ETP presents California Energy Commission-funded EVITP awards; panel treats grants as informational amid recusal-related quorum issues

The Employment Training Panel on July 18 presented awards under an interagency agreement with the California Energy Commission (CEC) to support EVITP-certified electrician training. ETP staff said the agency received $3.0 million through the agreement (about $2.7 million designated as programmatic funding) and that the current round has funded roughly $1.7 million; staff also said a second solicitation will release the remainder of the program funds.

Because the CEC is the program partner and some panelists recused themselves from IBEW-related proposals, the panel treated the EVITP awards as an informational item rather than taking formal votes. Staff said the awards were developed in close collaboration with the CEC and that the CEC retains ultimate program decision authority under the interagency arrangement. Heather Miguel and Kumani Armstrong explained the legal and procedural context during the discussion; panelists asked whether the panel needed to formally approve the awards or whether ETP was acting as facilitator under the CEC’s decision-making authority.

Panel and stakeholder comments: CEC program manager Jana McKinney said the awards were reviewed by the commission and that ETP’s role is to facilitate the training contracts. Representatives of several awardees and partner organizations spoke to the panel; examples: - Anthea Jabarkos (IBEW-affiliated training trust) thanked the panel and described the union’s apprenticeship and outreach programs that will benefit from EVITP funding. - Jana McKinney (California Energy Commission) praised the geographic spread and partnerships in applicant proposals and noted the need to grow a workforce to install EV charging infrastructure: "we estimate that over 2,000,000 shared and public private chargers will be needed" to meet state goals. - Matthew Newtonboom (IBEW Local 340) emphasized the panel’s requirement that installers be California-certified general electricians, saying that broader electrical competency matters for safe EVSE installations. - Industry and regional partners including Central Valley BizFed and Associated Builders and Contractors also voiced support for building local EVITP capacity.

Award details: Staff confirmed 15 awardees in the first round; one award announced on the record was Ventura County Electrical JATC for $8,487. Staff said additional funding will be released in a second SFP to complete the program’s funding plan.

Operational note: The panel paused consideration of IBEW-associated EVITP proposals earlier in the meeting because recusals reduced quorum for those items; staff and panelists discussed virtual options and timing so applicants present at the meeting would not have to wait. Ultimately the panel proceeded with non‑recused items and treated the EVITP package as informational in deference to the CEC’s role and to maintain consistency with the interagency agreement.

Ending: Staff said it will execute awards in collaboration with the CEC and schedule a second solicitation to allocate remaining program funds. Awardees present were invited to make brief remarks to the panel.