SanDiegoCounty.gov
File #: 21-618    Version: 1
Type: Financial and General Government Status: Agenda Ready
File created: 8/23/2021 In control: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
On agenda: 8/31/2021 Final action:
Title: AUTHORIZATION TO JOIN COMMUNITY CHOICE ENERGY JOINT POWERS AUTHORITY AND TAKE RELATED ACTIONS (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Attachments: 1. DGS 08.31.21 Authorization to Join CCE FINAL.pdf, 2. CCE Approval Log.pdf, 3. Attachment A Consultant Report.pdf, 4. Attachment B CEA JPA.pdf, 5. Attachment C SDCP JPA w amendment.pdf, 6. Attachment D CEA Letter to County.pdf, 7. Attachment E SDCP Letter to County.pdf, 8. 08312021 ag11 Speaker Slips, 9. 08312021 ag11 Exhibits, 10. 08312021 ag11 Ecomments Report, 11. 08312021 ag11 Minute Order

 

DATE:

August 31, 2021

 11

                                                                                                                                                   

TO:

Board of Supervisors

 

SUBJECT

Title

AUTHORIZATION TO JOIN COMMUNITY CHOICE ENERGY JOINT POWERS AUTHORITY AND TAKE RELATED ACTIONS (DISTRICTS: ALL)

 

Body

OVERVIEW

Community Choice Energy (CCE) is an energy supply program that allows cities and counties to meet local energy needs by aggregating the buying power of individual customers within a defined area to secure alternative energy supplies. The pooling of purchasing power to buy or generate electricity gives customers the choice of where to purchase their power. Choice, competition and local control are the bedrock of CCE. Today, there are twenty-four CCEs operating throughout the State, serving more than eleven million customers, including two CCEs in San Diego County.

 

In 2019, the Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance stating the County’s intent to form or join a CCE. The Board also adopted five Guiding Principles setting County terms to join others in forming a Joint Powers Authority (JPA). On April 6, 2021, the Board adopted Revised Guiding Principles and directed staff to engage in discussions with the San Diego Community Power (SDCP) and Clean Energy Alliance (CEA) CCE JPAs and return to the Board with options for potential County participation in those CCE JPAs consistent with the Revised Guiding Principles. Since that time, staff engaged in discussions with both CCE JPAs and worked with a consultant to evaluate County’s options for joining one of the JPAs. The results of these efforts are summarized below.

 

Today’s action would authorize the County’s membership in either the SDCP or CEA JPA, make related CEQA findings, authorize execution of the Joint Powers Agreement of the selected CCE, appoint Supervisors as the County’s Director and Alternate Director for the selected JPA Board of Directors, and authorize any payments that may be necessary once a CCE JPA is selected.

 

RECOMMENDATION(S)

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER

1.                     Find that the proposed actions are not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and are exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines 15378(b)(5), 15060(c)(2), (3), 15061(b)(3), and direct the Department of General Services to file a Notice of Exemption as authorized by CEQA and state CEQA Guidelines.

 

2.                     Authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, or designee, to either:

a.                     Execute the Clean Energy Alliance Joint Powers Agreement, in substantially the form attached as Attachment B (CEA JPA), and to take all actions necessary to establish County membership in the Clean Energy Alliance Joint Powers Authority; or

b.                     Execute the San Diego Community Power Joint Powers Agreement, in substantially the form attached as Attachment C (SDCP JPA), and to take all actions necessary to establish County membership in the San Diego Community Power Joint Powers Authority.

3.                     Appoint one Supervisor as the Primary Director and one Supervisor as the Alternate Director to represent the County on the Board of Directors of the selected Joint Powers Authority.

 

EQUITY IMPACT STATEMENT

The pooling of purchasing power to buy or generate electricity gives customers the choice of where to purchase their power. Authorization to join a CCE could benefit county residents with competitive utility rates and cost savings compared to the current utility company, as well as provide local control and more renewable power. County staff conducted a series of five public meetings throughout the unincorporated county to gather public input on a possible County CCE. Overall, public comment was highly supportive of County participation in a CCE. It is expected that members of all equity-seeking groups could benefit from today’s requested action.

