ALJ/CAB/avs Date of Issuance 10/3/2008
Decision 08-10-011 October 2, 2008
BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Order Instituting Rulemaking to Integrate Procurement Policies and Consider Long-Term Procurement Plans. |
Rulemaking 06-02-013 (Filed February 16, 2006) |
Order Instituting Rulemaking to Promote Policy and Program Coordination and Integration in Electric Utility Resource Planning. |
Rulemaking 04-04-0031 (Filed April 1, 2004) (QF Issues) |
DECISION GRANTING INTERVENOR COMPENSATION TO THE
NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL FOR SUBSTANTIAL CONTRIBUTION TO DECISION 07-12-052
This decision awards the Natural Resources Defense Council $20,859.52 in compensation for its substantial contributions to Decision 07-12-052.
1. Background
Decision (D.) 07-12-052 (the Decision) reviewed Long-Term Procurement Plans (LTPPs) that were submitted by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), Southern California Edison Company (SCE) and San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E). The Commission found all three LTPPs to be deficient in terms of planning for filling net short positions with preferred resources from the Energy Action Plan's (EAP) loading order. In addition, the submitted LTPPs were "substantially inadequate in accounting for [greenhouse gas (GHG)] GHG emission reductions."2 Therefore, the LTPPs were modified by the Decision, prior to adoption. The revised LTPPs will apply for a ten-year period from 2007 through 2016.
The Decision further ensured that the LTPPs would sufficiently reduce GHG emissions in the production and delivery of electric resources by the utilities. The modified LTPPs were also required to meet renewable portfolio standard targets, provide for sufficiently robust demand response mechanisms, allow for energy efficiency (EE) savings, minimize environmental impacts, and provide for sufficient reliability at a reasonable cost to ratepayers.
To ensure compliance with GHG emission reduction efforts, the Decision implemented a number of mechanisms. It adjusted the resource load plans to reflect GHG emission standards and by providing more explicit directions for the investor-owned utilities (IOUs) to take in planning to reduce carbon emissions goals. In approving the modified LTPPs, the Decision also established a framework upon which future LTPPs are to be built. Going forward, the Decision requires the IOUs to use modern planning and analytical techniques and to create robust LTPPs that explicitly address uncertainty in the energy market, including in the amount of EE embedded into demand forecasts. In addition, LTPPs will be required to analyze the GHG implications of different resources that could be utilized to fill the net short positions, and to forecast the absolute GHG emissions of their plans instead of only the emission rates and in addition to cost implications.
1 These proceedings are not consolidated; however, since this decision resolves related intervenor compensation matters in both proceedings, both proceedings' captions are included.
2 D.07-12-052, p. 3.
