days, March 4 and March 11. The team met with key legislators and staff, including Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, key staff for Senate leader Mike McGuire, several key committee chairs, and many others.
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Staff Report – Item 07
To: Sonoma Clean Power Authority Board of Directors
From: Geof Syphers, Chief Executive Officer
Issue: Approve a Draft Policy for Placing Items on the Board Meeting Agenda Date: April 3, 2025
Recommendation
Approve a Draft Policy on Placing Items on the Board Meeting Agenda.
Background
Director Zollman requested a formal process be considered for placing items onto the SCP Board of Directors meeting agenda at the March 3, 2025, meeting. The proposed process is attached to this item and tries to address the importance of both access for providing board direction and limiting agendas to account for limited staff time.
Attachments
Draft Administrative and General Policy D.6 – Policy on Placing Items on the Board Meeting Agenda
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DRAFT
Administrative and General Policy D.6
Policy on Placing Items on the Board Meeting Agenda
Purpose:
This policy outlines the process for adding items to the Board of Directors’
meeting agenda.
1. Normal Agenda Process:
o Staff normally prepares the draft meeting agenda.
o The Chair and Vice Chair review the draft agenda, and the Chair gives final approval.
2. Request by a Board Member:
o Any Board member may request that an item be placed on a future agenda by contacting the Chair and the CEO. Requests should be made at least 20 days before the meeting date to allow time for review. The Chair will determine whether to include the item on the agenda and the meeting to do so. The Chair, in consultation with staff, will determine the exact timing. The requesting Board member will be informed on the Chair’s decision.
3. Response by the Chair:
o If the Chair decides not to include a requested item on the agenda, they must inform the requesting Board member of this decision.
4. Option to Seek Board Review:
o If the requesting Board member still wishes to have the item added, they may submit a short letter of request with one other Board member. The letter should be sent to the Chair, CEO and Clerk.
o Once the Chair, CEO and Clerk receive a letter signed by two Board members, the requested consideration of adding the full agenda item must appear on a Board meeting agenda within the next 60 days.
o At that meeting, the Board will vote by simple majority whether to place the full agenda item on a future agenda. Only a brief Draft
DRAFT - THIS IS NOT AN ADOPTED POLICY
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explanation of the request is allowed at that time; there will be no in-depth discussion of the topic itself during that vote.
5. Placing the Item on a Future Agenda:
o If the Board votes to add the full agenda item, the Chair must place it on the agenda of one of the next three Board meetings.
The exact timing should be determined in consultation with staff to ensure they are prepared to address the topic effectively. o If the Board declines to place the item on a future agenda, the same or substantially similar request may not be made for six months. The Board may waive this waiting period in its
discretion.
Draft
DRAFT - THIS IS NOT AN ADOPTED POLICY
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Staff Report – Item 08
To: Sonoma Clean Power Authority Board of Directors
From: Kimberly Beltran, Technical Programs Manager
Bridget Abbene, Program Specialist
Issue: Receive Update on Programs that Reduce Peak Demand and Shift Energy to Low-Carbon Electricity
Date: April 3, 2025
Recommendation
Receive a presentation on the summary of Sonoma Clean Power Authority’s programs that reduce peak demand and shift energy use to low-carbon electricity.
Background
Sonoma Clean Power’s Programs department develops and implements customer offers and incentives that align with SCP goals to support energy affordability, grid reliability and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. SCP’s Strategic Action Plan for Offers and Incentives identifies five focus areas to accomplish these objectives, including reducing peak demand and shifting energy use to low-carbon electricity.
Reducing peak demand has a cascading benefit to all customers by reducing procurement costs which correlate to electricity rates.
To accomplish this, Sonoma Clean Power launched GridSavvy Community, an innovative residential demand response program in 2017. Demand response (DR) is an approach to manage energy demand by shifting or reducing electricity consumption during grid constraints caused by heatwaves and high electricity prices, or unexpected power plant outages. Through GridSavvy Community, customers could enroll their electric vehicle chargers, allowing SCP to temporarily manage the devices and slow charging during grid events. This effort helped reduce the grid load while ensuring customers’ charging needs were still met. 59 of 107
In 2022, the program expanded and relaunched as GridSavvy Rewards to increase inclusivity and impact. The updated program introduced two ways for customers to participate: a behavioral demand response option and an automated demand response option that leverages smart thermostats and EV chargers. • Alerts through GridSavvy Rewards (Behavioral)
Customers receive notifications (via text, email, or phone) during peak demand events and can voluntarily reduce their use to earn incentives. • Devices through GridSavvy Rewards (Automated)
Customers with eligible EV chargers and smart thermostats can allow SCP to automatically adjust their energy use during peak demand periods. These automated adjustments help reduce strain on the grid with minimal effort from participants.
In 2024, SCP expanded GridSavvy Rewards further by integrating daily managed EV charging. This expansion transformed GridSavvy Rewards from an event-based demand response program into an overall load flexibility initiative. Now, the program optimizes customer charging behavior continuously, not only during peak demand, creating a more dynamic and responsive system for managing energy consumption. • Daily Managed EV Charging through GridSavvy Rewards (Automated) This new component allows for real-time adjustments to EV charging schedules based on grid conditions and price signals. It provides an ongoing approach to optimize low-carbon electricity and onsite solar generation, further enhancing the program’s ability to support grid stability both during peak events and on a regular basis.
GridSavvy Rewards breaks down silos between load flexibility strategies, enabling greater participation and combined benefits. This integrated model offers a flexible and dependable approach to shift energy use daily as well as during peak demand or low supply periods, promoting grid stability and enabling more residents to contribute to grid resilience, regardless of their access to smart technology.
Discussion
To increase enrollment and maximize energy savings, SCP has implemented several initiatives focused on accessibility and customer engagement. Recognizing that not all households have access to smart devices and electric vehicles, Alerts through 60 of 107
GridSavvy Rewards allows them to earn rewards by voluntarily conserving energy during peak periods. Customers can also enroll their smart devices and EVs, which automate participation, making it even easier to support grid reliability and save money.
SCP has also prioritized language and communication accessibility. Given that 30% of Sonoma County and 28% of Mendocino County residents identify as Hispanic or Latino (U.S. Census Bureau, n.d.), GridSavvy Rewards offers Spanish-language support across email, text, and website content. Customers receive event notifications via multiple channels, including email, text, and phone calls, to ensure broad participation. Additionally, participants are offered energy-saving tips to optimize their use and reduce costs.
Financial incentives encourage participation by rewarding energy-saving behaviors.
Customers who purchase an eligible smart thermostat through the GridSavvy Rewards marketplace receive an instant rebate, making energy-efficient technology more affordable. Those who enroll an eligible thermostat, EV, or car charger receive a sign-up incentive, further reducing upfront costs. Participants who allow SCP to adjust their device or vehicle receive monthly bill credits. Those enrolled in Alerts through GridSavvy Rewards receive a $25 enrollment incentive and a $2 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) savings incentive, in addition to the avoided cost of using electricity.
To enhance program offerings, SCP continues to expand its technology partnerships.
In 2024, SCP added Chargepoint and Wallbox to its EV charger partnerships, alongside its thermostat partnerships with ecobee, Nest, and Copeland Sensi. The managed charging pathway now supports 75 electric vehicles and charger models.
Future integrations being explored include battery storage, commercial and industrial (C&I) customers, and heat pump water heaters.
SCP achieved significant milestones in 2024:
• Nearly 12,000 participants were enrolled, collectively shifting approximately 5 MW during a given event.
• 35 demand response events were called, including both automated device-based and behavioral alert-based events.
