Community Working Group – 7/31/25 (Meeting #1)
Initial Presentation
Tracy Introduction – Group to address Public Benefit funds (large reserve) options.
Introduction
Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson Introduction – This group was put together to learn about all the opportunities there are so we can put them out to the community. We don’t talk about all the great things we do in the city. Today and going forward we will talk about our unspent EE funds totaling over $34M.
The notebook provided includes today’s presentation and information on all the programs we currently provide. Also includes our most recent 1037 report, information on the rules of these funds including how we must spend them, and Board staff report on eva luation of these programs. The notebook material will be posted on the website.
Objective of the group:
• Idea factory, where do we have gaps
• This working group is advisory, final decisions will be made by the Board and City Council.
Overview of related work and anticipated timelines: Working Group, Consulting Work, and A Way Forward. Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Consultant work overview – examine cost effectiveness of current programs, industry knowledge, and post - work outreach
Background on Public Benefit funds (AB 1890): goals, how it is collected, and changes over time.
The best way to keep electricity prices low is to minimize the need for upgrades. The goal was to help with this and to spur economic development (new jobs in EE).
Over time, additional requirements for low-income assistance, reporting, and target setting.
The State also looks to EE for its GHG reductions.
Review limits on Public Benefits spending and RPU historical spending.
Historically, the amount of Public Benefits funds RPU brought in and spent closely tracked each other. Until COVID, the amount collected exceeded the amount spent and the balance began to grow. Spending of Public Benefits has started to get back on track, RPU still collects the funds, and we need to spend both what RPU collects and the reserve.
Goal – not only to spend the reserve but also to ensure that the current programs are as complete and effective as possible.
Open Discussion, Questions
Question/Idea Comments
What are we going to do for the folks
who need upgrades to participate in
these programs?
Total project costs can consider other home
upgrades necessary (such as panel upgrades,
wiring) that can be rolled into the incentive.
Green Energy (GE) Fund, has RPU
investigated these loans for customers –
where customers borrow against the
funds and then pay it back so the fund
always stays about the same?
The Economic Development team has
applied for a GE Fund to fund micro-
technologies. The Office of Sustainability has
applied for and received a grant with GRID
Alternatives and USGBC that would work on
starting up a GE Fund. We also have a Low-
Income Housing fund.
How do we educate the community? We go out to community events regularly, almost every weekend, and in the evenings.
There is also back of bill education. We could
also expand into this space. There are
partnership opportunities with the university
and their extension groups.
What do you need to be comfortable
with living space, balance of bill impact.
How to lower the barriers for the
audience for these improvements?
Affording comfort and improving health for
the public.
Can we grow offerings (direct
installation for residential and
commercial)?
RPU will investigate providing additional
offerings and how to increase participation.
Can we use funds towards measuring
energy efficiency?
We can’t use it towards meters, but we can
use it for building energy audits. We currently
only use this for our largest customers due to
the large cost.
General notes:
Historical Fund Expenditures – Overview and Deep Dive into specific programs (EE, SHARE, RD&D, & Education).
RPU tries to offer programs that are not offered anywhere else.
Bottom-Line About Public Benefit Funds & Limitations. No programs that RPU offer is limited by lack of funding.
Energy Program Development
Closing Thoughts and Next Steps
OPEN DISCUSSION
Questions/Ideas Comments
We should ask customers: What
do you need to be comfortable
with and form programs around
them (do you need every light
on, are you comfortable with
your bill) and educate them
based on that.
Examples:
Heat pumps help to maintain comfortable
temperatures better than less efficient furnaces.
Some customers who replace old units with more
efficient units are now able to run their units at a level where they are now comfortable instead of lowering
their bill.
Are any programs limited by a
lack of funding that we currently
offer? Are there any programs
that could increase benefit by
increasing funding?
Not right now. RPU is about to go into a new budget
cycle, we will make sure all current programs are fully funded. Possibly, Direct Install Programs.
When will we do the community
survey?
We were thinking of having it towards the end. If
preferred, we could do it sooner so you can have the
results to help inform your discussion.
