public utilities commission of the state of ......programs and budgets for 2021-2026 program years...

DRAFT

338596204 1

PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

Item No: 18 (Rev, 1)

Agenda ID: 18360 ENERGY DIVISION RESOLUTION E-5074

May 28, 2020

R E S O L U T I O N

Resolution E-5074: Ratifies the Executive Director’s letters to direct

Investor Owned Utilities to offer a 60-day advance payment to

Energy Savings Assistance Contractors.

PROPOSED OUTCOME:

▪ Ratifies the March 23, 2020 and the April 7, 2020 letters sent

by the Executive Director of the California Public Utilities

Commission (Executive Director Letter) to direct Pacific Gas

& Electric Company (PG&E), Southern California Edison

(SCE), San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E),

Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), Bear Valley

Electric Service, Liberty Utilities LLC, PacifiCorp and

Southwest Gas Corporation to offer a 60-day advance

payment to Energy Savings Assistance (ESA) Contractors for

their employees and provides direction in response to

additional elements proposed by ESA Contractors.

SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS:

▪ Treating ESA homes requires customer contractor interaction

in the customer home, which presents a risk to safety due to

the COVID-19 pandemic if this activity resumes too soon. As

this Resolution sets forth, IOUs and their Contractors are to

follow all state and local government orders on social

distancing to protect the health of the workers and the

customer in order to mitigate this safety risk.

ESTIMATED COST:

▪ Decision (D.)16-11-022 authorized ESA and California

Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) budgets and programs

Resolution E-5074 DRAFT May 28, 2020

ESA Contractor Advance/JSO

2

for 2017-2020. This Resolution does not trigger any collection

of additional funds beyond already authorized collections.

For a limited period following the return to normal ESA

program operations, the per home costs of ESA treatments

may be greater. As a result, IOUs will have fewer unspent

funds remaining at end of 2017-2020 budget cycle and may

also treat fewer homes than projected for the authorized

budget.

__________________________________________________________

SUMMARY

On March 19, 2020, to protect public health, all individuals living in the State of

California were ordered to stay at home or at their place of residence to slow the

spread of COVID-19. In order to comply with this order Pacific Gas and Electric

Company (PG&)&E) San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E), Southern

California Gas Company (SoCalGas), and Southern California Edison (SCE)

halted all in-person Energy Savings Assistance Program activities. In response,

the Executive Director of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) sent

a letter1 requesting all Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs)2 offer a 30-day advance

payment to ESA Prime Contractors to help ensure the economic stability of the

ESA program’s workforce.3

On April 7, 2020, the Executive Director of the CPUC sent a second letter4 to the

IOUs clarifying guidance of the March 23, 2020 letter, and requesting all four

1https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/uploadedFiles/CPUCWebsite/Content/News_Room/NewsUpdates/2020/Exec.

%20Director%20Letter%20re%20ESA%20Contractors%20during%20COVID%2019%20Pandemic%20Marc

h%2023,%202020.pdf 2 Pacific Gas and Electric, Southern California Gas, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas &

Electric, Bear Valley Electric Service, Liberty Utilities LLC, PacifiCorp and Southwest Gas Corporation 3 The five Small and Multi-Jurisdictional Utilities (SMJUs), Alpine Natural Gas Operating Company, Bear

Valley Electric Service, Liberty Utilities LLC, PacifiCorp and Southwest Gas Corporation, were given the

option to decide whether to opt-in and offer the 30-day advance payments to ESA Prime Contractors. The

offer is not applicable to Alpine Natural Gas Operating Company since they are not currently under

contract with their ESA contractor for 2020.  4https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/uploadedFiles/CPUCWebsite/Content/News_Room/NewsUpdates/2020/Exec.

%20Director%20Second%20Letter%20re%20ESA%20Contractors%20April%207%202020.pdf

https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/uploadedFiles/CPUCWebsite/Content/News_Room/NewsUpdates/2020/Exec.%20Director%20Letter%20re%20ESA%20Contractors%20during%20COVID%2019%20Pandemic%20March%2023,%202020.pdf



https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/uploadedFiles/CPUCWebsite/Content/News_Room/NewsUpdates/2020/Exec.%20Director%20Second%20Letter%20re%20ESA%20Contractors%20April%207%202020.pdf

https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/uploadedFiles/CPUCWebsite/Content/News_Room/NewsUpdates/2020/Exec.%20Director%20Second%20Letter%20re%20ESA%20Contractors%20April%207%202020.pdf



3

large IOUs to offer a second 30-day advance payment (total of 60-days) to Prime

Contractors to help ensure the economic stability of the ESA program’s

workforce.

This Resolution ratifies elements of the Executive Director’s urgent COVID-19

letters from March 23, 2020 and April 7, 2020 to sustain the ESA workforce. This

Resolution additionally provides direction in response to additional elements

proposed by ESA Prime Contractors and their subcontractors. Lastly, this

Resolution does not establish precedent for standard Commission ratemaking or

the ESA program.

Specifically, based on the unique workforce considerations of the ESA program

in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, this Resolution: 1) ratifies the: 60-day

advance payment to ESA Prime Contractors, 2) approves with modification a

pay-for-performance mechanism for repayment known as Post-Pandemic Return

to Service credit, 3) approves expedited IOU invoice payments, and 4) requires

all IOUs (including Small and Multi-Jurisdictional Utilities (SMJU)) to offer the

advance payment to their ESA Prime Contractors. It denies transforming the

advance into a forgivable loan, and denies the advance payment covering

inventory/appliance supplier costs. It clarifies the calculation for advance

payments, what overhead costs the advance payment should cover, payback

periods and contract extensions, reporting and tracking requirements for the

advance, and how IOUs and Contractors should handle duplicate financial

assistance.

The direction herein on all elements of advance payment to the ESA workforce

are retroactively effective such that direction here applies to all offers already

made and accepted and offers to be made. As soon as possible or no later than

10 days from the date of a vote which adopts this Resolution, IOUs are to offer

refreshed advance payment to Primes (who shall equivalently extend to any

eligible subcontractors) that did not already accept advance payment for 60-days.

For all other Prime Contractors, IOUs shall as soon as possible or no later than

10 days from the date of a vote which adopts this Resolution, make any

necessary contract changes regarding existing advance payments accepted. The

goal of these refreshed offers and contract changes is that no eligible entity to

receive advance payment is at an unfair disadvantage as a result of having



4

already accepted, held for this Resolution action, or rejected an advance payment

offered as a result of the earlier Executive Director Letters. The IOUs are to leave

the offer open for 30 days after this Resolution is accepted by the CPUC.

BACKGROUND

On March 4, 2020, Governor Newsom declared a State of Emergency in

California related to COVID-19. On March 12, 2020, Governor Newsom issued a

new Executive Order recognizing that individuals exposed to COVID-19 may be

unable to report to work due to illness or quarantines, and ordering numerous

measures including social distancing. On March 19, 2020, Governor Newsom

ordered all residents to heed State public health directives, including the order

for all individuals living in the state to stay home or at their place of residence

except as needed to maintain continuity of operations at the federal critical

infrastructure sectors (“Stay at Home” order).

