Pasadena Water and Power
Approval of the Optimized Strategic Plan
Establishing an Action Plan to Achieve the Goals Set Forth by City Council-Adopted Resolution 9977
Municipal Services Committee
November 5, 2025
Item #1
Pasadena Water and Power
Background
2 On January 30, 2023,
City Council adopted
Resolution 9977
• Declares that climate change is
an emergency that threatens
the health and welfare of the
city, region, state, nation, and
the environment
> Sets forth a policy goal to source
100% of Pasadena's electricity
from carbon-free sources by the
end of 2030
> Provides direction to plan multiple
approaches to transition to this
policy goal and optimize for
affordability, rate equity, stability,
and reliability of electricity while
achieving this goal
> Approved contract with Energy
and Environmental Economics
(E3) to assist with development of
the Optimized Strategic Plan
(OSP)
Pasadena Water and Power
Accomplishments
3 Pasadena has consistently outpaced
State mandates for renewable energy
• In 2015, the Pasadena City Council set a
voluntary Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS)
goal of 40% by 2020
> Goal achieved by exceeding the State’s
mandated RPS of 33% by 2020
• In 2018, PWP made the pivotal decision not to
renew participation in the Intermountain
Power Project beyond 2027
> Eliminates the single largest source of
carbon emissions
> Procured 300+ MW ($1.2 billion) in long-
term contracts for carbon-free energy
• Furthering this commitment, on December 11,
2023, the Pasadena City Council unanimously
approved PWP’s 2023 Power IRP
> 2023 Power IRP incorporated Resolution
9977 goals
> Accomplishments already put PWP on
track to meet State’s 100% goal 15 years
ahead around 90% on hourly basis
PWP Power Accomplishments Since 2018 IRP
Coso Geothermal Project (10 MW - 20 MW, COD 2027)
Geysers Geothermal (25 MW)
Bonanza Solar and Storage
CalWind Wind Resource II
Grace Orchard Solar
Glenarm Battery Energy Storage System
Broadway Battery Energy Storage System
All-Source Power Purchase Agreement Request for Proposals Development Engage Large customers in the Voluntary Load Curtilament Program (VLCP) Energy Efficiency Programs
EV and EV Charger Rebate Program
E-Bicycle Rebate Program
Low Interest Solar Loan Program
Energy Storage Rebate Program
Demand Side Grid Support Program
Demand Response Program
Power Up Pasadena Campaign
Holly Garage Charging Station
Marengo Charging Station
Schoolhouse Garage Charging Station
Los Robles Garage Charging Station
Playhouse Village Park Charging Facility
Delacey Garage Charging Station
Arroyo Charging Facility
Robinson Park Charging Station
Victory Park Charing Station
Del Mar Metro Station Facility Expansion Project
Shopper's Lane Charging Depot
Distribution Battery Pilot Project on Power Poles
Customer Solar Aggregation Pilot
Rooftop Wind Microturbine Pilot
Long-Duration Energy Storage Pilot
Microgrid Pilots
Community-Owned Solar
Feed in Tariff Development
Solar Permitting Process Improvements
Oversized Solar Permitting Updates
Partnership with Los Angeles Clean Tech Incubator (LACI) Clean Energy Tracker Webpage
Optimized Strategic Plan (OSP) Campaign and Education Program Partnership With Caltech - Memorandum of Understanding Caltech-PWP Working Group - Energy Efficiency/Demand Response Caltech-PWP Working Group - Local Resources/Battery Energy Storage Systems Caltech-PWP Working Group - Distribution, Power Delivery, and Resiliency Caltech-PWP Working Group - PPA and Renewable Procurement EngagePWP.org website and Community Feedback Campaign
Ongoing community outreach (news releases, events, collateral, stakeholder engagement) 2021 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) Update
Publish Updates to the Power Delivery Master Plan
2023 IRP
Prepaid Renewable Energy Transaction for Cost Savings
Optimized Strategic Plan (OSP)
Electric Rate Study
Caltech Power Flow Study Collaboration
Department of Water Resources - Water and Energy Grant
