GFO-25-302 - Coordinated Holistic Orchestration of Inverter-based Resources (CHOIR)

GRANT FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

Coordinated Holistic Orchestration of Inverter-based Resources (CHOIR)

EPIC Program

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GFO-25-302

Addendum 02

https://www.energy.ca.gov/funding-opportunities/solicitation

State of California

California Energy Commission

October December 2025

Table of Contents

I. Introduction 1

A. Purpose of Solicitation 1

B. Key Words/Terms 3

C. Project Focus 6

D. Funding 10

E. Key Activities Schedule 11

F. Notice of Pre-Application Workshop 11

G. Questions 12

H. Applicants’ Admonishment 13

I. Additional Requirements regarding environmental review 14

J. Background 15

K. Match Funding 22

L. Funds Spent in California 24

II. Eligibility Requirements 26

A. Applicant Requirements 26

B. Project Requirements 28

III. Application Submission Instructions 30

A. Application Format, Page Limits 30

B. Method For Delivery 30

C. Application Content 31

IV. Evaluation and Award Process 36

A. Application Evaluation 36

B. Ranking, Notice of Proposed Award, and Agreement Development 36

C. Grounds to Reject an Application or Cancel an Award 37

D. Miscellaneous 38

E. Stage One: Application Screening 41

F. Stage Two: Application Scoring 43

Attachments Attachment Number Title of Section 01 Executive Summary Form 02 Project Narrative Form 03 Project Team Form 04 Scope of Work Template 05 Project Schedule 06 Budget 07 CEQA Compliance Form 08 Past Projects Information Form 09 Commitment and Support Letters Form (requires signature) 10 Project Performance Metrics 11 Applicant Declarations (requires signature) 12 References for Calculating Energy End-Use and GHG Emissions

I. Introduction

A. Purpose of Solicitation

The purpose of this solicitation is to demonstrate and advance the capabilities of virtual power plants (VPPs) that coordinate high concentrations of inverter-based distributed energy resources (IBDERs) – such as solar photovoltaics (PV), battery energy storage systems (BESS), and electric vehicles (EV) – to provide distribution-level power quality services, alleviate grid congestion due to electrification growth, and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. This solicitation supports the Electric Program Investment Charge 2021-2025 Investment Plan’s (EPIC 4 Investment Plan) strategic objective to “Create a More Nimble Grid to Maintain Reliability as California Transitions to 100 Percent Clean Energy.”

As California approaches 100 percent zero-carbon electricity by 2045, an increasing proportion of generation will come from IBDERs, which connect to the grid through inverters rather than conventional rotating machines. The existing grid currently relies on these large conventional rotating generators to provide flexible ramping resources and physical inertia, which is crucial for maintaining power quality. For traditional fossil gas-fired power plants to be phased out, viable replacement resources must be available.

Simultaneously, electrification of buildings and transportation and the rise of data centers are driving steep increases in electric load. Meeting this demand primarily through utility-scale resources would require massive investments in transmission and distribution infrastructure, raising affordability concerns and delaying decarbonization. These challenges are compounded by climate-driven extreme weather, which places additional strain on the grid and underscores the need for localized resilience. These pressures are especially acute in low-income and disadvantaged communities, where residents often face higher energy burdens, reduced access to backup power during outages, and few opportunities to participate in clean energy programs.

VPPs represent a promising strategy to address these challenges by aggregating and coordinating IBDERs to act as flexible, localized, and scalable grid assets. While many VPPs today focus on demand-side management and load reduction, more advanced VPPs could provide a broader range of distribution-level grid services that are traditionally provided by centralized fossil fuel-based power plants. These services include voltage regulation, frequency response, reactive power support, power factor correction, harmonic mitigation, localized congestion relief, and rapid ramping capabilities. VPPs can also play a critical role in enhancing grid visibility and control at the distribution level, enabling utilities to transition from static to dynamic hosting capacity practices. This dynamic management of grid constraints can unlock significantly higher penetrations of distributed solar PV without requiring costly infrastructure upgrades. When targeted to benefit justice communities, VPPs can also help reduce energy bills, improve local resilience, and expand access to the clean energy economy.

To serve as viable replacements for conventional fossil fuel-based power plants, VPP(s) must advance in several critical areas:

• Operational Demonstrations of Distribution-Level Grid Services: VPP(s) must demonstrate that they can reliably provide distribution-level grid services traditionally delivered by centralized gas-fired fossil power plants. These demonstrations are critical for building confidence among grid operators and regulators that VPP(s) can function as dependable, controllable grid assets capable of supporting real-time system needs.