As of March 23, all four large IOUs had suspended activities requiring face-to-

face customer visits to implement their ESA programs. On March 18, 2020,

recognizing “many ESA Contractors are, out of economic necessity, issuing

layoff notices to ESA workers at this time,” The East Los Angeles Community

Union et. al. filed a Joint Emergency Motion requesting the CPUC to “direct the

IOUs to continue payments to ESA Contractors so that their workers can survive

this temporary crisis by being able to pay for food, housing, and healthcare until

the program is able to restart.”5 On March 23, 2020, the Public Advocates Office

at the California Public Utilities Commission (Cal Advocates) submitted

comments in response to the Joint Emergency Motion.6

On March 23, 2020, the Executive Director released a letter requesting all four

large IOUs to provide specific assurance to help ensure the economic stability of

5 TELACU et. al., Joint Emergency Motion filed to proceeding A.19-11-003 “Application of Pacific Gas and

Electric Company for Approval of Energy Savings Assistance and California Alternate Rates for Energy

Programs and Budgets for 2021-2026 Program Years” on March 18, 2020 6 Cal Advocates Response to TELACU et. al. Joint Emergency filed to proceeding A.19-11-003

“Application of Pacific Gas and Electric Company for Approval of Energy Savings Assistance and

California Alternate Rates for Energy Programs and Budgets for 2021-2026 Program Years” on

March 23, 2020



5

the ESA program’s workforce. The Executive Director sent this letter for a

number of reasons including: the ESA program workforce’s dependence on the

ESA program funding, a large fraction of the workforce is comprised of small

businesses and community-based organizations training local workforces with

job skills, and the importance of local workforces to meet the 2020 ESA

household treatment goals. This letter asked the IOUs to offer a 30-day advance

payment to each eligible entity holding the contract with the IOU, i.e. the Prime

Contractor or “Prime”, to cover the ESA labor costs plus costs critical to

sustaining the ESA workforce (e.g., employer’s contribution to health care

premium). The letter provided guidelines for making the advance payment, the

period sustained and categories covered by the advance, payback of the advance,

including timeline, tracking and reporting requirements.

On March 24, 2020, all four large IOUs offered their Prime Contractors 30-day

advance payments. On March 26, 2020, all four large IOUs reported responses

from Contractors regarding the initial 30-day advance payment offer made to

ESA Contractors during the COVID-19 pandemic. In their response letters, the

four large IOUs stated that they have no overdue payments, and, further that

they would make expedited payment on remaining invoices in-hand to support

increased cash flow to all Primes.

Of the 78 ESA Contractors across all four large IOU programs, some serving

multiple territories, 100 percent reported back to the IOUs: 51 percent accepted

the offer, 34 percent declined, and 15 percent (10 Contractors) held for a CPUC

response to alternatives. The CPUC received 28 alternative proposals from 16

Contractors through the four large IOUs. In the IOUtheir response letters, some

of the IOUs provided their own disposition recommendation to the Contractor

proposed alternatives.

On March 26, 2020, the Administrative Law Judge for this proceeding dismissed

the TELACU et. al., Joint Emergency Motion as moot as the issue had been

addressed by the March 23, 2020 letter from the CPUC’s Executive Director.7

7 Administrative Law Judge email ruling dismissing TELACU et. al. Joint Emergency filed to proceeding

A.19-11-003 “Application of Pacific Gas and Electric Company for Approval of Energy Savings Assistance



6

On April 1, 2020, the IOUs began sending follow up notifications of extended

suspension of in-person program activity through April 30, 2020 to ESA

Contractors.

In response to the alternative proposals received from Contractors and the

extension of the suspension of in-person program activity, the Executive Director

issued a second letter on April 7, 2020. The letter included the following

requested actions for the IOUs:

• Encourage IOUs to expedite invoice payments

• Offer an additional 30-day advance to ESA Contractors (for a total of

60-days of advance funds)

• Allow consideration of overhead costs in advance

• Update calculation for advance to include months in 2020

The CPUC takes specific action in this Resolution to affirm and clarify the two

Executive Director letters issued in response to the Governor’s emergency

proclamation and Executive Orders. The goal of this Resolution is to provide

continuity and certainty to the ESA Contractor community, while also ensuring

consistency across all utility actions regarding the ESA program during the

COVID-19 pandemic.

NOTICE

The Executive Director Letters were distributed to the Service List for

Application 19-11-003 and Application 15-02-001. Letters were also posted on the

CPUC COVID-19 information website.8

and California Alternate Rates for Energy Programs and Budgets for 2021-2026 Program Years” on

March 26, 2020

8 https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/covid/



7

DISCUSSION

Section 1 of the Discussion provides disposition of alternative proposal elements

received but not discussed in the Executive Director letters. Section 2 is a

summary of all final direction to IOUs on elements covered in the Executive

Director letters and discussed in this Resolution.

1. Disposition of alternative proposal elements to Executive Director letters

1.1. Advance Payment Payback

The TELACU et. al. (Joint Parties) Joint Emergency Motion initially asked the

CPUC to consider granting a forgivable loan to ESA contractors during the

emergency shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cal Advocates noted in

their comments submitted on March 23, 2020 that CPUC authorization is

required to modify the contracts so that ESA contractors could receive payment

when workers are not performing any ESA work functions.9 Specifically, Cal

Advocates state that “allocating ESA funds for worker wages, healthcare

benefits, and overhead without providing direct services to ESA households

(e.g., home inspections, measure installations, and energy education) would

require modification of CPUC Decision (D.) 16-11-022, which approved the

IOUs’ last ESA and California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) applications.”10

Due to the fact that ESA program funds are collected to ensure that low-income

households are receiving weatherization treatments, any advance payments

issued will need to be earned through the future treatment of homes through the

ESA program, as further described below.

9 Cal Advocates Response to TELACU et. al. Joint Emergency Motion filed to proceeding A.19-11-003

“Application of Pacific Gas and Electric Company for Approval of Energy Savings Assistance and

California Alternate Rates for Energy Programs and Budgets for 2021-2026 Program Years” on March 23,

2020 10 Cal Advocates Response to TELACU et. al. Joint Emergency Motion, pg. 2, Footnote 6, “D.16-11-022,

pp. 3-4 (discussing statutory and CPUC objectives for the ESA program); id. at pp. 4-5 (citing the 2006

ESA/CARE decision’s two overriding criteria, which includes “that the money the utilities will spend on

the [Low-Income Energy Efficiency] and CARE programs should benefit low-income customers by

reducing their bills and assuring their comfort”); id. at Conclusion of Law 1-7 (discussing Public Utilities

Codes Sections 2790(a), 2790, 382(b), 382(e), the purpose of LIEE program, and the objectives of the ESA

program).”



8

1.1.1. Proposal for Repayment via a “Resiliency cost” and direction to instead

create a “Post -Pandemic Return to Service” Credit

On March 27 and March 31, 2020, the CPUC received two additional responses

from Energy Efficiency Council (EEC), a 501(c)(6) trade organization comprised

of energy efficiency service providers, consultants and specialty contractors

located throughout the state of California, to the offer of advance payment which

proposed a “Resiliency Costs” credit to be added to the costs per ESA household

treated.

The mechanism EEC proposed would calculate a credit, or dollar per ESA

household treated, that accounts for COVID-related ESA “workforce

resiliency”..” The upfront cost for this “workforce resiliency” would be borne by

the ESA program through the advance payments to help contractor businesses

through the COVID pandemic. Once the pandemic ends and the ESA stop-work

order is lifted, this credit per household treated would incentivize contractors to

ramp-up ESA household treatments as quickly as possible to pay back their

advance. EEC proposed that credits earned by each contractor who takes an

advance would be directly tied to the number of households treated, and only be

usable to reduce that Prime’s balance of advanced funds. The credits would not

be used to increase profit or pay additional money directly to the contractor.

