II. Background
Decision (D.) 02-10-062 directed all interested parties to file a proposed procedural process and schedule to implement SB 1078 on January 6, 2003, with reply comments on January 13, 2003. (Id., Ordering Paragraph (OP) 6.) On April 1, 2003, parties filed testimony in R.01-10-024 on issues associated with the implementation of the RPS program, including a process for determining MPRs. A majority of the parties addressed MPR issues in these filings, as noted in Appendices A & B of the staff MPR white paper "Discussion on Market Price Referents -- MPR Methodologies to Determine The Long-Term Market Price of Electricity for Use in California Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) Power Solicitations,"4 but no party clearly set forth either a distinct, stand-alone MPR methodology or an associated MPR disclosure process.
On June 19, 2003, the Commission issued D.03-06-071, an Order Initiating Implementation of the Senate Bill 1078 Renewable Portfolio Standard Program. D.03-06-071 provided guidance on a range of RPS issues, including development of an MPR methodology. Among other things, D.03-06-071 concluded that absent a sufficient number of existing, reasonably-priced, long-term power contracts of recent vintage currently in the utilities' respective resource portfolios, a combined cycle (CC) plant would serve as the proxy plant for establishing the referent price for the baseload power product, and a combustion turbine (CT) would serve as the proxy plant for establishing the referent price for the peaking power product. (Id., OP 6.)
On March 22, 2004, Collaborative Staff issued the above-mentioned MPR white paper.5 The MPR white paper proposed a specific proxy power plant methodology, based upon an Electric Power Resource Institute Technical Assessment Guide (EPRI/TAG) methodology, to calculate actual MPRs for baseload and peaking power products.
The purpose of the MPR white paper was to focus the discussion in preparation for workshops. The MPR white paper directed parties to file pre-workshop comments by Monday, April 5, 2004, and further stated that these comments may become part of the record in the future. A number of parties requested an extension of time to April 9, 2004 to file pre-workshop comments. Energy Division granted this request via email on April 1, 2004.
Fourteen parties produced twelve sets of pre-workshop comments. On April 9, 2004, in response to the MPR white paper, six parties informally circulated pre-workshop comments via email to the R.01-10-024 service list: Cogeneration Association of California (CAC), the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies (CEERT), Solargenix Energy LLC (Solargenix),6 Solel, Inc. (Solel), and The Utility Reform Network/San Diego Gas & Electric Company (TURN/SDG&E) jointly. Also on that date, seven parties formally filed pre-workshop comments in R.01-10-024: the California Wind Energy Association/the California Biomass Energy Alliance (CalWEA/CBEA) jointly, the Green Power Institute (GPI), the Independent Energy Producers Association (IEP), the Commission's Office of Ratepayer Advocates (ORA), Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), and Southern California Edison Company (SCE). On April 12, 2004, CLECA formally filed pre-workshop comments in R.01-10-024.
The Energy Division held workshops in San Francisco on April 15 & 20, 2004.7 Several parties informally circulated post-workshop comments on April 23, 2004.
On April 30, 2004, ten parties filed nine sets of formal comments: CalWEA/CBEA (jointly), CEERT, GPI, ORA, PG&E, SCE, Solargenix, SDG&E, and TURN.8
4 MPR webpage: www.cpuc.ca.gov/static/industry/electric/renewableenergy/mpr.htm. 5 The MPR white paper was prepared by the Commission's Energy Division and Division of Strategic Planning, in collaboration with the Renewable Energy Program of the California Energy Commission. We take official notice of the white paper, and incorporate it be reference into the record of this proceeding. 6 Solargenix was formerly known as Duke Solar. 7 Workshop meeting agendas and list of attendees are available on the Commission's MPR webpage. 8 All citations for parties' positions are to their April 30, 2004 filings, unless otherwise noted.
