By Michael Gergen, Tyler Brown, David Pettit and Christopher Randall At the most recent meeting of the Board of Directors of the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) held on February 16, 2017, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the CAISO reported that because of the “bountiful hydro conditions expected this year and significant additional … Continue Reading
By Marc Campopiano, Jennifer Roy, and Francesca Bochner California energy agencies and key stakeholders have finished the first step of a statewide planning process to evaluate transmission needs in the state and the region. This process, called the Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative 2.0 (RETI 2.0), will culminate in recommendations to the legislature on where to … Continue Reading
By Marc T. Campopiano, Joshua T. Bledsoe, Douglas Porter, Danny Aleshire, Jennifer Roy and Andrew Yancey The end of the California State Legislature’s regular session for the year culminated in a frenzy of action, with Assembly members scrambling to pass dozens of bills before midnight on September 12, 2015. The California Legislature voted on a package … Continue Reading
By Joshua T. Bledsoe, Marc T. Campopiano, and Max Friedman As California begins to turn the page on the first chapter of its efforts to combat climate change through AB 32 and to prepare for greater emissions reductions over the coming decades, the California Energy Commission (CEC) and California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) are considering … Continue Reading
By Michael J. Gergen, Joshua T. Bledsoe, David E. Pettit and Tara L. Rice President Obama recently announced that the Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Program Office (LPO) is expanding support for innovative “distributed energy projects” by adding $1 billion in available loan guarantees to support the deployment of these projects through the existing solicitations for … Continue Reading
By Michael Carroll, Marc Campopiano and Max Friedman The California Energy Commission (CEC) has released an August 2015 report projecting local reliability shortfalls in the Los Angeles basin planning area as early as 2021. The deficits may require new natural gas power generation to maintain grid reliability. This finding is part of the Integrated Energy … Continue Reading
By Joshua T. Bledsoe and Douglas K. Porter On June 10, 2015, the California Independent System Operator (“CAISO”) released a draft final proposal (the “Expanded Metering and Telemetry Options Phase 2, Distributed Energy Resource Provider”) that, if finalized, would represent an initial step towards a regulatory structure that would result in distributed energy resources (“DERs”) … Continue Reading
By Michael J. Gergen and Marc T. Campopiano On October 16, 2014, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued an Order on Tariff Revisions, FERC Docket No. ER14-2574, conditionally accepting, with two substantive modifications, tariff changes proposed by the California Independent System Operator (“CAISO”) to establish new flexible resource adequacy capacity (“FRAC”) and must-offer obligation … Continue Reading
By Michael J. Gergen, Marc T. Campopiano, and Andrew H. Meyer On August 14, 2014, the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) issued an Order Instituting Rulemaking (“Order”) to establish policies, procedures, and rules to guide California investor-owned electric utilities (“IOUs”) in developing their Distribution Resources Plan Proposals (“DRPs”) in accordance with the requirements of Public … Continue Reading
By Michael J. Gergen and Andrew H. Meyer On August 1, 2014, the California Independent System Operator (“CAISO”) filed proposed tariff changes at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) in FERC Docket No. ER14-2574 that would establish new flexible resource adequacy capacity (“FRAC”) and must-offer obligation (“MOO”) requirements aimed at ensuring that adequate flexible capacity … Continue Reading
By Michael J. Gergen, Jared W. Johnson, and David E. Pettit On June 19, 2014, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) conditionally accepted revisions to the California Independent System Operator Corporation’s (“CAISO”) FERC Electric Tariff to implement the CAISO’s proposed Energy Imbalance Market (“EIM”) that will allow neighboring balancing area authorities (“BAAs”) in … Continue Reading
By Marc Campopiano and Tim Henderson On March 11, 2013, the California Energy Commission (CEC) released a proposed Seventh Edition of the Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) Eligibility Guidebook (proposed Guidebook). As we discussed in a previous blog entry, on March 28, 2012, the CEC suspended the RPS eligibility of power plants generating electricity using biomethane. … Continue Reading