• Interoperable and Scalable Communication Technologies: VPP(s) must incorporate gateway devices and communication systems that enable seamless, secure integration of diverse IBDERs. These technologies must be scalable and interoperable across vendors and resource types, and they must be capable of interfacing with utility-operated Distributed Energy Management Systems (DERMS) platforms. This level of interoperability is essential for enabling reliable real-time coordination and observability.

• Targeted Enrollment of IBDERs: VPP(s) must adopt strategic participation models that encourage enrollment of IBDERs at high enough concentrations on individual substations or distribution feeders to deliver local grid services. This includes designing customer incentives that reflect the locational and temporal value of services, with attention to ensuring participation is accessible to justice communities.

• Pathways to Distribution Market Participation: For VPP(s) to be sustainable and scalable, they must be able to access markets that compensate them for the full range of services they can provide. While VPP(s) can currently participate in wholesale energy and capacity markets, few opportunities exist to monetize distribution-level services. However, investor-owned utilities (IOUs) are making significant investments in DERMS platforms, and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) “High DER” Proceeding (R.21-06-17) is laying the groundwork for a future Distribution System Operator (DSO) framework, which could establish new market pathways for VPP(s) to be procured as grid assets.

This solicitation aims to fund field demonstrations that address these advancement areas, paving the way for broader commercial adoption as a cost-effective, scalable alternative to centralized fossil fuel-based generation.

See Section II of this solicitation for eligibility requirements. Applications will be evaluated as described in Section IV of this solicitation.

Applicants may only submit one application under this solicitation.

If an applicant submits multiple applications, each application must be for a distinct project (i.e., no overlap with respect to the tasks described in the Scope of Work).

Prospective applicants looking for partnering opportunities for this funding opportunity should register on the California Energy Commission’s Empower Innovation website at www.empowerinnovation.net .

