Community CANCELED- Sonoma Clean Power Sebastopol Townhall-Battery Energy Storage Systems

[Berta]

When	Monday, March 16th; 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Where	Marriott Fairfield Inns and Suites
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***Please read the following important update***

With great disappointment, but to alleviate any possibilities of spreading the coronavirus in a group setting, we jointly decided that it would be prudent and appropriate to cancel the March 16 townhall with SCP. Please know that Battery Storage as a backup power source during the future upcoming fire season, is still front and center in our preparation work for the New Normal. Please stay tuned for a new date, once the virus is under control. Thank you for your interest and we will be in touch, hopefully soon!

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Sonoma Clean Power Sebastopol Town Hall - Battery Energy Storage Systems and Other Programs
Date: March 16, 2020
Venue: Marriott Fairfield Inn in Sebastopol
1101 Gravenstein Hwy S, Sebastopol
Time: 6 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

RSVP to
Flora Sun at [email protected] or
Roberta Teller at [email protected]

Public Safety Power Shut Off (“PSPS”) program managed by PG&E has, since 2019, become the new normal in Sonoma County. Many (if not most) of us have experienced at least 1-2 (or more) extended power outages in the fall of 2019. For some of us, one of the outages lasted almost a week, businesses were interrupted, lives were disrupted, economic losses were incurred, and property/household damage was prevalent throughout the county. Yet, our state and local officials have offered little reassurance that this will not happen again in the fall of 2020, no clear solutions have been provided to the residents in Sonoma County. We are all left to our own creativity, frequently defined by our economic constraints. A myriad of solutions ranging from the top-of-the line Solar Power system supported by Tesla Powerwall Storage Backup, to inverter or whole-house generators, to basic firewood/flashlight/candles. With the fire season not too distant in the future, many of us are left wondering if there should be either government, community, or privately sponsored alternatives to last-minute reactive steps for the next round of PSPS.

Most people I have spoken with are not aware of a new Self-Generation Incentive Program (“SGIP”) that the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) approved in September of 2019, which includes a funding of $100 million, primarily directed to assist high risk customers (such as those ill or low income), but also to residents who have experience 2 or more PSPS events in 2019 (I think a majority of us fall into this category).

The Sonoma Clean Power (“SCP”) board realizes that a PSPS New Normal is not acceptable to their customers and businesses, new programs or power structure will be needed to defend PSPS. As a result, an RFI (request for information) was issued to solicit submissions (submission deadline November 20, 2019) from qualified entities for a new Residential Battery Program. In January, an RFQ (request for qualification) was issued to qualified prospective consultants to work with SCP to help launch the SGIP. This program will help residential customers install battery energy storage systems and reduce the price of their system by taking advantage of SGIP funding. SCP will help customers navigate through the complex process through a simplification of the application process. SCP hopes that will encourage the installation of more battery systems and reduce the costs, especially to high risk and vulnerable customers. Per the RFQ’s abstract issued in December of 2019, SCP’s target date for commencement of the program is April 2020.

More details of the SGIP can be found here: https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/sgip/
Cordel Stillman, Director of Programs, of Sonoma Clean Power will participate in this upcoming townhall, to discuss this program and answer any related questions that the west county customers may have. As well, this will be an excellent opportunity for the participants to learn more about Sonoma Clean Power, as well as some of the other SCP sponsored programs such as Netgreen, Evergreen, Free EV charging station, just to name a few.

Please, come join us in this informative and hopefully useful townhall, so that we will not be caught off-guard in the next PSPS in 2020.