5. Assignment of Proceeding

Michael R. Peevey is the assigned Commissioner and Burton W. Mattson and Anne E. Simon are the assigned ALJs for this proceeding.

1. SB 695 gave the Commission the responsibility to review and revise the obligations of ESPs in comparison to those of the large utilities under the RPS program.

2. The Commission does not regulate the rates or terms and conditions of service offered by ESPs.

1. SB 695 does not alter or amend other statutes governing the Commission's administration of the RPS program and its regulatory relationship to ESPs.

2. ESPs should be required to submit RPS procurement plans, in compliance with instructions from the assigned Commissioner or assigned administrative law judge in this proceeding or its successor, beginning with the 2011 RPS compliance year.

3. ESPs' RPS procurement plans should be subject to appropriate confidentiality protections.

4. Any limit on the use of TRECs for compliance with RPS annual procurement targets should apply to ESPs as well as the three large IOUs.

5. Any limit on the price that IOUs can pay for TRECs should not be extended to ESPs.

6. Going forward, the Commission should consider the mandate of § 365.1 in all decisions about the RPS program.

7. The Director of Energy Division should ensure that the practices and protocols for administration of the RPS program apply equally to ESPs and the large IOUs, so far as necessary and feasible.

8. In order to facilitate the orderly functioning of the RPS program, this order should be effective immediately.

ORDER

IT IS ORDERED that:

1. All electric service providers shall submit plans for the procurement of eligible renewable energy resources to meet their obligations under California's renewables portfolio standard program, in compliance with instructions from the assigned Commissioner or assigned Administrative Law Judge in this proceeding or its successor, beginning with the 2011 compliance year.

2. Any renewables portfolio standard procurement plan filed by an electric service provider shall be subject to the appropriate confidentiality protections.

3. Any electric service provider registered in California may use renewable energy credits procured from contracts for renewable energy credits only, as defined in Decision 10-03-021, to meet up to 25% of its annual procurement targets for the California renewables portfolio standard, beginning with the 2010 compliance year.

4. The temporary limit on the use of tradable renewable energy credits for compliance with the California renewables portfolio standard shall not be applied to deliveries to an electric service provider from contracts that transfer both renewable energy credits and energy to the buyer but that do not meet the Commission's criteria for considering a procurement transaction a bundled transaction and that were signed by the electric service provider prior to the effective date of this decision, if such deliveries would cause that electric service provider to exceed the annual 25% limit on the use of tradable renewable energy credits for compliance with the California renewables portfolio standard. In this circumstance, the electric service provider may not use any tradable renewable energy credits associated with any additional contracts that were signed by the electric service provider on or after the effective date of this decision for compliance in that year that would exceed the 25% annual limit. The electric service provider may, however, bank any excess TRECs for compliance in future years, in accordance with the flexible compliance rules for the renewables portfolio standard.

5. The special provision set out in Ordering Paragraph 4, above, for procurement contracts for compliance with the renewables portfolio standard that were signed by electric service providers prior to the effective date of this decision does not apply if either of the following occurs:

a. The expiration date of the contract is extended beyond the expiration date existing on January 13, 2011; or

b. The deliveries allowed under the contract are increased beyond the maximum deliveries identified in the contract as the contract read on January 13, 2011.

If either of these changes is made to the contract, all deliveries after the effective date of the contract amendment that are incremental to the deliveries in the original contract will be treated according to the then-applicable classification of transactions for renewable energy credits only and bundled transactions.

6. The temporary limit on the use by electric service providers of tradable renewable energy credits for compliance with the California renewables portfolio standard shall terminate December 31, 2013.

7. The Director of Energy Division shall ensure that the practices and protocols developed by Commission staff for administration of the California renewables portfolio standard program apply equally to electric service providers and the three large investor-owned utilities, so far as necessary and feasible.

8. Rulemaking 08-08-009 remains open.

This order is effective today.

Dated January 13, 2011, at San Francisco, California.

Previous PageTop Of PageGo To First Page