Half of Demand-Response Deals Allowed by Regulators

The California Public Utilities Commission approved four of eight demand response deals between Southern California Edison and energy curtailment firms, citing cost concerns in denying the others. The March 13 vote gave the green light to two contracts with Ancillary Services Coalition, one with EnergyConnect, and one with North American Power Partners for an expected 190 negawatts (nMW). “Demand response cannot be done in a vacuum, and can’t be done at any cost,” said Mike Peevey, CPUC president. The commissioners held up the four approved agreements as proof they support not only utility demand response programs, but also outside ones. “Third party aggregators are an essential part of the demand response program,” said commissioner Dian Grueneich, adding they push the envelope on innovation and emerging technologies. The commission urged Edison to continue working to try and bring the cost down of the other four pending deals under which outside organizations are paid to produce promised reductions at times of high energy use. In other news, the commission refused to approve Edison’s request to retain $430 million in 2007 over collections from ratepayers. Pumping $430 million into Southern California’s economy outweighs the rate benefits in future years, Peevey said, citing the economic woes wrought by the sub-prime mortgage and housing crisis. “We are trying to be consistent with what is going on at the national level and banking industry.” The CPUC also authorized a slight increase in the cost cap for a Department of Water Resources energy bond rollover from $1.32 billion to $1.34 billion. The increase is due to rising interest rates for bonds. At the CPUC’s sister agency the day before, the California Energy Commission authorized $1 million for developing new software for energy efficiency for new, non-residential, appliance, and building standards monitoring. Commission staff said the current monitoring software is now “outdated.” While commissioners agreed it is an “expensive” investment, they said it leverages federal government funds to work in California.

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Half of Demand-Response Deals Allowed by Regulators

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