The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved the renewable energy plans of the state's investor-owned utilities (IOUs), paving the way for the IOUs to solicit bids for clean energy procurement in order to fulfill California's 33% by 2020 renewable portfolio standard (RPS).
The decision approves the renewable energy procurement plans of Pacific Gas and Electric Co., Southern California Edison (SCE) and San Diego Gas & Electric, as well as allows SCE to forego holding a 2012 RPS solicitation and instead focus on procurement from small, distributed generation renewables.
The decision also includes modifications pertaining to standard variables for the least-cost, best-fit bid evaluation methodology; contract termination rights based on higher-than-expected transmission upgrade costs; and the use of energy-only and full deliverability time-of-delivery factors.
The utilities must file final RPS procurement plans with the CPUC to initiate the RPS solicitation process within 14 days.