B. Key Words/Terms

Word/Term	Definition
Applicant	An entity that submits an application to this solicitation.
Application	An applicant’s written response to this solicitation.
Authorized Representative	The person submitting the application who has authority to enter into an agreement with the CEC.
California Native American Tribe	A Native American Tribe located in California that is on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission for the purposes of Chapter 905 of the Statutes of 2004 (Pub. Resources Code, § 21073).
California Tribal Organization	A corporation, association, or group controlled, sanctioned, or chartered by a California Native American tribe that is subject to its laws, the laws of the State of California, or the laws of the United States.
CAM	Commission Agreement Manager, the person designated by the CEC to oversee the performance of an agreement resulting from this solicitation and to serve as the main point of contact for the grant recipient.
CAISO	California Independent System Operator
CAO	Commission Agreement Officer, the person designated by the CEC to oversee the internal administrative processes and to serves as the main point of contact for solicitation applicants.
CBO	Community Based Organization, a public or private nonprofit organization of demonstrated effectiveness that: a) Has deployed projects and/or outreach efforts within the region (e.g., air basin or county) of the proposed disadvantaged or low-income community or similar community. b) Has an official mission and vision statements that expressly identifies serving disadvantaged and/or low-income communities. c) Currently employs staff member(s) who specialized in and are dedicated to – diversity, or equity, or inclusion, or is a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
CCAs	Community Choice Aggregators procure electricity on behalf of retail electricity customers within some geographic areas.
CEC	State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission or, the California Energy Commission.
CEC funds	CEC funds are EPIC grant funds awarded under this solicitation. Also referred to as grant funds.
CEQA	California Environmental Quality Act, California Public Resources Code Section 21000 et seq.
Committed Operation Windows	The specific timeframes in which the VPP is contractually obligated to deliver energy, capacity, or ancillary services to the grid operator or market.
CES	CalEnviroScreen
Days	Days refers to calendar days.
Disadvantaged Community	Communities that represent the 25% highest scoring census tracts in CalEnviroScreen 4.0, census tracts previously identified in the top 25% in CalEnviroScreen 3.0, census tracts with high amounts of pollution and low populations, and federally recognized tribal areas as identified by the Census in the 2021 American Indian Areas Related National Geodatabase. (https://oehha.ca.gov/calenviroscreen/sb535)
DER	Distributed Energy Resource, a diverse category of devices and technologies that interface with the electricity system at the distribution level, either directly connected to a distribution utility’s wires or on an end-use customer’s premises, behind the utility meter. Examples include distributed generation and storage, electric vehicles and charging stations, and grid-interactive buildings and microgrids, as well as more traditional demand response or load flexibility resources and energy efficiency strategies.
DERMS	Distributed Energy Resource Management System, a software platform used to organize the operation of aggregated distributed energy resource within a power grid.
DSO	Distribution System Operator manages the local grid, including power lines and substations, to ensure the safe, reliable, and balanced delivery of electricity to customers.
EV	Electric Vehicle
Energy Equity	The fair distribution of benefits and burdens from energy production and consumption.
EPIC	Electric Program Investment Charge, the source of funding for the projects awarded under this solicitation.
IBDER	Inverter-Based Distributed Energy Resource
IOU	Investor-owned utility, an electrical corporation as defined in California Public Utilities Code section 218. For purposes of this solicitation, it includes Pacific Gas and Electric Co., San Diego Gas and Electric Co., and Southern California Edison Co.
Justice Community	Justice Community, a broad umbrella term that encompasses the following designations, adapted from the CEC’s Justice, Access, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Framework and applicable to this solicitation: disadvantaged communities, based on the latest CalEnviroScreen designations, and low-income communities and households, pursuant to Assembly Bill 1550 (Gomez, Chapter 369, Statutes of 2016). http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/15-16/bill/asm/ab_1501-1550/ab_1550_bill_20160914_chaptered.htm
KPI	Key Performance Indicator
Low Income Community	Communities within census tracts with median household incomes at or below 80 percent of the statewide median income or the applicable low-income threshold listed in the state income limits updated by the Department of Housing and Community Development. (https://www.hcd.ca.gov/grants-and-funding/income-limits)
Major Subrecipient	A Subrecipient that is budgeted to receive $100,000 or more of CEC funds, not including any equipment or match funds that may be provide by the Subrecipient.
M&V	Measurement and Verification
NOPA	Notice of Proposed Award, a public notice by CEC staff that identifies proposed grant recipients.
Pre-Commercial Technology	A technology that has not reached commercial maturity or been deployed at scales sufficiently large and in conditions sufficiently reflective of anticipated actual operating environments to enable the appraisal of operational and performance characteristics, or of financial risks.
Pilot Test	Small scale testing in a laboratory or testing on a small portion of the production line of the affected industry. Pilot tests help verify the design and validity of an approach, and adjustments can be made at this stage before full-scale demonstrations
Principal Investigator	The technical lead for the applicant’s project, who is responsible for overseeing the project; in some instances, the Principal Investigator and Project Manager may be the same person.
Project Manager	The person designated by the applicant to oversee the project and to serve as the main point of contact for the CEC.
Project Partner	A person or entity that contributes financially or otherwise to the project (e.g., match funding, provision of a test, demonstration or deployment site) and does not receive CEC funds.
Recipient	A person or entity receiving a grant award under this solicitation. “Recipient” may be used interchangeably with “grant recipient.”
Solar PV	Solar Photovoltaics
Solicitation	This entire document, including all attachments, exhibits, addenda, written notices, and questions and answers (“solicitation” may be used interchangeably with “Grant Funding Opportunity” or “GFO”).
Subrecipient	A person or entity that receives grant funds directly from a grant Recipient and is entrusted to make decisions about how to conduct some of the grant’s activities. A Subrecipient’s role involves discretion over grant activities and is not merely just selling goods or services.
Sub-Subrecipient	Has the same meaning as a Subrecipient except that it receives grant funds from a Subrecipient or any lower tier level of a Sub-Subrecipient.
State	State of California
TRL	Technology Readiness Levels, a method for estimating the maturity of technologies during the acquisition phase of a program. Source: U.S. Department of Energy, “Technology Readiness Assessment Guide”. https://www2.lbl.gov/dir/assets/docs/TRL%20guide.pdf
VAR	Volt-Ampere Reactive, unit of measurement for reactive power in an alternating current circuit.
Vendor	A person or entity that sells goods or services to the grant Recipient, Subrecipient, or any lower-tiered level of Sub-Subrecipient, in exchange for some of the grant funds, and does not make decisions about how to perform the grant’s activities. The Vendor’s role is ministerial and does not involve discretion over grant activities.
VPP	Virtual Power Plant, aggregations of distributed energy resources like smart thermostats, home batteries, and electric vehicles that can balance electricity demand and supply and provide utility-scale and utility-grade grid services.

