February 3, 2026
California Energy Commission
1516 Ninth Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Subject: Letter of Support for Kora Power CHOIR (Coordinated Holistic Orchestration of Inverter‑Based Resources) Grant Application (GFO-25-302)
On behalf of Inland Action, I am pleased to provide this letter of support for Kora Power’s Feeder‑Level Residential Distributed Energy Resource Orchestration Demonstration, proposed under the California Energy Commission’s GFO‑25‑302 CHOIR program.
The demonstration will provide zero-cost installations to 50 residential systems and a microgrid installation at Kimbark Elementary School on a single feeder in San Bernardino, enabling aggregated dispatchable capability to support local grid operations. The project area—including Devore Heights, Muscoy, and Shandin Hills—contains disadvantaged communities identified under SB 535 and lies within Tier 2 and Tier 3 High Fire Risk Areas per California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) designations. At Kimbark Elementary, part of San Bernardino City Unified School District, 81% of students identify as minorities, 64% are Hispanic, and 66% are socioeconomically disadvantaged.
Overall, these communities experience heightened vulnerability to Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS)-related outages, making equitable access to resilient energy systems particularly important. Providing zero‑cost installations for eligible households and a microgrid for a nearby community resiliency center further strengthens clean energy technology access, boosts resiliency for frontline communities, and enhances controllable energy density across the feeder.
Inland Action supports the project’s potential to generate scalable best practices for residential distributed energy resource management and deliver meaningful benefits to grid reliability, customer resilience, and community equity. We are aware that the proposal also incorporates community‑based engagement, outreach, support for local workforce development, and a school resiliency installation.
Sincerely,
Julie Michaels
Executive Director
Inland Action