2. Background
On March 2, 2010,1 Pacificorp, d.b.a. Pacific Power (Pacificorp), filed this application requesting approval to implement a solar incentive program in its California service territory and to increase its retail electric rates to fund the program through a customer surcharge. Pacificorp is a multi-jurisdictional utility providing retail electric service to approximately 46,500 customers in Del Norte, Modoc, Shasta, and Siskiyou counties in northern California.
The Commission's Division of Ratepayer Advocates (DRA) responded to Pacificorp's application with conceptual support but recommending detailed review in several program design areas.
A prehearing conference (PHC) was held on May 10, where the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) and Energy Division staff asked substantive questions about the proposed program. Following the PHC, a scoping memo issued on May 20, 2010 directed Pacificorp to file a supplement to its application to address further program details as set forth in the scoping memo, and to provide an overview of how Pacificorp's proposed solar program mirrors or deviates from the Commission's California Solar Initiative (CSI) Program2 and the California Energy Commission's Guidelines for solar energy systems.
Pacificorp filed its supplemental application on June 11, proposing modifications to the program it initially proposed. DRA responded to Pacificorp's supplement on June 25, seeking further modifications. In a July 12 reply to DRA, Pacificorp suggested a compromise with DRA. A second PHC was held on July 14 where Pacificorp and DRA indicated they were working towards a compromise on several key program design issues. As directed at the PHC, Pacificorp and DRA filed a stipulation on August 2 describing their latest positions.
On August 19, College of the Siskiyous, Dunsmuir Community Gardens, Inc., and Jefferson Economic Development Institute (collectively, the Siskiyou Parties) jointly filed a motion for party status and a motion for acceptance of a late-filed response to Pacificorp's Supplemental filing and other filings in the case. The motions were granted by ALJ ruling of September 14. Pacificorp and DRA replied to the Siskiyou Parties' filing on September 15 and this matter was submitted on that date.
1 All dates are 2010 unless otherwise noted.
2 The CSI Program is available to customers of Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), Southern California Edison Company (SCE), and San Diego Gas and Electric Company (SDG&E).