By Jared W. Johnson As we detailed in prior commentary, almost two years ago, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill (SB) 2 1X (2011), which increased California’s Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) to 33% by 2020. Among the features of SB 2 1X was the expansion of the RPS to cover publicly owned utilities or … Continue Reading
By Joshua T. Bledsoe, Tim B. Henderson, and Jared W. Johnson Seeking to quell uncertainty surrounding the definition of resource shuffling ahead of the first cap-and-trade auction on November 14, 2012, the California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) passed a Resolution on October 18, 2012, requiring the Executive Officer to redefine resource shuffling and provide concrete examples. … Continue Reading
By Marc T. Campopiano and Tim B. Henderson On August 9, 2012, the California Energy Commission (CEC) adopted a revised Sixth Edition of the Renewables Portfolio Standard Eligibility Guidebook (RPS Guidebook) to clarify changes to the RPS Guidebook Fifth Edition, which was recently adopted on May 9, 2012, as described in our prior blog discussion. … Continue Reading
By Joshua T. Bledsoe, Tim B. Henderson, and Jared W. Johnson With the first auction in California’s cap and trade program fast-approaching on November 14, 2012, the California Air Resources Board (“ARB”) recently suspended a much-discussed aspect of the program that requires first deliverers of electricity to attest that they have not engaged in “resource … Continue Reading
By Marc Campopiano and Tim Henderson On May 9, 2012, the California Energy Commission (CEC) adopted a revised Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) Eligibility Guidebook. The update implements several key modifications to the RPS eligibility criteria, including but not limited to: Incorporating changes required by Senate Bill X1-2, which raised the RPS to 33 percent by … Continue Reading
By Michael Feeley and Aron Potash A lawsuit which delayed and once threatened to dismantle California’s greenhouse gas (GHG) cap and trade scheme was largely resolved last week, removing one roadblock to California’s plan to be the first state to impose an economy-wide GHG trading program. Under modified regulations adopted by the California Air Resources … Continue Reading
By David B. Amerikaner, Marc T. Campopiano, Michael J. Gergen, Laura Godfrey, David A. Goldberg and Jared W. Johnson On April 12, 2011, Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 2 to increase California’s Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) to 33% by 2020, among the most aggressive renewable energy goals in the United States. Originally enacted in … Continue Reading
On March 21, 2011, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (ENR Committee) issued a white paper (PDF) laying out some of the key questions and potential design elements of a Clean Energy Standard (CES). The white paper notes that President Obama in his January 2011 State of the Union address proposed a CES … Continue Reading
Clean energy projects have tremendous potential to create jobs and grow the economy and help the nation meet its energy needs in a more sustainable way, but regulatory and legal barriers to energy projects have substantially reduced job creation and economic growth while impeding efforts to bring new energy generation facilities on line, according to … Continue Reading
By Michael J. Gergen, Jared W. Johnson, and Shannon D. Torgerson In an order issued December 16, 2010, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) conditionally accepted the California Independent System Operator Corporation’s (CAISO) proposed revisions to its Tariff (Docket No. ER10-1401) to implement a revised transmission planning process (RTPP) for the CAISO-controlled grid. The CAISO … Continue Reading
By David B. Amerikaner, Marc T. Campopiano, and David A. Goldberg In a legislative effort that could impose a significant new requirement on electric utilities that sell in California and have important ramifications on power producers, electrical infrastructure, and energy markets throughout western states, the California Senate voted on February 24, 2011 to approve Senate Bill … Continue Reading
On January 14, 2011, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued Decision 11-01-025 lifting the stay on its earlier Decision 10-03-021 from March 2010 authorizing the use of unbundled renewable energy credits (RECs), known as Tradable Renewable Energy Credits (TRECs), as an additional compliance tool for the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (RPS program). TRECs … Continue Reading
