Winter 2013

 

Decision Approving 2013-2014 Energy Efficiency Programs And Budgets

On November 8, 2012, the California Public Utilities Commission approved a portfolio of energy efficiency programs and budgets to be implemented in 2013 and 2014 by Pacific Gas and Electric Company, San Diego Gas & Electric Company, Southern California Gas Company, and Southern California Edison Company (collectively, the utilities), as well as two regional energy networks (RENs) (San Francisco Bay Area Regional Energy Network and Southern California Regional Energy Network) and one community choice aggregator (CCA) (Marin Energy Authority).

The decision provided a definition of RENs, differentiated them from local government partnerships run by utilities, and identified certain roles and responsibilities for the REN proponents and the utilities. The decision also identified the cost-effectiveness requirements for RENs and required them to comply with the applicable portions of the Energy Efficiency Policy Manual as it relates to cost-effectiveness inputs, reporting requirements, fund shifting, audits, and evaluation. The decision also acknowledged that CCAs are subject to a slightly different set of statutory rules, but generally treated them similarly, though not identically, to RENs.

Utilities were also required to allocate unspent funds from previous program cycles toward the budgets for 2013-2014 before collecting new funds. In addition, they were required to lower the planned expenditures in their budgets that fall outside of the categories for incentives without reducing energy savings targets or the average program levels available to customers over the past few years.

On a program level, on-bill financing programs and continuation of financing pilots that were launched with federal stimulus funding were continued, with funding for new pilot programs set aside for further decision-making.
Utilities were required to continue to refer to the residential whole-house program as the Energy Upgrade California (EUC) program to take advantage of brand recognition and synergies with the statewide marketing campaign. The utilities were also authorized, as they proposed, to hire expeditiously a consultant to design additional market transformation aspects of the EUC program. This effort will also involve a stakeholder process to revise the Basic Path of EUC and merge it with the Flex Path already piloted by the Southern California REN for areas not being served by a REN.

Successful local government partnerships were continued under this decision, which directed the utilities to provide draft contracts and/or contract amendments to their local government partners for approval by their respective local governing boards, as applicable, by no later than 60 days after the date of the decision.