ALJ/KLM/sid Mailed 6/30/2006
Decision 06-06-045 June 29, 2006
BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Order Instituting Rulemaking to Implement AB117 Concerning Community Choice Aggregation. |
Rulemaking 03-10-003 (Filed October 2, 2003) |
Order Instituting Rulemaking Regarding Policies, Procedures and Incentives for Distributed Generation and Distributed Energy Resources. |
Rulemaking 04-03-017 (Filed March 16, 2004) |
DECISION DENYING THE MOTION OF MICHAEL KYES
TO IMPLEMENT PUBLIC UTILITIES CODE SECTION 366(b)
This decision denies the motion of Michael Kyes, filed September 7, 2005. The motion asks the Commission to permit the purchase and sale of power by private aggregators based on Kyes' interpretation of Public Utilities Code Section 366(b). This decision finds the Commission may not allow the purchase and sale of power by private aggregators as requested my Kyes without also allowing direct access transactions that have been suspended per Water Code Section 80110.
I. Background
Section 366(b) provides that:
"Aggregation of customer electrical load shall be authorized by the commission for all customer classes, including, but not limited, to small commercial or residential customers. Aggregation may be accomplished by private market aggregators, special districts, or on any other basis made available by market opportunities and agreeable by positive written declaration by individual customers, except aggregation by community choice aggregators, which shall be accomplished pursuant to Section 366.2."
This code section was originally enacted in 1996 as part of Assembly Bill (AB) 1890, which restructured the electric industry in various ways. The policy enacted in this section has been informally referred to by this Commission as "direct access." Since the original enactment of Section 366, the Legislature suspended direct access in 2001, following enactment of Section 80110 of the California Water Code.1 The suspension is effective "until the department (the California Department of Water Resources or DWR) no longer supplies power..." according to its provisions. The Commission has not yet determined whether the conditions for ending the suspension have been met, and decline to do so here.
Section 366 was subsequently amended in 2002 with the passage of AB 117, which directs this Commission to implement community choice aggregation. Community choice aggregation refers to the purchase of power on behalf of a city or county's residents and businesses. AB 117 amended Section 366(b) to permit community choice aggregators (CCA) to serve local customers without having received an affirmative election by the customer. That is, CCA customers need not "opt in" to receive service from the CCA, unlike direct access customers. CCA customers must "opt out" in order to remain a bundled customer of the serving utility.
1 The Commission implemented the suspension mandated by Water Code Section 80110 in Direct Access Suspension, D.01-09-060, 2001 Cal. PUC LEXIS 846, as modified by Decision Denying Rehearing of D.01-09-060, D.01-10-036, 1001 Cal. PUC LEXIS 957.
