IV. Workshops to Begin Work on Long-Term Planning Issues

Based on our experience with the long-term procurement planning proceeding in 2004, we wish to do more work prior to the filing of procurement plans to ensure that the filings will meet the full needs of the Commission. To that end, there will be a workshop on December 14, 2005, from 9:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., at the Commission Auditorium, 505 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, to consider the process and schedule for the long-term procurement proceeding. Now is the appropriate time to consider how to prioritize all of the work of the 2006 proceeding so that procurement filings will meet the needs of the Commission.

The workshop will be a forum to consider the goals presented in this ACR, and in particular, staff's draft work plan (see Appendix A) on how to structure the upcoming proceeding. The goal of this effort is to attempt to reach consensus on the list of priority issues that can be reasonable addressed in the 2006 long-term procurement plans. The workshop will focus on the process, not the substance, for addressing the issues in the 2006 LTPP proceeding. Respondents and interested parties should be prepared to discuss the critical steps and timetables for addressing each issue. Respondents and interested parties should also carefully review and consider how these steps and timetables relate to ongoing activities of the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), California Energy Commission (CEC) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Respondents and interested parties are invited to file comments on this ACR that will serve as pre-workshop comments. Comments on this ACR should be filed by December 12, 2005. Through the comments on this ACR, as well as the workshop and post-workshop comments, staff will develop a road map for the 2006 procurement proceeding that allows sufficient time for respondents and interested parties to develop the full record required to take action on the proceeding's key issues. This process will guide the development of the new OIR.