20. Expiration of Procurement Authorization

PG&E notes that historically, utility procurement plans would expire at the end of their approved duration. According to PG&E, this has caused concerns about the utility's ongoing ability to procure in the event of a delay in approving a new procurement plan. PG&E proposes that any bundled procurement plan approved in this decision remain in effect until superseded by a subsequent Commission-approved plan. (PG&E Opening Brief at 12.)

This should not be a major concern, particularly since both D.04-12-048 and D.07-12-052 allowed for utilities to request updates or modifications to their procurement plans. (See, D.07-12-052 at 184-185.) We will not implement the change sought by PG&E, but rather we reiterate here that utilities may utilize this existing process to request any necessary extension of their procurement authorization.