Silicon Valley Clean Energy
Executive Committee Meeting
Friday, October 27, 2023
10:00 a.m.
Silicon Valley Clean Energy Office
333 W El Camino Real, Suite 330
Sunnyvale, CA
Morgan Hill City Hall
17575 Peak Ave.
Morgan Hill, CA 95037
MEETING MINUTES
Call to Order
Chair Walia called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.
Board Clerk Andrea Pizano noted there was not a physical quorum present at the time of the Call to Order, however due to a packed agenda and the fact that a committee member was on their way to the physical location, the meeting would begin and non-action items would be addressed first.
Prior to Roll Call, Director Klein announced he would be participating remotely pursuant to AB 2449 under the Just Cause provision due to a contagious illness and confirmed there was no one over the age of 18 present in the room.
Roll Call
Present:
Chair Tina Walia, City of Saratoga
Vice Chair Bryan Mekechuk, City of Monte Sereno (arrived at 10:09 a.m.) Director George Tyson, Town of Los Altos Hills
Director Rob Rennie, Town of Los Gatos
Director Yvonne Martinez Beltran, City of Morgan Hill (participated remotely) Director Larry Klein, City of Sunnyvale (participated remotely)
Absent:
None.
Public Comment on Matters Not Listed on the Agenda
No speakers.
Consent Calendar
This item was heard following Item 3 after a physical quorum of the committee had been established at the SVCE Office.
DocuSign Envelope ID: C05C12E7-E9D1-4326-BFE3-E4F3338567D2 Chair Walia opened public comment.
No speakers.
Chair Walia closed public comment.
MOTION: Vice Chair Mekechuk moved and Director Tyson seconded the motion to approve the Consent Calendar.
The motion carried unanimously by verbal roll call vote. 1) Approve Minutes of the August 25, 2023, Executive Committee Meeting Following the vote on the Consent Calendar, the Executive Committee addressed Item 4.
Regular Calendar
2) CEO Update (Discussion)
Monica Padilla, Acting CEO, announced there was nothing to report.
Chair Walia opened public comment.
No speakers.
Chair Walia closed public comment.
3) Changes to Customer Product Offerings, GreenStart and GreenPrime (Discussion) Acting CEO Padilla introduced the item, noting the purpose of bringing this item to the Executive Committee was to get feedback that would be incorporated in the presentation to the SVCE Board of Directors at the November 8, 2023 board meeting.
Maren Wenzel, Senior Manager of Energy Policy presented an overview of SVCE’s product offerings, challenges with carbon-free energy procurement in 2024, short-term options to achieve 100% clean (or alternatives) for SVCE’s GreenStart product, and a recommended path for beyond 2024.
Don Bray, Director of Strategic Development, presented current challenges with SVCE’s GreenPrime, background on GreenPrime customers and Green-e Certification, competitive considerations for GreenPrime, CCA comparisons, GreenPrime certification and proposed changes to discontinue Green-e for CY 2024 and establish REC self-certification processes that meet LEED and US EPA GPP requirements, calculating the incremental cost of GreenPrime vs. Greenstart, and options for GreenPrime rate change alternatives.
Staff shared their recommended path for 2024:
GreenStart
1. Continue to seek carbon-free resources within budget parameters for calendar year 2024;
2. Approve the procurement of nuclear carbon-free resources, provided allocations from PG&E are not available;
3. If carbon-free resources are not available within budget, adjust 100% Clean goal for 2024 to current position of ~78% Clean, and
GreenPrime
1. Discontinue Green-e Certification for 2024;
2. Re-price GreenPrime premium for 2024 from $0.008/kWh to $0.012/kWh, reflecting underlying cost increases but maintaining 100% RE/CF GreenPrime as a viable alternative to GreenStart; DocuSign Envelope ID: C05C12E7-E9D1-4326-BFE3-E4F3338567D2
3. Communicate GreenPrime rate and process changes to customers in December 2023.
Staff responded to committee member questions and the group engaged in discussion on the options presented for both the GreenStart and GreenPrime products.
Chair Walia opened public comment.
Bruce Karney commented he would love for the SVCE team to identify the impact of what the $30M estimate to fill the clean position for GreenStart in 2024 could alternatively fund and staff could inform the Board.
Karney shared his beliefs it is important for any CCA to have a 100% renewable product offering and that having a subsidy is a bad idea.
Chair Walia closed public comment.
Each committee member provided feedback on staff’s recommendations and were generally supportive of the recommendations presented by staff. Staff noted they would take the feedback provided and incorporate suggestions for the November 8, 2023 Board of Directors meeting.
Following Item 3, the committee took a 10-minute break; the committee reconvened at 11:50 a.m.
The committee considered the Consent Calendar after returning from recess. 4) Net Billing Tariff (NEM 3.0) Update (Discussion)
This item was heard following the Consent Calendar.
Peyton Parks, Energy Services Principal, provided a presentation which included background on Net Billing Tariff (NBT), the differences between NEM 2.0 and NBT, drivers behind the change, a reminder that the NBT is only applicable to new net energy metering applications received by PG&E after April 15, 2023, SVCE’s position and future potential, potential levers for program improvement, NBT program ‘unknowns’ and options, and the staff recommendation for 2024.
The recommendation outlined was to follow PG&E’s NBT implementation model without modification for CY 2024, and the first 12 months of customer performance should be monitored and analyzed with the intention of making future recommendations to customize the program. Staff noted the topic would return to the board in Q1 2025 with additional recommendations from staff.
Staff responded to committee member questions and were in consensus to support staff’s recommendation.
Chair Walia opened public comment.
Bruce Karney noted there is buzz in the community about the Utility Tax law and commented on a new incentive program for low income customers for heat pump water heaters with specific requirements to participate.
Chair Walia closed public comment.
5) Update on Permit Modernization and Policy Experimentation Program Rollout (Discussion) Directors Klein and Martinez Beltran left the meeting during Item 5.
Zoe Elizabeth, Deputy Director of Decarbonization Programs and Policy, and Tony Eulo, Senior Manager of Public Sector Services, provided a presentation on the permit modernization and policy experimentation program launch, which would partner SVCE and member agencies to work toward sensible local policies and smoother local permitting through technical resources and grants.
DocuSign Envelope ID: C05C12E7-E9D1-4326-BFE3-E4F3338567D2 Staff responded to questions and committee members shared their support for the program.
Chair Walia opened public comment.
Bruce Karney shared his support for staff’s work, and commented on the potential costs for cities to hire building inspectors on staff to meet the anticipated ramp up of equipment upgrades and noted we have to find breakthrough ways of installing equipment.
Chair Walia closed public comment.
Committee/Staff Remarks
Board Clerk Pizano noted the next Executive Committee would be held on Monday, November 27, at 1:00 p.m.
Acting CEO Padilla announced the November board meeting would have a lot of big topics, and would appreciate committee member input at the meeting.
Vice Chair Mekechuk commented he found the meeting discussion valuable and complimented staff for their work and thanked committee members for their time.
Chair Walia echoed thanks for both staff and committee members.
Adjournment
Chair Walia adjourned the meeting at 12:51 p.m.
ATTEST:
_____________________________
Andrea Pizano, Board Secretary
DocuSign Envelope ID: C05C12E7-E9D1-4326-BFE3-E4F3338567D2