Assignment of Proceeding

President Michael R. Peevey is the assigned Commissioner, and Dorothy J. Duda is the assigned ALJ for this portion of this proceeding.

Findings of Fact

1. Requiring the utilities to offer the same NEM service to CCA customer-generators that they offer to their own customers will promote investments in renewable energy projects and promote fair and non-discriminatory treatment of CCAs and their customers.

2. The Commission has limited jurisdiction over CCA program implementation and does not have general regulatory oversight of CCAs.

3. The utilities have not demonstrated that offering the subject NEM service to CCA customer-generators will increase their costs in ways that would justify reviewing costs outside of the general rate case.

4. In D.07-01-018, the Commission found that DG system owners retain ownership of RECs produced by their facilities.

Conclusions of Law

1. The Commission should order the utilities to modify their tariffs to offer NEM services to CCA customer-generators that are comparable to the NEM service provided to the utilities' own customer-generators, as set forth herein.

2. The utilities should provide eligible CCA NEM customers with a transmission and distribution credit and the CCA should provide eligible CCA NEM customers with a generation credit.

3. To the extent the provisions of this order cause a utility to incur additional costs, the utility should seek recovery of those costs in its general rate case.

4. The business relationship between the CCA and its customer-generator that involves rates and services should not be regulated by the Commission, consistent with the Commission's findings in D.05-12-041.

5. Owners of DG facilities taking part in the CCA program shall retain ownership of RECs produced by their facilities.

IT IS ORDERED that:

1. Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Southern California Edison Company, and San Diego Gas & Electric Company (the utilities) shall, within 20 days of the effective date of this order, submit tariff changes to implement "Net Energy Metering" (NEM) for customer-generators that are served by Community Choice Aggregators (CCA) consistent with NEM service to utility customer-generators and consistent with CCA rules as described in Rule 23 for SCE and PG&E and Rule 27 for SDG&E.

2. Biogas, and fuel cell, generators with a capacity up to 1 megawatt (MW), shall receive a credit for only the generation component of the rate consistent with the utilities' NEM service to bundled service customer-generators. The CCA is responsible for providing the CCA customer-generator with the applicable generation-related bill credit.

3. Wind generators with a capacity up to 50 kW shall receive a transmission and distribution credit from the utility and a generation credit from the CCA, and wind generators with a capacity of more than 50 kW, up to 1 MW, shall receive a credit for only the generation component of the rate from the CCA.

4. The CCA will be responsible for providing billing information regarding the applicable generation-related bill charges or credits for each CCA customer-generator to the utility on a timely basis. The utilities will be responsible for providing an eligible CCA customer-generator with transmission and distribution charges or credits.

5. This proceeding remains open to consider other pending matters.

6. This decision shall be served on the service list for this proceeding and in Rulemaking 03-10-003.

Dated February 14, 2008, at San Francisco, California.

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