Assemblymember Chris Rogers and Senator Steve Padilla receive 2026 CCA Champion Awards
The California Community Choice Association (CalCCA) celebrated a decade of advancing Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) in California during a special 10-Year Anniversary Celebration held May 13 as part of the organization’s 2026 Conference in Sacramento.
A capacity crowd—including Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs), energy industry leaders, policymakers, and public power advocates—gathered at an evening banquet to celebrate CalCCA’s role in shaping California’s energy landscape and elevating the collective voice of CCAs statewide.
“Over the past 10 years, CCAs have transformed California’s energy landscape by giving communities a stronger voice in their energy future,” said CalCCA Chief Executive Officer Beth Vaughan. “This anniversary was an opportunity to celebrate the partnerships, leadership, and shared commitment that made that progress possible.”
Celebration Highlights:
- Legislative Resolution Honoring CalCCA’s 10-Year Anniversary
Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine), Chair of the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy, and Senator Ben Allen (D-Pacific Palisades), Chair of the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee, authored a legislative resolution recognizing CalCCA’s robust advocacy and energy policy leadership in its representation of CCAs. The resolution was presented to CalCCA board members at the event.
The CalCCA Board accepts the legislative resolution at the 10-Year Anniversary Celebration Dinner.
- 2026 CCA Champion Awards Presented to Asm. Chris Rogers and Sen. Steve Padilla
Assemblymember Chris Rogers (D-Santa Rosa) and Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego) were recognized for their longstanding support of CCA and partnership with CalCCA on sponsored legislation advancing customer affordability, transparency, and grid reliability (AB 1761and SB 1138, respectively). Asm. Rogers previously served on the board of Sonoma Clean Power, and Sen. Padilla served on the board of San Diego Community Power. The CCA Champion Awards were presented by Sonoma Clean Power CEO Geof Syphers and San Diego Community Power CEO Karin Burns.
Senator Steve Padilla accepts the 2026 CCA Champion Award from San Diego Community Power CEO Karin Burns, and Assemblymember Chris Rogers accepts the award from Sonoma Clean Power CEO Geof Syphers, in recognition of their support for Community Choice Aggregation.
- Keynote Address by California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild
Chair Hochschild reflected on the evolution of California’s clean energy landscape and the increasingly important role of CCAs in achieving the state’s energy and climate goals. - Remarks from CalCCA Founding Leaders
Barbara Hale, Assistant General Manager, Power, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (CleanPowerSF) and CalCCA’s first Board President, reflected on the organization’s founding and the collaborative effort to establish a unified statewide voice for CCAs. - Premiere of CalCCA Anniversary Video
Attendees viewed a commemorative video highlighting CalCCA’s founding, mission, and accomplishments over the past decade, and the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for community choice in California. - Vanguard Awards presented to Calpine and Calpine Community Energy
CalCCA recognized Calpine and Calpine Community Energy for their longstanding partnership with and support for California CCAs. The awards were accepted by Ashley Bernstein, Director of Strategic Origination & Development at Calpine, and Drake Welch, Senior Vice President, Support Services and CCA Business Unit, at Calpine Energy Solutions. - Recognition of Shared 10-Year Milestones
CalCCA members CleanPowerSF and Peninsula Clean Energy are also celebrating their 10-year anniversaries in 2026. To close the celebration, Vaughan, Hale, and Peninsula Clean Energy CEO Shawn Marshall participated in a joint anniversary cake presentation recognizing the organizations’ shared milestone anniversaries.
Left to right: Barbara Hale, Beth Vaughan, and Shawn Marshall blow out the candles on a cake recognizing the shared 10-year anniversaries of CalCCA, CleanPowerSF, and Peninsula Clean Energy.
About CalCCA
Launched in 2016, the California Community Choice Association (CalCCA) represents California’s community choice electricity providers before the state Legislature and at regulatory agencies, advocating for a level playing field and opposing policies that unfairly discriminate against CCAs and their customers. There are 25 operational CCA programs in California serving more than 15 million customers—over one-third of the state’s population—in 200+ cities and counties throughout the state. For more information about CalCCA, visit www.cal-cca.org.