HomeMy WebLinkAboutCA Public Utilities Commission's Monthly Newsletter Menchaca, Clarissa
From: California Public Utilities Commission <news@cpuc.ca.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2018 8:02 AM
To: Clerk of the Board
Subject: A Monthly Newsletter From the CPUC
Work199 for Califorrlia Ill'AtIgust 29,18 Edition'1
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. Safety is a Top Concern Throughout the CPUC
.
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the Safety Model Assessment Proceeding,which 1
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/ we call SMAP and the Risk Assessment and
11111111 III ASERIES ON SA FEI'Y . se for Pacific Gas and Electric
11111111, , Company(PG&E), which is known as RAMP, I am
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111111111 ....id, :1111111111i.,!IIIIIIIIIr 11,11,11iiiitii .41 - Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii,,, ., 1,„„iiiyi.0 also lead Commissioner on our Emergency
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11, 1 „li, iiiiiii,. ill. ii„,,i11,,,1 iii..1 ,iiiiiiiiiiiiiii„, DI moil., , .11 i Preparedness proceeding.
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There are many safety initiatives underway at the Let's take SMAP and RAMP first.These are 1111111
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)as important, complex proceedings that, at their core, 111111
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we work to assure Californians"access to safe and deal with how gas and electric utilities decide the /IJI/
reliable utility infrastructure and services, amount of money they spend on reducing risks, 111'
1,11,
11111 Following is a Q&A with Commissioner Clifford 11111
and which specific risks they seek to address with 1
1, , Rechtscliaffen discussing some of our actions, those resources.These spending decisions have 111111
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11 Additional safety-related articles will be profound impacts on worker and public safety.
featured over the next several months. Utilities have always made such calculations, but 1111,1
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outside the public eye, without transparency about .
1'11 their assumptions,the trade-offs they're making, ,11
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11 and with varying methodologies.This made it
1111, difficult for us to evaluate exactly how safety would 111
I be improved by utility investments when we
, 111,11
consider a General Rate Case, which is where we 111
11 approve utility spending that gets reflected in 1,11
customersbills 1,
11,
11, The goal of SMAP is to allow the CPUC and
11 parties to examine the models that utilities are
111' using-this is now required every three years-to 1
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set priorities for risk mitigation and to establish
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standards and requirements for those models.
Importantly,they involve decisions about spending „
41' 1,111"1";4(e/i,li beyond what is mandated by safety regulations.
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ype!„Al #1, 14 1411
1111{4 1r1111 „ 111„ In a 2016 decision,for example, the CPUC
required the utilities to use a decision-making
' 1 framework that evaluated a range of safety,
J reliability, and financial consequences associated 111
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with a given set of risks. Phase Two of the
00*„,o1,.. ,p
H 4 ,1101 h proceeding is ongoing and in May 2018,the
utilities and intervenors filed a settlement
"Inz,11.1r agreement that reflected their negotiated
441,4, 0, compromise, which is pending before me and my „..1
1,„"1 Hfellow Commissioners for consideration. More
Commissioner Clifford Rechtschaffen
QUESTION: There are several important safety
related proceedings that the CPUC is
advancing right now.What are the different 116
issues you're working on and their status?
III Commissioner Rechtschaffen:The major safety
related proceedings currently assigned to me are 111,
111
Taking a Comprehensive and Holistic Look at 111
Affordability and Disconnections
2
By Commissioners Carla J. Peterman and ,Ilii;T411111"IIIIIII'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!IllIlllIlIlllillillill,,
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Martha Guzman Aceves
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, .,,,)),, $10),09 , ....., ,„,,„„„„„„„„„„,,,iniitimp, ,101004,,, z,
1 "California is admittedly becoming a rich person's ././y),I; i,itpouiquipoioi111111111vospoupNuougou911111111111i0.11111111rIthil ,ei 1„
state. San Francisco is a stunning example, but
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Santa Rosa is not far behind. If you cannot afford
the outrageous rents, the high costs of water, gas ------ -
and electricity as well as the high cost of food and
just about everything else, you can't afford to live,
1 The alternatives are to move away somewhere
else where the costs are more sensible or to get
yourself a tent or live in your car, which seems to
be a solution of choice for many people living
here,"
The comments above came from Gail Outlaw of lh,'4,,,,,, ,if,
Santa Rosa at the CPUC's July 12, 2018, Voting ,1 i ,1 I
Meeting in San Francisco, and they were •
consistent with what we heard from several people
who spoke about the difficulty they have paying
their utility bills.