EEC further states that this methodology requires Contractors to maintain

responsibility for repayment of all advances, and provides a pay-for-

performance mechanism for repayment. The more customers served by the

Contractor, the faster the repayment.

ED staff’sThe CPUC’s interpretation of the EEC proposal is that the IOU advance

payment to the Prime is essentially a down-payment ensuring future access to a

ready workforce when the restrictions on work are lifted. The benefit from this

down-payment is realized as the ready workforce returns and treats all of the

remaining households to be treated per the current 2017-2020 ESA program

budget.

Disposition: Create a Post -Pandemic Return to Service Credit

As we transition out of stay-at-home in California, we expect that there will be an

additional cost post returning to work for businesses with liabilities accrued to



9

stay afloat during the stay-at-home order. For example, additional costs may

stem from a business with worse credit metrics thus exposing them to a) higher

borrowing fees and/or interest rates, and/or b) burdens from having difficulty

borrowing other money to help sustain the business. These Primes and

subcontractors accepted advance payments to be ready to quickly return to

servicing homes. Additional cost associated with holding new liabilities is

directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic and is applicable to the businesses

that accepted an advance payment. If debts and/or liabilities are not paid off post

the shelter in place being lifted, these businesses could falter even after returning

to service.

The CPUC accepts in part the “resiliency cost” proposal to address the unique

workforce resiliency challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic to ESA

program goals. We accept that there is an incremental cost associated with

household treatments post returning to work after the suspension of in-person

program activity is lifted and that Primes that accepted an advance payment

should be able to add this cost to invoices to IOUs in order to accurately reflect

those increased costs and to reduce the balance of advanced funds. We will refer

to this cost as the Post-Pandemic Return to Service (PPRS) credit which is a per

home treated cost and has the same value for all Primes accepting an advance

(and any associated subcontractors that accepted an advance) in all regions. will

be calculated as a percent of the Contractor’s monthly invoice, and applied as a

dollar credit towards the Contractor’s advance payment balance.

The benefit to all ratepayers associated with this cost is that these programs can

safely, and in a manner compliant with physical distancing11, ramp back to full

capacity as a result of the sustained worker expertise to treat income qualified

households, now in even greater need, once the suspension is lifted. Without

such a remedy, program treatment goals set for year-end 2020 will be in further

jeopardy.

11 Providing ESA services while supporting physical distancing as stated in the six indicators

required by Governor Newsom for modifying the stay-at-home order. See: California's Roadmap

to Modify the Stay-at-Home Order https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/California-

Roadmap-to-Modify-the-Stay-at-Home-Order.pdf

https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/California-Roadmap-to-Modify-the-Stay-at-Home-Order.pdf

https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/California-Roadmap-to-Modify-the-Stay-at-Home-Order.pdf



10

The Prime shall only be able to generateearn PPRS credits through treatment

ofactual work performed in ESA-eligible households during thea six months-

month period after the ESA program suspension of face-to-face activitiesin-

person program activity is lifted byand the ESA workforce is able to return to

servicing households.12 The IOUs shall provide a 30 day advance notice to

contractors of when the IOUssix-month PPRS credit-earning period begins.

Further, these PPRS credits may only be applied to paying back advance funds

that went towards labor costs and other employee costs critical to sustaining the

workforce (e.g., employer’s contribution to health care premium, etc.). PPRS

credits shall not be applied to the portion of the advanced funds that went

toward overhead costs, and PPRS credits can only be generated and used to

draw down the applicable balance of advanced funds to zero. A Prime that has

not accepted advanced funds cannot add PPRS credits to invoices.

The IOUs shall submit a Jointjoint Tier 2 Advice Letter 30 days from the date of a

vote which adopts this Resolution. The IOUs shall communicate to all

contractors and the appropriate CPUC service lists 15 days before submitting this

Advice Letter what their proposed value of the PPRS credit per household may

be set at.

The Advice Letter shall contain the following information:

• Proposed value of a PPRS, on credit, which will be calculated as a percentage

of the Contractor’s monthly invoice, and applied as a dollar-per-household-

treated basis credit towards the Contractor’s advance payment balance

• Methodology used to calculateReasoning behind the proposed percentage for

the PPRS credit calculation

• Each IOU should consider how many households remain to be treated in

their territory, and that there is budget to treat

12 CPUC Executive Director letter, “Guidance on Energy Efficiency and Energy Savings

Assistance Program Suspensions”, May 21, 2020,

https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/uploadedFiles/CPUCWebsite/Content/News_Room/NewsUpdates/20

20/Executive%20Director%20Letter%20to%20PAs%20re%20Stop%20Work%20Orders%20May%

2021%202020.pdf

https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/uploadedFiles/CPUCWebsite/Content/News_Room/NewsUpdates/2020/Executive%20Director%20Letter%20to%20PAs%20re%20Stop%20Work%20Orders%20May%2021%202020.pdf





11

• Logistics for how the PPRS credit mechanism will be integrated into current

invoicing procedures

• Methodology for accounting for any draw down on balance of advanced

funds as a result of pass-through from duplicate financial assistance received

• Reporting to track the PPRS payback mechanism

• Funds advanced to, and accepted by, ESA Contractors for labor costs and

other employee costs critical to sustaining the workforce, and thus the portion

of total balance of funds advanced that PPRS credits may be applied to

The IOUs, in their joint Tier 2 Advice Letter filing, should set the PPRS credit,

and application thereof, such that the following requirements are met:

• PPRS credit is equal across all Primes and sub-Contractors and IOU

regions

• PPRS credit is only available for six months after the IOUs lift all

suspensions on face-to-face interactions through the ESA program

• The proposed percentage for the PPRS credit calculation should reflect

equitable opportunity for Contractors, whether accepting 30 day or 60 day

advance payment, to earn PPRS credit such that a feasible path exists to

reasonably alleviate debts and/or liabilities accrued due to the 30 or 60 day

advance payment

• PPRS credit is only earned through actual work performed in ESA eligible

households for a six-month period after the suspension of in-person program

activity is lifted and the ESA workforce is able to return to servicing

households.

• The IOUs shall provide a 30 day advance notice to contractors of when the

six-month PPRS credit-earning period begins.

• The PPRS credit is only available to Primes that accepted/accept an advance

payment

• PPRS credit cannot be applied to overhead costs that have been provided in

the advanced payment in the proposed calculation methodology.

The PPRS should not reflect or facilitate payback of funds advanced for

overhead costs, i.e. costs not associated with labor costs and other employee

costs critical to sustaining the workforce

By following these requirements ED staff’s disposal of the Advice Letter



12

may, depending on the circumstances, be achieved by disposition letter or, in

other circumstances, by Resolution. To jointly develop the content of this Tier 2

Advice Letter, IOUs should avoid sharing proprietary industry knowledge.

1.1.2. Clarifying Payback Timeframes

The most recent Executive Director letter issued on April 7, 2020 stated that the

Prime Contractor should zero-out the balance of advanced funds by a date

negotiated with the IOU but no sooner than December 31, 2020. If necessary, a

contract extension should be negotiated with the Prime Contractors giving a

minimum of six months after the lifting of orders limiting face-ESA workforce

returns to-face work. servicing households. Therefore, the “Payback Period” is

the period commencing on the date that the IOU notifies the Prime the

suspension has endedESA workforce returns to servicing households until theno

later of (a)than December 31, 2020, or (b) the end of the sixth calendar month

after the suspension end date.

