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Concord light board to prioritize time-of-use education, delays wider public meeting on power supply
Summary
The Concord Municipal Light Plant board agreed to postpone a broad public meeting about power-supply choices and instead focus outreach this year on educating customers about proposed time-of-use (TOU) rates, board and staff members said at their April meeting.
The Concord Municipal Light Plant board decided at its April meeting to delay a planned public meeting focused on power-supply choices and instead concentrate public outreach this year on the proposed time-of-use rate structure.
Board Chair Brian (Light Board member) said the board recently extended a contract related to power supply and therefore will not make dramatic short-term decisions about what contracts the utility holds. "Our big public education push this year needs to be around time of use rate," he said, adding that staff should explain TOU to customers before any broader public meeting on supply.
Director Jason (CMLP director) told the board staff is preparing tools and materials to help customers compare current bills with modeled TOU bills, including online calculators that let a household enter typical appliances or uses such as electric vehicles and heat pumps. He also said the board will host a second meeting later in April with a speaker from the Sacramento Municipal Utility District to share experience implementing TOU rates.
Jason said the utility has selected Utility Financial Solutions to perform a cost-of-service study; the study team held onboarding meetings and staff expect to keep to the previously announced timeline. He said the study, along with the calculators, will inform public outreach and rate design.
Board members said they support focusing outreach on TOU first. "I agree with the public meeting not being relevant" at this time and that TOU messaging "will be more than the community can digest," one member said. Another member added that TOU will be particularly helpful for encouraging off‑peak electric vehicle charging.
Jason and staff also flagged federal-level developments that could affect state energy policy and grant programs, noting that funding streams tied to the Inflation Reduction Act are being reviewed and that some federal actions could complicate implementation of local initiatives. He said the light plant is monitoring grant availability and staying in contact with stakeholders and lobbyists.
The board asked staff to prepare an agenda topic in the coming months that dives deeper into battery and solar options tied to TOU implementation and to provide the public-facing calculators and outreach materials before broader town meetings.
The board did not take a formal, roll-call vote to change policy at this meeting; members expressed informal consensus to postpone the larger supply meeting and prioritize TOU outreach.
