Forums

upcoming forum – Energy Disruption: How Local Governments Can Respond to the New Normal

January 31, 2020 | 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM

Join the Local Government Sustainable Energy Coalition (LGSEC), leading energy and climate practitioners, state agencies, local jurisdictions, and elected officials for LGSEC’s upcoming quarterly meeting taking place January 31, 2020 from 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM in San Diego with optional coffee networking beginning at 8:30 AM. This workshop will feature presentations on the role of local governments in supporting energy resilience, and opportunities to meet California’s climate ambitions and mandates. The meeting will also feature a regulatory update by LGSEC regulatory consultant and an opportunity for participants to share best practices from the field.

LGSEC is offering a 25% discount off registration when you bring a colleague! We encourage you to use the discount code as an opportunity to invite colleagues who typically do not engage in the energy and climate resilience discussion, but should! So grab a friend from public works, emergency services, or your favorite elected official and join us as we break down silos!

Please direct any questions to Grace Kaufman at gkaufman@lgc.org.

Draft Agenda

Past Forums

2019

August Quarterly Meeting

LGSEC was pleased to co-sponsor with Central Coast Climate Collaborative (4C) on their Annual Symposium on August 14th in San Luis Obispo. The theme this year was Climate Risk, Equity and Practicing Resilience. LGSEC’s Regulatory Consultant – Steve Moss – gave a Regulatory Update at this meeting.

The 4C Annual Symposium highlighted ongoing work by regional and state adaptation practitioners on the topics of Equity, Adaptation Legislation, and Climate Risk while promoting opportunities for networking and updates from the various organizations involved in protecting the Central Coast from climate-related hazards.

This date was intended to align with those planning to attend the California Climate Action Planning Conference on August 15-16th at Cal Poly SLO.

Symposium Resources

June 2019 Forum | LGSEC All-Members Strategic Planning Meeting

LGSEC was founded to be the climate and energy policy voice for local governments across California. Since our last strategic meeting, there have been many disruptive events and changes, presenting new challenges and opportunities for local governments. Your voice is needed now to shape the direction and policy priorities of LGSEC’s work.

During this all day meeting, we discussed current and emerging priorities for local governments and work together to shape LGSEC’s direction and priorities for the coming years. This meeting featured brief presentations by Michael McCormick of Harris and Associates (formerly of the Office of Planning and Research) for a presentation of the “State of the Local” and Lillian Mirviss, Gov’t Affairs at OhmConnect to share an example of innovation in energy equity. Our day of facilitated discussion and planning and your participation ensures that LGSEC’s goals and priorities serve your interests!

2018

October Forum | Disasters and Energy Resilience: Keeping The Lights On In Our Darkest Hour

You are invited to join the Local Government Sustainable Energy Coalition (LGSEC) for a one-day information and networking forum for California local government energy and climate professionals on Thursday, October 25th from 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM at the Santa Rosa Veteran’s Memorial Center followed by a energy and resilience-focused tour on Friday October 26th!

With an emphasis on local government stakeholders, the forum will explore current planning and communications at the utility and local government interface; discussion among California’s local leaders who will share experiences and lessons learned before, during, and after disasters, including the firestorms of 2017; and what needs to be done now to include energy resilience in preparing for future disaster response and recovery.

The importance of energy resilience during a disaster

October’s meeting will focus on the issues raised by recent decisions by the Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs) to de-energize electrical distribution lines during times of high fire risk, as well as the ongoing emergency preparedness and disaster recovery proceeding at the CPUC.

Energy systems are vulnerable to extreme events; earthquakes, wildfires, winter storms and rising sea levels can all damage critical energy infrastructure. When electricity infrastructure is damaged in the wake of natural disasters, or when electrical service is interrupted unexpectedly, it can have wide-ranging impacts. Essential response and recovery services can be seriously impaired. Wildfires, storms and earthquakes may be out of human control, but preparing for them and their aftermath, is not.

Through discussion, hands-on exercises and peer networking, forum participants will come away with an understanding of current regulatory and legislative actions, information, tools, and resources and an actionable road map to improve energy resilience in their community.

Santa Rosa Junior College Microgrid Tour – FREE!

Extend your trip and stick around for the Disasters and Energy Resilience Microgrid Tour on Friday, October 26th at 9:00 – 11:00 AM. The tour will take place at Santa Rosa Junior College who has a Vision for being a leader in Sustainability and creating a “Strong Culture of Sustainability” both for it college campuses and the community at large.

The tour will begin with a review of the process taken by a public agency to analyze at a high level what it takes to have a microgrid, discuss how senior-level managers were included in the design process and the eventual approval by the District’s governing board to develop a microgrid. This will be followed by a review of the current microgrid design, completed infrastructure to date and future infrastructure integration. A tour will take place that will show currently completed infrastructure as well as old infrastructure that will be retrofitted to integrated into the future microgrid.