Member comment: That is a one-time audit,
having real time ongoing data would be
helpful.
How do the batteries fall within these
categories? It uses energy most
effectively. Smart panels aren’t EE but
do allow for continued energy use
without needing to upgrade a panel or
requiring other work of the utility.
Battery offerings reduce demand, decreasing
the needs for system upgrades.
Batteries have been offered for
power outages, does RPU offer
similar?
RPU does not institute Public Safety Power Shutoffs
(PSPS) where we shut off power like other utilities do.
The city does not have as many high-fire threat areas.
Since it is more limited, we can monitor those better.
If we do have prolonged outages, we sometimes bring
in power on trucks. We currently do not have
batteries for shutoffs, but that is a good program
proposition, for outages.
Community access center – we
have a recycling program for
wheelchair bound individuals,
we purchase ramps and if they
pass away or move, we install it
somewhere else. Could be
applicable to other types of
equipment, where you put it out
and then can move it to another
question if no longer used.
Something else that can be shared or reused, there
may be Cities that provide temporary gas water
heaters, so if yours fails and you want electric, but
you need electrical upgrades, you put in a temporary
City unit while upgrades are done. This came up
during AQMD rulemaking. Most people wait until units
fail, but then you have a period with no unit. AQMD
wanted to make sure that manufacturers had
something like this that they were able to do this but
need to make sure this is happening.
It can also provide new technologies like induction
cookware. Co-benefit of additional education on new
technologies to make it less scary for the customer.
How is success measured in
education right now?
Number of students. Can you measure if teaching
children leads to decrease in energy usage
(incentivized)? Could make it a voluntary, opt-in
program.
There would be difficulty reporting what those EE
savings are. Not only reporting to the State, but also to our customers stating why funds were spent without
associated savings. With smart meters, we determine
usage at specific times, but there are too many
variables to say that a reduction in usage is due to
behavior education. The cost of admin time would
then offset any savings. Sometimes students after
classes will do a home energy audit. Tracking
behavioral changes – can’t report to state because it
is not a permanent change. We did a partnership with
O Power, compared to your neighbors you’re using X
amount. Customer feedback was not positive. They
did not want utility tracking or to shame them into
using less.
Do we have data to show what
the largest energy consumers
are?
A/C load. We know it is because of the summer load
shift. We do have some energy usage analysis done
through our IRP . You can see some things such as
lighting because we can identify those changes in the
load. There are some loads we can identify. There are
also some general SoCal studies we pull in to provide
information.
General education about EV
charging
EVs – Increase load significantly. Having EVs in homes
does increase load across the grid and cause us to do
upgrades. At home, chargers are at night, but not
necessarily when we are generating it. Lots of factors
to consider. Do we want to disperse charging
throughout homes. You don’t always have to upgrade
your panel; you may upsell you. An EV charger at
home is like an AC unit. When you charge overnight
when you don’t have other things running, you are
basically evening out your load. If you have solar you
can charge in the middle of the day. It is much
cheaper to charge at home.
What should the ideal customer
be doing in the middle of the
night?
How do we get rebates from a coupon to where they
use it? If they are too comfortable, they won’t do it.
General energy education Very few things consume most of our energy. The main ones are heating and cooling. While small
changes can make a difference, the biggest impacts
come from heating, air conditioning, and cars. Many
people tend to focus on lighting, but our priority
should be the major energy users.
How do you penetrate and affect
change?
That is what this group of people can do. There can be
multiple benefits that will align with different people’s values. Whether it is less air pollution or lower costs.
It’s a good idea to think about flipping our campaigns.
Next Steps
Next meeting aiming for mid-September. When is the best time to meet? Aiming for before UCR starts. Another: With enough notice, anytime is fine.
Will pull out some topics from today to discuss.
Will do research on any necessary items.
Want to focus on survey questions as well (will bring a draft) and get input on questions and dispersal.
Will send link with PPT, website link, notes.
Future discussion topics:
Low-Income