111 1
The challenge of keeping utility rates affordable
' 1 and the ever-higher numbers of people whose gas
and electricity get shut off each year for non- 4
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payment go hand-in-hand. That's why we were ,i, , , . , , ,,,,,,,,.1411k";4*1:,'"'40.N'''',i,gikW).-• . 'I
gratified when our fellow CPUC Commissioners
" voted unanimously with us to open two new
1
proceedings on these vital topics. '1 .
1 1
II
P Let's consider affordability first, As
II reasonable."And while its not spelled out in
Commissioners,we are obligated to make sure '111
statute, we also know that a key component of L"
that charges from regulated utilities are"just and .,,,
just and reasonable" rates are those consumers
II
11 can afford to pay. More II,
.
CPUC Considers Climate Change Adaptation
III
Strategies
1 By Commissioner Liane NI. Randolph imill „„„ffl,„„, l'11111111,1,1,1„,,',',',,I,11 Ililv11111:1111111„ilkiipp'iln, ,,,,,i,,,,r,64,,/ , nil,
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11„ Last December, Kristin Ralff Douglas of the
CPUC's Policy and Planning Division, put together
b a sobering slide presentation on climate change
I , with the ominous title, "California in 2050: Some
' Sizzling Predictions."
My fellow Commissioners, our Policy and Planning
1 Division, and countless experts throughout the
11 CPUC have been working on this issue for quite ,I,IIIIII11, ,'„,III1',"',1,111111111,ll'I',,,u1:11,11,011g11,1,1k„„„,1011001141t,'„',14M1'1"':',";001114,,,,41,0'fp',/"V,,,I,,1„„,,I',,'"urIl' I
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1, 1 some time.We also worked with the California '1 '111' ' ofillv,,,,,,Ii1,001,o,..ill'Ill'''''"eg,',13„,,,e1„.114riff/tit 4r41404'l'''''''/4 4Y'lle44441)
l' Energy Commission to form the state agencies'
Adaptation Working Group to meet quarterly to
promote high-level coordination on addressing the
effects of climate change.
Otae expected effect of Climate Change in California is that
1, wildfires are expected to burn 77 percent more area by
1, The slide presentation showed that those effects 2050, according to UCLA,
11 could have a profound impact on our way of life in ,
California, More 111
3
Wildfire-Affected 'Customers Have Utility
,
Protections
With this year's wildfire season already off to a devastating start,the California Public Utilities
Commission this month put in place interim protections for utility customers affected by such disasters.
Commissioners unanimously Voted an Aug 9,2018,to expand protections that were ordered after last
year's tire storms to be in,effect statewide on an interim basis while an ongoing decision-rnaking process
is finished. More
If you are a consumer in need of assistance, please contact the CPUC's Consumer Affairs Branch
at 1-800-649-7570 or submit an online complaint,
"Commercial Air Operators Now Under Local „
Govt. Jurisdiction
Now, as a condition of operation, commercial air
operators will be required to comply with any
requirement of the city or county where the
individual or company obtained its business
dl license.
In,11111'1'111 1' Under Public Utilities Code section 5506, the city
"I"II'4' ' "I
or county shall give reasonable notice of this
1 ' 1,011'0,1 requirement with any business license renewal
notification and may charge a reasonable fee for
purpose of carrying out this transfer.
A commercial air operator shall provide a
certificate of insurance evidencing insurance
Effective July 12018the regulation of coverage to the appropriate local government
, ,
commercial air operators devolved from the authority at least annually or whenever there is a
material California Public Utilities Commission to local change in insurance coverage. (PU Code
jurisdictions that are a city, county, or city and § 5503). More
county.
