CPUC Implementation of the Renewables Portfolio Standard Beyond 2020 Begins

– a dispatch from  California Energy attorney Vid Prabhakaran – The California Public Utilities Commission is revving itself up to take on the task of putting together a whole new set of procurement requirements to implement the Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS)-related provisions of Senate Bill (SB) 350. As described in an earlier blog entry, SB 350, which the California Legislature passed in 2015, sets ambitious goals for the state, including a 50% Renewables Portfolio Standard and a doubling of energy efficiency by 2030. In an April 15 ruling, the Administrative Law Judge requested comments on how best to change the existing RPS program to accommodate:

• New compliance periods for years after 2020;
• New requirements for RPS-eligible short- and long-term contracts;
• New requirements for using utility-owned generation or other ownership agreements for compliance periods after 2020;
• Changes to excess procurement rules for all compliance periods beginning January 1, 2021; and
• Changes to the rules governing excess procurement related to early compliance with the new requirements for long-term contracts.

Opening comments on these issues and all the others described in the April 15 ruling are due May 5.