April 9, 2020 Cindy Chavez, President Board of Supervisors Santa Clara County Tony LoPresti, Deputy Counsel Santa Clara County RE: Physical Distancing while Performing Electric Grid Improvements Dear President Chavez and Counselor LoPresti: As leading solar energy and energy storage contractors in the Bay Area, delivering reliable, clean energy for millions of consumers, we would like to highlight for you the physical distancing protocols we are actively following in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The safety and well-being of our employees, customers, and the broader community in which we all work and live is our top priority. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the face of another looming public health crisis, i.e. Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events, we are building and maintaining an important part of the Bay Area’s essential energy infrastructure, with solar energy and energy storage systems, while following proper physical distancing standards at our places of business and on the job site. With 46,000 systems providing local resources at a time when homes are using as much as 20% more energy than normal, these projects are an important part of California’s energy infrastructure. Businesses of all sizes and stripes are being hit hard by this crisis, and similarly need reliable and affordable energy. We ask that you consider clarifying that our essential work can proceed under the Shelter in Place orders given our ability, detailed below, to practice physical distancing on the job. Our work can be broken down into five main parts: 1) customer interactions, 2) employee management, 3) construction, 4) permitting and interconnection, and 5) supplies. We highlight for you here how we are able to follow shelter in place orders and physical distancing guidelines during this unprecedented event. Customer Interactions We have instituted “zero contact” sales and installations process. Instead of sitting across the kitchen table to negotiate a contract, we utilize online video services and electronic contracts and bids. When scheduling work at the job site, customers are asked if anyone has or is suffering from any sickness or symptoms and if so, projects are rescheduled. Instead of meeting with the customer face-to-face when our crews arrive at the job site, we pre-arrange with the customer how to prep the property for ease of entry to eliminate physical contact with customers. Finally, common area surfaces and contact points such as gate handles, latches, enclosures, etc. are wiped down before and after our work. Employee Management All of our back-office employees work from home, and we allow only those employees necessary to maintain the core functioning and safety of the workplace into the office. As a result, the vast majority of our non-construction employees are sheltering in place at home and performing their duties as best they can remotely. The employees that are required to come into our places of business are reminded daily of the importance of keeping their distance, washing their hands frequently, and staying home when sick. We have increased hand washing stations at all of our facilities and aggressively sanitize the workplace daily. Construction & Maintenance The construction and maintenance of distributed solar energy and energy storage systems is different than many other types of construction. Our crews are small, typically two to four in size for residential work and typically four to six for commercial, though some larger projects require larger crews. Our crews operate as a team, under strict supervision, and usually do not change day-to-day. Typical installation and maintenance can be performed with zero physical contact with customers. Our crews drive to the site in separate vehicles and maintain their distance from one another throughout the day. They are asked to bring a home-packed lunch to work and their work is done with no physical contact with the building owner. They stagger shifts, practice physical distancing (keeping at least 6 ft. apart to the greatest extent practicable), conduct frequent stand-down meetings wearing safety gear (e.g. gloves, masks, full clothing) and vigilantly clean workspaces. We are committed to evaluating and improving these protections on an ongoing basis, including incorporation of updated guidance from OHSA, the CDC and County Health officials. Permitting and Interconnection When available to us, we utilize online permitting submittal and review processes, making it possible to seek permission from local building departments entirely online. The vast majority of our projects are simple and standardized and do not require large printouts. Most of our commercial work has already been through review, with ongoing work for housing projects and other essential construction happening safely on a case by case basis in close coordination with local building departments. After installation is complete, we attempt to coordinate with inspectors to hold virtual inspections or avoid all interaction between crew members and inspectors when visiting the site. We are also using “exterior only” site surveys drone technology to capture visual inspections of our work. The majority of our interactions with the local utilities is remote. Supplies Our warehouses are reduced to skeleton crews with staggered shifts, keeping only those workers needed to maintain a minimum supply of equipment. Those crews adhere to the same physical distancing guidelines including maintaining six feet of distance, frequent handwashing, and orders to stay home when presented with any signs of illness. We hope this letter helps clarify and illustrate our ability to operate our essential energy infrastructure businesses while practicing physical distancing. We hope you will take steps to create clarity within the Bay Area on this important matter. Together, we can bend the curve while providing safe, reliable energy supplies for our communities and for our future. Thank you for considering this information. If you have any follow up questions, please contact the California Solar and Storage Association at 916-228-4567 or info@calssa.org. Sincerely, Alex McDonough, Vice President Policy Sunrun San Francisco, CA Cody Oram, Director Field Safety & Quality Vivint Solar San Jose, CA Andrew McNamara, Executive Vice President Bright Power Oakland, CA Dan Martin, Founder & CEO Amped Solutions, Inc. San Francisco, CA Barry Cinnamon, CEO Cinnamon Energy Systems Campbell, CA Dave Haskell, Senior Partner Symmetric Energy San Rafael, CA Bryan Raymond, President Diablo Solar Services, Inc. Martinez, CA Eric Piekarczyk, President Synergy Power Livermore, CA Charles Adams, Owner Albion Power Company San Francisco, CA Gary Gerber, CEO Sun Light & Power Berkeley, CA 2 Greg Cordero, President Poco Solar Energy, Inc. Santa Clara, CA Randy Zechman, CEO Clean Solar San Jose, CA Greg Kennedy, President Occidental Power San Francisco, CA Raul Villabos, Director Green Wolf Energy Hayward, CA Jeff Parr, CEO Solar Technologies San Ramon, CA Rob Lamkin, CEO Cool Earth Solar Pleasanton, CA Jerret Goodale, CEO SunOn Energy Anderson, CA Scott Siemer, President Just Leaks San Jose, CA Joshua Weiner, CEO SepsiSolar, Inc. Fremont, CA Sheryl Lane, COO/Project Director Earth Electric, Inc. San Jose, CA Ken Mahaffey, Executive Vice President SunPower San Jose, CA Stan Greschner, Chief Policy & Market Development GRID Alternatives Berkeley, CA Ken Stout, VP Strategy & Business Dev Alpha Energy Management Fremont, CA Steve Pariani, President Solar Pro Energy Systems Burlingame, CA Man Kit Wu, Head of CA Operations YSG Solar San Francisco, CA Tony Diaz, CEO Century Roof & Solar Hayward, CA Mark Byington, CEO Cobalt Power Systems, Inc. Mountain View, CA 3