Dive Brief:
- California must increase its energy efficiency and demand response programs, partly to fill in for retiring power plants in the southern part of the state, according to an energy plan approved by the California Energy Commission (CEC).
- So far, demand response programs in Southern California have “underperformed,” the report said.
- When including likely energy efficiency savings, the CEC expects load growth to be essentially flat over the next decade for the state's investor-owned utilities Pacific Gas & Electric, San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison.
- Under a mid-climate change scenario, rising temperatures will increase electric use by about 1,200 GWh and peak demand by 1.5 GW in the next 10 years.
Dive Insight:
The biennial energy plan is a key document that helps California plan for its future and will affect decisions on building new infrastructure and focusing more on efficiency and demand response. “California policy must focus on scaling up development of demand response products that have the characteristics required to avoid new generation capacity and transmission,” the report said. The report calls on the California Independent System Operator to hold multi-year forward demand response auctions in Southern California.
