State Energy Commission: Who are They?

When Vistra encountered opposition to its proposed lithium battery storage plant in Morro Bay, the company said it would seek approval from the California Energy Commission.

The commission has three lithium battery power plants under review.

The Governor appoints, with Senate confirmation, five commissioners to the California Energy Commission to staggered five-year terms. The commissioners must come from and represent specific areas of expertise: Law, environment, economics, science/engineering, and the public at large.

There is no fire safety expertise.

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David Hochschild
Environmental member, appointed 2013 and reappointed 2019, currently chairman

He got involved in the solar energy field in 2001 as a special assistant to San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown where he launched a citywide $100 million initiative to put solar panels on public buildings.

He also cofounded the Vote Solar Initiative, a 60,000-member advocacy organization promoting solar policies at the local, state, and federal levels. He was executive director of a national consortium of leading solar manufacturers and worked for five years at Solaria, a solar company in Silicon Valley. From 2007 to 2008, he was a commissioner of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.

For his work to advance clean energy, Hochschild was given the Sierra Club’s Trailblazer Award, the American Lung Association’s Clean Air Hero Award, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Million Solar Roof True Champion Award.

He has a bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College and a master of public policy degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Siva Gunda
Public member

Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Gunda in February 2021. Appointed vice chair in September 2021.

Gunda was deputy director for the Energy Commission’s Energy Assessments Division. The division forecasts and assesses energy demands and supplies.

Previously he worked at the Energy Efficiency Institute at UC Davis, including as director of research, where he directed the institute’s operations and research portfolio.

He has a master of science degree in mechanical and aeronautical engineering from Utah State University and is pursuing his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from UC Davis. He is a serious cricket fan and former captain of his college team. He lives with his family in Davis.

Noemí O. Gallardo
Attorney member

Appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in February 2023, she is the first Latina appointment.

She is lead commissioner for the Clean Energy Hall of Fame Awards, an annual event honoring Californians who help advance the state’s goals of 100% clean energy by 2045.

She joined the CEC in 2019 as Public Advisor, then became chief of staff for CEC Chair David Hochschild.

Previously she was senior manager of public policy at solar power company Sunrun Inc. She was an energy and telecommunications legal fellow at the Greenlining Institute, and a principal investigator at the Public Law Research Institute at UC College of the Law San Francisco.

She is a state-certified interpreter in Spanish who established and ran a translation and interpretation services business in Ventura County.

The daughter of Mexican immigrants and a proud mother of two, she is a first-generation college graduate who earned a Juris Doctor degree from UC Law SF, a master of public policy degree from the University of Southern California, and a bachelor’s degree from Pepperdine University.

J. Andrew McAllister, Ph.D.
Economist appointed in 2012, and reappointed by Gov. Newsom to a third term in 2022.

Priorities include: Decarbonization of buildings and industry; energy efficiency of buildings and appliances; load flexibility as a tool for grid optimization; improving access to data and analytical tools that can drive innovation at the grid edge; alignment of energy and housing policy & programs; and amplifying California’s innovation-centered approach through collaboration with diverse partners beyond its borders.

He was managing director of a California-based clean energy non-profit; energy efficiency and renewable energy specialist at an international development contractor; utility energy efficiency program consultant; and researcher at a DOE national laboratory. He has worked in numerous countries to deploy clean, cost-effective energy solutions.

He chairs the Western Interstate Energy Board and serves on the boards of the National Association of State Energy Officials, the Smart Electric Power Alliance, and Camp Kesem at UC Davis.

He has a master’s and Ph.D. from the Energy and Resources Group at the UC Berkeley, and bachelor’s from Dartmouth College.

He was a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer.

Nancy Skinner
Science and engineering member, succeeding Patricia Monahan, whose five-year term ended.

Appointed Jan. 7, a Democrat and Berkeley resident, she was a state senator from 2016 to 2024 and left office due to term limits. She was a State Assembly member from 2008 to 2014 and started her political career as a Berkeley City Council member.

She collaborated with the Union of Concerned Scientists as a legislator, committed to expanding clean energy and holding the fossil fuel industry accountable.

That work included SB 59, legislation on bidirectional electric vehicle charging that UCS sponsored and that passed in September.

Skinner worked with the Energy and Efficiency Institute at UC Davis; Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley; The Climate Group; and Earthworks Press. She has degrees from UC Berkeley.