V. Interagency Collaboration Issues

A. CEC Transmittal Report

As part of its Integrated Energy Policy Report (IEPR) proceeding, the California Energy Commission adopted the Committee Final Transmittal of 2005 Energy Report Range of Need and Policy Recommendations to the California Public Utilities Commission (Transmittal Report) on November 21, 2005.8 As indicated in a March 2005 ACR, the CEC's Transmittal Report is expected to be used as a basis to establish the range of need for the IOUs. The Transmittal Report summarizes procurement-related policy recommendations from the 2005 Integrated Energy Policy Report. In addition, the Transmittal Report provides the "CPUC with the data and analyses used by the Energy Commission to assess the demand forecasts and resource needs for the state's three largest investor-owned utilities (IOUs)."9 The report focuses on the IOU range of need, and specifically on the contractual net short for each IOU. The Transmittal Report provides information on IOU supply and demand, with a focus on the years 2009-2016. For the supply side, the CEC suggests that the Commission have the IOUs update information on renewables and other bilateral contracting when they file their long-term plans. For the demand side, the CEC suggests that the Commission: (1) use an updated demand forecast for 2007-2008 based on new developments using the demand forecast methodology used to establish the resource adequacy requirements, and (2) adopt and use the unmodified CEC staff annual forecast for 2009-2016 as the long-term planning forecast for the IOUs, IOU service areas, and planning areas. Other CEC IEPR documents referenced in the Transmittal Report, including the California and Western Electricity Supply Outlook Report from July 2005, provide an extensive record on the physical capacity supply outlook for the state, including the outlook for each IOU planning area.10

Parties were provided the opportunity to comment on the CEC's Draft Transmittal Report. The CEC included those comments in its final Transmittal Report, as well as an itemized reply, in the final Report. Parties are not invited to comment here on the contents of the Transmittal Report; however, parties are invited to comment on how the Transmittal Report can be used as an input in the 2006 proceeding. Parties should consider both the Transmittal Report, as well as the full record developed in the CEC's IEPR proceeding (much of which is carefully referenced in the Transmittal Report), in considering how the IEPR work can be a starting point for the 2006 LTPP proceeding. Parties should also consider whether any additional CEC inputs need to be updated as part for the 2006 LTPP proceeding, especially in light of the draft schedule proposal in Appendix A.

B. Transmission Planning Effort

Respondents to the 2006 LTPP proceeding will be expected to file plans that take into consideration the CAISO's forthcoming Statewide Transmission Plan. The CAISO planning process will incorporate the CEC recommendations from the IEPR process. The expectation is that the CAISO plan will identify high priority transmission projects that can be implemented in the short- and long-term. Respondents will be able to consider the projects identified in the CAISO study when they file their long-term plans with the Commission.

Attached as Appendix B is a Transmission Planning Collaboration document worked on collaboratively by the staffs of the Commission, CEC, CAISO.11 The Commission, CEC, and CAISO will jointly host a workshop on December 14, 2005, from 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., at the Commission's Auditorium, 505 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, in order to present the transmission collaboration document and take public comment on the document. In addition, parties may submit comments on Appendix B in their comments on this ACR. Filings should include comments on how transmission planning information can be incorporated into the 2006 LTPP proceeding. In both the written comments and at the workshop, parties are encouraged to comment on the approach set forth in Appendix B, as well as the role of third-party developers and options for competitive procurement of transmission in the processes described in Appendix B.

IT IS RULED that:

1. Any record that is established in this proceeding may become the basis for a new long-term procurement planning proceeding, and if necessary, the record will be transferred to the new proceeding.

2. Parties are invited to submit comments to this Assigned Commissioner's Ruling (ACR), specifically addressing: (a) the goals of the future long-term procurement planning proceeding described herein, (b) the preliminary staff proposal attached as Appendix A, and (c) the transmission planning collaboration document in Appendix B. Comments on the ACR should parallel the structure of the ACR, and its Appendices. Comments are due on December 12, 2005.

3. A long-term procurement planning workshop is scheduled for December 14, 2005, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at the Commission's Auditorium, 505 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, to be hosted by the Commission's Energy Division. The purpose of the workshop is to plan for the long-term procurement plan (LTPP) proceeding. Workshop participants will discuss the goals for the upcoming procurement proceeding, the staff proposal for the proceeding work plan (attached as Appendix A), and comments to this ACR. Post-workshop comments will be due on January 5, 2006, and if necessary, reply comments will be due on January 12, 2006.

4. A Transmission Planning Collaboration workshop will be held on December 14, 2005, from 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., at the Commission's Auditorium, 505 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, to be jointly hosted by the Commission, CEC, and CAISO. The purpose of the workshop is to discuss the Transmission Planning Collaboration documents attached in Appendix B.

Dated December 2, 2005, at San Francisco, California.

8 CEC's Transmittal Report is available at: http://www.energy.ca.gov/2005publications/CEC-100-2005-008/CEC-100-2005-008-CTF.PDF.

9 Id., p. 1.

10 See the following link for all documents related to the California and Western Electricity Supply Outlook Report. http://www.energy.ca.gov/2005_energypolicy/documents/2005_index.html#072605

11 An earlier version of this collaboration document was issued as an Appendix to a ruling on September 16, 2004.

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