IN-FOCUS: Flex Alert Funding

On January 20, parties responded to a ruling in the CPUC's Demand Response docket (R.25-09-004) regarding a staff proposal to extend funding for California’s Flex Alert marketing campaign through 2026.

Background

Flex Alerts are voluntary conservation appeals designed to reduce electricity demand during peak periods, particularly heat events, and have been funded by the Commission since 2021 as part of its broader grid reliability response following the outages of 2020.

• The staff proposal recommends maintaining the existing statewide paid media Flex Alert campaign for 2026 at the current annual budget of $22 million, funded by PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E, and administered by SCE under its existing contract with Doyle Dane Bernbach Communications Group.
• The proposal emphasizes rising electricity demand pressures from electrification and data center growth. Staff cites evaluation results that show near-universal public awareness of Flex Alerts and widespread voluntary load reductions during alert days, including significant reductions in air conditioning and appliance use.
• The proposal contains specific questions for parties on whether the program should continue in 2026, whether SCE should extend or renew the existing contract, what the appropriate 2026 budget should be, and whether additional conditions or program elements are needed for continued administration.

Parties' Positions

Across parties, there is broad agreement that Flex Alert has become a well-known statewide reliability tool, but disagreement over whether its current structure, funding mechanism, and scale remain justified absent the now-expired Power Saver Rewards program.