Board votes to add Coronado to San Diego Community Power, membership effective pending CPUC approval

The San Diego Community Power board on Sept. 24 adopted a resolution to add the city of Coronado as a member agency, a move staff said will expand customer choice while having a “minimal” operational and rate impact.

Lee Freriedman, associate director of strategic initiatives, told the board the city’s decision followed a multi-year process that began with Coronado’s 2022 climate action plan and culminated with a second reading of a local ordinance on Sept. 1, 2026. He said staff’s feasibility study using historical electrical usage from SDG&E estimated Coronado would represent about 1% of SDCP’s annual energy load and that the net margin impact is “roughly 1 to 2 million over the next several years.”

Freriedman said the city has selected its SDCP representatives and, if the board’s action is approved tonight, Council Member Kelly Pervvis would be sworn in to begin attending board meetings in October. “If the board votes to approve this action tonight, council member Pervvis would be sworn in and received the oath of office in the coming weeks and would be able to begin attending board of directors meetings in October,” he said.

Board members asked several procedural and financial questions before the vote, including whether Coronado could unwind its decision during the CPUC’s required implementation process and who would bear costs if the city exited after power was procured. Freriedman and staff said that while the JPA permits a member to depart, there would likely be costs borne by the exiting agency depending on procurement timing. When asked whether the feasibility analysis identified customer risk, staff said the study “didn't find any significant risk to our customers” given Coronado’s small share of load.

Public commenters supported Coronado’s admission. Mayor Pro Tem Kerry Downey of Coronado thanked the board and clarified that Navy facilities receive power under a direct access contract and therefore do not materially increase Coronado’s SDCP load. Serena Pulka of Climate Action Campaign urged the board to approve the addition and said it would extend clean-energy access and local decision-making to more families.

A motion to adopt Resolution No. 2026-15 was moved and seconded and the clerk took a roll call vote. The chair announced the motion carried and that the measure satisfied the two-thirds threshold required for admission. The board noted a CPUC-mandated implementation plan still must be submitted and approved before service can begin; staff said the target enrollment date is March 2028, pending CPUC action.

The board’s action increases SDCP’s membership and will require staff to submit an implementation plan to the CPUC before the city can be served.