 

FISCAL IMPACT

Funds for this request are included in the Fiscal Year 2021-22 Operational Plan for the Finance and General Government Office Executive Office. If approved, this request will result in costs and revenue of up to approximately $80,000 if the CEA JPA (recommendation 2a) is selected or $0 if the SDCP JPA (recommendation 2b) is selected. The funding source is unassigned General Fund Fund Balance. There will be no change in net General Fund cost and no additional staff years.

 

BUSINESS IMPACT STATEMENT

N/A

 

Details

ADVISORY BOARD STATEMENT

N/A

 

BACKGROUND

Community Choice Energy (CCE) is an energy supply program that allows cities and counties to meet the energy needs of residents and businesses by aggregating the buying power of individual customers within a defined area to secure alternative energy supplies. The pooling of purchasing power to buy or generate electricity gives customers the choice of where to purchase their power. Choice, competition, and local control are the bedrock of CCE.

 

Today, twenty-four CCEs are operating throughout the State, serving more than eleven million customers. There are two CCEs operating in San Diego County, San Diego Community Power (SDCP) and Clean Energy Alliance (CEA). Each CCE has a different structure and jurisdictional composition.

 

On February 26, 2019 (5), Supervisors Fletcher and Jacob brought forward a proposal with five Guiding Principles for establishing a County CCE or joining others in a CCE Joint Powers Authority (JPA) and directing the Chief Administrative Officer to return to the Board by October 2019 with options, advantages and disadvantages, and a business plan. The proposal also directed staff to report back to the Board on progress every two months. On April 9, 2019 (9), the first progress update was a Board hosted public workshop on CCE. On June 25, 2019 (7) the Board received the second update on the Technical Feasibility Study and Business Plan being prepared by the County’s consultant, EES Consulting, Inc. (“Consultant”). Following this meeting, County staff conducted a series of five public meetings throughout the unincorporated County to gather public input on a possible County CCE. Overall, public comment was highly supportive of County participation in a CCE with support for cost savings compared to the utility and higher renewables content being the main comments received.

 

On September 10, 2019 (13), the Board received the final Technical Feasibility Study and Business Plan and requested staff return with full documentation on the supply of renewable energy and address other questions that were raised by the Board at the September 10, 2019, meeting. On October 15, 2019 (10), the Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance stating the Board’s intent to implement a CCE program within the County’s jurisdictional boundaries and directed staff to coordinate with local partners for a possible County led JPA CCE and return to the Board with options. Throughout this period, staff had been negotiating with the cities looking to form SDCP and CEA. However, the Board decided not to proceed with either of these local CCEs since both did not completely meet the County’s existing Guiding Principles.

 

Since then, staff began coordinating with local cities including the City of Santee on a possible JPA CCE partnership. However, the COVID pandemic caused all actions to be delayed by one year as the County and local cities all turned their attention to the pandemic.

 

On April 6, 2021 (20), the Board of Supervisors approved six Revised Guiding Principles, and directed staff to engage in discussions with the SDCP and CEA and return to the Board with options for potential County participation in those CCE JPAs consistent with the Revised Guiding Principles. Following that meeting, staff submitted requests for information to SDCP and CEA and met with both to discuss the County’s potential membership and obtained current unincorporated customer load data from SDG&E so that staff, in coordination with the Consultant, could perform an updated analysis on SDCP and CEA. This analysis covers compliance with the revised Guiding Principles, an assessment of key terms and conditions of each CCE, and a review of general financial conditions of both now and when County accounts are expected to start receiving service in spring of 2023. The Consultant’s report (Attachment A) and letters received from each CCE (Attachments D and E) are attached, and the results of the updated analysis are summarized below.