2021. Any repayment term included in an IOU offer should be expressly stated as

a placeholder term only, and accompanied by clear guidance to the Prime that

they have 30 calendar days afteruntil the datestart of the restrictions are liftedsix-

month PPRS credit-earning period to set a schedule and increments for

repayment, per guidance in my March 23, 2020 letter:

The Prime Contractor has discretion to set the schedule and increments by which they

will reach a zero funds advance balance by the negotiated date, but the planned schedule

should be reported to the IOU 30 days after the date the restrictions are lifted. .

To provide both flexibility and accountability regarding the pay back of these

advance payments, all Primes who accept an advance payment shall zero out

their entire funds advanced balance no later than December 31, 2021.

All contract extensions should be considered in the context of the proceeding for

the California Alternate Rates for Energy/Energy Savings Assistance Program

Applications for Program Years 2021-2026 (A. 19-11-003). Specifically, the

guidance decision D.19-06-022 stated that ESA Program bridge funding is

authorized for January 1, 2021 through June 30, 2021 if the CPUC has not voted

to approve the Application by November 16, 2020, and bridge funding for the



13

second half of the year is authorized if the Application has not been approved by

May 16, 2021.13

Should we enter a bridge funding period for the ESA program, or the “Stay at

Home” order lasts for a duration such that spending the budgets or reaching the

ESA goals becomes infeasible, it is reasonable for IOUs to assume that bridge

funding will go into effect or associated budgets from 2017-2020 will be spent

into 2021. Therefore, this Resolution leaves flexibility to the IOUs to negotiate a

payback term with Primes into 2021.

In the event that the IOU incursIOUs anticipate incurring costs related to

payment payback,as a result of advance payments that the IOUs are instructed to

track those costsexisting ESA balancing account will not have sufficient funds to

cover, the IOUs should file a Tier 2 Advice Letter for tracking these costs

associated with complying with this Resolution in the COVID-19 memorandum

accounts as set out by Resolution M-4842 to track incremental costs associated

with complying with this Resolution..

1.2. Advanced Payment Tracking and Reporting

The original proposal from the first Executive Director letter required that the

Prime Contractor would provide weekly reporting on how the advanced funds

were being used. Extensive feedback was received from many of the Contractors

that this type of reporting would be overly burdensome and may deter certain

Contractors from participating in the program.

However, tracking and reporting how these funds were spent is essential in

ensuring that ratepayer funds were being handled appropriately and with the

intent that the CPUC provided. As such, below are several reporting mechanisms

that the IOUs and Prime Contractors will put in place to track how these

advanced ESA funds were spent.

1.2.1. Initial Disbursement Tracking

13 D.19-06-022, pg.13



14

Prime Contractors will sign Affidavits, and submit the them to the IOUs,

affirming that the advance funding is going to the appropriate staff and

resources that these funds were intended to support.

Within 30 days of an affirmative vote on this Resolution, the IOUs shall jointly

file a Tier 1 Advice Letter for a monthly reporting template for Prime Contractors

to use. The Prime Contractor will provide monthly reports to the IOUs, using

athis template provided by the IOUs, corresponding to the months or partial

months that the advance covered, each containing

• the amount of funds advanced, by category broken down at least to

o employee salary and wages,

o the employer costs for continuing the employees’ benefits,

o other employee costs deemed critical to sustaining the workforce

o remaining amount of funds advanced and associated costs (e.g.

overhead)),

• the calendar period for which the advance funds covered costs,

• the number of workers these funds sustained and for how long,

• at what salary/hourly rate (include data to show distribution, maximum,

and minimum), and

• the description of employee benefits covered.

1.2.2. Sustained Worker Tracking

The Prime Contractor will provide monthly reports over the period subsequent

to the months the advance payment covers, which shall include:

• the number of workers still retained on employee rolls of the workers

sustained with advance payment funds

• the applicable financial assistance received that month from Federal, State,

or other entities offering relief that duplicate coverage of the costs covered

with this ESA advance payment.

1.2.3. Repayment Tracking

Each IOU will report as part of their monthly ESA/CARE reporting the status of

repayment for all advances made to Contractors in their service territory.

Within 30 days of an affirmative vote on this Resolution, the IOUs shall jointly

propose, in a Tier 1 advice letter, awork with Energy Division staff to incorporate

this reporting template to be incorporated into the IOUs’ monthly reporting. This



15

reporting will begin after the first full month of the ESA program has returned to

its normal operating proceduressix-month PPRS credit-earning period.

1.2.4. Auditing

The contract-holding IOU and CPUC shall have full access to inspect and audit

the accounting books (associated with payroll and benefits) of all ESA Prime

Contractors and Sub-Contractors for a period of four years.

1.3. Duplicate Financial Assistance

The CPUC wants to encourage coordination between the ESA advances

discussed here and the Federal financial assistance (such as the Small Business

Administration's Paycheck Protection Program), California State financial

assistance (such as California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank),

and any other relief obtained for covering the same costs as the ESA advance

covers. The CPUC recognizes that the uncertainty surrounding the duration of

the COVID-19 crises makes the amount of financial support needed by

Contractors unknown.

Therefore, the CPUC anticipates Contractors will avail themselves of whatever

financial assistance they can, with an explicit caution that there should be no

overlap, or duplicate funding. This is defined as multiple sources of financial

assistance being used for the same labor, overhead, or other expenses, to cover

costs over the same calendar period.

If Contractor uses only one source of financial assistance during the COVID-19

crisis, whether the advance from the ESA program or other financial assistance

(e.g. Federal/State), then there is no concern regarding duplicate funding,

therefore no action is required.

However, if the Contractor uses multiple sources of financial assistance, but for

different needs and timeframes, then the Contractor will need to affirm, via

reporting accompanied by affidavit submitted to the IOU, that the ESA advance

is not being used concurrently with other funding streams for the same labor,

overhead or other purposes.



16

Finally, if Prime or its Sub-Contractors for ESA work receives any assistance

monies that are duplicate funding, the Prime shall pass-through to the IOU as

soon as possible or no later than thirty (30) days after receipt thereof, all such

assistance amounts up to the then current balance of advanced funds, and the

balance of advanced funds shall be decremented by the amount passed through

to the IOU.

2. Summary of all final direction to IOUs on elements covered in Executive

Director letters and discussed in this Resolution

The actions presented in the March 23, 2020, and April 7, 2020 CPUC Executive

Director letters are outlined, updated and affirmed in the list below.

2.1. Eligibility: Primes (and their subcontractors) that have been directed by

the IOUs to suspend work, or suspended work to comply with state and

local government orders on social distancing, in response to COVID-19

and hold existing contracts with the IOUs (or their Primes) to implement

ESA programs and ESA Common Area Measures in 2020 are eligible to

receive advance payment.

2.1.1. To ensure that every eligible ESA Prime Contractor has the

opportunity to consider the advance payment offer, the CPUC will

require all IOUs (including the SMJUs) to offer all of their eligible ESA

Prime Contractors the 60-day advance payment in their service

territories.

2.1.1.2.1.2. SMJUs only have to offer advance payments to their ESA

Prime Contractors that have ESA contracts through the end of 2020.

2.2. Period sustained with Advance Payment: The IOUs must offer a 60-day

advance payment to each eligible entity holding the prime contract with

the IOU with terms consistent with this Resolution. This offer will

continue to be available for 30 days after a CPUC vote adopting this

Resolution. The Prime can choose to accept a smaller advance payment

sum than is offered.

