CPUC Opens New Integrated Resource Planning Rulemaking and Publishes LSE Load Forecasts & Emissions Benchmarks

On May 14, 2020, the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) issued a new Order Instituting Rulemaking to Continue Electric Integrated Resource Planning and Related Procurement Processes (“OIR”) (Rulemaking (“R.”) 20-05-003). The new OIR continues the CPUC’s process for integrated resource planning (“IRP”) designed in R.16-02-007 (and is the successor proceeding for R.16-02-007). The new IRP OIR will address ongoing oversight of the IRP planning process and the procurement necessary to achieve legislative goals outlined in Senate Bill 350 and Senate Bill 100. The IRP OIR will also serve as the umbrella venue for considering comprehensive CPUC energy issues, including coordination with activities and policies in specific resource areas, including, but not limited to, energy efficiency, demand response, renewables, storage, transmission, and conventional generation resources, as well as coordination with the resource adequacy (“RA”) program. The proceeding will also continue collaboration with the California Energy Commission and its Integrated Energy Policy Report, the California Independent System Operator’s Transmission Planning Process, and California Air Resources Board’s Scoping Plan for greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions reductions, and once-through cooling policies for power plants implemented by the State Water Resources Control Board.

The proceeding will be split into two parallel tracks, a planning track and a procurement track. The planning track involves planning to at least 2035, and will develop the next Preferred System Plan (“PSP”). The planning track will consider:

• Inputs and assumptions for modeling to assess optimal portfolios, as well as aggregated LSE portfolios, including resource cost and availability assumptions;
• Resource valuation and/or selection methodology;
• Choice of models and modeling techniques;
• Model calibration techniques;
• GHG targets and individual LSE GHG benchmarks;
• Load forecasting issues;
• Choices of scenarios and sensitivities for analysis;
• Methodologies for geographic busbar mapping of portfolios for TPP purposes;
• Reliability, cost, GHG emissions, and criteria air pollutant analyses;
• Impacts on environmental and social justice communities, and related issues;
• Filing requirements for individual IRPs;
• Ensuring reasonable costs and minimizing bill impacts;
• Relationship of the electricity sector to other sectors, including but not limited to industry, transportation, and buildings;
• Compliance with all provisions of §454.51 and §454.52 and SB 100; and
• Compliance and enforcement related to all IRP requirements.

The procurement track will evaluate procurement actions necessary for LSEs to achieve reliability, renewable, and other statutory requirements. It will also evaluate reliability issues at the system level, as well as the need for renewable integration or flexible resources.

All CPUC-jurisdictional LSEs are named respondents in the new IRP OIR. Comments on the OIR are due June 15, 2020 and reply comments are due June 29, 2020.

LSE Load Forecasts and emissions benchmarks for 2030 were also finalized in a recent Ruling:

Table 1. Load Forecast and GHG Emissions Benchmarks by LSE

LSE	Proportion of 2030 emissions inclusive of industrial load*	2030 Load (GWh)	Proportion of 2030 Load within IOU Territory	2030 GHG emissions benchmark (MMT) – 46 MMT scenario	2030 GHG emissions benchmark (MMT) – 38 MMT scenario
Bear Valley Electric Service	0.06%	123	NA	0.027	0.022
Liberty Utilities	0.26%	565	NA	0.117	0.097
PacifiCorp	0.75%	746	NA	0.343	0.284
PG&E Area
Bundled	33.84%	26,777	35.20%	5.479	4.526
Direct Access		11,400	14.99%	2.333	1.927
Butte Choice Energy		924	1.21%	0.189	0.156
CleanPowerSF		3,073	4.04%	0.629	0.520
East Bay Community Energy		6,910	9.08%	1.414	1.168
King City Community Energy		29	0.04%	0.006	0.005
Marin Clean Energy		5,987	7.87%	1.225	1.012
Monterey Bay Community Power		4,140	5.44%	0.847	0.700
Peninsula Clean EnergyAuthority		3,560	4.68%	0.729	0.602
Pioneer Community Energy		1,141	1.50%	0.234	0.193
Redwood Coast EnergyAuthority		628	0.82%	0.128	0.106
San Jose Clean Energy		4,449	5.85%	0.910	0.752
Silicon Valley Clean Energy		3,979	5.23%	0.814	0.673
Sonoma Clean Power		2,309	3.04%	0.472	0.390
Valley Clean EnergyAlliance		761	1.00%	0.156	0.129
SCE Area
Bundled	33.17%	54,393	63.49%	9.687	8.003
Direct Access		13,450	15.70%	2.395	1.979
Apple Valley Choice Energy		238	0.28%	0.042	0.035
Baldwin Park, City of		246	0.29%	0.044	0.036
Commerce, City of		401	0.47%	0.071	0.059
Hanford, City of		0	0.00%	0.000	0.000
Palmdale, City of		223	0.26%	0.040	0.033
Pomona, City of		417	0.49%	0.074	0.061
Clean Power Alliance		11,867	13.85%	2.113	1.746
Desert Community Energy		581	0.68%	0.103	0.085
Lancaster Choice Energy		562	0.66%	0.100	0.083
Monterey Bay Community Power		674	0.79%	0.120	0.099
Pico Rivera Innovative Municipal Energy		246	0.29%	0.044	0.036
Rancho Mirage Energy Authority		269	0.31%	0.048	0.040
San Jacinto Power		162	0.19%	0.029	0.024
Santa Barbara Clean Energy		338	0.39%	0.060	0.050
Western Community Energy		1,607	1.88%	0.286	0.237
SDG&E Area
Bundled	8.84%	5,585	30.67%	1.247	1.031
Direct Access		3,940	21.63%	0.880	0.727
Clean Energy Alliance		968	5.31%	0.216	0.179
Solana Energy Alliance		0	0.00%	0.000	0.000
San Diego Community Power		7,719	42.38%	1.724	1.424

For questions or additional details, please contact Jed Gibson or Brian Biering.