 

CEA AND SDCP MAKE-UP AND OPERATION

Clean Energy Alliance (CEA) consists of the cities of Carlsbad, Del Mar and Solana Beach and includes about 60,000 customer accounts. CEA is governed via a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) between the member agencies and is currently at full service as of June 2021. Staffing consists of an interim CEO, three other interim staff, and a series of consultants managing operations. CEA currently offers three energy options to its customers, one at 50% renewable, a 50% renewable and 75% carbon free option, and a 100% renewable option. Opt-out rates are at 7% at this time but not expect to fluctuate much further as the CCE is fully launched. CEA plans to consider a fulltime staffing plan in the fall of 2021.

 

San Diego Community Power (SDCP) consists of the cities of San Diego, Chula Vista, Encinitas, La Mesa and Imperial Beach. SDCP is also governed via a JPA and currently operates with an Interim CEO and 12 full time staff, along with a series of consultants. It is currently serving all municipal, commercial, and industrial accounts, making up about 54% of their total load profile. The remaining accounts which are all residential are expected to be brought on board by May of 2022. Once in full operation, SDCP expects to have 26 full-time staff, serve up to 770,000 accounts and be the 2nd largest CCE in the State.  Current opt-out rates are at 2.34%. SDCP offers two energy options to its customers, one at 50% renewable and 5% GHG free and one at 100% renewable.

 

COUNTY UNINCORPORATED ACCOUNTS

The County of San Diego unincorporated area includes 188,059 accounts based on SDG&E load data provided in March of 2021. These accounts used approximately 1,834 GWH of electricity in 2020 which was a reduction from prior years. County accounts consist of approximately 60% residential, 30% commercial and 10% agricultural.

 

If the County decides to join CEA or SDCP, these accounts will migrate to the CCE and start service most likely in spring of 2023. At that time, the CCE would procure power on behalf of these accounts. SDG&E would continue to manage billing, transmission, and distribution. A Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) would also be applied to CCE accounts to offset long term contracted power costs SDG&E incurred on behalf of the departing load. The rate for PCIA is initially established by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) when a customer departs (vintage year) and then is adjusted annually. Since County accounts would migrate in 2023, their PCIA vintage rate would likely be from 2022. This will result in slightly different total pricing for County accounts versus existing CCE customer accounts since they would have a different PCIA vintage year.

 

GUIDING PRINCIPLES ANALYSIS

This section will analyze both CCEs regarding compliance with the County’s Revised Guiding Principles. Staff reviewed key documents including JPAs and related Policies and requested specific information related to each Revised Guiding Principle, and found the following with respect to Revised Guiding Principles conformance:

 

1)                     Prioritize social equity and environmental stewardship.

 

CEA’s JPA document commits the CCE to addressing Climate Change by reducing GHG emissions. It also sets a minimum of 50% renewable energy, increasing to 100% by 2035. Regarding social equity, CEA has an Inclusive and Sustainable Workforce Policy which applies to staff, supply chain, procurement and business practices. Lastly, CEA’s Bid Criteria Policy establishes environmental stewardship and social equity as criteria to be evaluated during the bid process.

 

SDCP’s JPA states an intent to “[d]evelop an aggregate electric supply portfolio with overall lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than the IOU, and one that supports near-term achievement of the Parties’ greenhouse gas reduction goals and renewable electricity goals,” and to “[p]ursue purposeful and focused investment in communities of concern, prioritization of local renewable power, workforce development, and policies and programs centered on economic, environmental, and social equity.” Additionally, SDCP has an Inclusive and Sustainable Workforce Policy that supports outreach to communities of concern for supply chain goods and services and requires workforce reporting for project developers working for SDCP.

 

2)                     Provide cost competitiveness compared to the incumbent utility.

 

CEA’s JPA establishes that they will seek electric generation rates which are competitive with SDG&E, with a target to be 2% below SDG&E’s base generation rate. Currently, they have confirmed that their lowest renewables content rate, which includes 50% renewable, is at 2.2% below SDG&E.

 

SDCP’s JPA establishes that they will seek electric generation rates which are lower or competitive with SDG&E. Currently, they have confirmed that their lowest renewables content rate, which includes 50% renewable and 5% GHG free, is at 1% below SDG&E.

