ALJ/TJS/avs Date of Issuance 8/13/2010
Decision 10-08-017 August 12, 2010
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 GRANTING INTERVENOR COMPENSATION
TO THE CONSUMER FEDERATION OF CALIFORNIA FOR SUBSTANTIAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO DECISION 09-12-046
This decision awards Consumer Federation of California $14,875.00 for its substantial contributions to Decision 09-12-046. This represents a decrease of $10,591.00 or 41.60% from the amount requested due to unproductive effort, lack of substantial contributions, and excessive hours. Responsibility for today's award will be allocated to the affected utilities.
1. Background
This rulemaking was launched pursuant to the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (H.R. 6,110th Congress, or EISA), to consider policies for California investor-owned utilities (IOUs) to enhance the ability of the electric grid to support important policy goals including reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, increasing energy efficiency and demand response, expanding the use of renewable energy, and improving reliability. The Commission's proposed policies and findings pertaining to EISA were presented in a September 28, 2009 joint ruling (Joint Ruling) of the assigned Commissioner and Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), requesting parties' comments.
Decision (D.) 09-12-046 considered policies and findings to fulfill the regulatory obligations imposed by the EISA. The Commission found the California policy to be largely consistent with these requirements and declined to adopt the requirements pertaining to Smart Grid investments for Southern California Edison Company (SCE), Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E). The decision also declined to adopt for these utilities the EISA information disclosure requirements pertaining to Smart Grid information. D.09-12-046, however, adopted policies for SCE, PG&E and SCE concerning consumer access to usage and price information that would be available through California's Smart Grid infrastructure and consistent with Senate Bill (SB) 17 (Padilla) (Chapter 327, Statutes of 2009), which set 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."1 Concerning electricity usage data, the decision required that SCE, PG&E and SDG&E provide consumers and third parties approved by consumers with that data.
1 Pub. Util. Code § 8360(a).
