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Parties File Comments On Proposed Decision Denying SoCalGas’ Application
This proceeding tracks SoCalGas demand response (“DR”) pilot programs and the recovery of costs associated with the implementation of DR Pilot Programs for years 2023-2025. In testimony that is not yet publicly available, SoCalGas said it will:
provide an overview and evaluate the previous pilot programs;
- describe the enrollment, participation, and incentive structures for the industrial load reduction pilot, the FLEXmarket pilot, the direct load control pilot, and the residential smart control pilot;
- explain how SoCalGas proposes to establish a technology evaluation program to test new gas equipment; and
- describes the proposed budget for the pilot programs.
Initial Comments include:
(1) while Center For Accessible Technology supports the PD, saying that “the opportunity for such a grant should not be considered an open invitation to pursue substantial additional ratepayer funds beyond that needed to supply a match for the grant funding,” California Efficiency + Demand Management Council (Council) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) argue that the PD “is ‘penny wise and pound foolish’ in that it does save ratepayers approximately $12 million but it does not give the Commission any data on how to best integrate gas demand response programs and NPAs into its thinking,” with Council adding that “Otherwise, the State will be ‘back to square one’ on gas DR programs,” given that “if approved, these gas DR pilots would be the only ones deployed in the State today”;
(2) EDF and Council urge CPUC “to approve these proposed pilots on the basis of their potential to reduce natural gas usage,” arguing that “This is fully aligned with the State’s decarbonization policies and also provides another avenue to reduce gas system demand during periods when gas is most needed to maintain electric system reliability”; and
(3) Council objected that “The PD applies an unreasonably high requirement of avoiding gas consumption approximately equal to a 100 MW combustion turbine which is, to the Council’s knowledge, a far higher standard than any past electric DR pilot.”
Parties file reply comments on January 16, 2024.
Proposed Decision (12/21/2023)
A2301004 (01/06/2023)
(Application of Southern California Gas Company (U904G), to Establish Gas Demand Response Pilot Programs.)