• The daily managed EV charging pilot shifted energy use to off-peak times and optimized home solar, preventing 2.2 metric tons of CO₂ emissions. 61 of 107
GridSavvy
Rewards
Pathway
Total
Participants
CARE/FERA
& Empower
Participants
Avg kW Shifted
Per Participant
Avg Annual
Participation
Incentive
Enrollment
Incentives
Alerts 11,430 4,495 0.33 $19 $25
Thermostats 413 52 0.65-0.8 $60 $100
EV chargers 1,374 102 0.56 $60 $100
EV Daily
Managed
Charge
469 27 N/A $60 $100
Looking ahead to 2025, SCP aims to build on these successes with the following objectives and incentives:
• Reach 20,000 total enrollments.
• Dispatch over 5 MW during all events.
• Increase rebates and enrollments for smart thermostats as of April 1, 2025. • Launch a smart thermostat direct install for CARE/FERA customers.
Through GridSavvy Rewards, SCP is integrating load flexibility strategies, reducing participation barriers, and prioritizing customer inclusion. By keeping customers at the center of the clean energy transition, SCP is demonstrating that demand response programs can be both effective and accessible— helping to build a cleaner, more resilient and affordable energy grid for all.
Fiscal Impact
No fiscal impacts related to this item. Budgeting for customer programs, offers, and incentives are accomplished through the annual budget process. 62 of 107
Community Advisory Committee Review
This informational item is being presented to support understanding of active programs. Community Advisory Committee review was not required.
Attachments
Attachment 1 – GridSavvy Rewards PowerPoint Presentation 63 of 107
1 3/26/2025
GridSavvy Rewards
Improving Grid Reliability and Rewarding Customers
through Load Flexibility
Glossary and Terminology
• Peak demand – Highest point of demand for energy during a specific period (locally May-Oct, 4-9PM)
• Grid stress – Situation when consumer demand strains the grid, potentially impacting reliability (causes – AC use during heatwaves, generator maintenance/failures)
• Load flexibility – The use of non-time sensitive load adjustment to shape the demand of electricity to match
supply.
• Demand response (DR) – Improves grid reliability using flexible load to adjust demand in response to peak demand grid stress, thus balancing supply and demand. Can be
behavioral or automated, event based or daily managed.
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1 3
3/26/2025
GridSavvy Rewards
Enrollment Pathways
GridSavvy Rewards integrates multiple load flexibility
approaches:
• Alerts (behavioral): Customer choice! No
devices needed and totally voluntary.
• Smart Devices (automated): Eligible smart
thermostats and EV chargers can be enrolled
and automatically adjusted for events.
• Daily Managed EV Charging (automated):
Real-time adjustments to EV charging
schedules based on pricing, grid conditions,
and onsite solar optimization
Equity and Accessibility
• Accessible to all residential customers with no
upfront costs or penalties.
• Accessibility and language options:
Communications available in English or Spanish
via text, email, or voice messages.
• Simple messaging to ensure participants
understand the request and can act when
needed to support grid reliability.
• CARE/FERA participation (25%) vs. SCP
meter share (19%)
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2 5
3/26/2025
2024 Impact & Key Achievements
• Enrollment: ~12,000 participants
• Energy Shift: Approximately 5 MW shifted during a given event. • Customer Impact: Customers receive financial incentives and help support a more resilient grid.
• Alerts - $25/enrollment and $2/kWh (1 dishwasher cycle) during events • Smart thermostats - $200/enrollment and $5/monthly
• EV chargers - $100/enrollment and $5-10/monthly participation What’s Next for GridSavvy Rewards?
2025 Goal
• 20,000 enrollments
• Dispatching 5 MW+ during all events.
• Launch smart thermostat direct install for CARE/FERA customers • Evaluate battery storage and commercial integration pathways Vision
Continue removing barriers to participation, creating a more inclusive opportunity and resilient grid for all.
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3/26/2025
Thank you!
Kimberly Beltran
Technical Programs Manager, Sonoma Clean Power
[email protected]
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Staff Report – Item 09
To: Sonoma Clean Power Authority Board of Directors
From: Geof Syphers, Chief Executive Officer
Issue: Approve Energy Project Selection Criteria
Date: April 3, 2025
Recommendation
Approve a set of criteria for prioritizing energy, capacity and energy storage procurement from new-build resources.
Background
A group of advocates for organized labor and environmental justice under the umbrella of the CCA Workforce and Environmental Justice Alliance is calling on some of California’s CCAs to adopt new energy resource procurement criteria. Their goal is to emphasize benefits to local project areas and workers. As a public agency, SCP’s staff understand the value of this goal while also recognizing that placing new restrictions and obligations on project developers could limit SCP’s ability to meet its adopted climate goals and result in increased costs for our customers. The proposed criteria in this item attempt to balance all of these important goals.
This Background section provides some of the history and engagement on this topic.
A Discussion section follows, clarifying some of the tradeoffs. Finally, an attachment to this report provides the recommended language for procurement criteria, and includes notes about where the CCA Workforce and Environmental Justice Alliance have proposed alternate language.
On November 3, 2023, California Community Power (CC Power) hosted a workshop to explore how California can meet its climate, reliability and energy affordability goals while improving past industry practices related to selecting energy resources in ways that support workers, communities and the environment.
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CEO Syphers emceed the event billed as “Getting it Built Right” and hosted speakers from Defenders of Wildlife, Brightline Defense Project, Authorized Personnel & Labor, San Francisco Electrical Construction Industry, the CCA Workforce and EJ Alliance, The California Independent System Operator, the California Energy Commission, REV Renewables, and the California Community Choice Association. Numerous additional people participated from unions, CCAs and environmental justice organizations.
The event acknowledged that the growth of CCAs has been rapid due to the broad public benefits relating to lowering energy costs, accelerating the construction of renewable energy sources, and innovation in diverse services like demand response and microgrids. Speakers from unions and environmental justice groups advocated for CCAs to add more of a clear focus on providing public benefits specifically at energy resource project locations. They also called on CCAs to help California improve industry practices by selecting project locations to support workers and avoid unnecessary community and environmental impacts.
The workshop was largely prompted by a growing awareness that California is rapidly transitioning from for-profit utilities procuring most power resources to not-for-profit CCAs doing most of the state’s new procurement. With only a 15-year track record, CCAs are comparatively new, and some groups have not yet forged deep relationships with them. In addition, CCAs have not generally made a transition to owning and operating power resources yet and therefore have less-developed relationships with labor unions and environmental justice organizations.
The context for the workshop also acknowledged the fast-increasing energy costs of the for-profit utilities and the growing lack of adequate transmission capacity across the state. CEO Syphers and several other speakers remarked on the growing challenges the state faces to meet its goals in transitioning to all-electric buildings and cars due to the slow pace of planning, permitting and building new transmission capacity.
Initial conversations between labor unions, environmental justice organizations and CC Power met with a challenge when those groups asked CC Power to establish procurement criteria for its member CCAs, including Sonoma Clean Power. Since CC Power’s board is made up of the unelected staff of CCAs and not the policy-making boards of directors of CCAs, the staff was concerned with approving criteria that would appear to bind their own governing boards.
Instead, on March 20, 2024, following the “Getting it Built Right” workshop, Geof Syphers as Chair of CC Power, asked for and received approval from that agency’s 70 of 107
staff-led board to a set of agreements designed to encourage CCAs to consider adopting procurement criteria.
Those agreements are:
1. CC Power Members agree to abide by their governing board’s policies when engaging in joint action through CC Power. CC Power is not and cannot be a conduit for circumventing locally adopted policies.
2. CC Power agrees to distribute Member CCA procurement policies and
practices in an ongoing manner.
3. CC Power Members individually agree to regularly review model policies and practices and consider whether recommending updates to their governing boards regarding such policies and practices are appropriate for their own jurisdictions.
4. CC Power agrees to host a webpage with links to each Member CCA’s
procurement policies, and/or relevant plan.