2.2.1. The IOUs are to change the Primes’ contracts for either or both the

first 30-day advance payment accepted and the second advance



17

payment offered such that no eligible entity to receive advance

payment is at an unfair disadvantage as a result of having already

accepted or not and advance payment offered as a result of earlier

Executive Director Letters.

2.2.2. The offer is an advance that reflects costs for a 60-day period. The

CPUC does not intend to prescribe calendar dates associated with 60-

day advance payment.

2.3. Advance Payment Coverage: The advance payment offered should cover

theshall be applied toward labor costs plusand/or costs critical to

sustaining the workforce (e.g., employer’s contribution to health care

premium, etc.)..) during the suspension of the ESA program. The advance

payment may also coverbe applied to overhead costs during the

suspension if in the IOU’s judgement such costs are reasonably necessary

to avoid significant delay ramping up operations after suspensions are

lifted (e.g., lease payments, liability insurance).

2.3.1. The advance payments shall not be used to pay for company profits,

any materials, or other ancillary costs not related to sustaining the

workforce. Inventory costs associated with the extra stock that has

accumulated during the suspension of ESA activities is not covered

under this advance payment.

2.4. Advance Payment Calculation: The payment shall be calculated by the

IOU as the average monthly pay to the Prime Contractor, using either the

average over the 2019 program year for ESA program work, or a variant

amount reflective of the Prime’s planned 2020 workforce.

2.5. Advance Payment Tracking and Reporting: The Prime Contractor will

provide an affidavit to the IOU affirming the proper use of these funds,

and track the balance of this advance payment on a monthly basis until it

is paid back.

2.5.1. The Prime Contractor is to track advance payments made to sub-

Contractors and put measures in place to assure sub-Contractors in

turn equitably distribute this advance payment to workers impacted.

2.5.2. Prime Contractors are to manage tracking and reporting to the IOU

holding their contracts for employees of the Prime Contractor and for



18

eligible sub-Contractor entities the Prime Contractor advances funds

to. Monthly reports should be accompanied by signed affidavits of a

corporate director or officer (or equivalent) of the Prime Contractor

attesting to the accuracy of the reports.

2.5.3. Specific tracking and reporting includes, but is not limited to, the

amount of funds advanced; the amount for employee salary and

wages; the number of workers these funds sustained and for how

long, at what salary/hourly rate (include data to show distribution,

maximum, and minimum), and over what calendar period; the

employer costs for continuing the employees’ benefits and description

of employee benefits covered; any other employee costs deemed

critical to sustaining the workforce; the remaining amount of funds

advanced and associated costs (e.g. overhead), and for what calendar

period these remaining funds covered; and the applicable financial

assistance received from Federal, State, or other entities offering relief

that duplicate coverage of the costs covered with this ESA advance

payment.

2.5.3.2.5.4. If the IOU identifies that a Contractor appears to have

misused their ESA advance payment funds, the IOUs shall provide the

Contractor an opportunity to mitigate the misuse of funds, for

example, by redirecting the funding to the proper categories. If the

Contractor fails to properly mitigate the misuse of funds, the IOU

shall file a Tier 1 information only Advice Letter describing all aspects

of their engagement with the Contractor on the issues, the

Contractor’s efforts to mitigate, and their planned recourse.

2.6. Advance Payment Payback: The Prime Contractor should zero-out the

balance of advanced funds by a date negotiated with the IOU but no

sooner than December 31, 2020. If necessary, a contract extension shall be

negotiated with the Prime Contractors giving a minimum of six months

after the lifting of orders limiting face-ESA workforce returns to-face

work. Therefore, the servicing households. The “Payback Period” is the

period commencing on the date that the ESA workforce returns to

servicing households until the date negotiated with the IOU notifies the



19

Prime the suspension has ended through at least theand no later of (a)than

December 31, 2020, or (b) the end of the sixth calendar month after the

suspension end date2021.

2.6.1. Any repayment term included in an IOU offer should be expressly

stated as a placeholder term only, and accompanied by clear guidance

to the Prime that they have 30 calendar days afteruntil the date

restrictions are liftedstart of the six-month PPRS credit-earning period

to set a schedule and increments for repayment to the IOU.

2.6.2. All Primes who accept an advance payment shall zero out their

entire funds advanced balances no later than December 31, 2021.

2.6.3. In determining when and how to lift restrictions on face-to-face

work, the IOUs and ESA workforce are to heed all state and local

government orders on social distancing to protect the health of the

workers and the customer.14

2.6.4. Post-Pandemic Return to Service (PPRS) credit willcan only be

available for earned during a six months-month period after IOUs

authorize a return to face-to-face servicethe suspension of in -person

program activity is lifted and the ESA programworkforce is able to

return to servicing households, and only usedearned by Primes that

accept this advance payment to pay back the eligible balance of the

advance per their arrangement with the IOU.

2.6.5. All contractor extensions for the ESA program will be conducted in

the context of bridge funding timeframes as laid out in the guidance

decision D.19-06-022.

2.7. Duplicate Financial Assistance: If the Prime obtains other financial

assistance that can serve as replacement cash source for sustaining

workforce and businesses during the timeframe that the ESA advance

14 For more specific guidance regarding IOU and workforce program extensions, refer to CPUC

Executive Director letter, “Guidance on Energy Efficiency and Energy Savings Assistance

Program Suspensions”, May 21, 2020,

https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/uploadedFiles/CPUCWebsite/Content/News_Room/NewsUpdates/20

20/Executive%20Director%20Letter%20to%20PAs%20re%20Stop%20Work%20Orders%20May%

2021%202020.pdf






20

covers, then they shall pass-through to the IOU (and subcontractors shall

pass-through to Prime) all such assistance amounts intended for the same

costs received by the Prime (or subcontractor) up to the then current

balance of advance funds.

2.8. Expedited Invoice Payment: During suspended ESA Program activities,

IOUs should maintain their efforts to accelerate payment on invoices

received from Primes, and target making payment on invoices within 10

days of receipt of invoice. Additionally, IOUs should waive any

associated fee to Primes for the accelerated processing of their invoices.

2.9. Facilitating shift from face-to-face to alternative forms of customer

interaction: The second Executive Director letter directed Energy Division

to amend the ESA Policy and Procedure Manual, or “Manual” to address

COVID-19 and other unforeseen emergency situations. However, prior

Decisions did not authorize Energy Division to make these modifications.

Still, existing language in the Manual provides flexibility for IOU program

managers to deviate from established procedures to respond to cases of

customer hardship and unusual circumstances. Specifically, the P&P

manual states:

ESA Program Managers have the flexibility to deviate from established

procedures to respond to cases of customer hardship and unusual

circumstances. The Program Managers shall document any exceptions in

the customer and project file. Changes in the means of implementing

policies, procedures and standards will be discussed with contractors prior

to being made. 15

Given this flexibility, this Resolution makes no changes the ESA Policy

and Procedure Manual. The CPUC acknowledges there is flexibility for

the IOUs to shift from face to face marketing outreach and education

activities to alternative mechanisms to promote low income programs

15 ESA Policy and Procedures Manual 2017-2020, pg. 7

https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=6442457425



21

(ESA/CARE/FERA) and enroll qualifying households due to public health

and safety concerns and mandates in response to COVID-19. COMMENTS

Public Utilities Code section 311(g)(1) provides that this Resolution must be

served on all parties and subject to at least 30 days public review. Please note

that comments are due 20 days from the mailing date of this Resolution. Section

311(g)(2) provides that this 30-day review period and 20-day comment period

may be reduced or waived upon the stipulation of all parties in the proceeding.

