San Diego Community Power staff told the Community Advisory Committee on April 10 that the California Energy Commission’s Equitable Building Decarbonization Direct Install program has been awarded to a Southern‑region administrator and that San Diego Community Power will play a promotional and coordination role.

Nelson Lomeli, program manager, said the CEC selected Los Angeles County as the Southern Region program administrator and granted the region $328 million — about 58% of the statewide award — to provide no‑cost installation of electrification and efficiency measures for low‑ and moderate‑income households and disadvantaged communities. Lomeli said that amount is estimated to fund decarbonization for roughly 8,000 homes across Southern California and that San Diego Community Power’s share of the outreach and coordination allocation is approximately $1.4 million, with $737,000 earmarked for community‑based organizations and about $663,000 allocated for San Diego Community Power staff time to support network coordination and program integration.

Lomeli said the program offers direct installation of heat‑pump space and water heating, induction cooking, weatherization (air sealing, insulation, weather‑stripping), health and safety remediation (roof repairs, lead abatement) and, if needed, electrical panel upgrades. Eligible properties include single‑family homes, multifamily buildings and manufactured homes; renters may participate and tenant protections will be included in participation agreements. Lomeli said eligible neighborhoods are defined using CalEnviroScreen 4 and AB 1550 low‑income definitions, and that member agencies may add additional census tracts for targeted outreach.

Timeline and next steps: Lomeli said Los Angeles County anticipates launching the Southern Region program in July. San Diego Community Power plans to present a memorandum of understanding to its board to accept the outreach funding and begin recruiting participants through its existing power‑network community organizations.

Why it matters: the program offers no‑cost upgrades targeted to low‑income and disadvantaged households and is designed to be layered with local programs; staff stressed the need to coordinate enrollment and avoid duplication of outreach across state and local programs.