T-Mobile/Sprint Seek CPUC Approval to Merge
Telecommunications providers T-Mobile US, Inc. reliability and depth of coverage everywhere."
(T-Mobile)and Sprint Corporation (Sprint) have
applied for California Public Utilities Commission A related but separate application was filed by the r,
approval to transfer control of the latter provider to joint applicants to request CPUC approval to
the former. transfer control of Sprint Wireline, a certificated
competitive local exchange carrier and non-
According to the application, "Combining the two dominant interexchange carrier providing services
companies'assets will boost average throughput, exclusively to enterprise and carrier customers, to
make greater capacity available, and increase the T-Mobile. More
4
Docket: Proceedings Filed at the CPUC in July 2018
Proceeding Number•Filed Date• Filer Proceeding Number. Filed Date. Filer
A1806016.26-June-2018•Port of San Francisco A1807010. 12-July-2018.Tesloop
Application of the PORT OF SAN FRANCISCO for an Application of Tesloop, Inc,for authority to operate a
rk Order authorizing construction of a new public scheduled shuttle service Passenger Stage
1, pedestrian at-grade crossing (CPUC No.002SF-2.02- Corporation between Points in Culver City, Greater 11'
D;DOT#969 981 X)of tracks of the Port of San Los Angeles,the San Fernando Valley, Orange
Francisco(MP 2.02)between 3rd&Illinois Streets, County,Anaheim, Rosemead, Ontario, and San 111
just north of Cargo Way on Port of San Francisco Diego and the Greater Palm Springs, and San 11,1
property within the City and County of San Francisco. Francisco,the Bay Area, Central Coast, Central 11,1
More Valley, Sacramento Area, and Lake Tahoe Region; 11'
and to establish a Zone of Rate Freedom, More
1,11,
A1806017.28-June-2018•California High-Speed
Rail Authority 11807007.12-July-2018 CPUC
Application of the California High-Speed Rail Order Instituting Investigation on the Commission's 1,k,11
Authority for approval to Construct two New Own Motion into the Planned Merger Between SJW 1111,"
Underpass Grade Separated Crossings, Under the Group, Holding Company of San Jose Water
111, Proposed High-Speed Rall Tracks at 9th Avenue Company(U168W), and Connecticut Water Service,
(215.67)and Cairo Avenue(216.09)located in the Inc. and its Effect on California Ratepayers and the 11111,,,
County of Kings, State of California. More California Economy No link available.
'111
A1806018•29-June-2018•California High-Speed 11807008 12-July-2018.CPUC
Rail Authority Order Instituting Investigation into Pacific Gas and 11
11", Application of the California High-Speed Rail Electric Company's(U39E) Failure to Provide a 24- 111,
Authority for Approval to Construct two New Grade hour Notice Prior to Residential Electric Service
Separated Crossings, one over the Proposed High- Disconnections Between July 1 and July 18, 2016
Speed Rail Tracks at Avenue 56(257.16)and one and the Adequacy of its Remedy Going Forward. No r
under the Proposed High-Speed Rail Tracks at link available.
111 Avenue 24(261.17) located in the County of Tulare, 11.1
State of California. More VIEW MORE FILINGS h1IP'
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About this Publication .,111111,
This monthly newsletter is to keep you informed of proposals by the CPUC's Commissioners and
Administrative Law Judges, as well as utility applications,and other issues and work of note.We also
include a list summarizing the filings at the CPUC in the previous month.
•
11, We want to hear from youl if you have topics you'd like us to cover or if you'd like to make comment on
our proceedings or work, please contact us at outreach(&cpuc ca goy or call (855)421-0400. You can
find information about events we are having at www.couc,ca,gov/Events. 111,
Prior editions of this newsletter are available on the CPUC's website at www.cpuc.ca.00vinewsletter.
Californi?PuIic Utilies Commissioh,„11,,vircouteotibv,'„r toritziot is
STAY CøNNETElD
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