We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
August 15, 2022

California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) RSS Feed RSS

CPUC Tries to Fix PSPS Funding Foul-up

Grants for Well Pumps Overwhelmed Program to Help Vulnerable Residents
Oct 22, 2020
Hudson Sangree
The California Public Utilities Commission acted to correct a "serious omission" Thursday that it said had resulted in huge sums of money going to owners of rural homes, regardless of income, to provide battery backup for electric well pumps. The commission voted 4-1 to limit its Self-Generation Incentive Program’s (SGIP)...
Read More

PSPS Relief Funds Not Spent as Intended, CPUC Says

Millions Meant for At-risk Customers May Have Gone to Wealthier Homeowners
Oct 12, 2020
Hudson Sangree
A big part of $612 million intended to provide battery backup to homes in high fire-threat areas has been gobbled up by customers who use electricity to pump well water instead of helping the low-income and medically vulnerable residents it was meant for, the California Public Utilities Commission said Thursday.
Read More

CAISO Says Constrained Tx Contributed to Blackouts

Convergence Bidding, Under-scheduling also Major Causes, Report Says
Oct 7, 2020
Hudson Sangree and Robert Mullin
A report on the causes of California’s August blackouts details for the first time the role that convergence bidding played in masking tight supply and contends that constrained transmission prevented much needed imports from reaching the state. The 107-page report to Gov. Gavin Newsom by CAISO, the California Public Utilities...
Read More

Calif. IOUs Escape Blame for Fires so Far

SCE Line Under Investigation for Bobcat Fire near Los Angeles
Oct 4, 2020
Hudson Sangree
More than 8,000 wildfires have burned nearly 4 million acres in California this year, but there’s little indication that utility equipment played a role in starting major blazes. That differs markedly from the last three years, when equipment belonging to Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric was blamed...
Read More

‘Future is Now’ for Electric Truck Fleets, EEI Told

Sep 13, 2020
Rich Heidorn Jr.
Executives from Volvo and FedEx told the Edison Electric Institute last week they are fully committed to transitioning to electric trucks but need utilities’ help on rate structures and charging infrastructure. For "what we do, which is last-mile delivery … electricity is the most efficient energy source for a vehicle...
Read More

CalCCA Seeks ‘Objective’ Review of Blackout Report

WECC Promises Own Analysis of August Events in CAISO, West
Sep 10, 2020
Robert Mullin
An advocacy group representing California’s community choice aggregators (CCAs) on Wednesday called on Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint an independent panel to review a pending joint agency report on the causes of the rolling blackouts that rocked the state in mid-August, leaving millions of residents without power during a record...
Read More

OTC Plants to Remain Open, Calif. Water Board Rules

Sep 2, 2020
Hudson Sangree
Four aging natural gas plants scheduled to retire in December will keep operating because of California’s anticipated capacity shortfall, state water officials decided Tuesday. The four members of the State Water Resources Control Board voted unanimously to reverse a prior board decision ordering the once-through-cooling (OTC) plants to cease operations...
Read More

CPUC Fires Executive Director for Improper Hiring

Alice Stebbins Says she was Targeted as Whistleblower
Aug 31, 2020
Hudson Sangree
An ugly feud between the members of the California Public Utilities Commission and its executive director, Alice Stebbins, played out in public Monday during an online hearing in which the commissioners unanimously voted to fire her. "A vote was taken to dismiss the executive director … effective Sept. 4," CPUC...
Read More

CPUC OKs 1.2 GW of Storage by 2021, 38,000 EV Chargers

Approves $1.5B for Research and Development via EPIC Program
Aug 31, 2020
Hudson Sangree
The California Public Utilities Committee on Thursday greenlit a major expansion of the largest utility-run electric vehicle charging program in the nation and approved contracts signed by investor-owned utilities to procure 1.2 GW of battery storage. The contracts were signed in response to a CPUC procurement order in 2019 intended...
Read More

Theories Abound over California Blackouts Cause

Aug 30, 2020
Hudson Sangree and Robert Mullin
Observers last week cited dependence on uncontracted imports, underperformance of natural gas and wind, and market manipulation as possible causes of California’s first rolling blackouts in nearly two decades, as a state regulator cautioned against drawing premature conclusions. "It is not helpful to speculate on the root cause until we...
Read More