The SCP Board of Directors provided initial input on goals for drafting project selection criteria during the meeting of November 7, 2024, and some additional input at the February 6, 2025, meetings. On March 20, 2025, the SCP Community Advisory Committee held a lengthy discussion of staff’s proposed criteria, a conversation that is described in detail later in this report.
Staff Engagement and Research
Over the past seven months, SCP staff have engaged with other CCAs, the CCA Workforce and EJ Alliance, IBEW Local 551, and also separately held related meetings about SCP’s local geothermal work with the North Bay Building Trades, North Bay Labor Council, Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 38, State Building & Construction Trades Council, NorCal Carpenters Union, Operating Engineers Local 3, International Union of Operating Engineers and Teamsters of California. Staff also briefed environmental organizations on SCP’s local geothermal work and began a conversation about best practices for energy project development with California Environmental Justice Alliance, Clean Air Task Force, Climate Action Mendocino, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, Mendocino Land Trust, NextGen Policy, Russian Riverkeeper, Sonoma County Conservation Action, Sonoma Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy and US Green Building Council CA.
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SCP staff have also reviewed industry practices for project selection by the investor-owned utilities and more recent practices, criteria and policies adopted by the following CCAs: Central Coast Community Energy (3CE), Ava in Alameda County, Peninsula Clean Energy (PCE) in San Mateo County, and MCE in Marin, Napa, Solano and Contra Costa Counties.
Staff have found that the investor-owned utilities and municipal power providers do not have comparable policies governing project selection.
Investor-owned utilities were required to sell most of their power resources in the late 1990s as part of California’s failed attempt at deregulation, so they are now in similar positions to CCAs, contracting with merchant power providers for a majority of their energy. As a result, one concern with adding new procurement criteria is that it could put SCP at a competitive disadvantage relative to PG&E for purchasing clean power resources at affordable prices.
How Projects are Selected Today
The selection of energy and storage resources in California is broadly done today based on cost, locational market value, and the capability to reliably deliver the resource into the state’s largest load center (Los Angeles) during critical peak load conditions. This is due to the fact that the state’s biggest grid balancing authority, CAISO, will not provide full financial value for any resource that cannot help meet the state’s largest reliability challenge, regardless of where the customers of that power provider live and work. Many other factors are also considered in selecting resources, including the seller’s credit, experience and reputation, permitting and interconnection risk, and how the generation technology helps meet SCP’s compliance obligations and voluntary goals for climate protection, among other factors.
More recently, CPUC procurement mandates have had a growing influence on procurement decisions. As an example, orders to procure “firm clean” resources led power providers to compete for the very few available geothermal projects in the market, and nearly all of those were outside California, meaning that if SCP had a policy emphasizing the value of in-state resources, it would have been overridden by the CPUC order.
Today, California power providers generally do not have additional voluntary criteria on top of the state’s laws and regulations on project location, labor and environmental impacts, likely for two reasons: (1) a perception that California’s mandatory protections 72 of 107
for workers, communities and the environment are already strong, and (2) a resistance to far-away energy buyers making local decisions about local impacts and protections in the project area.
Project Location
Generally, project locations are established well before power providers solicit for bids through the state’s Integrated Resource Plan process and through early-stage developer acquisition of land, often years before the resource is bid into any solicitation. Today’s planning process, which begins with the Integrated Resource Plans at the CPUC and then leads to various CEC and CAISO engineering and cost management exercises, determines generally where resources will be built. Some attempts have been made to introduce “Least Conflict” mapping of resources, especially for extremely large solar projects using a lot of land, but those efforts have also become more challenging and less effective as the transmission grid has become more and more constrained, and choices about where projects can be built are increasingly limited. State procurement orders for resources that must deliver within 5 years or less also greatly reduce the potential for Least Conflict land use planning.
Environment & Community
Project area environmental protections today are generally established through the California Environmental Quality Act processes for assessing, reporting and mitigating environmental impacts. These impacts include impacts on air, water, noise, visual impacts, tribal cultural resources, disruption to wildlife habitats, and the potential for displacement of local residents. For projects in federally designated tribal areas, tribal consultation is required to mitigate impacts on cultural and historical resources.
Projects on federal land undergo a similar process, but through the National Environmental Policy Act.
Community Benefits Agreements are sometimes negotiated between the local community and project developers as part of the permitting phase and can serve as an important tool for delivering local project area benefits. The influence of a purchaser like SCP on such agreements is likely limited because most negotiations are substantially complete by the time offtake contracts are negotiated and signed.
However, staff believe there could be some value in signaling that CCAs value such agreements and other forms of community engagement, particularly if California can restore a competitive energy market through expanding access to the transmission grid in more locations.
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Workforce
California and the U.S. have labor rules that carry certain requirements, which often apply to utility-scale energy and storage resources. These include:
Inflation Reduction Act – The “IRA” incentivizes payment of prevailing wages to workers involved in the construction of energy projects, apprenticeship programs, the use of Project Labor Agreements for larger projects, and compliance with Buy American provisions, which ensure a majority of materials used are sourced from within the U.S. Broadly, projects complying with the labor requirements under the IRA are eligible for federal funding covering 30% or more of the total project costs. This funding is contingent on meeting the standards outlined for prevailing wage, apprenticeship, and local hire provisions. Note that continued implementation of the IRA is potentially at risk.
California Prevailing Wage – California requires that workers be paid prevailing wages when energy projects are owned by public agencies or are funded (even partially) with public funds. Public-private partnerships generally trigger the prevailing wage requirement as well.
Discussion
Sonoma Clean Power is committed to improving California’s energy impacts on ratepayers, workers, community health and the environment. The history of energy extraction, refining, transport and combustion is well known to be the primary cause of the climate crisis and air pollution, a major cause of childhood asthma, drinking water pollution, habitat loss, exploitation of labor and one of the causes of poverty in disadvantaged communities. It has also enabled modern society with telephones, computers, cars, airplanes, lighting, cooling, running water and sewage treatment; things that provide extraordinary benefits we do not want to live without.
SCP was created to make progress in sustaining all of the valuable services that energy provides while reducing the negative impacts. In reviewing SCP’s formation documents, integrated resource plan, board policies and its practices over the past decade, staff believe SCP’s public benefits to date can largely be summarized as:
• Lowering Energy Costs. Rate stability, competitive energy costs and proactive customer support for lowering all customers’ bills. Legislative and regulatory advocacy for lowering systemwide energy costs to improve affordability and to strengthen the economic case for electrification of homes and cars. 74 of 107
• Public Safety via Climate Protection. Direct actions to reduce the risk of harm and cost associated with drought, flood and extreme heat by purchasing resources with lower emissions, customer education and incentives, as well as legislative and regulatory advocacy.
• Air & Water Quality Protections. Legislative and regulatory advocacy, and also direct actions like power procurement and customer programs to reduce reliance on power plants causing harmful air and water pollution. • Sonoma & Mendocino Investments. Development of local power resources, and non-energy contracting with a focus on small local businesses for services. • Sonoma & Mendocino Community Benefits. Free classes and support at the Customer Center, local donations to non-profits, disaster relief, customer incentives, college and trade scholarships and local community partnerships. • Grid Reliability & Safety. SCP advocates for California energy reliability, security and resilience with a focus on lowering upgrade costs and accelerating grid repairs and upgrades.
• Planning for Fossil and Nuclear Retirements. SCP advocates for cutting California’s energy costs for all ratepayers through actions that allow the permanent retirement of natural gas and nuclear resources. Such actions include the GeoZone effort, transmission planning, and procurement of long-duration storage.
In drafting the proposed Procurement Criteria, staff have attempted to ensure there are pathways to protect all of the above objectives while working to add new benefits for the energy industry workforce, and environmental protections and community benefits specifically for areas at and adjacent to newly constructed energy resources.
