On February 10, 2021, the CPUC published their 2021 Guide to CPUC’s Load Impact Protocol (LIP) Process. The LIP is an annual stakeholder-vetted filing process that determines how much load a Demand Response Provider can count within an investor owned utility’s service territory as “capacity” in the Resource Adequacy program. This guide interprets the requirements of various CPUC decisions dating back to 2008 that address how managed loads and behind the meter (BTM) resources can participate in the CPUC’s Resource Adequacy program.
This year’s update to Load Impact Protocols is especially important in light of Summer Readiness activities and the recognition in the CAISO/CPUC/CEC Final Root Cause Analysis that DR programs likely comprise the majority of capacity available to grid operators in the Summer of 2021 (i.e., “capacity” that has not already been accounted for in existing procurement directives, e.g., from the Integrated Resources Planning process). It is also important to note that the LIP filing process is also subject to a new filing schedule (select table from Guide below).
Meanwhile, in the RA process (Track 31b and Track 4), the CPUC’s Energy Division, the CAISO and other parties have proposed numerous modifications to DR program requirements, which the CPUC may act upon in May 2021. If you have questions about how the CPUC is responding to the reliability events of August and September 2020, please contact Brian Biering or Christian Briggs.
