Cynthia Cannady
February 25, 2025
Dear Councilmembers of the Municipal Services CommiFee:
Two years aJer the passage of Climate Emergency ResoluNon, and aJer undeniable proof of the mortal danger to our lives and our property that man’s use of fossil fuels is causing, we sNll don’t have a plan to achieve our goal of ending our dependency on fossil fuels for our electricity.
Serving on the Technical Advisory Panel for the OSP (and previously on the STAG for the IRP last year), I believe that part of the problem is there is a Ndal wave of informaNon but not enough focus.
First, we have to look clearly at the metrics. Of the 3 metrics you have been presented with in the E3 presentaNon, only Metric 3 is relevant to ResoluNon 9977. Metric 1 and 2 are irrelevant to Res. 9977, so let us focus on Metric 3 which projects that by 2030 we will be at 88% of our goal. (not 104% not 94%)
We must focus on what we must do to get that 12% under control.
1. A lot more private and public investment in local solar (aka DER). Unfortunately, we have been very business-as-usual on this criNcal element. So far our pracNces have not encouraged private investment in solar PV and storage. And Building and Safety appears to be oblivious to the need for public buildings to pracNce what we preach.
The good news is that the E3 report recognizes that dramaNcally increasing local solar and storage is criNcal to our success. We need it for resources and for energy security.
And it’s also good news that PWP has now commiFed to a concerted markeNng and educaNon campaign to help the public see the value of our Pasadena incenNve programs. We need you Council members to support that iniNaNve with a Leadership Campaign.
2. We need a strategy for increasing storage (aka baFeries). I was shocked to see that PWP plans to wait two more years before evening issuing an RFP for the 100 MW of storage that we must have. What are we waiNng for?
3. We need demand reducNon and demand response. We will be able to do this by 2028 because of PWP’s plan for Advanced Metering Devices. This is good but we need to start now with voluntary DR programs. E3’s work on DR at first was very weak, but now they
have added EV charging tool that can help with demand at peak load Nmes. There is lot more to do in this DR space.
We need to model realisNc but aggressive progress in these three areas. So far, E3 has not done this despite our repeated requests in extensive wriFen comments during the TAP proceedings.
See aFached our latest comments/quesNons aJer the TAP #8.
Keep in mind that TAP members receive materials two days before the meeNng and oJen on a Friday evening. What that means is that knowledgeable people spend the weekend working.
As residents devoted to local climate acNon and who are proud of our City’s commitment to climate acNon, we request that these quesNons be answered and that our considered comments be taken into account.
Sincerely,
Cynthia Cannady
Chairperson PASADENA 100