C. Project Focus

This solicitation funds field demonstrations of advanced VPP(s) that aggregate IBDERs to provide distribution-level grid services. Demonstrations should focus on advancing core VPP(s) functions and showcasing the technical, operational, and economic viability of IBDER aggregations as a replacement for conventional fossil fuel-based grid services. Projects should demonstrate the following core capabilities:

• Distribution-Level Power Quality Services: Demonstrate the ability of the VPP(s) to deliver key distribution-level grid services, including but not limited to voltage regulation, frequency response, and active/reactive power control. These services must be delivered with high levels of accuracy, responsiveness, and availability, enabling VPP(s) to support real-time distribution system needs.

• Alleviating Grid Congestion and Infrastructure Constraints: Demonstrate how the VPP(s) can coordinate local generation and load in real time to avoid grid constraint violations. These capabilities should mitigate or defer the need for infrastructure upgrades, facilitate utilities transitioning to dynamic hosting capacity practices, and unlock higher penetrations of distributed solar PV and other IBDERs.

• Multi-Market Participation and Cybersecurity: Demonstrate the ability of the VPP(s) to respond to multiple grid and market signals, including CAISO wholesale market participation and local utility dispatch via DERMS. Projects must optimize IBDERs across these value streams while ensuring secure, reliable, and coordinated dispatch through gateway technologies that meet industry standards for interoperability and cybersecurity.

Projects must meet these additional project requirements:

• Eligibility: This solicitation targets third-party aggregators and solution providers. IOUs are not eligible to apply as prime recipients; however, applicants are encouraged to include IOUs as subrecipients or project partners.

• Location: The demonstration and deployment must be located in a Disadvantaged Community per CalEnviroScreen 4.0, in a California electric IOU service territory and optimized within a single substation area or within a single distribution circuit. Where applicable, applicants may also partner with Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs) operating within the selected IOU’s service territory.

• Utility Integration Plan: Each applicant must describe its plan to integrate with relevant IOU systems, including DERMS platforms, to enable real-time coordination and delivery of distribution-level grid services. The strength and feasibility of this plan will be considered in application scoring. The plan should address:

o How the applicant will access the necessary utility data and operational constraints

o How the VPP will exchange control signals with the IOU

o Any existing or planned agreements with the IOU to support integration

o How the applicant will validate VPP performance in coordination with the IOU

• Aggregation Size: The proposed aggregation size must be appropriate for the distribution system context and use case. Applicants must justify that the size is sufficient to deliver meaningful grid benefits and that the project is appropriately scaled and budgeted for the scope of the demonstration.

• Customer Participation: Applicants must describe and justify the customer segments and IBDER technologies (such as PV, BESS, and EVs) they intend to target. This justification should explain how the selected mix supports the project’s objectives and demonstrates the potential for scalability and replicability. Applicants are encouraged to consider diverse customer segments (such as residential, commercial, and industrial) and to include a variety of IBDER technologies to enhance grid flexibility and reliability.

• System Availability: The VPP(s) must demonstrate an aggregate service availability of at least 95% during committed operation windows - defined as the specific timeframes in which the VPP(s) is contractually obligated to deliver energy, capacity, or ancillary services to the grid operator or market.

• Gateway Device Demonstration: Projects must deploy and validate gateway devices that:

o Enable bidirectional communication between IBDERs, aggregators, and grid operators;

o Support standard communication protocols;

o Facilitate interoperability across different IBDER types and manufacturers;

o Reliably relay control signals from the central VPP(s) system to edge devices; and

o Meet applicable cybersecurity and safety standards.

• Interoperability and Standards Compliance: All systems and devices must comply with applicable national and regional interconnection and interoperability standards, including but not limited to IEEE 1547, IEEE 2030.5, IEEE P1815.2 (DNP3), IEEE 1547.10 (upon its release), and local IOU requirements.

• Cybersecurity: Projects must demonstrate that cybersecurity measures are incorporated and applied consistently across all communication protocol standards and validated against UL 2900 guidelines.

• Public Reporting and Technology Transfer: Projects must analyze and publicly share findings on VPP(s) system performance to support broader industry adoption, potential commercialization, and scalability.

• Equity: Projects must be designed to address specific needs and benefit justice communities such as enrolling low-income customers, reducing energy burdens, improving air quality, and creating local job opportunities. Applicants should describe how their approach addresses equity considerations.

• Measurement and Verification (M&V) Plan: The M&V activities must be performed by an independent third party.

Project Targets and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

Applicants must define the targets and metrics that will be used to evaluate the effectiveness, reliability, and scalability of the proposed VPP(s). Proposals must include KPIs that align with the core capabilities described above. Additional KPIs may be proposed by applicants based on the specific use case and project design. The following table provides a list of example KPIs that applicants should consider.