Proposal
The proposed Procurement Criteria are attached.
Community Advisory Committee Recommendation
The Community Advisory Committee held a robust discussion of the proposed criteria during its March 20, 2025, meeting. Many concerns and alternatives were discussed, including:
• Why is this needed? What problem does it solve?
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• Adopting criteria at this time of great uncertainty (e.g., new tariffs and prohibitions on wind power) is risky. Note, staff are indeed already seeing price premiums that will increase ratepayer costs due to tariffs. • Could we wait to see what impact such criteria have on other CCAs before adopting one ourselves?
• Extra costs are a concern. How can we avoid becoming part of the affordability problem?
• Would SCP have successfully built its current mix of power sources if these criteria had been adopted years ago?
Ultimately, the Committee voted to recommend moving forward cautiously with the Proposed Criteria (Yes=4, No=2, Abstain=1, Absent=3).
Fiscal Impact
The impact of adopting the proposed procurement criteria is likely an increase in ratepayer costs for two reasons: (1) a likely reduction in the number of bids, and (2) bids having a higher price to cover the additional costs. A third potential cost would be CPUC fines for non-compliance, which could occur if SCP cannot procure sufficient mandated energy, resource adequacy and storage to meet obligations due to insufficient bids. However the amount of increased ratepayer costs is unknown, and it may not be possible to know this amount until several years of procurement have completed under the criteria.
An exception to the expectation of higher costs is where SCP has many years to prepare for a large-scale local construction effort far in advance of any permitting processes, such as with the GeoZone. In that case, the high bar standards in the proposed Procurement Criteria have the potential to improve community support and lower the risks of litigation and delays, potentially reducing ratepayer costs.
Attachments
Proposed Project Selection Criteria, with comments about where SCP staff and advocates disagree on language
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PROPOSED LANGUAGE
April 3, 2025
PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA
Sonoma Clean Power Authority (SCP) exists to provide public benefits, including protecting customers from sudden large changes in costs, lowering energy costs for all customers, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, investing in SCP’s local service territory, creating high quality jobs in SCP’s service territory, providing community services in SCP’s territory, and advocating for improved grid reliability and safety. This project selection methodology adds goals relating to the workforce constructing new energy, capacity and energy storage resources and the community and environmental impacts of those construction projects.
It is the goal of SCP to sustain all of the agency’s existing public benefits while seeking to add these new project-related goals. The Board recognizes that adding new project selection criteria could, at times, increase costs and customer rates and therefore seeks to minimize any new costs.
[Notes: Advocates argue that since these criteria are waivable, they should be as strong and aspirational as possible. Staff believe that criteria should be set with an expectation that they can often be met, and sometimes at the highest levels. This document highlights where these two perspectives differ, and show both options.
In addition, the Community Advisory Committee discussed the risk that overly-aggressive criteria could cause developers to avoid bidding to SCP, in which case having the option to waive criteria would not help, since SCP would be unable to transact even with a waiver.] I. DEFINITIONS
A. Energy Offtake Agreement: Power purchase agreements, energy storage agreements, or resource adequacy only agreements for new-build, in front of the meter, wholesale resources where SCP does not own or construct the resource. Instead, SCP's participation in the project is limited to receiving energy and any applicable attributes at a set price and term. Energy offtake agreements for existing resources are not a part of this criteria.
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B. Journeyperson: Is a worker who either:
1) Graduated from a California state-approved apprenticeship program for the applicable occupation or, when located outside California, is approved for federal purposes pursuant to apprenticeship regulations adopted by the Secretary of Labor, or 2) Has at least as many hours of on-the-job experience in an applicable occupation as would be required to graduate from an apprenticeship program for the applicable occupation that is approved by the California Division of Apprenticeship Standards.
C. Local Hire: Is a worker who is either:
1) A resident within the nearest communities in proximity to the project, as reasonably determined on a project-by-project basis (for example, further distances are allowable for rural projects); or 2) Is a resident of Sonoma or Mendocino counties.
D. Priority Worker: means an individual who resides in one of SCP’s designated Empower communities or is otherwise designated as a targeted hire or priority worker through a state-certified career training and placement program.
E. Small and Local Business: means a business that meets both of these criteria:
1) Has a fixed place of business with a street address in Sonoma or Mendocino Counties and having a valid business license issued by a jurisdiction in Sonoma or Mendocino Counties for at least the past six months; and
2) A business which has been certified to meet the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) size standards for its classification, OR meets any other official small business criteria established by Sonoma or Mendocino Counties.
F. Targeted Hire Program: is pipeline program which:
1) Partners with a Multi-Craft Core Curriculum (MC3) pre-apprenticeship program or programs, or equivalent industry and state-recognized certificated career training and placement program that recruits, supports and places Priority Workers in skilled construction trades; and
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2) Creates opportunities for a Priority Worker to enter registered apprenticeship programs and/or obtain work hours needed to successfully complete their apprenticeship; or
3) Recruits and places income-qualified Journeypersons.
II. PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA
SCP considers responses to questions relating to the following criteria when selecting resources, while reserving the right to contract for resources that do not provide all requested information.
SCP procurement must comply with the procurement obligations in (A) and must also contribute to SCP’s mission in some manner, as delineated in (B).
The considerations of which resources to procure that meet both (A) and (B) are then described in no particular order in (C) through (I).
A. Comply with Procurement Obligations
1) SCP’s first obligation is to comply with state mandates to procure energy and related resources.
2) SCP’s second obligation is to procure resources to fulfill the governing Board of Directors’ adopted Integrated Resource Plan.
B. Contribution to SCP's mission of Affordable, Renewable and Reliable Service
1) Assessment of affordability and value. Assessment of the project's projected revenues and avoided costs across all relevant day-ahead, real-time and ancillary markets, considering the project's expected change in value over the term of the contract, and its ability to manage, shift, or arbitrage existing SCP generation to maximize revenue and achieve SCP’s systemwide greenhouse gas reduction goals.
2) Assessment of the contribution of the resource to clean grid reliability.
3) Assessment of counterparty risk. Assessment and evaluation of the risk that a counterparty will fail to perform, or adequately remedy, its obligations.
4) Assessment of development risk. Assessment of the risk that the project is unable to obtain interconnection, deliverability, site PROPOSED DRAFT – NOT AN ADOPTED POLICY
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control, entitlements, financing, or other necessary development milestones required to deliver the project by the anticipated online date.
C. Workforce: Energy Offtake Agreements
SCP will prioritize new Energy Offtake Agreements where the developer is committed to:
1) Highest priority projects will commit to a multi-trade project labor agreement. Within this category, projects having the following goals will be ranked higher:
i. A goal of 30% of all project labor hours performed by Local Hires for projects not involving transmission upgrades. [Note: An IBEW wind power project called SunZia recently alerted SCP that large-scale, multi-state projects need more consistency in a workforce and that the 30% Local Hire
requirement is too high for those projects involving
transmission upgrades. Staff recommend the redline language to resolve this matter.]
ii. Participation in a Targeted Hire Program with a goal of 10% of all project labor hours performed by Priority Hires.
2) Medium-priority projects will commit to utilization of prevailing hourly wage and benefit rates as determined by the California Department of Industrial Relations for California projects, and the greater of state or federal prevailing wage and benefit rates for out-of-state projects. [Notes: Staff accept and recommend the labor advocates’ edit on out-of-state wages shown in redline, above. Labor advocates ask to insert additional criteria for medium-priority projects: "Utilization of apprentices at the same ratio of apprentice hours to journeyperson hours as required for public works projects." Staff have received strong pushback from developers who note that many Energy Offtake Agreements are not built as public works, and that the specific apprenticeship criteria should not be included.]