The 30-day review and 20-day comment period for the draft of this Resolution

was neither waived nor reduced. Accordingly, this draft Resolution was mailed

on April 23, 2020 to parties for comments, and will be placed on the CPUC's

agendadeadline for parties to submit comments was May 13, 2020.

Comments were filed by the Energy Efficiency Council on May 8, 2020.

Comments were also filed by SCE, SDG&E, SoCalGas, PG&E, Cal Advocates,

and Bear Valley Electric Service, a division of Golden State Water Company, on

May 13, 2020.

Comments fell into the following broad categories:

• PPRS credit calculation and proposed alternatives

• Contractor compliance and reporting on use of advance payments

• Resolution discrepancy in Ordering Paragraph 2

• IOUs accounting related to ESA advance payment

• ESA Bridge funding for 2021

• Process and anti-trust concerns regarding the PPRS Tier 2 Advice Letter

filing

• Potential ESA participant income verification during program suspension

• Request for clarification on specific aspects of Resolution

• Update Contractor eligibility to receive advance payments

• Timeframe for expedited invoicing



22

Below is a summary of the comments most relevant to these Resolution

revisions. This is not an exhaustive list of all the comments received, nor all the

edits made to this draft Resolution.

PPRS Credit Calculation and Proposed Alternatives

No comments submitted support the draft Resolution’s proposed calculation of

the PPRS credit. The original proposal was for a uniform dollar-per-household

PPRS credit that would be the same value for all Prime Contractors that accepted

the advance payment. SCE proposes in their comment that no earlierPPRS credit

be issued due to alternative sources of financial assistance being available to the

contractor community, such as State and Federal payroll loans. However, SCE

comments that if a PPRS is going to be required by the CPUC, then their

proposal coincides with the comments from SoCalGas and SDG&E that the PPRS

should be a flat percent value that is multiplied against each contractor’s invoice

to calculate the PPRS credit. The reasons these IOU commenters suggest a flat

percent for the PPRS credit calculation instead of a dollar per household value is

due to the complexity of having numerous contractors involved with an ESA

treatment, with each contractor contributing different amounts to successfully

treat an ESA household. Having a single dollar per household credit does not

reflect the proportional contribution each contractor is making to the ESA

treatment, and would require a complicated calculation to account for those

differences. SCE further comments that this flat percent should be capped by the

CPUC.

Furthermore, the IOUs express concerns in their comments related to the joint

Tier 2 Advice Letter filing for this PPRS calculation. They state that the

coordination across the IOUs to create a single dollar-per-household PPRS credit

may trigger anti-trust violations related to sharing proprietary industry

knowledge, and therefore ask the CPUC to provide explicit language in this

Resolution acknowledging the anti-trust concerns and allowing this coordination

to move forward.

The Energy Efficiency Council (EEC) comments on the PPRS calculations state

that a single uniform dollar-per-household-treated credit would create inequality

and unfair opportunities across the contractor network. This would be especially

pronounced between Contractors in different geographical and populated areas



23

where the total available households to be treated varies. EEC’s recommendation

is that “all Primes, Sub-Contractors, and IOU regions should have the exact same

PPRS credit formula that would treat them all equally and give each an equal

opportunity and incentive to meet or exceed their post-pandemic 6-month ramp-

up and goals. Divide the Advance accepted by each Prime and/or Sub-

Contractor by half the annual residence goal of its 2020 contract in effect as of

March 16, 2020.”16

Cal Advocates state in their comments that all contractors, not just those who

have accepted the advance payment, should be able to recover any incremental

costs associated with COVID-19 related safety measures, including personal

protection equipment and required household safety training.

The CPUC appreciates the comments from these parties and the alternative

approaches suggested for calculating the PPRS credit. To ensure an equitable and

straightforward approach to the PPRS credit calculation, the CPUC has updated

this Resolution to reflect that the IOUs will propose a PPRS credit calculated

using a percentage of a Contractor’s total monthly invoice amount. Section 1.1.1

has been updated to reflect the new guidelines for the IOUs when submitting

their joint Tier 2 Advice Letter for the proposed percentage for the PPRS credit

calculation. The CPUC further instructs the IOUs to notice the appropriate

service lists 15 days after the voting of this Resolution of what the proposed

PPRS credit percent(s) will be, and provide a 30 day advance notice to

contractors of when the six-month PPRS credit-earning period begins. At the end

of Section 1.1.1, CPUC notes that developing the percentage for PPRS credit

calculation does not require any sharing of proprietary industry knowledge

between the IOUs.

Additionally, while Cal Advocates’ comment regarding all contractors

recovering any incremental costs associated with COVID-19 related safety

measures may have merit, it is out of scope for the goal and purpose of the ESA

program advance payment described in this Resolution.

16 Energy Efficiency Council comments to Resolution E-5074, filed on May 8, 2020 to the

service lists A.14-11-007 and A.19-11-003, pg.5



24

Reporting and Contractor Compliance

There were a range of comments on the draft Resolution’s section on reporting

and contractor compliance. SoCalGas commented that if they cannot substantiate

that a contractor used advance payments for eligible purposes during the

suspension, they must have the specific authority to immediately recover the

balance. Further, SoCalGas believes that without the authority to audit

contractors’ specific uses of advance funding, it cannot ensure dispersed funds

have been used in compliance with the Commission’s requirements. SDG&E

commented to seek clarification on whether the IOUs will be responsible for

maintaining any documentation provided by ESA Contractors for purposes of a

CPUC audit but will not be liable for any failure by an ESA Contractor to provide

documentation. SCE commented that the Commission change the Contractor

reporting requirements, as described in Section 2.5.2 and 2.5.3, to a quarterly

basis rather than 30 days from today.monthly basis.

EEC commented that there are confidentiality and privacy concerns related to

data on individual employees, jobs or expenses. Their suggestion is to provide

the monthly reports described in this draft Resolution in a collective basis for all

employees rather than broken out by specific employees.

Finally, Cal Advocates commented that the Contractors should be required to

provide the IOUs with documentation that affirms that advance payments are

applied appropriately. This includes that the contractor maintains current

workforce levels for at least 4 months after the stay-at-home orders are lifted, no

advance payments are made to owners of the business, senior executives or to

cover profits or materials, and that advance payment funds are directed to the

proper expenses laid out in the draft resolution.

The CPUC wants to balance the need of proper oversight for how these

advanced payments are spent without overburdening the contractor community.

Monthly reporting at the current level of detail described in this Resolution is

important to ensure that the advance payment funds were properly used.

Therefore, the level of detail and frequency of the reports will remain

unchanged. If the IOU identifies that a Contractor appears to have misused their

ESA advance payment funds, the IOUs shall provide the Contractor an



25

opportunity to mitigate the misuse of funds, for example, by redirecting the

funding to the proper categories. If the Contractor fails to properly mitigate the

misuse of funds, the IOU shall file a Tier 1 information only Advice Letter

describing all aspects of their engagement with the Contractor on the issues, the

Contractor’s efforts to mitigate, and their planned recourse.

The CPUC also agrees with Cal Advocate’s comment that clear documentation

from the Prime Contractors on how these advanced payments were disbursed is

important for accountability. To ensure that the IOUs collect the information

necessary for this accountability, the Resolution has been updated to require the

IOUs to jointly file a Tier 1 Advice Letter for a monthly reporting template for

Prime Contractors to use.