 

3)                     Achieve 100% renewable electricity by 2030; encourage within-County buildout of renewable energy, battery storage, and energy efficiency programs; and prioritize Category 1 renewable energy.

 

Currently, CEA offers customers three energy options, one of which provides 100% renewable power. CEA members stated goal in their JPA is to reach 100% renewable by 2035; however, County accounts can be switched to the 100% option in 2030, or at any time. The JPA also notes that Category 1 and 2 renewables are to be used primarily and Category 3 avoided to the extent feasible. Their Inclusive and Sustainable Workforce policy and Bid Evaluation policy supports and encourages renewable projects to be located within their members service territory.

 

Currently, SDCP offers customers two energy options, one of which is for 100% renewable power. SDCP members stated goal in their JPA is to reach 100% renewable by 2035; however, County accounts can be switched to the 100% option in 2030, or at any time. The JPA also notes that Category 1 renewables are to be used primarily and Category 2 and 3 avoided to the extent feasible. The JPA and their Inclusive and Sustainable Workforce policy and Bid Evaluation policy support and encourage renewable projects, storage, and programs to be located within their members service territory. Finally, SDCP has executed 3 PPAs for 350MW of new renewable (solar) and 220MW of new battery storage to be developed in southern California, including one in San Diego County.

 

4)                     Support requirements for prevailing wages, as defined in California Labor Code section 1770 et seq., and skilled and trained workforce, as defined in California Public Contract Code section 2601, for CCE-owned generation, feed-in-tariff (FIT), and energy efficiency projects.

 

CEAs Inclusive and Sustainable Workforce policy encourages payment of prevailing                      wages and a skilled and trained workforce for Owned Generation and FIT Projects and                      encourages prevailing wage for 3rd party PPA projects.

 

The SDCP JPA states members seek to demonstrate economic benefits to the region with prevailing wage jobs, local workforce development, and support a stable, skilled and trained workforce through a variety of means including the use of neutrality agreements. Their Inclusive and Sustainable Workforce Policy requires contractors and subcontractors to pay prevailing wages on any SDCP Feed-in Tariff project and “encourages the submission of information from respondents” to PPA RFQ/RFP’s regarding “planned efforts to” pay prevailing wages. It also notes that the same “encourage” language used with respect to PPA’s may be adopted with respect to Owned Generation and Energy Efficiency projects.

 

5)                     Encourage the development of an equitable jobs pipeline for individuals from communities of concern; the use of a bid evaluation policy prioritizing the selection of new local renewable energy and storage projects; and the workforce development criteria prioritizing the use of State-certified apprenticeship and proper assignment of work to crafts that traditionally perform the work, as permitted by applicable law.

 

CEA’s Inclusive and Sustainable Workforce Policy “…supports local jobs, sustainable and inclusive workforce opportunities, local economic sustainability, and diversity through contracting for power sources, procuring goods and services, and implementing hiring initiatives where appropriate, without limiting fair and open competition…” This policy directs broad outreach efforts in diverse and disadvantaged communities, with an emphasis on seeking local contractors and businesses. While their policies note they are union neutral, their Bid Evaluation Criteria Policy provides preference to local renewable energy projects, creating new local jobs, and utilizing approved CA apprenticeship programs with fair compensation and proper assignment of work to crafts that traditionally perform the work.

 

SDCP’s JPA states, “To the extent authorized by law, support a stable, skilled, and trained workforce through a variety of mechanisms, including neutrality agreements, that are designed to ensure quality workmanship at fair and competitive rates…” Also, “Promote suppliers and workforce diversity, including returning veterans and those from disadvantaged and under-represented communities of concern, to reflect the diversity of the region.”

 

SDCP’s Inclusive and Sustainable Workforce policy supports the use of “State of California approved apprenticeship programs” and notes SDCP will encourage construction contractors working on FIT projects to utilize local businesses, local apprenticeship programs, fair compensation practices including the proper assignment of work to crafts that traditionally perform the work, and the use of a skilled and trained workforce.