3) Low-priority projects would fail to meet the previous criteria, but may include other workforce commitments and goals.
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D. Workforce: Large Owned Resources
When considering contractors or developers for SCP-owned generation or storage projects requiring a Large Generator Interconnection Agreement from the California Independent System Operator (currently 20MW and larger), SCP will use commercially reasonable efforts to negotiate a multi-trade project labor agreement having:
1) A goal of 30% of all project labor hours performed by Local Hires. 2) Participation in a Targeted Hire Program with a goal of 10% of all project labor hours performed by Priority Hires.
3) A commitment to subcontracting with Small and Local Businesses. [Notes: Labor advocates ask to strike “use commercially reasonable efforts” to negotiate a multi-trade PLA. Staff have concerns this language could delay or cancel projects, for example where one union does not agree to work with other unions. Staff believe the “reasonable effort” language establishes the clear intent, while allowing projects to proceed when labor disagreements prevent a timely PLA.]
E. Workforce: Small Owned Resources
When considering contractors or developers for SCP-owned generation or storage projects requiring a Small Generator Interconnection Agreement from the California Independent System Operator (currently less than 20MW), SCP will commit to:
[Notes: Labor advocates ask to reduce the size threshold for Small Owned Resources to 1 MW. Staff disagree on the basis that this does not align with state permitting processes or energy market businesses, which are all organized around the 20 MW threshold.]
1) Utilization of prevailing hourly wage and benefit rates as determined by the California Department of Industrial Relations. [Notes: Labor advocates ask SCP to make commercially
reasonable efforts to negotiate a Project Labor Agreement for Small Owned Resources. Staff anticipate that union contractors would be competitive in SCP solicitations requiring certified prevailing wages, but argue against criteria excluding our significant non-union workforce, which is a majority of contractors in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties.]
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2) Utilization of apprentices at the same ratio of apprentice hours to journeyperson hours as required for public works projects.
Generally, this is one apprentice hour per every five hours of journeywork per craft.
3) Demonstrated commitment to Local and Priority Hires:
i. A goal of 30% of all project labor hours performed by Local Hires while incenting, through a negotiated contract
structure, the contractor or developer to achieve a minimum of 60% of all project labor hours performed by Local Hires, and;
ii. A goal of 10% of all labor hours performed by Priority Hires.
4) Demonstrated effort to subcontract with Small and Local Businesses.
F. Innovation
SCP recognizes that achieving its adopted climate goals will require significant improvements and innovation in geothermal energy, pumped hydropower energy storage, offshore wind, imported wind, long duration battery energy storage, scaling up demand response, transmission and distribution infrastructure and potentially many other technologies that have potential to lower customer costs while also lowering greenhouse gas emissions and air and water pollution.
SCP will prioritize projects that accelerate decarbonization and/or reduce costs for SCP customers while remaining cost competitive with for-profit power providers. Priority will be given to technologies that solve multiple problems and have potential to scale regionally or globally.
G. Location
Subject to a careful consideration of systemwide value and ratepayer costs, SCP prioritizes projects in accordance with the following priority order:
1) Projects located within Sonoma or Mendocino counties. 2) Projects located within the State of California delivering directly into the California Independent System Operator.
3) All other projects delivering to the California Independent System Operator.
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[Notes: Labor advocates asked that G2 be amended to limit to projects located within California. Staff concede that this should be a priority while noting that substantially most of California’s critical near-term wind and geothermal resources will be constructed outside of California. This situation reinforces SCP’s work to reduce development risks of critical reliability resources in California, including the three legislative efforts this year SCP co-sponsored with the International Union of Operating Engineers.
In addition, prioritizing resources in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties will definitely increase costs and rates due to higher land costs and lower resource value. Recall that resources located near Los Angeles and San Diego have higher value (and therefore lower costs) for all California ratepayers due to proximity to the state’s largest load center. Nevertheless, staff believe that some prioritization of local resources is consistent with SCP’s purpose, while cautioning that a majority of new resources will still need to be built elsewhere.]
H. Environmental Stewardship
SCP is committed to leading by providing customers with affordable energy that delivers benefits for air, water, the climate and the natural environment.
Without diminishing or interfering with permitting, planning land use, or development requirements of any authority having jurisdiction, including local, state and federal agencies, SCP prioritizes projects that:
1) Have the potential to enable the permanent retirement of once-through cooling power plants when sufficient similar projects reach scale in California, or
2) Are in urban areas or on previously developed, disturbed, or contaminated land that can be re-purposed, or
3) Where the developer and local land use authority have established an enforceable development agreement which, in part, sets forth measures to mitigate impacts to sensitive habitats or environmentally sensitive areas and comply with any adopted habitat conservation plans, or
4) Which provide other specific environmental benefits prioritized by SCP’s Board of Directors.
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I. Benefits Accruing to Underserved and Low-Income Communities SCP is committed to helping communities overcome barriers to their access to public investments, resources, education, and information about energy service and policy. SCP will prioritize projects that:
1) Demonstrate having established contacts with local community organizations and stakeholder groups representing a broad diversity of demographics and interests with which it intends to collaborate with to identify and address benefits and impacts of projects and ensure project benefits are communicated and accessible to the local community.
2) Commit to meaningful engagement with local communities throughout the entitlement and construction processes to identify and address the impacts of projects and ensure project benefits are communicated and accessible to the local community. [Notes: CCA Workforce & EJ Alliance ask to amend #2 to require meaningful engagement “for the entire project lifecycle.” Staff note that while this language sounds helpful, it is not at all clear how SCP would or could monitor compliance with third party developers over 20 years or more. Staff believe this language is not practical and recommend against it.]
Ill. REPORTING
SCP will assess project proposals in accordance with this Project Selection Methodology and disclose completed procurement efforts to the Board in the next meeting.
[Notes: Added disclosure in the next Board meeting since the last version reviewed by the Board.]
IV. RESERVATION OF AUTHORITY TO WAIVE PROJECT SELECTION
METHODOLOGY
The SCP Board Chair and Vice Chair may waive this Project Selection Methodology, or any portion thereof, to:
J. Address an emergency or unforeseen situation that jeopardizes the safety or feasibility of a project; or
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K. Comply with a California State or Federal executive or regulatory order or law.
V. CONSISTENT APPLICATION
SCP staff shall abide by this policy when procuring resources, regardless of whether those resources are procured directly or through a third party.
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Staff Report – Item 10
To: Sonoma Clean Power Authority Board of Directors
From: Garth Salisbury, Chief Financial Officer
Geof Syphers, Chief Executive Officer
Chris Golik, Senior Finance Manager
Issue: Review and Provide Direction on the Draft Annual Budget for Fiscal Year 2025-2026
Date: April 3, 2025
Recommendation
Review and provide direction on the Draft Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Annual Budget.
Summary
Staff present a draft budget for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, that:
• Plans for SCP’s next rate change on or about February 1, 2026 • Aims to provide SCP customer bill savings of 7% on total electric bills relative to PG&E’s bundled customers through January 31, 2026 (subject to no significant adverse outcomes)
• Returns a portion of excess collections above SCP’s long-term reserve target to ratepayers
Background
Staff presents a budget for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 that continues to fulfill SCP’s adopted goals for providing electricity from very low greenhouse gas sources, investing in renewables, operating the Customer Center, beginning to utilize the local investment fund, and delivering a broad set of customer services and incentives. 87 of 107
From the outset, SCP has held a high standard for its operations – usually far in advance of State requirements, such as creating EverGreen in 2014, the nation’s first electric supply that provides 100% local renewable energy 24/7 without any reliance on fossil energy sources for any purpose.
