The California regulator sends a misleading, fear-mongering letter to municipalities that are considering forming new public power Community Choice Energy (CCE) agencies.

1. From: "Moore, Christopher" <Christopher.Moore@cpuc.ca.gov>
Date: January 12, 2018 at 9:13:58 AM PST
To: [redacted]
Subject: CCA Res. E-4907
Dear Mayor [redacted]:
Thank you for your letter to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Draft Resolution E-4907,
“Registration Process for Community Choice Aggregators.” Comments and letters help the CPUC make more
informed decisions, and we appreciate your involvement. As one of the CPUC's Local Government Liaisons, I
wanted to personally respond to you.
To facilitate further involvement by all stakeholders, the comment period for Draft Resolution E-4907 was
extended to January 11, 2018, and reply comments are due January 18, 2018. The Draft Resolution is now
scheduled for consideration by our Commissioners at the February 8, 2018, Voting Meeting. There is a public
comment period at each Voting Meeting, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Each speaker who has signed up to speak upon
arrival will have between one and three minutes to address the Commissioners on any issue to which they are
not a formal party. At the close of the public comment period, the Commissioners will begin any discussion and
action on the agenda items.
The Draft Resolution addresses a gap in the State’s rules to ensure all retail electricity sellers buy enough
electricity to meet their demand. Currently a Community Choice Aggregator (CCA) can start serving new
customers without complying with all statutory and regulatory requirements, particularly requirements
involving “Resource Adequacy.” Resource Adequacy, established under Public Utilities Code Section 380, is a
program that has become a critical component of the regulatory tools California uses to prevent a repeat of the
energy crisis and avoid the risk of black outs. The CPUC’s Resource Adequacy program is closely coordinated
with the California Independent System Operator’s (CAISO) reliability requirement tariff to ensure that enough
resources are under contract to meet forecasted demand and ensure reliability. With multiple entities providing
retail power, a system must be in place that requires all retail sellers of electricity to be able to meet the
demands of their customers.
The intent of the Draft Resolution is to mandate that CCAs comply with the same timelines that existing retail
sellers must meet to show that they have sufficient resources under their control to meet demand. While this
timeline could delay the start date for some CCAs if they are trying to serve customers before they make the
regulatory showings, CCAs will be authorized to serve load once they have participated in the annual Resource
Adequacy requirements. The rapid expansion of CCAs has created new challenges in implementing the CPUC’s
Resource Adequacy program. If the timelines for CCA creation are not coordinated with Resource Adequacy,
there is a significant reliability risk to consumers and the potential for other unintended consequences. If you
would like more information about the CPUC’s Draft Resolution, please see the CPUC’s FAQs at
www.cpuc.ca.gov/cpucblog.aspx?id=6442455641&blogid=1551.
We thank you for your ongoing participation.
Sincerely,
Christopher Moore
Local Government Liaison
Executive Division
California Public Utilities Commission
(213) 576-7095