Silicon Valley Clean Energy
Executive Committee Meeting
Friday, April 26, 2024
10:00 a.m.
Silicon Valley Clean Energy Office
333 W El Camino Real, Suite 330
Sunnyvale, CA
MEETING MINUTES
Call to Order
Chair Klein called the meeting to order at 10:07 a.m.
Roll Call
Present:
Chair Larry Klein, City of Sunnyvale
Vice Chair Bryan Mekechuk, City of Monte Sereno (arrived at 10:09 a.m.) Director George Tyson, Town of Los Altos Hills
Director Tina Walia, City of Saratoga
Absent:
Director Sally Meadows, City of Los Altos
Director Yvonne Martinez Beltran, City of Morgan Hill
Public Comment on Matters Not Listed on the Agenda
No speakers.
Following Public Comment, the Committee heard Item 2) CEO Report as a quorum was not yet present.
Consent Calendar
This item was considered following Item 3.
Chair Klein opened public comment.
No speakers.
Chair Klein closed public comment.
MOTION: Director Walia moved and Vice Chair Mekechuk seconded the motion to approve the Consent Calendar.
The motion carried unanimously with Directors Martinez Beltran and Meadows absent. 1) Approve Minutes of the February 23, 2024, Executive Committee Meeting DocuSign Envelope ID: 47D59536-90FB-4988-ABBC-359889456CD9 Regular Calendar
2) CEO Update (Discussion)
CEO Monica Padilla provided a CEO update which included:
A thank you to attendees of the 2024 CalCCA Annual Conference and topics that were addressed at the conference (specifically regionalization);
An announcement that SVCE’s Go Electric Advisor is live; An update from Bena Chang, Director of Government and Legislative Affairs, on the Income Graduated Fixed Charge; and
An update from Zoe Elizabeth, Deputy Director of Decarbonization Programs and Policy, on reach codes and actions some member agencies have taken in response to the Ninth Circuit’s Ruling on the Berkeley gas ban.
Chair Klein opened public comment.
No speakers.
Chair Klein closed public comment.
3) Recommend the SVCE Board of Directors Authorize the Chief Executive Officer to Execute Necessary Agreements for Resource Adequacy Capacity from High Desert Power Project, LLC (Action)
Kris Van Vactor, Director of Power Resources, presented the item with a request of the Executive Committee to recommend the SVCE Board of Directors authorize the Chief Executive Officer to execute a long form resource adequacy (RA) agreement with High Desert Power Project, LLC for the following:
6-year term RA agreement with expected delivery from January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2032; and
50 megawatts (MW) of baseload System and Flexible Resource Adequacy capacity from natural gas.
Director of Power Resources Van Vactor noted this item would be coming to the Board of Directors for approval because the agreement exceeds the CEO’s authority under the Board-approved Energy Risk Management Policy which currently authorizes transactions for RA up to five years in term.
Staff responded to committee member questions. Following discussion, the Committee was in consensus to include the item on the May Board meeting Consent Calendar, so long as the following discussion items were addressed in the minutes of the current meeting and in the staff report for the May Board of Directors meeting:
The proportion of natural gas in SVCE’s RA portfolio over time: It was noted that this proportion is trending downwards, but will never reach zero, due to the role natural gas in ensuring reliability. When SVCE first launched, nearly 100 percent of its RA portfolio was comprised of natural gas resources.
Today, this proportion is about 70 percent. By 2027, when this MRP RA Agreement would begin, the proportion of natural gas would fall to about 35 percent, inclusive of this proposed agreement. The agreement requires board approval because the term extends one year beyond the five years for which the CEO has authority to execute. There is no need to change this execution authority at this time, because similar transactions are expected to be infrequent. The impact of Slice of Day RA on SVCE’s existing contracts: while Slice of Day will change the value of RA for SVCE’s existing contracts, SVCE is well positioned for compliance under the new RA framework.
DocuSign Envelope ID: 47D59536-90FB-4988-ABBC-359889456CD9 Chair Klein opened public comment.
No speakers.
Chair Klein closed public comment.
MOTION: Director Tyson moved and Director Walia seconded the motion to recommend the SVCE Board of Directors authorize the CEO to execute a long form resource adequacy agreement with High Desert Power Project, LLC.
The motion carried with Directors Martinez Beltran and Meadows absent.
Following Item 3, the Committee considered the Consent Calendar. 4) Proposal for the Hanford Hybrid Plant Emissions Mitigation Guidelines (Discussion) Following the vote on the Consent Calendar, the Committee considered Item 4.
CEO Padilla introduced the item and Citlalli Sandoval, Senior Regulatory Advisor, presented a preliminary proposal for the Hanford Hybrid Plant Emissions Mitigation guidelines for input and feedback. The presentation included the following:
Objective and background on the proposal, which was a result of the adoption of Resolution 2023-06 in 2023 approving a 12-year power purchase agreement with Middle River Power for energy and reliability products from its Hanford Hybrid Natural Gas Power Plant and Battery Energy Storage System, with a requirement for staff to develop a policy and/or guidelines to set aside funds to be used for programs and/or projects to help mitigate emissions associated with energy produced by the Hanford Hybrid Plant;
Location of the Hanford Hybrid Plant;
Information on the Hanford Hybrid Plant;
Information on the Hanford Hybrid Plant’s Emissions;
Review of the proposal;
Option for stakeholder input; and
Conclusion
Staff responded to committee member questions and comments regarding the Hanford Hybrid Plant, preliminary program information, potential partners in Kings County, and the funding range.
Executive Committee members recommended including a requirement for feedback from the Kings County community be gathered and updates on the disbursements be added to the Guidelines prior to the request for approval at the May Board of Directors meeting.
Chair Klein opened public comment.
No speakers.
Chair Klein closed public comment.
5) Program Snapshot: Priority Zone DC Fast Charging 2.0 Program Update (Information Only) Nupur Hiremath, Manager of Decarbonization Programs and Policy, introduced the item and Hannah Gustafson, Senior Programs Specialist, presented information on the Priority Zone DC Fast Charging 2.0 program, which incentivizes fast charging in high-priority multifamily zones across SVCE’s territory.
DocuSign Envelope ID: 47D59536-90FB-4988-ABBC-359889456CD9 Staff responded to committee member questions regarding the program; Chair Klein requested a CARE/FERA customer population map to get a better sense of the needs of the communities.
Chair Klein opened public comment.
No speakers.
Chair Klein closed public comment.
Committee/Staff Remarks
Director Walia commented on the benefits of attending the CalCCA annual conference and acknowledged SVCE staff’s participation in the conference; Director Walia noted the Community Impact Award SVCE received would be brought to the Board of Directors meeting in May; Vice Chair Mekechuk echoed Director Walia’s comments.
Chair Klein thanked SVCE staff for their participation in the City of Sunnyvale’s Earth Day event; Director Walia also thanked staff for their work on various Earth Day events.
Vice Chair Mekechuk commented on his attendance at the City of Sunnyvale’s Earth Day event.
Adjournment
Chair Klein adjourned the meeting at 11:28 a.m.
ATTEST:
_____________________________
Andrea Pizano, Board Secretary
DocuSign Envelope ID: 47D59536-90FB-4988-ABBC-359889456CD9