ALJ/cmf Date of Issuance 9/11/2009
Decision 09-09-023 September 10, 2009
BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
In the Matter of the Application of Southern California Edison Company (U 338-E) for Approval of Results of Fast Track of Its New Generation Request for Offers and for Cost Recovery. |
Application 07-02-026 (Filed February 28, 2007) |
DECISION GRANTING INTERVENOR COMPENSATION
TO CALIFORNIANS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR SUBSTANTIAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO DECISION 08-05-028
This decision awards CAlifornians For Renewable Energy $19,411.57 in compensation for its substantial contributions to Decision 08-05-028. This represents a decrease of $20,180.43 (or 51%) from the amount requested due to miscalculations, inefficient and unproductive effort, adjusted hourly rates and excessive hours. This award will be paid by the ratepayers of Southern California Edison. This proceeding is closed.
1. Summary
This decision grants the application by Southern California Edison Company (SCE) for approval of a contract that was selected from SCE's fast-track request for offers (RFO) for new generation that could be on-line by August 2010. In its application, SCE sought approval of two contracts, an offer from Blythe Energy, LLC (Blythe) for up to 490 megawatts (MW) of expected capacity and energy and an offer from CPV Ocotillo, LLC (CPV)1 for up to 455 MW of capacity and energy. Due to intervening circumstances regarding the timing on the completion of a study on the delivery of the power from Blythe, a separate decision on the CPV was prepared.2 The decision for which CAlifornians For Renewable Energy (CARE) seeks intervenor compensation approved the 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Blythe and allocated the benefits and costs of the Blythe PPA to all benefiting customers in accordance with Decision (D.) 06-07-029.
CARE intervened in this proceeding because it was concerned that the contract with Blythe failed to address the impact the power plant would have on the community living next to it. This community includes several of CARE's residential members. CARE believed that the interest of this community had been ignored when the site for the power plant had been determined by the California Energy Commission. CARE's position in the Blythe application was that the California Public Utilities Commission now had an opportunity to examine the impacts the power plant might have on the community surrounding it.
In support of its concerns, CARE organized its members to attend a Public Participation Hearing in Blythe to address the Commission on the total environmental impacts they believed would result from utilizing the Blythe facility, including the loss of agricultural lands. The community also questioned how the power plant used water supplies which had previously been used for agriculture. Many of CARE's members are farm workers who lost their jobs when the power plant was built, and other are members of CARE who are descendents of the indigenous people in the area and believe that the region has religious significance to them. A hearing was held on July 12, 2007 in Blythe where CARE and the residents of Blythe and Mesa Verde made their presentations to the Commission.
1 The CPV Ocotillo, LLC has since been renamed CPV Sentinel LLC; however, to avoid confusion and to remain consistent with the name provided in SCE's application, the project is referred to as the CPV Ocotillo in this decision.
2 On April 10, 2008, the Commission approved the CPV contract in Decision (D.) 08-04-011.