ESA Program Bridge Funding

PG&E and SDG&E provided comments on the bridge funding described in

Decision (D.) 19-06-022, which was the guidance decision issued for

ESA/CARE/FERA applications for Program Years 2021-2026. Due to uncertainty

around the impact of COVID-19 on household treatment attainment, and the

conditions required for bridge funding to be triggered in this decision, PG&E

requests the CPUC modify the requirements for extending bridge funding

through December 2021, without the goal attainment condition described in the

D.19-06-022.17

As bridge funding direction was provided through a CPUC Decision, it is

procedurally inappropriate for a Resolution to change the bridge funding

direction. The CPUC has the ability to address these concerns around the ESA

program bridge funding in 2021 through the ESA/CARE proceeding.

Potential ESA participant income verification during program suspension

PG&E provided a comment that indicated its plans to implement the use of a

self-certification affidavit for its pilot virtual enrollment and education. As stated

in Section 2.9, this Resolution makes no changes the ESA Policy and Procedure

Manual. Modifications to the manual will be handled in the instant consolidated

17 D.19-06-022, pg.12



26

proceeding A.19.-11-003. In the interim, the CPUC acknowledges there is

flexibility in the current version of the manual that allows IOU program

managers to deviate from existing policy to address customer hardship or

unusual circumstances such as shifting from face to face marketing outreach and

education activities to alternative mechanisms to promote low income programs

(ESA/CARE/FERA) and enroll qualifying households due to public health and

safety concerns and mandates in response to COVID-19. At the discretion of the

IOUs, this also may include temporarily using self-certification affidavit similar

to self-certification enrollment process for CARE/FERA for ESA program income

eligibility while the face-to-face component of ESA program, the usual in-person

method by which income eligibility verification occurs, is temporarily

suspended.

Request for clarification on specific aspects of Resolution

EEC asked for several areas of the Resolution be clarified. In particular, the

CPUC wanted to provide clarity on liability insurance. The comments from EEC

requested that liability insurance be explicitly labeled as a labor cost instead of an

overhead cost. The CPUC feels that changing this designation as requested by

EEC would allow this category of expenses to be eligible for PPRS credit, which

we find to not be the intent of the PPRS credits. Per the language in this

Resolution, liability insurance is an allowable overhead cost eligible for advance

payment, per section 2.3 of this Resolution, and will remain under this

categorization.

Contractor Eligibility

Bear Valley Electric Service (BVES), a division of Golden State Water Company

(also known as a Small and Multijurisdictional Utility) submits one comment

focused on contractor eligibility for the advance payments. In particular, BVES is

concerned about giving advance payments to contractors that have contracts that

expire before the end of this year.

The CPUC recognizes that Small and Multijurisdictional Utilities have different

circumstances when it comes to administering and contracting for their ESA

program when compared to the large IOUs. Therefore, this Resolution has been

modified to require the Small and Multijurisdictional Utilities to offer a 60-day

advance payment to each eligible entity holding the ESA prime contract with the



27

utility if that contract is through the end of 2020. If an entity holding the prime

contract with a Small and Multijurisdictional Utility does not have a contract that

extends to the end of 2020, it will be up to the discretion of the Small and

Multijurisdictional Utility to offer the 60-day advance payment to the entity.

FINDINGS

1. Executive Director letters issued on March 23, 2020 and April 7, 2020

correctly used a payment advance offer to Energy Savings Assistance

Program Prime Contractors during the suspension of Energy Savings

Assistance Program activities.

2. The 60-day advance payment calculation is the average monthly pay to the

Prime Contractor, using either the average over the 2019 program year for

Energy Savings Assistance program work, or a variant amount reflective of

the Prime’s planned 2020 workforce.

3. The 60-day advance payment offer to each eligible entity holding the prime

contract with the Investor Owned Utility for the Energy Savings Assistance

Program is an appropriate amount to offer.

4. Investor Owned Utilities and Prime Contractor existing contracts for advance

payment accepted will need to comport with the changes issued in this

Resolution.

5. Advance payments will be available to Prime Contractors for 30 days after

this Resolution has been approved.

6. The 60-day advance payment covers overhead costs if in the Investor Owned

Utilities’ judgement such costs are reasonably necessary to avoid significant

delay ramping up operations after suspensions are lifted (e.g., lease

payments, liability insurance). The advance payments do not pay for

company profits, any materials, or other ancillary costs not related to

sustaining the workforce. Inventory costs associated with the extra stock that

has accumulated during the suspension of ESAEnergy Savings Assistance

program activities is not covered under this advance payment.

7. CPUC has the authority to require affidavits from and monthly reporting by

the Prime Contractors to the Investor Owned Utilities regarding how the

advance payment was spent.



28

8. A joint Tier 1 Advice Letter filings by Investor Owned Utilities areis

acceptable for proposing a monthly reporting template for Prime Contractors

to be incorporated into .

8.9. A Tier 1 Advice Letter is acceptable for the Investor Owned Utilities’ Utilities

to describe their proposed actions if they discover through the Contractors’

monthly reporting that Energy Savings Assistance Program monthly

reporting.program advance payment funds went towards inappropriate or

ineligible aspects of the Contractor’s business.

9.10. Investor Owned Utilities repayment terms to the Prime Contractor are

placeholder term only, and should be accompanied by clear guidance to the

Prime that they have 30 calendar days after the date restrictions are

lifteduntil the start of the six-month Post-Pandemic Return to Service credit-

earning period to set a schedule and increments for repayment to the

Investor Owned Utilities.

10.11. Prime Contractors who have accepted an advance payment will have paid

back the balance of their advance payment no later than December 31, 2021.

11.12. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Contractors may face additional

cost returning to work for businesses with liabilities accrued to stay afloat

during the stay-at-home order. Additional cost associated with holding new

liabilities is directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic and is applicable to

the businesses that accepted an advance payment.

12.13. Post-Pandemic Return to Service credit for contractors is an acceptable

approach for contractors to repay their advances to address the unique

workforce resiliency challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic to

ESAEnergy Savings Assistance program goals.

14. Post-Pandemic Return to Service credit calculated as a percentage of the

Contractor’s monthly invoice and applied as a dollar credit towards the

Contractor’s advance payment balance, is an equitable and straightforward

way to calculate this credit.

13.15. Post-Pandemic Return to Service credit will be available through actual

work performed in ESA-eligible households for six months after IOUs

authorize a the suspension of in-person program activity is lifted and the

ESA workforce is able to return to face-to-face service in the ESA

programservicing households. The IOUs shall provide a 30 day advance

notice to contractors of when the six-month PPRS credit-earning period

begins.



29

14.16. Post-Pandemic Return to Service credit can only be applied in invoices of

Prime Contractors who accepted an advance payment to pay back the

applicable balance of the advance.

15.17. Investor Owned Utilities communicating a proposed value of the Post-

Pandemic Return to Service credit to Prime Contractors and the appropriate

CPUC service lists 15 days after the Resolution is voted on is reasonable.

16.18. A joint Tier 2 Advice Letter filing 30 days after the Resolution is voted on

is acceptable to provide further details on implementing a Post-Pandemic

Return to Service credit.

17.19. Decision 19-06-022 provides guidance on Energy Savings Assistance

Program bridge funding and contract extensions between Prime Contractors

and Investor Owned Utilities.

18.20. Prime Contractor financial assistance outside of the Energy Savings

Assistance Program advance that serves the same purpose of sustaining

workforce and businesses during the same timeframe is known as

duplicative assistance, and it is appropriate to pay back to the Investor

Owned Utilities without application of Post-Pandemic Return to Service

Credit, any advance that has been duplicated.

