California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)

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California renewable energy prices fell to record lows in 2019, driven by the proliferation and falling costs of wind and solar power, the Public Utilities Commission said Monday in its annual report to the State Legislature. Renewable portfolio standard contract prices dropped to 2.82 cents/kWh in 2019, compared with 3.81...

The California Public Utilities Commission issued a proposed decision last week that would speed the interconnection of microgrids to utility distribution systems in anticipation of the state’s upcoming fire season and the public safety power shutoffs (PSPSs) that will likely accompany it. The proposal, issued April 28, would order utilities...

PG&E Corp. CEO Bill Johnson announced Wednesday he would retire at the end of June, by which time the utility is hoping to exit bankruptcy. The news came after most of the major obstacles to PG&E’s Chapter 11 reorganization plan appeared to have fallen by the wayside. The only significant...

By Hudson Sangree The California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday approved Southern California Edison’s ambitious plan to install nearly 600 miles of covered conductor to prevent its higher-voltage distribution lines from starting wildfires. The move comes after devastating utility-sparked fires swept Northern and Southern California in 2017 and 2018, causing...

By Hudson Sangree The California Public Utilities Commission has established two building decarbonization pilot programs to jump start the state’s electrification of residential structures, devoting $200 million toward the effort. The Building Initiative for Low-emissions Development (BUILD) program and the Technology and Equipment for Clean Heating (TECH) initiative were created...

By Hudson Sangree The California Public Utilities Commission approved historic increases in the state’s clean energy targets Thursday, calling for almost 25 GW of renewable energy and storage by 2030 at an estimated cost of $45 billion (16-02-007). The CPUC’s new reference system portfolio (RSP) targets adding 11 GW of...

By Hudson Sangree FERC said Tuesday it won’t rehear a case on whether Pacific Gas and Electric deserves a $30 million annual incentive adder for staying in CAISO (ER14-2529-006, ER15-2294-005, ER16-2320-005). The commission first decided the hotly contested case in August 2018 and reaffirmed its decision in July after the...

By Hudson Sangree The bankruptcy of Pacific Gas and Electric could reach another milestone this week as the utility tries to explain its Chapter 11 reorganization proposal in plain English to fire victims and other affected parties. That reorganization plan is now estimated to cost almost $60 billion, according to...

By Hudson Sangree SAN FRANCISCO — The former president of the California Public Utilities Commission told a gathering of energy lawyers Friday that common assumptions about the future of renewable energy and electrification need to be re-examined. Michael Picker, who left the commission in summer 2019, was replaced by Marybel...

By Hudson Sangree The president of the California Public Utilities Commission called late Tuesday for escalating oversight and enforcement actions against Pacific Gas and Electric and said receivership may be necessary if the company can’t provide safe service once it exits bankruptcy. "The receiver, if appointed by the superior court,...