Prepared by
California Regulatory Happenings for the Week of April 5, 2019
Buchalter
Regulatory Happenings Weekly Report:
Page
1
of
19
www.buchalter.com
BN 36024368v1
California Public Utilities Commission
Issue
Latest Developments
CPUC
Commissioner’s
Meeting
The next Commission meeting is sched uled for 4/25/19.
At the meeting held on 3/28/19, the C ommission took the following actions:
• Held over to 4/25/19: PG&E's Application for Catastrophic Event Memorandum Account
Rate Recovery for Renewed Motion for Inter im Rate Relief and for "Forecasted "
Vegetation Management Costs of $373 million
• Approved Streamlining Intercon nection of Distributed Energy Resou rces and
Improvements to Rule 21: Working Group On e Report Recommendations
• Denied without prejudice to filing formal application: PG&E Requ ests Sale of Narrows
Hydroelectric Project t o Yuba County Water Agency
• Held over to 4/25/19: 2018 AB 2868 Energy Storage Investment and Program Plans
• Approved: Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing Program Handbook and Program
Implementation Plan, GRID Advice Letter 11, and Center for Su stainable Energy Advice
Letter 92
• Approved: Forecasted Revenue Req uirement Associated with Certain Pipeline Safet y
Enhancement Plan Projects and A ssociated Rate Recovery [17260] A .17-03-021
Application of Southern California Gas Company and San Diego Gas & Electri c Company
• The Commission approved updates to th e IOUs’ Grid Modernization Classificati on
Tables Pursuant to D 18-03-023
OIR to adopt
rules and
procedures
governing
Commission-
regulated natural
gas pipelines and
facilities to
reduce natural
gas leakage
consisted with
SB1371 (R.15-01-
008)
On 5/15/17 the Assigned Commissioner issued a proposed decision approving the Natural
Gas Leak Abatement Program consistent with SB1371. The decision (D.17-06-015) was signed
by the Commission on 6/15/17.
On 9/20/17 the Commissioner issued an amended scoping ruling. The second phase of the
proceeding will focus on the following broad policy issues: 1) what d ata is necessary in order
for the CPUC to consider a “cost-effecti veness” framework in this pro ceeding; 2) how should
the CPUC’s annual report r equirements and 26 best practices be harmonized with information
or action required by other entities such as the PHMSA, DOGGR, ARB and local air q uality
management districts; 3) pursuant to 975(f) how should rules and procedures including best
practices and repair standards developed in this proceeding be incorporated into the
applicable general orders; 4) how should ratemaking treatment for LUAF be structured and
evaluated?
On 11/30/17 the ALJ issued a ruling entering the ARB and CPUC’s joint staff annual report on
analysis of 6/16/17 Utilities’ report s into the record. A Phase I I workshop was held 11/16/18.
Comments on the workshop mat erials and staff proposals were due on February 22, 2019.
Prepared by
California Regulatory Happenings for the Week of April 5, 2019
Buchalter
Regulatory Happenings Weekly Report:
Page
2
of
19
www.buchalter.com
BN 36024368v1
OIR to Develop
an Electricity
Integrated
Resource
Planning
Framework to
Coordinate and
Refine Long-
Term
Procurement
Planning
Requirements
(R16-02-007)
A Proposed Decision was issued on March 18, 2019. The decision evaluated the first round of
individual integrated resource plan (IRP) filings of all of the Commission -jurisdictional load
serving entities. Twenty LSEs have IRPs that are approved or certified in this d ecision; nine are
determined to be exempt from the requirem ent to file an IRP in 2018. An addit ional nineteen
LSEs did not provide the required information about criteria pollutants associated with the
resources serving their load. Those LS Es will have the opportunity to provid e the required
criteria pollutant information in a Tier 2 advice letter and have th eir IRPs approved or certified
after the subsequent filing. One LSE did not file an IRP at all, and the Commiss ion will consider
adopting a citation program to penalize such non-compliance in the future. The proposed
Hybrid Conforming Portfolio, which is an aggregation of the indiv idual IRPs of all LSEs, was
determined to be less reliable and res ult in more greenhouse gas emission s than the
Reference System Portfolio. The RSP a ccordingly was adopted instead as the Preferred
System Portfolio. The decision recom mended that the CAISO adopt the PSP f or both the
reliability base case and the policy-driven base case for study in its 2 019-20 Transmission
Planning Process and that the CAISO study two policy-driven sensitivity cases designed to test
the transmission buildout needed for two disti nct portfolios: one portfolio with the ma jority of
renewable development in-state and the other portfolio with a much larger amount of
imported renewables, primarily wind from Wyoming and New Mexico. In addition, the
decision determined that realization of the PSP by 2030 will require concrete pro curement of
specific resources by many LSEs, with a heavy focus on procurement by communit y choice
aggregators to serve their expandin g load. In addition, the decision found that additional
attention was warranted for the near- and medium-term reliability planning aspects of the IRP
process. A “procurement track” will be in itiated to explore options for facilit ating procurement
of some existing and some new types of resou rces necessary for maintaining system reliability
and/or to facilitate renewable integration. Finally, this d ecision addresses a 2018 petition for
modification of D.18-02-018 related to replacement ene rgy for the Diablo Canyon Nuclear
Power Plant.
Policies,
Procedures and
Rules for
Regulation of
Physical Security
for the Electric
Supply Facilities
of Electrical
Corporations
(R15-06-009)
This rulemaking proceeding addresses in two phases the policies, procedures and rules for
regulation of physical security consistent with Public Utilities C ode Section 364 and standards
for disaster and emergency prepared ness plans pursuant to Public Utiliti es Code Section
768.6. Phase 1 Scoping Memo and Ruling considers whether any new rules, standards or
General Orders or modifications to other existing policies should apply to all elect rical supply
facilities within the jurisdiction of the Commission, including facilities owned by publicly
owned utilities and rural electrical cooperatives. Phase II will address emergency and disaster
preparedness plans.
On 1/19/18 the ALJ issued a ruling setting the prehearing conference for Phase II of th e
proceeding for 3/15/18. The prehearin g conference addressed the status, scope and schedule
for Phase II along with any changes to the service list or procedural issues. P rehearing
conference statements shall be limited to enumerated questions set forth in the ruling. These
questions include the number and type of w orkshops; what elements should be included in