California Energy Commission - Distributed Energy Backup Assets (DEBA) - Glenarm BESS American Public Power Association - Demonstration of Energy & Efficiency Developments (DEED) Department of Energy (DOE) - EnergyWerx Voucher Program - Voucher 8 DOE - EnergyWerx Voucher Program - Voucher 3
DOE - Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Eniviromental Protection Agency (EPA) - Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles APPA DEED (Co-op with DOE) - DE-CR0000015
CalStart - Communities in Charge
Support for EV deployment
California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project (CALeVIP) - SCIP-L2, L3, L4, L5, L6, L7, L8, & L9 Funding for publicly available EV chargers
DOE - Grid Resilience and Innovative Partnership - AMI DOE - Grid Resilience and Innovative Partnership - Glenarm BESS EPA - Solar for All Grant
CEC - California Clean Energy Planning Program
FEMA - Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
CalStart - Energiize
Supporting EV deployment
Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program Funding to replace gas/diesel vehicles with electric or alternative fuel vehicles DOE - Energy Storage Pilot Demonstrations
CEC - Round 2 Community Energy Reliability and Resilience Investment (CERRI) Program - AMI Customer Information System (CIS) Project
Overhead Distribution Wires Undergrounding Project
Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)
Legend
PWP actions
Key City Council approvals
Completion
2019 2025 20232020 2021 2022 2024
Infrastructure
Studies
Community
Engagement
Customer Programs
Local Resources
Electrification
Grant Applications
(Awarded)
Grant Applications
(Not Awarded)
Grant Applications
(Awaiting Status)
Procure Additional
Large-Scale
Renewables and
Storage
Pasadena Water and Power
Accomplishment Highlights
4 Clean Energy Transition
•$1.2 billion in geothermal, solar, storage and wind (300+MW) •All-Source PPA RFP development
•Local community-owned solar/storage RFP development
•Grants/Pilots – DOE LDES vouchers, APPA rooftop wind, CEC DEBA $9.66M for Glenarm BESS, battery on poles, solar RECs Programs and Community Engagement
•Voluntary Load Curtailment, Demand Side Grid Support,
Demand Response & Energy Efficiency Programs
•EV/Charger, E-Bike & Storage Rebates; Solar Loans
•Caltech Partnership (MOU + Working Groups)
•LACI, EngagePWP.org, Clean Energy Tracker
Infrastructure Projects
•Customer Information System (CIS)
•12+ EV Charging Station Facilities (Holly Garage, Delacey, Arroyo, Victory Park & Del Mar Metro Station Expansion
•Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)
•Overhead Distribution Undergrounding
Pasadena Water and Power
OSP Collaborative Process
5 Stakeholders and community engagement have been
instrumental in the development of the OSP
The Technical Advisory Panel (“TAP”), comprised of a broad segment of community stakeholders was created to provide valuable input to aspects of the OSP development process Pasadena Water and Power
OSP Public Engagement
Members of the public were able to share
their thoughts on the Draft OSP by
submitting feedback on various topics
including:
•OSP Overview
•Renewables & Storage
•Local Solar
•Programs & Rates
•Glenarm Power Plant
•Power Delivery
•New Technologies
•Partnerships
During the public comment period,
EngagePWP accumulated:
•2,686 Site Visits
•2,162 Unique Visitors
•117 Draft OSP Downloads
•34 Draft OSP Executive Summary
Downloads
•87 Comments Across 8 Different Response
Topics
6 • PWP engaged in a public comment period from October 6 through October 27 on PWPEngage.com
• Large support for Pasadena’s 100% carbon-free electricity goal by 2030 • Some critical and cautionary feedback as unrealistic and increased costs • Concerns around reliability, emergency preparedness, wildfire risks & safety
Pasadena Water and Power
Pillars of the OSP for Carbon-Free Electricity
Pasadena Water and Power
OSP Highlights
• The OSP modeled seven case studies to
explore carbon-free pathways
> Explored portfolios designed to meet 100% annual
carbon-free goals and 100% hourly carbon-free
goals
8 Pasadena Water and Power
Hourly vs. Annual Case Studies
• Additions of local solar and
