V. Conclusion

The proposal of PG&E to adopt a 1-day-in-10-year planning standard for its core customers, and to acquire incremental storage capacity to meet this planning standard, is adopted. Given the growth in core load and no increase in the core's storage capacity, coupled with the economic havoc which could result if noncore gas destined for electric generators and other noncore users is diverted, such a planning standard makes sense in today's environment.

PG&E should be allowed to pursue acquisition of incremental storage capacity for the core. However, PG&E's proposed credit policies should not be adopted for assessing the ability of independent storage providers to provide this service. Instead, PG&E shall take the steps described earlier to evaluate the storage providers' financial ability and insurance coverage.