State Legislature - Week of September 11, 2009

 

CCTA Legislative & Regulatory Update
September 11, 2009
 
 
This week, we are placing the REGULATORY UPDATE first because we have very good news to report…
 
Regulatory Update
 
Commission votes down SDG&E’s De-Energization Application. Yesterday the Commission voted 4-1 to reject SDG&E’s plan to proactively cut power to customers in high fire danger weather conditions.  The final decision also rejects as moot SDG&E’s requested Tariff Rule 14 modification that would have expressly protected SDG&E from liability resulting from proactive de-energization.  This decision is a success for our Industry who, over the past seven months of workshops, pleadings, and meetings, urged the Commission to reject the plan.
 
The 4-1 vote was a defeat for Commissioner Simon who, after working to approve, in part, SDG&E’s application, reversed his  position at the last hour by dropping his original proposal that would have approved the plan as  a “pilot project” and replaced that proposal with a revised draft decision that outright rejected SDG&E‘s plan.  Simon’s new draft decision differed from the Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) Alternate only in that it would have kept the proceeding open and would have required SDG&E to submit Advice Letters regarding progress related to SDG&E’s  plant “hardening” efforts.  The other Commissioners nevertheless supported the ALJ’s draft over Commissioner Simon’s, with Commission Chong criticizing Simon for failing to present the ALJ’s alternate in a “fair manner” as he introduced the items.
 
Commissioners cited SDG&E’s failure to overcome the “strong presumption that power stays on” as the basis for rejecting SDG&E’s application.  Commissioner Bohn noted that SDG&E already has the power to de-energize without the granting of the application but would do so without increased liability protection.   Commissioner Chong specifically mentioned the loss of television and the Internet as a “critical loss” in times of emergency.  Commissioners Chong, Bohn, and Grueneich urged SDG&E to work collaboratively with other parties if it plans to pursue proactive de-energization. Commissioners Grueneich and Chong also urged SDG&E to aggressively move forward with plant hardening efforts, such as replacing wood poles with steel poles.
 
SDG&E took advantage of the public participation portion of the meeting by apparently bringing in the head of the San Diego Fire Chiefs Association, Fire Fighters Association, and Orange County Fire Fighters Association to speak in support (the head of the Fire Chiefs Association also thanked SDG&E for promising to provide fire units with a heavy duty fire-fighting helicopter).  Commissioner Bohn responded to firefighter comments suggesting that the Commission was only rejecting this particular plan and not SDG&E’s effort to prevent line-related fires.   Commissioner Chong noted that the San Diego Sheriff and San Diego Office of Emergency Services (OES) opposed the plan.
 
While SDG&E’s plan was defeated, we will need to carefully monitor SDG&E’s advice letters and applications to guard against cost shifting related to their plant hardening program.