One Wind Down, One Up at CPUC

The California Public Utilities Commission rejected one wind power contract with Pacific Gas & Electric and heartily approved another for Southern California Edison May 15. “PG&E needs to take seriously our [administrative] decisions,” said commissioner Dian Grueneich. The rub on the contract--50 MW of imported power from the public utility district of Klickitat County, Washington, for 3.5 years--was that it did not follow the terms and conditions of the state’s renewable portfolio standard order. PG&E asked the commission to approve the contract as a “tradable” transaction for renewable credits. The problem, according to commissioner John Bohn, is that the regulators have not yet put out detailed rules for renewable energy credits. “We gotta get this REC stuff out,” he said. “We haven’t focused on the rules of the game.” While unanimously voting against the contract, the commission invited PG&E to resubmit the contract under regulatory rules. Another wind contract from Edison was approved. “It’s one of the largest contracts in history,” said commission president Mike Peevey. The deal calls for 1,500 MW of power from the Alta project in the Tehachapi Mountains to Edison territory. According to Peevey, the cost of the power would be below market price. It is set to go online in 2010. “It’s substantial in meeting the RPS [renewable portfolio standard] goals, Peevey added. Stu Hemphill, Edison vice president of renewable energy and alternative power said the contract has built-in flexibility, even though the transmission line from the wind site and the main load use has yet to be built. According to Hemphill, the turbines have multiple online dates. They may arrive earlier or later, depending on the availability of turbines--which are dear in the market at this time. “We were creative because of all the uncertainty,” he added.

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One Wind Down, One Up at CPUC

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