From its inception until early 2020, SCP had been able to provide customers with lower overall bills each year. This was achieved by offering significantly lower electric generation rates to all customer classes to more than offset the Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) fee PG&E charges SCP customers. These low generation rates have resulted in tens of millions in customer bill savings since 2014.
From May 2020 through March 2022, SCP had to set rates resulting in customer bills slightly above PG&E, with the premium ranging up to 5% of total electric bills. SCP was able to eliminate that premium in April of 2022, and began targeting a 5% savings on total electric bills with the rate adjustment on February 1, 2023. Since then, SCP has been able to offer its customers total bill savings between 3% and 7% below PG&E’s bundled customers.
SCP’s Board of Directors voted on December 5, 2024, in favor of amending Financial Policy B.2 to increase target reserves from 280 days to 365 days of annual budgeted operating expenses, setting rates following Board-approved parameters, and to make an allocation to SCP’s local investment fund.
SCP’s rate adjustment on February 1, 2025, increased total electric bill savings for customers to a target of 7%.
It is important to note that this forecast is based on the best information available currently, and that the PCIA fee is extremely difficult to forecast for several reasons.
First, the PCIA can be influenced by PG&E’s decisions, for example, whether to offer excess resource adequacy (RA) into the market or not. Those decisions impact the PCIA fee on our customers and are made solely at the discretion of the investors of a company that has a history of working to oppose CCAs. Second, the regulatory rules of how the PCIA is calculated can change rapidly and will likely continue to change over the coming years. A proposal to radically increase the PCIA is currently pending at the CPUC, for example. And finally, the PCIA is highly dependent on the market price of natural gas power and capacity, which itself fluctuates significantly with the commodity price of gas. For these reasons, staff will regularly update the Committee and Board on the PCIA as new information becomes available. 88 of 107
Rate Setting
This item is limited to SCP’s annual budget. But since rate setting and budgeting are closely linked, it is important to understand how SCP sets rates.
Step 1. Revenue Requirement: Identify the Revenue Requirement for SCP to provide its essential services and meet its Board’s adopted plans and policies.
The budgeting process is used to identify the Revenue Requirement.
Step 2. Ratesetting: Ratesetting is generally done in November or December for implementation on or about February 1 of the following year. This delay allows any necessary mid-year correction to the Revenue Requirement before setting rates. Importantly, the allocation of the Revenue Requirement is made by setting a particular percentage premium or savings on total electric charges relative to the most recently authorized CPUC rates for PG&E, and then adjusting that premium or savings until SCP’s forecast revenues match the agency’s Revenue Requirement.
At this time, staff does not expect to recommend a rate adjustment until February 1, 2026. However, SCP’s rates are always subject to change as forecasts of expenses and revenues are never perfect.
Budget Overview
The Fiscal Year 2025-2026 draft budget presented in this item seek to:
• Procure a supply portfolio of electricity generation that meets the Board’s adopted plans and policies. Note that a detailed review of SCP’s long-term procurement plan will occur as part of updating the agency’s Integrated Resource Plan late in 2025.
• Emphasize customer incentives and education that help cut the use of gasoline and natural gas, as these actions are often the most affordable ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions today.
• Expand customer outreach through improved market research and listening to our various communities.
• Expand community education activities.
• Increase emphasis on ensuring all of SCP’s communities know about and have access to incentives and education.
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• Promote the Customer Center and further develop the Center into a valuable community resource.
Draft Budget
This draft budget is presented in the form that will be used for adoption in May and then is followed by supplemental information. The budget categories are intentionally general enough to allow some measure of staff discretion, without requiring frequent budget adjustments.
Community Advisory Committee
The Community Advisory Committee reviewed the draft budget in March 2025 and does not currently recommend changes to the Board.
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Revised DRAFT
Budget Budget
FY24-25 FY25-26 Comments
REVENUES & OTHER SOURCES
Electricity Sales1 (net of allowance) $ 258,001,000 $228,694,000 SCP customer target savings of approximately 7% vs. PG&E on total electric bill through January 2026 EverGreen Premium2 (net of allowance) 2,700,000 3,150,000 CEC Grant Proceeds - 863,000 California Energy Commission (CEC) grant for Virtual Power Plant Approaches for Flexibility (VPP-FLEX)Investment Returns 13,853,000 12,000,000 Miscellaneous Income 1,000,000 - California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) funds for program implementation ended in FY24-25 Total Revenues 275,554,000 244,707,000 EXPENDITURES
Product
Cost of Energy & Scheduling3 183,989,000 234,986,000 Higher market price of energy, severe weather contingency, and expiration of favorable contract Data Management 3,670,000 3,359,000 Full year with new service providerService Fees to PG&E 990,000 990,000 Product Subtotal
PersonnelMarketing & CommunicationsCustomer ServiceGeneral & AdministrationOther Professional Services LegalRegulatory & Compliance
Accounting
LegislativeOther Consultants
188,649,000
11,490,000
3,379,000
220,000
1,832,000
475,000 460,000 312,000 220,000 535,000
239,335,000
12,781,000
3,915,000
220,000
2,309,000
525,000 360,000 340,000 220,000 535,000
See details in write-up Website and program campaignsCredit facility undrawn fees and software licensesProcurement contractsLower fees for regulatory consulting Other Professional Services Subtotal 2,002,000 1,980,000 91 of 107
Revised DRAFT
Budget Budget
FY24-25 FY25-26 Comments
EXPENDITURES – continued
Industry Memberships & Dues 888,000 888,000 Program Implementation4 10,136,000 6,481,000 See details in write-up Total Expenditures 218,596,000 267,909,000 Revenues Less Expenditures 56,958,000 (23,202,000) OTHER USES Capital Outlay 500,000 7,022,000 Utilization of local investment fund and upgrades to office building purchased in FY23-24 Total Expenditures, Other Uses 219,096,000 274,931,000 Net Increase/(Decrease) in Fund Balance $ 56,458,000 $ (30,224,000) 92 of 107
Notes on the Draft Budget Table:
1. Revenues from electricity sales are net of the allowance for uncollectible accounts, estimated to be 2.1%.
2. The EverGreen premium covers the incremental cost of EverGreen power above the cost for CleanStart. The rest of the revenues for EverGreen customers appear in the Electricity Sales line item.
3. The Cost of Energy and Scheduling includes NetGreen and Solar Billing Plan costs, ProFIT payments, California ISO fees and scheduling as well as all energy and capacity costs.
4. Funds approved by the Board to be loaned to customers, and funds paid back to SCP, are treated as balance sheet items and are not on the income statement.
Further details on each of the proposed budget categories follows. 93 of 107
Information Only - Supplemental to the Draft Budget
Revenues and Other Sources
The primary source of income is from the retail sale of electricity to CleanStart and EverGreen customers. Customers of both services provide all the Electricity Sales revenue. EverGreen costs 2.5 cents per kWh over the price of CleanStart and provides 100% renewable energy from sources in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties.
The EverGreen premium pays for the purchase of local sources of renewable geothermal and solar and is not intended to produce surplus income.
The total sales estimate is based on 86% of eligible customers and load participating in SCP. The net financial performance of SCP is not sensitive to small changes in the rate of participation because a majority of expenses are proportional to the load served. In other words, income and expenses generally tend to go up and down together.
PG&E is currently expected to reduce their generation rates and increase the PCIA fee that they charge to SCP customers on January 1, 2026. Correspondingly, staff anticipates that SCP will reduce rates on or about February 1, 2026. Despite the reduction in SCP’s generation rates, total bill savings for SCP Customers is expected to be reduced from the current 7% savings target due to PG&E’s anticipated rate changes.
Staff estimates uncollectable billings at 2.1%.
