CPUC mandates procurement of preferred resources
Many Clean Coalition recommendations were incorporated into the decision, including increased procurement requirements of preferred resources like DG.
On February 13, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) released its Final Decision (FD) in Track 1 of the Long-term Procurement Planning (LTPP) proceeding, which addresses Local Capacity Requirements (LCR) in Southern California. Many Clean Coalition recommendations were incorporated into the FD, including increased procurement requirements of preferred resources like DG and critical intelligent grid (IG) solutions such as energy storage and demand response.
Through its extensive authorization of preferred resource procurement, the FD reflects a paradigm shift towards a renewable future for California. In particular, the FD includes 50 MW of energy storage procurement in the LCR – an outcome vigorously sought by the Clean Coalition, in collaboration with the California Environmental Justice Alliance and the Santa Barbara Community Environmental Council. The inclusion of critical IG solutions in the LTPP position these technologies for eventual priority placement in the Loading Order specified by California’s Energy Action Plan.Another FD outcome vigorously promoted by the Clean Coalition was the authorized procurement of 600 MW of preferred resources – nearly doubling the amount specified in the earlier Proposed Decision. In addition, Southern California Edison must now procure a minimum of 150 MW of preferred resources to meet the capacity needs facing Southern California energy consumers, while capping natural gas-fired resources at a maximum of 1,200 MW.
Despite the FD’s disappointing allowance of an unnecessarily large amount of natural gas-fired procurement, the FD marks a clear Clean Coalition victory and is a significant step toward meeting both the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard and Governor Brown’s goal to achieve 12,000 MW of DG by 2020.