storage as well as relatively
small additions of external
wind allow PWP to meet
100% of annual energy
needs with carbon-free
energy
• The hourly and annual case
studies have the same local
resource additions
• 220 MW of additional
resources are required to
achieve100% annual
matching
• 550 MW of additional
resources are required to
achieve100% hourly
matching
9 Pasadena Water and Power
Local Resource Portfolios Used
Portfolio Development MethodTotal Local
Storage
Total Local
Solar
Portfolio
Minimum local resources needed for
local reliability with Glenarm (plus
naturally occurring adoption)
26 MW66 MWMinimum Local Resource
Requirement
Resources needed to meet peak loads
when intertie capacity is at normal
operating limit (280 MW)
101 MW81 MWAccelerated Local
Resources
Sensitivity analysis to investigate
impacts of higher levels of local
resources
125 MW130 MWAccelerated Local
Resources Plus
R e s o u r c e sn e e d e dt or e p l a c eG l e n a r m while maintaining current level of local
reliability
319 MW567 MW Glenarm Replacement
(Solar & Battery)
R e s o u r c e sn e e d e dt or e p l a c eG l e n a r m while maintaining current level of local
reliability (including LDES options)
237 MW1396 MWGlenarm Replacement
(Solar, Battery, LDES)
1. The “Glenarm Replacement (Solar, Battery, LDES) portfolio include s a range of durations of storage technologies, including four-hour (25 MW), ten-hour (101 MW), and 100-hour (111 MW)
Pasadena Water and Power
Nameplate Addition Targets
Pasadena Water and Power
OSP Planning Targets by 2030
Local Solar
+50 MW
Local Solar
+50 MW
Local Battery
Storage
+75MW
Local Battery
Storage
+75MW
Wind
Up to 175 MW
Wind
Up to 175 MW
Solar
Up to 125 MW
Solar
Up to 125 MW
Battery Storage
Up to 100 MW
Battery Storage
Up to 100 MW
Geothermal
Up to 25 MW
Geothermal
Up to 25 MW
Commercial Demand
Response
+15 MW
Commercial Demand
Response
+15 MW
Residential DR Participants
+5,000 homes
Residential DR Participants
+5,000 homes
Managed EV Charging
100%
Managed EV Charging
100%
Additional Utility-
Scale Resources
New Local
Resources
New Customer
Programs and
Rates
Planning targets were informed by the full suite of case studies evaluated in the OSP, but are largely derived from the 100% Hourly Matching, Accelerated Local Resources case study.
Note: Planning targets represent incremental addtions to existing and future resources already under contract
Pasadena Water and Power
Implementation Roadmap
13 • OSP Action Plan
includes:
> Procurement of new
utility-scale clean
energy contracts
> Development of local
solar and storage on
city-owned property
> Customer programs,
outreach, and
marketing campaigns
> Pilot projects
showcasing new and
emerging technologies
Pasadena Water and Power
Performance Reporting
14 OSP presents a flexible and adaptable set of
action plans that position PWP to address new or
changing conditions and priorities
PWP has developed a plan for transparency with
regular checkpoints and updates to track
progress
Quarterly
Updates to
MSC
Annual
updates to
EAC
Clean Energy
Tracker
Webpage
2026 and
2028
Waypoints
Annual
Customer
Program
Reports
City Council
Review of
New Power
Purchases
100% Annual
Carbon-Free
Milestone
Update
Pasadena Water and Power
Next Steps
15 • Contracts for utility-scale renewables and
storage resources
• Contracts for the development of solar and
storage on city-owned properties
• Rate and customer program changes
• Capital plans for power delivery infrastructure
upgrades (incorp into Capital Budgets)
Future City
Council
approvals
• Assess the progress made and associated
impacts
• Ensure priorities are incorporated into
developing 2028 IRP
2028
Waypoint
Pasadena Water and Power
Recommendation
16 1) Find that the action statutorily exempt from
the California Environmental Quality Act
("CEQA") pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines
Section 15262; and
2) Adopt and approve Pasadena Water and
Power’s (“PWP”) Optimized Strategic Plan
(“OSP”), outlining actionable steps to meet
the goals set forth by City Council-adopted
Resolution 9977;