Expenditures
Product
Cost of Energy and Scheduling includes all the various services purchased from the power market through our suppliers. This includes energy, long term renewable power purchase agreements, ProFIT feed-in-tariff projects, capacity (resource adequacy), short term renewable and carbon free contracts (aka hydropower), scheduling services, CAISO fees, and other miscellaneous power market expenses.
SCP has entered into renewable and low carbon contracts with suppliers that will meet approximately 45% of its expected energy. SCP’s cost of energy is expected to increase in 2025 when an existing fixed-price contract ends, and SCP is more exposed to current higher market prices of energy. Compared to recent years, SCP has a higher cash-flow exposure to the monthly fluctuations in energy market prices, 94 of 107
but a lower actual long-term financial exposure due to the delayed offsetting nature of the PCIA.
SCP closed a renewable energy prepayment transaction in November 2024, which will help to offset higher power costs. It will save SCP’s ratepayers a total of $47 million over the initial 7 ½ years of the transaction, including savings of over $6 million in fiscal year 2025-2026.
Major amounts of SCP’s customer load are also served by customer-owned solar arrays. Small amounts also reduce the load of other SCP customers through NetGreen and Solar Billing Plan overproduction. However, none of this production is reportable on SCP’s Power Content Label because it is treated as a load reduction rather than supply energy under California regulations.
Based on current rates of participation, the total payout amount for SCP’s NetGreen and Solar Billing Plan solar customers is estimated to be about $1,750,000 for the fiscal year.
The primary price risks are related to forecast error, changes in rates of customer participation, Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS), shutoffs due to Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings (EPSS), variable generation output of solar and wind resources, generation curtailment risks, forward pricing of peak and off-peak unhedged energy, unprocured resource adequacy, and legislative and regulatory risks (e.g., PCIA fees).
Scheduling Coordinator services are provided by Northern California Power Agency.
The charges for this service are included together with energy and resource adequacy in the budget. After electric power is scheduled for delivery to customers and ultimately consumed by those customers, the actual electric consumption must be trued up against the forecasted and scheduled energy. This true up occurs through the settlement process, or “settlements.” Settlements also entail addressing a number of other market and regulatory requirements. The impact on budgeting is that invoices and credits occur several months (and sometimes up to two years) following a given month of service.
Data Management includes a broad scope of services provided by contract through Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), including billing data validation, bill coordination with PG&E, billing management of special programs (e.g., NetGreen, Solar Billing Plan, and ProFIT), call center services and billing technical support, customer enrollment database management, move-in/move-out services, CAISO 95 of 107
data preparation, WREGIS data preparation, and many support functions related to data reporting.
Service Fees to PG&E consist of a charge of $0.35 per account per month (including a $0.21 per account service fee and a $0.14 per account meter data management fee).
There are also numerous small fees associated with data requests. The fees cover PG&E’s costs associated with additional data processing and bill coordination and are mandatory and regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).
Personnel
Personnel costs include direct salaries, benefits, workers compensation premiums, Social Security, and payroll taxes. During late 2024 and early 2025, Sonoma Clean Power leadership continued to look to the future and added a Capital Projects Director to research local renewable power and storage opportunities. An engineer will be hired during 2025 to fill out that team. We have expanded and strengthened our Legislative, Risk, Finance, Regulatory and Public Relations and Marketing teams, along with adding in-house expertise in transmission-related aspects of new generation and storage resource development activities. In addition, staff salaries were adjusted to remain competitive with other energy-related employers.
Marketing and Communications
In fiscal year 2025-2026, Sonoma Clean Power will focus on increasing awareness and engagement with our suite of customer programs, with GridSavvy Alerts as the flagship initiative. Our annual and seasonal GridSavvy Alerts campaign will be complemented by additional efforts supporting the California Energy Commission’s VPP Flex Grant, a four-year initiative awarded to SCP.
A comprehensive website redesign will be a significant initiative, planned to begin this fiscal year, aimed at improving navigation, functionality, and the overall effectiveness of our primary communication platform. This redesign will enhance customer engagement and better support our communication efforts.
To deepen our understanding of customer needs, SCP will continue conducting market and demographic research through surveys and focus groups. Insights from this research will guide a new customer onboarding campaign designed to increase awareness of SCP’s offerings, personalize communications, and boost participation in programs and services.
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SCP is expanding our commitment to youth education and workforce development, particularly in the STEM fields, the building trades, and clean energy careers. This year, we are investing in Schools Rule Mendocino County and the North Coast Builders Exchange’s North Bay Construction Corps, alongside our ongoing partnerships with Sonoma Water, the Career Technical Education Foundation, and the LIME Foundation. These efforts empower students to build a sustainable future while pursuing meaningful careers.
Throughout the fiscal year, our marketing strategy will focus on enhancing public understanding of SCP’s mission and the benefits we provide to customers, our communities, and the environment. This will be achieved through targeted marketing campaigns driven by customer insights, strategic public and media relations efforts, community engagement through sponsorships and service/volunteerism, listening and responding to customer needs through thoughtful communications.
By leveraging data-driven strategies and strengthening community partnerships, SCP aims to maximize our impact and continue leading the transition to a clean energy future.
A breakdown of budgeted spending is provided below. Note that a significant majority of all Marketing, PR & Events funds also go to local organizations and contractors, including printers, writers, graphic designers, radio stations, social media support, web programmers, caterers, photographers, carpenters, painters, etc.
Marketing, PR, & Events $2,983,000
Partnerships $600,000
Sponsorships $272,000
Memberships $60,000
Total $3,915,000
Customer Service
The customer service team works with customers via phone, email, walk-ins, and events which are the primary touchpoint for customers in the agency. The customer service team’s budget includes confirmation notices, annual required notices, and commercial customer appreciation.
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Customer Noticing
There are several kinds of official mailed notices SCP provides to its customers.
Outside of enrollment rollouts, the following notices are mailed out to applicable customers:
• Move-in notice postcard (weekly)
• Move-in notice letter (weekly)
• EverGreen confirmation notices (weekly)
• NetGreen welcome (weekly)
• Solar Billing Plan welcome (weekly)
• Opt-out confirmation - immediate notice (weekly)
• Opt-out confirmation – 6-month notice (weekly)
• Late payment notice (monthly)
• Pre-collections notice (monthly)
• Re-enrollment welcome letter (weekly)
• Opt-down to CleanStart (weekly)
The customer service budget also reflects two required mailings by the CPUC and CEC:
• Joint Rate Mailer that compares SCP and PG&E’s rates and power mixes (annually)
• California Energy Commission’s Power Content Label that compares SCP to California’s power mix (annually)
Finally, the commercial customer appreciation budget is used to help commercial EverGreen customers gain attention for the leadership in switching to 100% local, renewable energy.
Other Professional Services
Legal
This covers attorney expenses for general governance plus power supply negotiations and any other legal issues that arise.
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Regulatory & Compliance
This category includes technical research into CPUC rate cases, resource adequacy, PCIA and other key issues. It includes technical and legal consultants for compliance filing preparation, review, and filings.
Accounting
Accounting includes services from two providers. Maher Accountancy provides the day-to-day accounting for SCP, including generation of financial statements and consolidated reports. SCP also have an outside auditor review our financial statements each year.
Legislative
Staff retain a Sacramento legislative lobbyist. These costs also include coverage for tracking and advancing bills in the legislative session that affect SCP and the energy industry directly. The statewide CalCCA trade association continues to allow SCP to track and participate in legislative work that affects CCAs across the state, and the addition of a Legislative Manager in 2024 further strengthens SCP’s state engagement. Some very limited federal and state lobbying on the GeoZone is also included. One change of note this year is SCP’s retention of K Street Consulting. This Sacramento-based advocacy firm has extensive experience advocating on behalf of Tribal communities across the State. By virtue of this work, K Street has strong collaborative relationships with many Tribes. SCP retained K Street to strategically advise staff on outreach to sovereign Tribes in SCP’s service territory. This work is underway and staff, working in conjunction with our Board, have had initial engagement meetings with two Tribes.