19.21. Investor Owned Utilities are able to expedite their invoice payments to

Prime Contractors during suspended Energy Savings Assistance Program

activities.

20.22. The Energy Savings Assistance Program Policy and Procedure Manual

provides flexibility for the Investor Owned Utilities to shift from face to face

marketing outreach and education activities to alternative mechanisms to

promote low income programs and enroll qualifying households due to

public health and safety concerns and mandates in response to COVID-19.

21.23. This Resolution ratifies the Executive Director Letters of March 23, 2020

and April 7, 2020.

THEREFORE IT IS ORDERED THAT:

1. The Executive Director’s letters of March 23, 2020 and April 7, 2020, to

provide 60-day advance payments to Energy Savings Assistance Program



30

Prime Contractors are ratified as updated, clarified and affirmed within

this Resolution.

2. Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Southern California Edison, San Diego

Gas & Electric Company, the Southern California Gas Company,

shall, within 10 days of this Resolution, provide new, updated terms for

offers already accepted by Contractors if necessary to comport with this

Resolution, and new updated offers for those Contractors that did not

already accept. These large Investor Owned Utilities shall offer a 60-day

advance payment to each eligible entity holding the prime contract with

the utility. These offers will continue to be available for 30 days after a

CPUC vote adopting this Resolution.

2.3. Alpine Natural Gas Operating Company, Bear Valley Electric

Service, Liberty Utilities LLC, PacifiCorp and Southwest Gas Corporation

shall, within

3010 days of this Resolution, provide new, updated terms for offers

already accepted by Contractors if necessary to comport with this

Resolution, and new updated offers for those Contractors that did not

already accept. Investor OwnedThese Small and Multijurisdictional

Utilities shall offer a 60-day advance payment to each eligible entity

holding the prime contract with the utility. This offer if that contract is

through the end of 2020. These offers will continue to be available for at 30

days after a CPUC vote adopting this Resolution. If an entity holding the

prime contract with a Small and Multijurisdictional Utility does not have a

contract that extends to the end of 2020, it will be up to the discretion of

the Small and Multijurisdictional Utility to offer the 60-day advance

payment to the entity.

3.4. Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Southern California Edison, San

Diego Gas & Electric Company, the Southern California Gas Company,

Alpine Natural Gas Operating Company, Bear Valley Electric Service,

Liberty Utilities LLC, PacifiCorp and Southwest Gas Corporation shall

calculate this advance payment as the average monthly pay to the Prime

Contractor, using either the average over the 2019 program year for

Energy Savings Assistance program work, or a variant amount reflective

of the Prime’s planned 2020 workforce.

5. Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Southern California Edison, San Diego

Gas & Electric Company, the Southern California Gas Company, Alpine



31

Natural Gas Operating Company, Bear Valley Electric Service, Liberty

Utilities LLC, PacifiCorp and Southwest Gas Corporation shall collect

affidavits from Prime Contractors who accepted advance payments

regarding how advance payments are spent, and will implement monthly

reporting requirements on advance payments as instructed in this

Resolution. If a Investor Owned Utility identifies that a Contractor appears

to have misused their Energy Savings Assistance advance payment funds,

the Investor Owned Utility shall provide the Contractor an opportunity to

mitigate the misuse of funds, for example, by redirecting the funding to

the proper categories. If the Contractor fails to properly mitigate the

misuse of funds, the Investor Owned Utility shall file a Tier 1 information

only Advice Letter describing all aspects of their engagement with the

Contractor on the issues, the Contractor’s efforts to mitigate, and their

planned recourse.




Liberty Utilities LLC, PacifiCorp and Southwest Gas Corporation shall, in

the event that the Investor Owned Utilities anticipate incurring costs as a

result of advance payments that the existing Energy Savings Assistance

Program balancing account will not have sufficient funds to cover, file a

Tier 2 Advice Letter for tracking these costs associated with complying

with this Resolution in the COVID-19 memorandum accounts as set out by

Resolution M-4842.




Liberty Utilities LLC, PacifiCorp and Southwest Gas Corporation shall set-

up a “Payback Period” for Prime Contractors who accepted advance

payments commencing on the date that the Investor Owned Utilities

notifies the Prime the suspension has endedEnergy Savings Assistance

workforce returns to servicing households until theno later of (a)than

December 31, 2020, or (b) the end of the sixth calendar month after the

suspension end date2021. Any repayment term included in an Investor

Owned Utility offer should be expressly stated as a placeholder term only,



32

and accompanied by clear guidance to the Prime that they have 30

calendar days afteruntil the date restrictions are liftedstart of the six-month

Post-Pandemic Return to Service credit-earning period to set a schedule

and increments for repayment. to the Investor Owned Utilities. The

Investor Owned Utilities shall provide a 30 day advance notice to Prime

Contractors of when the six-month PPRS credit-earning period begins. All

Prime Contractors who accept an advance payment shall zero out their

balances no later than December 31, 2021.


Diego Gas & Electric Company, and the Southern California Gas

Company, on behalf of all Investor Owned Utilities, including Small

Multijurisdictional Utilities, shall communicate to all Prime Contractors

and the appropriate service lists 15 days from an affirmative California

Public Utilities Commission vote on this Resolution, a proposed value

ofpercentage for the Post-Pandemic Return to Service credit per household

treated through the Energy Savings Assistance programcalculation.


Diego Gas & Electric Company, and the Southern California Gas Company

shall submit a joint Tier 2 Advice Letter on behalf of all Investor Owned

Utilities, including Small Multijurisdictional Utilities, 30 days from an

affirmative California Public Utilities Commission vote on this Resolution

that contains a proposed value of percentage for the Post-Pandemic Return

to Service credit, on a dollar-per-household-treated basis calculation, the

methodology used to calculate PPRSPost-Pandemic Return to Service

credit, timeframe and logistics for how the Post-Pandemic Return to

Service credit mechanism will be integrated into current invoicing

procedures, and reporting system to track the Post-Pandemic Return to

Service credit mechanism adopted to address the unique challenges

created by COVID-19 for the Energy Savings Assistance program.


Diego Gas & Electric Company, and the Southern California Gas

Company, Alpine Natural Gas Operating Company, Bear Valley Electric

Service, Liberty Utilities LLC, PacifiCorp and Southwest Gas Corporation

shall submit, within 30 days of an affirmative vote on this Resolution,

asubmit a joint Tier 1 advice letter,Advice Letter proposing a reporting

template, as described in this Resolution, to be incorporated into the



33

Investor Owned Utilities’for Prime Contractors to use in their monthly

reporting to Investor Owned Utilities.




Liberty Utilities LLC, PacifiCorp and Southwest Gas Corporation shall

maintain their efforts during the suspension of Energy Savings Assistance

Program activities to accelerate payment on invoices received from Primes,

and target making payment on invoices within 10 days of receipt of

invoice. Additionally, the utilities shall waive any associated fee to Primes

for the accelerated processing of their invoices during the suspension of

Energy Savings Assistance Program activities.

This Resolution is effective today.

I certify that the foregoing Resolution was duly introduced, passed and adopted

at a conference of the Public Utilities Commission of the State of California held

on May 28, 2020, the following Commissioners voting favorably thereon:

______________________

ALICE STEBBINS

Executive Director

public utilities commission of the state of ......programs and budgets for 2021-2026 program years...

Documents