Dive Brief:

• California utilities joined with a group of energy-focused companies to develop a vision for the state's energy future that comprehensively incorporates the array of new technologies and market designs being considered.
• The group, including major investor-owned utilities and distributed resource developers, believe a cohesive plan is necessary to fully harness the rapid changes in environmental regulation, technology and policy objectives they see on the 2030 horizon.
• In one model considered by the group, utilities would develop Distribution Marginal Pricing nodes similar to transmission pricing that incorporate supply and demand costs across a wide range of resources and points on its distribution system.

Dive Insight:

California is rapidly overhauling its energy systems, with market forces, customer demand and regulatory policies all pushing renewable energy, storage, electric vehicles, energy efficiency and demand response. But while all of these innovations are being developed now, how will they fit into an overall vision for the state's electricity distribution system 15 years out?

That's the essential question tackled by Advanced Energy Economy, which has published a position paper with backing from both the utility industry and developers of technologies often considered disruptive. The list of participants included: Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas and Electric, the California Independent System Operator; Bosch; EnerNOC; Enphase Energy, FirstFuel Software; SolarCity; and Stem. All total, more than two dozen companies either helped develop or endorsed the new paper.