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C. 70

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	Catherine Kutsuris, Conservation & Development
Date:	January 8, 2013

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Memorandum of Understanding for the Bay Area Regional Energy Network Program

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 01/08/2013

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:

925-674-7722

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: January 8, 2013
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Conservation and Development Director, or designee, to execute a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), with the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), the Alameda County Waste Management Authority, the Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection Authority, the City of Suisun City, the City and County of San Francisco, and the Counties of Marin, Napa, San Mateo and Santa Clara, for the Bay Area Regional Energy Network Program (BayREN).

FISCAL IMPACT:

There is no fiscal impact associated with this MOU. It is anticipated that the Department of Conservation and Development (DCD) will be fully reimbursed for any services provided by DCD for BayREN through a future contract with ABAG. At this time, the scope of services to be provided by DCD has not been determined. Once the scope and cost of such services has been determined, DCD will submit a proposed contract to the Board of Supervisors for consideration.

BACKGROUND:

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved funding for regional energy networks (RENs) in California. RENs are partnerships between utility providers regulated by the CPUC and local government agencies. The purpose of RENs is to utilize the local community knowledge and relationships of local government agencies to promote energy efficiency programs and services being offered by utility providers.

ABAG submitted a proposal to the CPUC to form BayREN. A modified version of ABAG’s proposal has been approved by the CPUC. BayREN is a collaborative partnership between ABAG and nine counties in the Bay Area region, including Contra Costa County, to provide energy efficiency services within the Bay Area. These services will include education and outreach to the public, training for private contractors and public agency staff, and financial incentives for property owners to construct energy efficiency improvements to their property. The CPUC has allocated over $26 million for BayREN in calendar years 2013 and 2014.

BayREN will deliver services to promote energy efficiency in the nine county Bay Area region through subprograms in four strategic areas:
1. Single Family Housing
2. Multi-Family Housing
3. Building Codes and Standards
4. Energy Efficiency Financing

ABAG is currently negotiating a contract with Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) that will allow ABAG to receive funding for BayREN. PG&E is a utility provider regulated by the CPUC, and is acting as the CPUC’s agent for purpose of administering BayREN. Once ABAG has concluded a contract with PG&E, ABAG will negotiate subtracts with each of the nine participating counties to provide BayREN services.

ABAG has requested that each of the nine counties execute this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to define the general roles and responsibilities of ABAG and the counties participating in BayREN.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

The County will not be able to participate in BayREN and will not be able to provide energy efficiency services to County residents and property owners.

CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT:

N/A