Now that the Legislature has declined to renew a California Energy Commission program funded through a surcharge on utility ratepayers, the agency’s deputy director for research and development is urging the commission to proceed “cautiously and deliberately” when it comes to funding research and development projects. “We are reviewing our proposed research awards, as well as new solicitation releases,” said Laurie ten Hope. “We’re considering what changes to make, if any, to our previously-approved investment plans,” she told commissioners Sept. 21. She noted that the program may be reauthorized and that the commission will continue to manage funded projects. “We will resume a solicitation schedule shortly to fully utilize remaining funds and to fulfill our contractual obligations,” she added. Earlier this month, the Legislature could not muster the votes needed to renew the 1.5 percent “public goods” charge on electricity bills, which has funded a number of state programs to advance energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy research. At the CEC, the surcharge provided money for the public interest energy research program, as well as efficiency and renewable power programs. The fee, which was expected to raise about $400 million in the coming year, adds about $1.50/month to the average household utility bill. With the reauthorization failure, the program is set to expire on Jan.1, 2012. At this week’s meeting, the commission also agreed to fund two San Diego Gas & Electric projects—one, to assess the impact of plug-in electric vehicles on the energy grid and another to test the operation of energy storage units at private residences. An electric vehicle charging simulator is set to evaluate load and power quality effects of multiple vehicle charging. It’s designed so that SDG&E wouldn’t be the sole company able to benefit from the project. “The EV simulator is something that other utilities can use to assess the impacts of electric vehicles to their distribution system,” Bill Torre, chief engineer with SDG&E’s research and development division, told the commission. “This indicates the type of project that we like to see going forward,” commission chair Bob Weisenmiller said, “particularly one where hopefully all the utilities in California can benefit from the research, along with all the public agencies.” Of the $1.2 million, $539,000 is earmarked to “look at small amounts of storage placed on the low voltage side of the residences and see if those, operated together or independently, will be a more cost-effective solution than operating storage at a substation level,” Jamie Patterson, CEC Public Interest Energy Research program senior electrical engineer, said.