3. Summary of the Assigned Commissioner Ruling and Proposal

The statute authorizing collection of the PGC in rates allowed collections for a 10-year period, starting January 1, 2002, and ending January 1, 2012.⁷ The Legislature did not extend the January 1, 2012, deadline before the close of the 2011 legislative session. Absent further legislative action, no PGC revenues will be collected after December 31, 2011. Because the current EE program cycle operates from 2010-2012, the 2012 programs are, absent Commission action, underfunded.

On September 28, 2011, the Assigned Commissioner issued a ruling that proposed taking action to augment EE funds for 2012. Specifically, so as to avoid rate increases to any IOU customers related to EE or any cross-subsidization among customers, the Assigned Commissioner's Ruling (ACR) proposed that PEEBA revenues be increased to replace the lost PGC revenues. It proposed further that the portion of the PEEBA used to replace the PGC be recovered just as the PGC would have been - on the basis of usage and not within the individual GRC proceedings. In addition, the ACR asked the IOUs to file comments setting forth the mechanics of the proposed PEEBA backfill mechanism, to show the impact on their PEEBA collections of the PGC backfill, and to provide sample bill impacts for each customer class.

On October 12, 2011, the California Public Utilities Commission's Division of Ratepayer Advocates (DRA), the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC), the Consumer Federation of California (CFC), the Southern California Edison Company (SCE), the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) along with the San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E), and the California Energy Efficiency Industry Council (CEEIC) filed comments on the ACR Proposal. The California Large Energy Consumers Association (CLECA) filed comments on October 11, 2011. Each of these parties, along with Women's Energy Matters (WEM), filed reply comments on October 19, 2011.

⁷ Cal. Pub. Util. Code § 399.8(c)(1). All statutory references are to the California Public Utilities Code unless otherwise stated.