City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution authorizing the City to
participate in the Community Energy Partnership, which is part of Southern
California Edison’s Energy Leader Partnership program.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
Southern California Edison’s Energy Leader Partnership is a program designed to
assist local governments in meeting their energy efficiency goals. The program,
which is funded by ratepayers through “public goods” charges on utility bills, creates
partnerships between local governments and the utility. Through these partnerships,
the program provides the funding for the incentives, marketing, education and
outreach, technical assistance, and administration necessary to achieve measurable
energy savings in municipal operations and the larger community.
There are several established partnerships in the region. Three possible
partnerships provided presentations to staff and to the Sustainability Subcommittee.
Based on these presentations and additional research, staff recommends
participating in the Community Energy Partnership (CEP). The Sustainability
Subcommittee concurs with this recommendation.
CEP is a collaboration among Southern California Edison (SCE), seven other
member cities (Brea, Corona, Irvine, Moreno Valley, San Bernardino, Santa Monica,
and Santa Clarita), and The Energy Coalition (the Coalition), which is a non-profit
focused on promoting energy efficiency. CEP is the longest running city/utility
Meeting Date: 05/02/11 Item Number: A-3
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM: Adoption of a Resolution Authorizing the City
to Participate in the Community Energy Partnership.
Contact Person/Dept.: Helen Kerstein/PW Phone Number: (310) 253-5618
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date: ________________
Public Notification: (Email) Agenda and Meetings – City Council (04/27/11); (Email)
Mark Olson and Larry Sutton, Southern California Edison (04/27/11); (Email) Laurel
Rothschild, Community Energy Partnership (04/27/11)
Department Approval:
Charles D. Herbertson (04/19/2011)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Baker) (04/26/11)
Chief Financial Officer Approval:
Jeff Muir (by M. Noller) (04/27/11)
City Manager Approval:
John M. Nachbar (04/27/11) City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
partnership in California, and has a track record of success. Between 2004 and
2009, the program reports that it saved 82.9 million kWh of energy, thus avoiding
44,100 tons of greenhouse gas emissions (the equivalent of taking 7,646 vehicles off
the road).
By adopting the attached resolution, the City Council will authorize the City to join
the CEP. As a member, the City will receive technical assistance with auditing City
facilities and benchmarking City energy use, outreach and education aimed at staff
and the larger community, and other free CEP resources. Furthermore, participation
will qualify the City for additional rebates of between $0.03/kWh saved and
$0.09/kWh saved on its energy efficiency projects (the additional rebate amount
depends on the overall amount of energy savings achieved by the City).
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
There is no expected budget impact from joining the CEP. The City’s participation
will be paid for from ratepayer charges set aside by the Public Utilities Commission
for that purpose. All of the project funding agreements are held and managed by the
Coalition. The Coalition will also be responsible for project administration,
measurement and evaluation reporting, and all fiscal accounting. The City will need
to coordinate with the CEP, but that effort will be achieved using existing staff
resources.
As noted above, the City will receive enhanced rebates through the program, thus
generating some financial savings. If participation in the program results in reduced
energy use in City facilities, there will also be a commensurate reduction in the City’s
energy bills. However, if participation encourages energy savings in the community
at-large, there may also be a small reduction in Utility User’s taxes collected by the
City, which could potentially offset some of the savings the City might achieve from
participating in the program.
ATTACHMENT:
1. Resolution
MOTIONS:
That the City Council:
City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Adopt a resolution authorizing the City to participate in the Community Energy
Partnership
MEETING DATE: 05/02/11
AGENDA ITEM: Adoption of a Resolution Authorizing the City to
Participate in the Community Energy Partnership.
ATTACHMENTS
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RESOLUTION NO. 2011-R
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA, COMMITTING TO CALIFORNIA
ENERGY COMMISSION'S ENERGY PARTNERSHIP
PROGRAM.
WHEREAS, the City of Culver City (the "Cit() is committed to reducing
energy consumption in the City, and
WHEREAS, the City has committed to meeting the greenhouse gas
emissions reduction goals established by the California Global Warming Solutions Act of
2006(AB 32); and
WHEREAS, the City hopes to achieve two percent energy savings per year
within the City's operations and the community_ The City expects to achieve five percent
savings within less than three years, 10 percent savings within five years, and 20 percent
savings within 10 years; and
WHEREAS, the City recognizes that these conservation goals are ambitious
and, in these challenging budget times, it needs partners to be successful in order to meet
or exceed these goals; and
WHEREAS, the City is seeking to participate in Southern California Edison's
Energy Leader Partnership Program, as the California Energy Commission's Energy
Partnership Program (the "Energy Partnership Program") provides technical assistance in
identifying energy efficiency improvements; and
WHEREAS, the City recognizes the California Energy Commission has
limited funds for technical assistance and that primary consideration will be given to those
that are committed to implementing the recommended projects identified through the
Energy Partnership Program; and
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WHEREAS, the City believes the most efficient way for the City to engage
with the Energy Partnership Program and to meet fts energy conservation goals is to join
the Community Energy Partnership; and
WHEREAS, adopting this Resolution allows the City to benefit from these
programs and efforts. In addition, the utilities have developed bonus incentive rates for
partnership cities that achieve certain levels of efficiency and demand response; and
WHEREAS, The Community Energy Partnership will help facilitate programs
and publicize efforts to help Culver City reach its goals.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Culver City DOES
HEREBY RESOLVE as follows:
1. The City Council will take an active role and work with staff, if
necessary, to implement the recommended feasible energy efficiency projects identified
through the Energy Partnership Program.
2. The City Manager is hereby authorized to execute in the name of the
City of Culver City all necessary documents to implement the purposes of this Resolution.
3. The City Council hereby accepts all grants from the California Energy
Commission or other sources that do not require a commitment of City matching funds and
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directs staff to use such funds for the purpose of indentifying and implementing energy
efficiency strategies.
APPROVED and ADOPTED this day of 2011.
MICHEAL O'LEARY, MAYOR
City of Culver City, California
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
MARTIN R. COLE, City Clerk
Al 1-00205
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