Example KPIs

Category	Description	Target/Benchmark	Metric
System Availability	Availability of VPP(s) control platform during committed operation windows.	≥ 95%	% uptime during service windows
System-Level Performance and Reliability	Average time to send/receive commands to/from IBDERs.	≤ 1 second	IBDER Communication Latency
Grid Services Delivery	The percentage of scheduled time the VPP(s) is available to deliver contracted grid services.	≥ 95% availability during service windows	Service Availability
Category	Description	Target/Benchmark	Metric
Grid Services Delivery	Degree to which VPP(s) output matches the requested service signal (e.g., power modulation profile).	≥ 95% tracking accuracy	Service Accuracy
Voltage Support	Total kVAR capability the VPP(s) can provide across enrolled IBDERs.	≥ 80% of rated inverter VAR capacity	Reactive Power Availability
Voltage Support	Time to initiate reactive power adjustment in response to a local or grid signal.	≤ 3 seconds	Response Time (Volt-VAR)
Frequency Support	Time to initiate active power injection or curtailment after a frequency deviation signal.	≤ 2 seconds	Response Time (Primary Frequency)
Frequency Support	Total MW of fast-responding IBDERs (e.g., batteries) available for frequency response.	≥ 90% of committed capacity	Frequency Response Capacity
Energy & Capacity Contribution	Proportion of MW of IBDERs aggregated and controllable within the VPP(s).	≥ 90% of enrolled IBDERs capacity dispatchable	Aggregate Dispatchable Capacity
Economic & Market Performance	Operational cost: to recruit, enroll, aggregate, monitor, and control each MW of VPP capacity.	Competitive vs. conventional peaking resources	Cost per MW Managed
Environmental	GHG emissions avoided due to VPP dispatch vs. conventional generation.	Reported annually, tied to local grid mix	Carbon Avoidance
Interoperability	Gateway devices must support communication with standard protocols (e.g., IEEE 2030.5, OpenADR, Modbus).	Support communication with at least two standard protocols	Supported Protocols
Interoperability	Average time required to onboard and fully integrate new IBDERs into the VPP(s).	≤ 48 hours per device/system	System Integration Time
Category	Description	Target/Benchmark	Metric
Cybersecurity & Safety Compliance	Proportion of IBDERs (inverters, battery controllers, etc.) in the VPP that meet UL 2941 certification.	≥ 90% of enrolled IBDERs UL 2941 certified	Percentage of Devices Certified to UL 2941
Communication Reliability	Successful communication events between VPP(s) and IBDERs.	≥ 99% message success rate	IBDER Communication Success Rate
Awareness & Outreach Effectiveness	Measures success of community engagement and education	≥ 50%	% of residents surveyed aware of available programs
Low-Income Participation	Proportion of participating customers that meet a definition of low-income	≥ 50%	% of participating customers at or below median area income

D. Funding

1. Amount Available and Minimum/ Maximum Funding Amounts

There is up to $7,240,000 available for grants awarded under this solicitation. The total, minimum, and maximum funding amounts for each project group are listed below

Project Group	Available CEC funding	Minimum CEC award	Maximum CEC award	Minimum total match share percentage
VPPs Field Demonstration	$7,240,000	$2,000,000	$4,000,000	20%

2. Match Funding Requirement

Applications must include a minimum 20% total match share percentage for this solicitation.

Total match share percentage is calculated by dividing the total match share contributions by the total CEC funds requested plus total match share contributions:

X 100 = Total Match Share percentage

For the definition of match funding see Section I K.

3. Change in Funding Amount

Along with any other rights and remedies available to it, the CEC reserves the right to:

• Increase or decrease the available funding and the minimum/maximum grant award amounts described in this section.

• Allocate any additional or unawarded funds to passing applications, in rank order.

• Reallocate funding between any of the groups

• Aggregate funds from multiple groups to fully fund the highest ranked passing applications, regardless of group. (if applicable)

• Reduce funding to an appropriate amount if the budgeted funds do not provide full funding for agreements. In this event, the proposed grant recipient and Commission Agreement Manager (CAM) will attempt to reach agreement on a reduced Scope of Work commensurate with available funding.

E. Key Activities Schedule

Key activities, dates, and times for this solicitation and for agreements resulting from this solicitation are presented below. An addendum will be released if the dates change for activities that appear in bold.

