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SVCE CEO highlights staff promotions, grant matches and flags federal tariffs risk to future PPAs
Summary
SVCE’s CEO reported staff promotions and hiring, announced local grant matches for charging infrastructure, and staff warned that newly announced federal tariffs could increase costs or risk in future power purchase agreements.
SVCE’s CEO opened the meeting with staffing announcements, local grant‑match details and an overview of federal tariff developments that could affect future power procurement.
Staff changes and local grants: The CEO announced that a Climate Corps fellow, Kayla Keifer, accepted a permanent position as an energy services specialist and that Adam Pierce was promoted to senior regulatory analyst and associate general counsel to support legal work. The CEO also congratulated the cities of Morgan Hill and Gilroy for receiving Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) capital program grants for EV charging infrastructure; SVCE had agreed to match member awards and staff said SVCE planned to provide $136,266 to Morgan Hill and $68,302 to Gilroy. Staff noted the county’s awarded projects were outside SVCE’s service territory and would not receive matching funds.
Federal tariff risk: Bennett Chang, SVCE’s director of government and legislative affairs, updated the board on a recent federal announcement regarding tariffs on imports of parts for renewable and transmission projects. Chang said the White House initially announced a baseline 10% tariff with higher rates for some countries and that an announced 90‑day pause, and an exception for China, had been part of rapidly evolving federal action. "It's too early at this point to understand the full impacts of these tariffs on SVCE's future clean energy procurement efforts," Chang said. SVCE staff told the board they are closely monitoring the situation and that immediate effects are most likely to show up in future contracts rather than existing signed PPAs.
Board discussion: Directors asked how tariffs might affect municipal bond tax status, prepayment deals and contract terms. Staff said SVCE uses municipal bonding in prepay deals and acknowledged the importance of preserving tax‑exempt treatment for municipal bonds and of ongoing advocacy in Washington, D.C. Directors also asked whether SVCE projects currently source goods from China; staff said solar and battery components for projects under development often contain components sourced from China and cautioned that future pricing and developer risk premiums could be affected.
No board action was taken; staff will continue to monitor federal policy and advise the board as impacts become clearer.