 

6)                     Limit General Fund Liability.

 

CEA and SDCP both utilize a JPA governance structure that creates a governmental entity separate and distinct from its member agencies, allowing members to be shielded from JPA debts and liabilities. The Joint Powers Agreements for both CEA and SDCP further provide that: (1) debts, liabilities, and obligations of the Authority (SDCP) shall not be the debts, liabilities, and obligations of any of the Parties (members) unless a party agrees in writing to assume any of the debts, liabilities, and obligations of the Authority with the approval of its Governing Body; (2) members are not required to make any financial contributions or payments to the JPA, except as may be required in connection with addition of a new member or withdrawal of a member under the JPA; (3) the JPA must acquire insurance coverage as necessary to protect the interests of the members and indemnify the members from liabilities arising from the JPA’s activities.

 

The CEA Joint Powers Agreement includes the additional protection of requiring the approval of the governing body of each member for any amendment to the provision that the debts, liabilities, and obligations of the JPA shall not be the debts, liabilities, and obligations of the members.

 

Consistent with industry standards, both Joint Powers Agreements include provisions with respect to withdrawal or involuntary termination of members that make the withdrawing or terminated member responsible for liability and costs in connection with that member’s participation and that member’s withdrawal or termination. The CEA Joint Powers Agreement more clearly defines the continuing liability of a withdrawing or involuntarily terminated member than the SDCP Joint Powers Agreement.

 

GUIDING PRINCIPLES ANALYSIS SUMMARY TABLE

Guiding Principle

Which CCE complies best

Why

1

Substantially equal

Both have conforming language in JPA and Policies

2

Substantially equal

Approx. same costs savings offered.

3

SDCP

Both offer 100% option now and have 100% by 2035 goals in place. SDCP contracted 350MW local renewables, plus 220MW batteries (All Cat. 1).  CEA allows Cat. 2 renewables without limitations.

4

Substantially equal

Both have Policies that require and encourage prevailing wages and support skilled and trained workforce.

5

Substantially equal

Both have policies focused on this.

6

CEA

Both include adequate, industry standard protections against member liability; CEA includes the additional protection of requiring a member’s governing body approval for amendments of liability language in the Joint Powers Agreement and better defines continuing liability for withdrawing or involuntarily terminated members.

*It should be noted that once the County is part of either CCE Board, County could pursue improvements to any of these items or request other changes, but these would be subject to approval by the CCE Board.

 

CEA AND SDCP FINANCIAL ANALYSIS

The County’s Consultant reviewed the financial status of both CCEs. SDCP and CEA are start-up CCAs with a short tenure of commercial operations. As such, neither CCA has a long history of operational statistics or accumulated targeted cash reserves that the more mature CCAs enjoy. However, both CCAs have lines of credit in place to handle immediate cash flow requirements. SDCP has a $35M line of credit (LOC) from River City Bank, and CEA has a $6M LOC from JP Morgan (with authority to increase up to $10M). SDCP also has a $5M agreement from a private third party to provide collateral support to the River City Bank LOC. If the County decides to join either CCE, they will need to increase their LOC or otherwise obtain additional financing. With a potential County launch not expected until spring or 2023, this is not expected to be an issue for either to accomplish.

 

As noted, both SDCP and CEA have a LOC with a reputable lending institute. These LOCs carry standard language for loan covenants and have undrawn fee and interest rates on loans that are competitive. Both loan documents stipulate that the CCAs must comply with their reserve policies (90 days of operating expenses) and meet industry standard debt service coverage ratios.

