CCA Update

At the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)

The CPUC held hearings on Phase 2 of its Community Choice Aggregation proceeding (R.03-10-003) from May 25^th through June 2^nd. Parties to the proceeding are preparing briefs that are due July 8^th, with reply briefs due August 1^st. We are hoping for a draft decision in August or September.

Administrative Law Judge Kim Malcolm’s Phase 1 decision was very favorable to potential CCAs. Around the time she issues her Phase 2 draft decision, it will be very important for cities and counties who have any interest in community choice, to let the CPUC commissioners know of that interest, and to support the draft decision if it is favorable, or to suggest changes to the draft decision if it is not. So far, only a few communities have actively participated in the CPUC proceeding. The commissioners need to be aware that there is a broader interest in CCA, one that is dependent upon their favorable decision.

Watch for information about the draft decision, and how to contact the commissioners to express your interest and/or concerns with the draft decision.

LGC’s CCA Pilot Program

The Local Government Commission’s pilot program funded by the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program is continuing to work with communities across the state to investigate the feasibility of community choice aggregation. The communities we are working with, from Marin County in the north to San Diego County in the south, are investigating CCA with an eye toward doubling the amount of renewable energy, 40% instead of the 20% required.

Progress on our project, which includes Navigant Consulting, Inc. as the technical consultant, is dependent upon action at the CPUC. So far, all communities have been given a draft feasibility study. We will now be revising the assumptions in those studies as a result of CPUC decisions so far and changing prices of natural gas and other energy resources.

The earlier reports reflected the percentages of various renewable energy resources that the CEC has predicted would be necessary to allow the state to meet the 20% renewable portfolio standard. The next generation of our project reports will look at what is technically feasible for our project communities in terms of renewable energy generation and/or purchase, rather than rely on the CEC-predicted statewide averages.

We will also be spending time at community meetings, including council and supervisor meetings, to help the decision makers, residents and businesses understand CCA, and to answer any questions they may have about the reports and the CPUC process.

Once the CPUC decisions are final, LGC will be creating a guidebook for local governments wishing to investigate CCA, and a fact sheet for local elected officials. And we will convene workshops around the state. All of these resources will be announced in future issues of CURRENTS.

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