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AVA Community Energy presents impact report, highlights local programs and cautions on data-center load risks
Summary
Howard Chang, CEO of Ava Community Energy, presented an inaugural impact report to the Hayward council, describing local programs (EV chargers, $10M e-bike incentives, smart-home battery virtual power plant), Hayward account stats, and policy concerns about how new data-center loads are priced and managed.
Howard Chang, chief executive of Ava Community Energy, presented the agency's inaugural impact report and described local programs and procurement that the community-choice aggregator (CCA) operates for member cities including Hayward.
Chang said Hayward has about 55,000 accounts across residential and commercial customers, with roughly 80% of customers on the Renewable 100 product (a net annual 100% renewable generation product) and the remainder on a lower-cost Bright Choice product. He told the council Ava has committed over 2,500 megawatts of new renewable power via long-term power purchase agreements and has directed more than $100 million to local programs across its territory.
Chang highlighted three Hayward-specific or locally available programs: a plan to expand DC fast chargers (targeting charging deserts and multifamily housing), a $10 million e-bike incentive program (with stepped-up benefits for income-qualified customers), and a newly launched smart-home battery program that will help create a virtual power plant to improve reliability and lower procurement costs.
On data-center demand, Chang said member territories face potential new load from data-center projects and the agency is cautious about how to manage the financial risk so existing customers do not underwrite potential stranded costs. "We do not intend to socialize the cost of data centers," he said, describing guardrails the agency is exploring such as nonstandard rates, long-term contracts or financial security from counterparties.
Council members praised the report and asked about rates, outreach and how Ava is approaching potential large commercial loads; Chang said the agency is developing a multi-year customer-program roadmap and is coordinating with members on strategic planning.
Next steps: staff and the AVA board will continue outreach and strategic planning for customer programs and evaluate potential rate structures or security requirements for large new loads.
