Message from Chair Hochschild on the CEC’s response to COVID-19

For Immediate Release: March 17, 2020

In response to the COVID-19 situation, the Energy Commission, along with our sister agencies, is re-inventing the workplace to be able to fulfill our mission while protecting public health. All of us at the Energy Commission are committed to do everything we can to ensure the continuity of operations throughout this difficult time.

We are following the guidance and recommended actions provided by the California Department of Public Health to keep each of us and our communities safe. We have postponed all meetings where we expect more than 250 attendees, and we will be modifying all other meetings and gatherings by continuing to provide remote participation options and using best meetings practices, including social distancing. In addition, many of our staff will be teleworking at least through the end of March.

Internally, we are quickly implementing processes to minimize disruptions to the Energy Commission’s workflow. Our focus is to ensure business continuity at the Energy Commission, including grant administration and invoice processing.

If you have questions or concerns regarding any projects that you are working on with CEC staff, please reach out to the assigned staff but keep in mind that staff may be teleworking, so email will be the most expeditious way to make contact. If you need help identifying the appropriate staff to contact, our Public Advisor, Noemi Gallardo, is available to assist at publicadvisor@energy.ca.gov.

If you have inquiries related to grant administration or invoice processing please contact your Contract Agreement Manager. For additional assistance with Energy Research and Development agreements, please contact Doris Yamamoto at Doris.Yamamoto@energy.ca.gov. For additional assistance with Fuels and Transportation agreements, please contact Spencer Kelley at Spencer.Kelley@energy.ca.gov.

If you have additional questions or concerns or ideas on how our process can be improved, please do not hesitate to contact our Grants Ombudsman, Jennifer Martin-Gallardo, at Jennifer.Martin-Gallardo@energy.ca.gov.

Commissioners and staff at the Energy Commission are committed as ever to advancing our mission of building a clean energy future and our core values of service, accountability and excellence in everything that we do.

Finally, as we go through this challenging time together, it is worth remembering that our state and our society have made it through tough times before and we will make it through this difficult period as well.

Sincerely,

David Hochschild
Chair
California Energy Commission
916-654-3992
www.energy.ca.gov