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ESA Memo to City of Pleasanton:June 13,2016 <br /> average hydro year. As a result,its adoption could negatively impact the City's GHG reduction <br /> goals,particularly as they are expected to evolve in future updates to the 2012 City of Pleasanton <br /> Climate Action Plan. Indeed,the Scenario would result in a County-wide increase of GHG emissions <br /> of approximately 10.3 million metric tons of CO2. Scenario 1 would thus likely engender strong <br /> public opposition and significant customer retention problems for the CCA. The economic viability <br /> of this Scenario is therefore questionable. <br /> Scenario 2 (Accelerated RPS) presents a significant reduction in GHG emissions,at a lower cost <br /> than PG&E (but higher than Scenario 1). This Scenario utilizes purchases of large hydro to provide <br /> low-cost supply and increase the GHG-free portion of portfolio. The Scenario presents an <br /> approximately 20%generation cost savings,which translates into a 10%savings over PG&E in the <br /> year 2030. This price differential is even greater between 2021 and 2026. This is a very ambitious <br /> cost saving goal,and is more aggressive than any of the existing CCAs. For comparison,MCE and <br /> CleanPowerSF have as a goal parity with PG&E rates,while Sonoma Clean Power and Peninsula <br /> Clean Energy are planning for a 5%cost savings over PG&E. While the CCA could achieve the stated <br /> costs savings,it would need to rely on out of state hydro purchases at least initially,which might <br /> create an unbalanced supply portfolio with delivery risks in the long-term. Based on our work with <br /> other CCAs,we believe that Alameda CCA could achieve a price advantage in Scenario 2 over PG&E, <br /> but likely at the 5%rate achieved by other similar organizations. <br /> Scenario 3 (80% RPS by 2021) provides a GHG emissions reduction of roughly 75%from the PG&E <br /> equivalent with a stated cost below that of PG&E. The Scenario relies on 50%of the non-renewable <br /> supply being met through large hydro-resources. This reliance on deriving a large fraction of the <br /> energy from out of state hydro resources does create an undiversified supply portfolio with <br /> inherent transmission risks. We do not recommend a portfolio that contains such a high portion of <br /> out of state hydro resources for energy risk management reasons. Adjusting this scenario to 25% <br /> from out of state hydro and 25%from out of state renewable supplies would represent a more <br /> balanced approach,but it would also incur higher costs. In addition,the projected cost savings for <br /> Scenario 3 do not correspond with the experiences of other CCAs in the Bay Area. For example, <br /> Peninsula Clean Energy is expecting to achieve a similar scenario for a portion of its expected <br /> customers with a 2%price premium over normal PG&E rates. While this premium is small for <br /> residential customers,we believe it is a more likely price comparison for Scenario 3. <br /> Each of the above scenarios,and our comments on them,are based on PG&E"average hydro year." <br /> That is,the availability(and therefore cost) of hydro power sources in State is expected to be equal <br /> to the long-term average in the State. Certainly,any specific year between 2017 and 2030 could <br /> exhibit average,or even above average,precipitation and hydro volumes in the State. However, <br /> hydro power generation in the state has dropped from an average of 14%of overall generation to <br /> about 8%in recent years (Energy Information Agency website).Because of the overall reduction in <br /> in-state hydro generation,in part due to the impacts of climate change,as well as the year-to-year <br /> volatility of hydro production,we believe that that the use of an"average hydro year"could under <br /> represent significant price and availability risks. <br /> Role of Local renewables Development <br /> Local renewable energy development can provide an important long-term source of renewable <br /> electricity for the Alameda CCA. The Study uses a 15%price increase over the average costs for <br /> renewable energy purchases for a total of 5.6 cents per kWh. As noted above,other Bay Area cities <br /> have significantly higher costs for local renewable energy projects. Should actual potential projects <br /> carry higher prices,this will serve to limit the ability of the CCA to finance local renewables. The <br /> Study anticipates renewable power costs of between 2 cents kwh and 7 cents per kwh across the <br /> different scenarios (Figures 14, 17 and 19). The Study's Cost and Benefit Analysis illustrates the <br /> 6 <br />