STATE OF CALIFORNIA ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
505 VAN NESS AVENUE
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102-3298
December 29, 2009
TO: ALL PARTIES OF RECORD IN RULEMAKING 08-12-009
Decision 09-12-046 is being mailed without the concurrence of Commissioner Grueneich. The concurrence will be mailed separately.
Sincerely,
/s/ KAREN V. CLOPTON
Karen V. Clopton, Chief
Administrative Law Judge
KVC/jt2
Attachment
COM/CRC/jt2 Date of Issuance 12/29/2009
Decision 09-12-046 December 17, 2009
BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Order Instituting Rulemaking to Consider Smart Grid Technologies Pursuant to Federal Legislation and on the Commission's Own Motion to Actively Guide Policy in California's Development of a Smart Grid System. |
Rulemaking 08-12-009 (Filed December 18, 2008) |
DECISION ADOPTING POLICIES AND FINDINGS PURSUANT TO THE SMART GRID POLICIES ESTABLISHED BY THE ENERGY INFORMATION AND SECURITY ACT OF 2007
Table of Contents
Title Page
DECISION ADOPTING POLICIES AND FINDINGS PURSUANT
TO THE SMART GRID POLICIES ESTABLISHED BY THE ENERGY INFORMATION AND SECURITY ACT OF 2007 22
3. Federal Law and Proceeding Scope 1010
3.1. The EISA Amendments to PURPA Create Five Tasks for This Proceeding 1010
3.2. Comments Pertaining to Legal Analysis in the Joint Ruling 1818
4. EISA Obligations Related to Smart Grid Investment 1919
4.1. Should the Commission Require Each Utility to Demonstrate
That it Has Considered a Smart Grid Investment Before Making
Any Grid Investment? 1919
4.2. Should the Commission Authorize Each Electric Utility to Recover From Ratepayers Any Capital, Operating Expenditure, or Other
Costs of the Electric Utility Relating to the Deployment of a
Qualified Smart Grid System, Including a Reasonable Rate of
Return? 2828
4.3. Should the Commission Authorize any Electric Utility that Deploys
a Smart Grid to Recover in a Timely Manner the Remaining Book-Value Costs of Any Equipment Rendered Obsolete by the
Deployment of the Qualified Smart Grid System, Based on the Remaining Depreciable Life of the Obsolete Equipment? 3636
5. Customer Access to Energy Information 4040
5.1. Should the Commission Require Utilities to Provide Customers
with Access to the Information Referenced in 16 U.S.C.
§ 1621(d)(19)(B) of PURPA in Written and Electronic Form? 4040
5.2. Should the Commission Require Utilities to Provide Purchasers of Electricity With Access to Their Own Information at Any Time
Through the Internet and on Other Means of Communications
Elected by the Utility? Should the Commission Require Utilities
to Provide Other Interested Persons Access to Information not
Specific to Any Purchaser Through the Internet? 5656
6. Comments on Proposed Decision 6565
6.1. Comments Pertaining to the Issues Before the Commission 6666
6.2. Discussion of Comments Pertaining to Issues before the
Commission 6868
6.3. Comments Pertaining to Next Steps in Proceeding 6969
DECISION ADOPTING POLICIES AND FINDINGS PURSUANT TO THE SMART GRID POLICIES ESTABLISHED BY THE ENERGY INFORMATION AND SECURITY ACT OF 2007
1. Summary
This decision adopts policies and findings to fulfill the regulatory obligations imposed on states by the Energy Information and Security Act of 2007's (EISA)1 amendments to the Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act.
This decision finds that imposing EISA requirements on Sierra Pacific Power Company, Mountain Utilities, PacifiCorp, and Bear Valley Electric is inappropriate and inconsistent with the purposes of EISA. In particular, the small size of these utilities and the nature of their operations both increase the costs and diminish the benefits of the EISA requirements. Therefore, imposing EISA requirements on these utilities would not advance the purposes of EISA.
This decision declines to adopt the requirements pertaining to Smart Grid investments2 for Southern California Edison Company (SCE), Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E), because California policy is already largely consistent with these requirements and further action would produce confusion and costs that do not advance the purposes of the act. This decision also declines to adopt for SCE, PG&E and SCE the information disclosure requirements contained in EISA pertaining to Smart Grid information3 because prior Commission actions constitute a "prior state action" and, pursuant to § 2622(d), no further action is required at this time.
In addition, this decision adopts policies for SCE, PG&E and SCE concerning consumer access to usage and price information that will be available through California's Smart Grid infrastructure and consistent with Senate Bill 17 (Padilla)(Chapter 327, Statutes of 2009), which sets as a goal for California "[i]ncreased use of cost-effective digital information and control technology to improve reliability, security, and efficiency of the electric grid."4 In particular, this decision establishes a policy goal that SCE, PG&E and SDG&E provide consumers with access to electricity price information by the end of 2010.
Concerning electricity usage data, we require that SCE, PG&E and SDG&E provide consumers and third parties approved by consumers with usage data that is collected by the utility by the end of 2010. The decision also requires that that SCE, PG&E and SDG&E provide those customers with smart meters and authorized third parties access to usage data on a near real time basis by the end of 2011.
A schedule to resolve outstanding issues concerning access to price information, concerning consumer and third party access to data via the "backhaul,"5 providing necessary protections for the usage data of consumers, and complying with the requirements of Senate Bill 17 will be issued via ruling in January 2010.
The decision orders the next phase of this proceeding to determine a cost-effective way of providing this information.
Finally, the decision states the intention of this Commission to consider and, if appropriate, adopt the standards under development by the National Institute of Standards and Technology pertaining to the Smart Grid.
1 16 U.S.C. § 2621(d). Section citations included in the text are to 16 U.S.C., unless noted otherwise.
2 16 U.S.C. § 2621(d)(18).
3 16 U.S.C. § 2621(d)(19).
4 Pub. Util. Code § 8360(a).
5 By "backhaul," we mean the process by which data is brought back from the meter to the utility.