ACTIVITY	DATE	TIME
Solicitation Release	October 8, 2025
Pre-Application Workshop	October 28, 2025	10:00 a.m.
Deadline for Written Questions	November 7, 2025	5:00 p.m.
Anticipated Distribution of Questions and Answers	Week of [November 17, 2025] December 1, 2025
Support for Application Submission in ECAMS	[December 18, 2025] January 30, 2026	5:00 p.m.
Deadline to Submit Applications	[December 18, 2025] January 30, 2026	11:59 p.m.
Anticipated Notice of Proposed Award Posting Date	Week of [February 12, 2026] March 23, 2026
Anticipated Energy Commission Business Meeting Date	[May 2026] July 2026
Anticipated Agreement Start Date	[August 2026] October 2026
Anticipated Agreement End Date	[June 30, 2030] September 30, 2030

F. Notice of Pre-Application Workshop

CEC staff will hold one Pre-Application Workshop to discuss this solicitation with potential applicants. Participation is optional but encouraged. The Pre-Application Workshop will be held remotely. Applicants may attend the workshop via the internet (Zoom, see instructions below), or via conference call on the date and at the time and location listed below. Please refer to the CEC's website at www.energy.ca.gov/contracts/index.html to confirm the date and time. Please be aware that the meeting will be recorded.

Date and time: October 28, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Zoom Instructions:

To join the Zoom meeting, go to https://zoom.us/joinand enter the Meeting ID below and select “join from your browser.” Participants will then enter the meeting password listed below and their name. Participants will select the “Join” button.:

Meeting ID: 897 9855 4686

Meeting Password: choir

Topic: GFO-25-302 - Pre-Application Workshop

Telephone Access Only:

Call 1-888 475 4499 (Toll Free) or 1-877 853 5257 (Toll Free). When prompted, enter the meeting number above. International callers may select a number from the Zoom International Dial-in Number List at: https://energy.zoom.us/u/adjzKUXvoy. To comment, dial *9 to “raise your hand” and *6 to mute/unmute your phone line.

Access by Mobile Device:

Download the application from the Zoom Download Center, https://energy.zoom.us/download.

Technical Support for Pre-Application Workshop:

• For assistance with problems or questions about joining or attending the meeting,

please call Zoom Technical Support at 1-888-799-9666 ext. 2. You may also contact the CEC’s Public Advisor’s Office at publicadvisor@energy.ca.gov, or (916) 957-7910.

• System Requirements: To determine whether your computer is compatible, visit:

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362023-System-requirements-for-Windows-macOS-and-Linux.

• If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate, please Erica Rodriguez by e-mail at Erica.Rodriguez@energy.ca.gov or (916) 764-5705 at least five days in advance.

G. Questions

During the solicitation process, for questions only related to submission of application in the new ECAMS system, please contact ECAMS.SalesforceSupport@energy.ca.gov . Through that email address applicants will be able to access a team of technical assistants who can answer questions about application submission. Please also see Section III.B for additional information about the ECAMS system.

For all other questions, including all technical and administrative questions that are not related to submission of applications in the ECAMS system, please contact the Commission Agreement Officer listed below:

Kevyn Piper Commission Agreement Officer

California Energy Commission

715 P, MS-18

Sacramento, California, 95814

E-mail: Kevyn.Piper@energy.ca.gov

Applicants may ask questions at the Pre-Application Workshop and may submit written questions via email. However, all technical questions must be received by the deadline listed in the “Key Activities Schedule” above. Questions received after the deadline may be answered at the CEC's discretion. Non-technical questions (e.g., administrative questions concerning application format requirements or attachment instructions) may be submitted to the CAO at any time prior to 5:00 p.m. of the application deadline date. Similarly, questions related to submission of applications in the ECAMS system may be submitted to ECAMS.SalesforceSupport@energy.ca.gov at any time prior to 5:00 p.m. of the application deadline date.

The questions and answers will also be posted on the CEC’s website at: https://www.energy.ca.gov/funding-opportunities/solicitations

If an applicant discovers a conflict, discrepancy, omission, or other error in the solicitation at any time prior 5:00 p.m. of the application deadline date, the applicant may notify the CAO in writing and request modification or clarification of the solicitation. The CEC, at its discretion will provide modifications or clarifications by either an addendum to the solicitation or by written notice to all entities that requested the solicitation. At its discretion, the CEC may, in addition to any other actions it may choose, re-open the question/answer period to provide all applicants the opportunity to seek any further clarification required.

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