April Forum | Energy Storage: Meeting California’s Clean and Reliable Energy Goals

The Local Government Sustainable Energy Coalition (LGSEC) and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) invite you to register for a one-day informational and networking forum for California local government energy professionals on Monday, April 23rd from 8:15 AM – 5:00 PM. The event will take place at SMUD’s Customer Service Center building at 6301 S Street, Sacramento, CA in the Rubicon Room, on the first floor.

April’s meeting will focus on Energy Storage: Meeting California’s Clean and Reliable Energy Goals. Speakers will provide valuable insights on California’s Energy Storage roadmap, the state of the technology, emerging policy, decision-making tools for implementation and first-hand project experience.

Confirmed Speakers

Deepak Aswani | Project Manager, Electric Transportation Energy Research and Development, SMUD
Rick Brown | President, Terraverde Energy, LLC.
Michael Carpol | Manager, Commercial solar and Storage Sales, Tesla
Rahul Chopra | Senior Advisor, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
Jessie Denver | Energy Program Manager, City and County of San Francisco, Department of the Environment
Rachel DiFranco | Sustainability Manager & Smart City Co-Facilitator, City of Fremont
Angelina Galiteva | Board Member, California Independent System Operator (CAISO), and Founder and President, Renewables 100 Policy Institute
Jonathan Hart | Senior Specialist, Technology Integration, Center for Sustainable Energy
Lou Jacobson | Director of Demand Side Management, Redwood Coast Energy Authority
Danny Kennedy | Managing Director, California Clean Energy Fund (CalCEF/CalCharge)
Irene Moosen | Regulatory Consultant, Local Government Sustainable Energy Coalition

January Forum| The Promise of Microgrids

January’s meeting will focus on microgrids, including a report on the State’s microgrid roadmap, the state of the technology, project examples, tools, and resources. Microgrids are considered essential for the future of distributed and clean energy generation, reliable and resilient energy systems.

Confirmed Microgrid Speakers

Local Government Panel Moderator: Demetra McBride, Division Manager, Environmental Initiatives, County of Los Angeles
Mike Gravely, Research Program Manager, California Energy Commission
Neil Matouka, Energize Fresno Program Manager, Local Government Commission
Dr. Scott Samuelsen, Director, Advanced Power and Energy Program, National Fuel Research Center, & UCI Combustion Laboratory
Katie Van Dyke, Climate Action Program Manager, City of Berkeley
Byron Washom, Director of Strategic Energy Initiatives, UC San Diego
Dr. Frank Wasko, Program Director, Clean Coalition
Garrett Wong, ‎Senior Sustainability Analyst, Climate & Energy, City of Santa Monica

2017

ZNE Workshop for Local Governments

Please join the Local Government Sustainable Energy Coalition (LGSEC), New Buildings Institute (NBI), and The Energy Network for a quarterly energy networking meeting and Zero Net Energy workshop for California local government energy professionals on Friday, December 9th in Santa Monica from 8:30AM – 3:30PM.

This event is part of the LGSEC’s regular quarterly networking meetings, NBI’s series of workshops on how California local governments can integrate state goals to achieve ZNE buildings, and The Energy Network’s series of workshops to build public agency capacity and expertise. This event will include:

A comprehensive climate and energy regulatory and legislative update
Opportunity to discuss LGSEC’s draft Local Government Energy Efficiency Program Administration Business Plan
Case studies on public agency best practices for completing EE projects on the pathway to ZNE

New programs, tools, and research to support local government ZNE policy and plan development
Case studies and emerging trends for ZNE buildings

2017 Business of Local Energy Symposium

Friday, May 5th, 2017
Hyatt Regency Long Beach
200 South Pine Avenue
Long Beach, California, 90802

The Local Government Sustainable Energy Coalition co-organized the 2017 Business of Local Energy Symposium along with the Local Government Commission and the Center for Climate Protection. At nearly 400 attendees, this year’s symposium engaged local government and agency staff, energy experts, and community leaders on how to advance Community Choice Energy throughout the state. View presentations, photos, and other resources from the event here: https://climateprotection.org/our-work/symposium-2017/

Understanding Community Choice Energy:
A Forum for California Local Governments

Monday, May 18, 2015
8:30 AM – 4:45 PM
(Reception: 4:45 PM – 6:00 PM)
Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles
506 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90071

The Local Government Sustainable Energy Coalition (LGSEC) in partnership with LEAN Energy US organized a day-long Community Choice Energy Forum for local government decision-makers, staff members and key stakeholders on May 18th in downtown Los Angeles.

Over the last five years, Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) has become an increasingly popular option among local governments interested in providing greater customer choice, cleaner power and competitive energy pricing. Communities throughout the state have founded or joined existing CCA programs and numerous other communities are in the process of conducting research and feasibility studies.

Final Program
Event Brochure
Introductory CCA Webinar Presentation