Public Agencies, San Mateo County

Clean Coalition Webinar Explores How Fixed Charge Low-Income Residential Electric Rates will Make “Electrification” Possible

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WEBINAR. From Clean Coalition on Tuesday, August, 15th, 2023 at 11:00am.

 

A Fixed Charge solution that satisfies legal requirements while preempting another attack by the utilities on Local Solar

 

A fixed charge cannot be considered the silver bullet solution to make electric rates affordable for all Californians. The most effective way to save ratepayers money and reduce rates for everyone — to the tune of hundreds of billions over the coming decades — is to reduce the cost drivers leading to skyrocketing rates, namely investments in transmission infrastructure. Importantly, the result will also deliver an unparalleled trifecta of economic, environmental, and resilience benefits associated with deploying Local Solar to communities everywhere.
 

Assembly Bill 205 (2022) removed the existing cap on fixed charges for residential electric rates, required the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to consider a tiered fixed charge option based on income (so lower-income ratepayers receive higher savings) by July 2024, and to move forward with creating a framework to enable demand flexibility. Thus far, the CPUC has approved new Rate Design Principles—updating longstanding precedents—and crafted principles for Demand Flexibility, setting the foundation for the proceeding to move forward.

 

Following the creation of Guiding Principles, the CPUC solicited proposals for the first version of a residential fixed charge that includes: which rate components should be included in a fixed charge, how many income brackets are appropriate, and how to implement such a fixed charge. The Clean Coalition advanced a reasonable and easy-to-implement fixed charge; almost every other party proposed a significantly more expensive fixed charge that would require major changes to implement. Given that electric rates are unaffordable—and still skyrocketing—in California, it is important to understand the future.

 

This webinar will cover:

  • The background of the Demand Flexibility proceeding and why a Fixed Charge is being proposed based on personal income.
  • The Clean Coalition’s modest fixed fee proposal and the methodology behind it.
  • Why rates should primarily be volumetric in nature and what the main drivers of increasing rates are. ·
  • How high fixed charge proposals would result in net losses for most residential customers and upend the incentive to conserve energy.
  • The key correlation between rates and electrification; improper rate reform could render electrification financially infeasible.
  • Where a fixed charge fits in with upcoming rate reform and California’s pathway to achieving electrification.

 

Presenters

Ben Schwartz represents the Clean Coalition in proceedings at the CPUC, focusing on microgrids, interconnection, net energy metering, renewable procurement, rate design, and more. With a background in environmental studies and public policy, he brings valuable insight to the diverse local, state, and national policy work done at the Clean Coalition.

 

Josh Plaisted received his MSME at UW Madison’s Solar Energy Laboratory in tandem with a certificate in energy analysis and policy. He has over two decades experience in the solar field running product development, systems simulation, and field performance validation from startups to publicly traded multinational corporations. Mr. Plaisted has assisted in the development of regulatory standards and provided guidance and testimony before the CEC and CPUC.

 

  • Ben Schwartz’s presentation slides are available in PPT and PDF format.
  • Josh Plaisted’s presentation slides are available in PPT and PDF format.
  • The Clean Coalition’s rebuttal testimony, proposing a modest Fixed Charge, can be found in PDF format.
  • Josh Plaisted’s Fixed Charge Whitepaper is available in PDF format.
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