California Public Utilities Commission Approved Settlements in the Southern California Edison Revenue Allocation and Rate Design Proceeding |
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On August 4, 2022, the Commission approved multiple settlements in the Southern California Edison Rate Proceeding, including a settlement addressing agricultural rate schedules. The decision incorporates changes agreed to among parties, including CAFB, which will impact rates, although the changes are not anticipated to be effective until October 1, 2022. The decision can be accessed here and provides for the following changes to rates and schedules:
- A +/-2.0% cap on delivery revenue and a +/-1.5% cap on generation revenue.
- Wildfire costs are allocated to customers under one methodology for the first $525 million and are subject to the cap: wildfire costs in excess of $525 million are allocated under a more beneficial methodology to the agricultural class, but are not subject to the cap. It is anticipated that wildfire costs could reach as much as $1.3 billion per year over this rate case cycle.
- Rate structures for the Agricultural Rate Group will continue to generally consist of some combination of Customer Charges, TOU or seasonal Energy Charges, transmission related demand (TRD) Charges and facilities related demand (FRD) Charges.
- For schedules TOU-PA-2 and TOU-PA-3, SCE will offer a menu of rate options, including Option D, Option E, Option CPP, Option RTP, and Legacy Options A and B. Option D will be the default rate for TOU-PA-2 customers, although customers can switch to other options if they are more advantageous. For TOU-PA-3 customers, critical peak pricing (CPP) will be the default rate.
- For interruptible customers, SCE shall continue to provide credits based on the difference between the customer’s average summer on- and winter mid-peak demand. The level of credits shall reflect the incentive budget at the current level.
- Former super off peak (SOP) customers that were placed on legacy rate options in 2020 shall be migrated to the applicable default rate schedule for their class in October of 2022. SCE intends to send communications to impacted customers to inform them that they will be migrating from legacy rates to applicable default rate schedules.
- Existing customers utilizing the Time Management Load Controller (TMLC) devices may continue to utilize them until the implementation of the final decision for SCE’s 2025 GRC Phase 2 Application or until the customer’s TMLC device fails, whichever occurs first. If a customer’s TMLC device fails after the approval of the Settlement Agreement, SCE will not replace that TMLC device, and TMLC devices will not be available to new customers. SCE also agreed to reprogram active TMLC devices to shut off during SCE’s standard On-Peak period from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. or the optional 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. On-Peak period during summer weekdays. Finally, SCE will send communications to impacted customers to inform them of these changes.
- In addition, CAFB is participating in analysis led by SCE regarding the elements of the General Service-1 schedule, which many agricultural customers take service on. CAFB is participating to ensure that changes in the elements do not detrimentally impact customers.
Please let staff know if further information is needed about the components of the decision.
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PG&E General Rate Case (A.21-06-021) Hearings |
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On August 15, 2022, two weeks of evidentiary hearings as part of Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) 2023 General Rate Case Phase 1 will begin. Farm Bureau will participate in the hearings focusing on cross-examining PG&E witnesses regarding the requested 2023 total revenue requirement of $15.34 billion, a $3.13 billion increase from 2021, with additional requested increases in 2024, 2025, and 2026. In particular, CAFB is focused on protecting ratepayers and finding cost-effective alternatives to PG&E’s proposed 10,000 miles of undergrounding like microgrids which reduce Public Safety Power Shutoffs and provide wildfire mitigation benefits at significantly less cost to ratepayers. Audio and video instructions for how to observe hearings can be found here.
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North Coast Vineyard WDR Permit in Development |
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The North Coast Regional Water Board is developing a region-wide general permit (“WDR”) to address discharges of waste associated with vineyards in the North Coast region. The North Coast Regional Board has released a California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) Initial Study for the proposed WDR and plans to prepare an Environmental Impact Report. The North Coast Regional Board is requesting comments on the scope and content of the environmental information to be included in the EIR. A public comment period is currently open until September 22, 2022. Additionally, the North Coast Regional Board will hold CEQA scoping meetings on September 1, 2022, 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. PST (in-person) and September 8, 2022, 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. PST (virtual via Zoom). The link to the initial study can be found here.
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Legal Services Division | (916) 561-5665 | Contact us
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Karen Norene Mills
Director
Kari Fisher
Senior Counsel
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Carl Borden
Senior Counsel
Kevin Johnston
Associate Counsel
Jules Tran
Paralegal/Secretary
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Christian Scheuring
Senior Counsel
Justin Fredrickson
Environmental &
Water Policy Analyst
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