Other Consultants
Other Consultants cover costs related to outside services needed for basic internal operations, such as: IT services/repairs, nighttime security for the Business Office building and the Customer Center, administration fees for our insurance benefits and retirement plans, consultants for mandatory training, and the collection agency SCP uses for past-due accounts.
Industry Memberships and Dues
The CalCCA trade association is an important entity for sharing the costs of legislative, regulatory, and analytic work. The association has been instrumental in 99 of 107
improving SCP’s effectiveness at the CPUC on matters including the PCIA, resource adequacy, and in the legislature on organizing and providing direction to lobbyists and requesting action.
SCP is a member of CC Power, the joint powers authority formed with other CCAs to jointly procure power. SCP is also a member of the American Public Power Association (APPA). This is a nationwide association of public power entities, with a membership category for CCAs nationwide. In 2024, SCP became a member of California Community Choice Financing Authority (CCCFA) to facilitate energy prepayment transactions that will enable SCP to deliver meaningful cost savings to customers over the long-term.
Programs
The Programs portfolio budget is less than the previous fiscal year primarily due to two programmatic changes. SCP halted a battery storage optimization program because it did not meet performance objectives, and a CPUC-funded energy efficiency program ends on June 1, 2025.
Despite the discontinuation of these two offers, the Programs portfolio is expanding in other ways and intends to maintain momentum from the previous fiscal year. SCP will be increasing incentives and strategies to install automated devices with GridSavvy Rewards for low-income customers in a manner that produces lower total capacity costs for all ratepayers. This work will be funded, in part, by a California Energy Commission grant. SCP will continue to offer numerous programs that assist our customers with their energy-related needs. These including Energy Savings Boxes, GridSavvy Rewards, Non-Profit EV Incentives, Electrification rebates Advanced Energy Build, Multifamily Housing Electric Panel Upgrades, EV Daily Managed Charging, Community Charge, and Workplace Charging Research Project. For a complete list of SCP’s offer and incentives, rationale, and performance metrics, reference the 2025 Strategic Action Plan.
Consistent with the Board of Directors’ input in the FY 24-25 budget, the Programs portfolio includes a goal to expend 25% of the budget towards CARE, FERA, and Empower communities to support SCP’s most vulnerable customers in their energy needs.
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Other Uses
Capital Outlay includes upgrades and renovations for the office building adjacent to the Business Office that was purchased in FY23-24, new projects identified by the Capital Projects department, as well as equipment costing more than $5,000.
Debt Service
SCP currently carries no debt. SCP is in the process of securing a line of credit to further mitigate short-term variability in power costs and the consequent effect on customer rates.
Net Increase / (Decrease) in Available Fund Balance
Staff are planning for a net decrease in the available fund balance, which reflects the return of a portion of excess ratepayer collections above SCP’s long-term reserve target.
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THREE-YEAR OUTLOOK
This three-year outlook is subject to significant modification as new information is available regarding PCIA and the market price of energy.
Revised DRAFT
Budget Budget Forecast Forecast Forecast
FY24-25 FY25-26 FY26-27 FY27-28 FY28-29
REVENUES & OTHER SOURCES
Electricity Sales (net of allowance) $ 258,001,000 $228,694,000 $263,200,000 $299,330,000 $317,310,000 EverGreen Premium (net of allowance) 2,700,000 3,150,000 3,180,000 3,210,000 3,240,000 CEC Grant Proceeds - 863,000 1,370,000 1,370,000 1,370,000 Investment Returns 13,853,000 12,000,000 8,400,000 6,750,000 6,750,000 Miscellaneous Income 1,000,000 - - - -
Total Revenues 275,554,000 244,707,000 276,150,000 310,660,000 328,670,000
EXPENDITURES
Product
Cost of Energy & Scheduling 183,989,000 234,986,000 259,600,000 270,200,000 286,700,000 Data Management 3,670,000 3,359,000 3,390,000 3,420,000 3,450,000 Service Fees to PG&E 990,000 990,000 1,000,000 1,020,000 1,040,000 Product Subtotal 188,649,000 239,335,000 263,990,000 274,640,000 291,190,000 Personnel 11,490,000 12,781,000 13,680,000 14,500,000 15,370,000 Marketing & Communications 3,379,000 3,915,000 3,660,000 3,810,000 3,960,000 Customer Service 220,000 220,000 220,000 220,000 220,000 General & Administration 1,832,000 2,309,000 2,400,000 2,500,000 2,600,000 Other Professional Services
Legal 475,000 525,000 540,000 560,000 580,000
Regulatory & Compliance 460,000 360,000 370,000 380,000 390,000 Accounting 312,000 340,000 350,000 360,000 370,000
Legislative 220,000 220,000 230,000 240,000 250,000
Other Consultants 535,000 535,000 550,000 570,000 590,000 Other Professional Services Subtotal 2,002,000 1,980,000 2,040,000 2,110,000 2,180,000 Industry Memberships & Dues 888,000 888,000 910,000 940,000 970,000 Program Implementation 10,136,000 6,481,000 7,210,000 7,440,000 7,680,000 Total Expenditures 218,596,000 267,909,000 294,110,000 306,160,000 324,170,000 Revenues Less Expenditures 56,958,000 (23,202,000) (17,960,000) 4,500,000 4,500,000
OTHER USES
Capital Outlay 500,000 7,022,000 4,500,000 4,500,000 4,500,000 Total Expenditures, Other Uses 219,096,000 274,931,000 298,610,000 310,660,000 328,670,000 Net Increase/(Decrease) in Fund Balance $ 56,458,000 $ (30,224,000) $ (22,460,000) $ - $ - 102 of 107
1 3/27/2025
Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Draft Budget
Board of Directors, April 3, 2025
Chris Golik, Senior Finance Manager
Revenues
Revenues & Other Sources
1 2
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3 3/27/2025
Revenues & Other Sources
Budget Table
Revised
Budget
FY24-25
DRAFT
Budget
FY25-26
REVENUES & OTHER SOURCES
Electricity Sales (net of allowance)
EverGreen Premium (net of allowance)
CEC Grant Proceeds
Investment Returns
Miscellaneous Income
$ 258,001,000
2,700,000
-
13,853,000
1,000,000
$228,694,000
3,150,000
863,000
12,000,000
-
Total Revenues 275,554,000 244,707,000
Expenditures
Product & Operating Expenses
2 4
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5 3/27/2025
Expenditures – Product & Operating Expenses
Budget Table
Revised
Budget
FY24-25
DRAFT
Budget
FY25-26
EXPENDITURES
Product
Operating Expenses
188,649,000
29,947,000
239,335,000
28,574,000
Total Expenditures 218,596,000 267,909,000
Revenues Less Expenditures 56,958,000 (23,202,000)
Other Uses
Capital Outlay
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7 3/27/2025
Other Uses – Capital Outlay
Budget Table
Revised
Budget
FY24-25
DRAFT
Budget
FY25-26
OTHER USES
Capital Outlay 500,000 7,022,000
Total Expenditures, Other Uses 219,096,000 274,931,000
Fund Balance
Net Increase/(Decrease) in Fund Balance
4 8
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9 3/27/2025
Net Increase/(Decrease) in Fund Balance
Budget Table
Revised
Budget
FY24-25
DRAFT
Budget
FY25-26
Total Revenues
Total Expenditures
Revenues Less Expenditures
Total Expenditures, Other Uses
275,554,000
218,596,000
56,958,000
219,096,000
244,707,000
267,909,000
(23,202,000)
274,931,000
Net Increase/(Decrease) in Fund Balance $ 56,458,000 $ (30,224,000) Thank you
5 10
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