3. Purpose and General Guidelines
"As stated in D.02-10-062, we intend that the long-term plans of the utilities be the primary vehicles for their decision-making, planning, and procurement...Long-term plans that provide solid information in appropriate detail, and that are reviewed and approved by this Commission, can provide the basis for confidence on the part of consumers, of utility managers, of investors, and of the financial community...(p. 88)"
In addition to the above listed groups, the long-term plans should provide a basis for confidence for California's energy suppliers and other agencies and entities interested in reliability and resource planning such as the CEC, ISO, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
In order to assist the utilities in making their long-term procurement filings in a timely manner, the first workshop should focus on technical aspects such as how LSEs forecast demand, and how supply resources should be valued and considered in assessing an LSEs' resource adequacy.2
Finally, we should also add to the first workshop an initial discussion on the issue of "deliverability", recognizing that this issue may require further examination in the April workshops. Subsequent workshops will address the issue of penalties and reporting requirements.3
In conducting the workshops we remind parties of our previous admonitions, namely:
· Don't "Re-invent the Wheel" -- a significant amount of forecasting, supply assessment, and other issues have already been performed by the utilities and others and should be utilized where appropriate.
· Build off of existing proceedings -- for example, parties should explore how the record developed in other Commission proceedings can be utilized in developing reserve requirements; and,
· No relitigation of issues already decided by the Commission.
2 This focus is consistent with the direction given in the September 22, 2003 ruling on resource adequacy issues.
3 With the decision's adoption of a 10-year planning horizon, cyclical review on a 2-year basis, and use of the ERRA for annual adjustments, many of the timing issues associated with any reporting requirement have been largely decided. The issue of what needs to be reported should be the main focus of any workshop.