 

 

 

 

ANALYSIS OF OTHER ISSUES

In addition to reviewing each CCE against the County’s Revised Guiding Principles and their financial condition, County staff also reviewed each regarding significant JPA requirements, financial issues, membership costs, and several other factors which are covered in the table below:

 

Topic

CEA

SDCP

Comments

Conclusion

Costs to Join

$50,000 to cover costs for load data analysis. Repaid within 3 years

$30,000 to cover costs for load data analysis, only if County doesn’t join

$80,000 cost if County joins CEA; no cost if County joins SDCP

SDCP better

Current Opt-Out Rate

7%

2.34%

SDCP hasn’t launched residential customers yet

SDCP currently better

Resource Adequacy (RA) challenges

None noted to date

Having difficulty locating sufficient local RA.  Waiver granted by CPUC for 2021 and expected for 2022.  Risk of fines and high prices that could impact customer rates

SDCP large size makes finding sufficient RA more challenging.  SDCP seeking long-term contracts that include RA to address this issue.

CEA currently better

Are there economies of scale or overhead savings that are more favorable for one CCE over the other?

CEA currently has low overhead with only 4 Interim staff and consultants. It is currently at the lower end of size for obtaining competitive pricing

SDCP has higher overhead but is much larger. It will eventually be one of the largest CCEs in the State which potentially provides advantages in energy procurement

If the County joins CEA it would likely need to hire staff, but would also likely become large enough to enjoy similar economies of scale as SDCP

Substantially Equal

County staff requirements

No staff support needed

No staff support needed

Same for both

Substantially Equal

Customer rates

2.2% savings vs SDG&E

1% savings vs SDG&E but includes 5% GHG Free

Savings roughly the same for both.

Substantially Equal

Same rates for new members?

Yes, but PCIA will be different

Yes, but PCIA will be different

PCIA set in vintage year (when customers join)

Substantially Equal

If joined, when would County customers start service

Spring 2023

Spring 2023

Spring best time to launch new customers

Substantially Equal

CCE reserve status when County customers start service

Approximately $8M, additional needs would be financed

Approximately $70M, additional needs would be financed

Reserves commensurate with load size. CEA will need more additional financing and have less cash reserves than SDCP

SDCP better

Lobbying ability

CALCCA member and has lobbying firm(s) under contract

CALCCA member, one fulltime Legislative and Reg. Affairs staff,  and has lobbying firm(s) under contract

Larger CCAs possibly have more resources, including staff, to support lobbying efforts

Substantially equal/SDCP

JPA Voting

1 member = 1 vote

1 member = 1 vote unless special voting clause enacted

SDCP weighted vote allows override of normal vote with 2/3 based on load profile; San Diego capped at 49%.

Not clear which option better. County can be overruled in both.

Future Programs

Programs developed to align with members load profile

Programs approved by JPA

With SDCP County may not achieve program benefit commensurate with load profile

CEA better

Offer Net Energy Metering (NEM)?

Yes

Yes

Both offer NEM programs similar to SDG&E, but with higher payment for power purchased

Substantially Equal

 

 

Conclusion

Both CEA and SDCP appear to comply well with all the Boards’ Revised Guiding Principles, be well organized and in good financial standing. With CEA, the County would be the largest member in a smaller group; however, the County could be outvoted by the other members which are neighboring cities. If the County joins CEA, significant additional financing will be required but that is not expected to be an issue. With CEA, the County may have more control over ensuring future energy programs meet unincorporated customer needs. With SDCP, the County would be the second largest member in the 2nd largest CCE in the State; but could possibly be outvoted by the City of San Diego via the weighted vote clause. However, SDCP is a quickly maturing CCE, with 12 permanent staff already in place. Additionally, SDCP is already securing new long-term local renewables and storage, and will have significant cash reserves in place when the County is projected to launch.

 

Staff recommends the Board select one of these two CCEs to join for a 2023 launch.

 

 

Next Steps

Today’s request is for the Board to consider the information provided on CEA and SDCP and determine which the County should join. If the Board decides to join one of these CCEs, this request also asks the Board to select Supervisors to serve as the County’s Primary Director and Alternate Director on the JPA Board of Directors, authorize execution of the CCE Joint Powers Agreement and any other actions necessary to join the selected JPA, and authorize any payments necessary for the County to join the CCE. The Board may also decide not to join either CCE and direct staff to take other actions related to CCE or no further action.

 

If the Board decides to proceed with joining one of these CCEs, that CCE JPA Board will convene in late September to formally approve the County joining and will sit the new County Board member. An updated Implementation Plan will then be drafted by CCE staff/consultants and approved by the JPA Board (Including the new County member) and will be submitted to the CPUC prior to the end of 2021. County customers would then start being served in spring of 2023.

 

ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT

The actions being considered by the Board are not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because they will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment and are also not a “project” under Section 15378(b)(5) of the CEQA Guidelines. The actions involve organizational or administrative activities of government that will not result in the direct or indirect physical change in the environment. The proposed actions would result in energy for County residents being procured from various sources through the San Diego Community Power CCA program rather than by SDG&E. While language in the San Diego Community Power Joint Powers Agreement and the Clean Energy Alliance Joint Powers Agreement indicate an intent to encourage development of energy production storage facilities, all such future projects are subject to discretionary approval and additional CEQA review by the JPA Board of Directors and the local land use authority of the jurisdiction within which such facilities would be located. Therefore, pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and (3) of the CEQA Guidelines, the activity is not subject to CEQA.

 

Furthermore, the actions are exempt under CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) because there is no possibility that they would have a significant effect on the environment, and under CEQA Guidelines Section 15308, which exempts from environmental review actions taken by a regulatory agency to assure the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of the environment. The Department of General Services shall cause a Notice of Exemption to be filed as authorized by CEQA and the State CEQA Guidelines.

 

 

 

LINKAGE TO THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO STRATEGIC PLAN

Today’s proposed action for the unincorporated County to join either CEA or SDCP supports the Sustainable Environments/Thriving in the County of San Diego’s 2021-2026 Strategic Plan by promoting environmental sustainability, reducing emissions, and providing for equity and jobs.

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

HELEN N. ROBBINS-MEYER

Chief Administrative Officer

 

ATTACHMENT(S)

Attachment A - Consultant Report

Attachment B - CEA JPA

Attachment C - SDCP JPA

Attachment D - CEA Letter to County

Attachment E - SDCP Letter to County

 

 

 

 

AGENDA ITEM INFORMATION SHEET

 

REQUIRES FOUR VOTES:                                          Yes                                          No

 

WRITTEN DISCLOSURE PER COUNTY CHARTER SECTION 1000.1 REQUIRED

                     Yes                                          No

 

PREVIOUS RELEVANT BOARD ACTIONS:  October 15, 2019 (10) ADOPT AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A COMMUNITY CHOICE ENERGY PROGRAM AND RECEIVE UPDATE ON FORMING A JOINT POWERS AUTHORITY AND RENEWABLE ENERGY SUPPLY; September 10, 2019 (13) RECEIVE COMMUNITY CHOICE ENERGY FEASIBILITY STUDY AND BUSINESS PLAN AND CONSIDER NEXT STEPS REGARDING COMMUNITY CHOICE ENERGY;  June 25, 2019 (7) COMMUNITY CHOICE ENERGY FEASIBILITY STUDY AND BUSINESS PLAN UPDATE; April 9, 2019 (9) COMMUNITY CHOICE ENERGY WORKSHOP February 26, 2019 (5) BRINGING CHOICE AND COMPETITION TO THE ENERGY MARKET

 

BOARD POLICIES APPLICABLE: N/A

 

BOARD POLICY STATEMENTS: N/A

 

MANDATORY COMPLIANCE: N/A

 

ORACLE AWARD NUMBER(S) AND CONTRACT AND/OR REQUISITION NUMBER(S): N/A

 

ORIGINATING DEPARTMENT: Department of General Services

 

OTHER CONCURRENCE(S):  

N/A

 

CONTACT PERSON(S):

 

Charles Marchesano

 

Marko Medved

Name

 

Name

858.699.3502

 

619.458.4305

Phone

 

Phone

charles.marchesano@sdcounty.ca.gov

 

Marko.Medved@sdcounty.ca.gov

E-mail

 

E-mail