NEWS CODEX: CAISO Moves; California OTC Plants; CPUC Heat Protections
CAISO Adjusts Return-to-Service Timelines for Offline Generators: "CAISO will require offline generation facilities to either permanently retire or return to service within a 'reasonable amount of time' to ensure accurate transmission study results and interconnection service capacity and deliverability." RTO INSIDER
CAISO Ponders Need for Multiple Seams Agreements as 1st Workshop Nears: "CAISO is considering whether a collective agreement or several bilateral agreements among stakeholders are necessary to solve looming seams issues stemming from the emergence of the ISO’s Extended Day-Ahead Market and SPP’s Markets+. CAISO and SPP want to institute an operating agreement between themselves for certain seams issues by the time Markets+ goes live in 2027, CAISO CEO Elliot Mainzer said at a Western Energy Markets Governing Body general session July 14. However, such an agreement might not capture many other seams issues that involve EDAM, Markets+, transmission operators and other stakeholders, he said." RTO INSIDER
California's Data Center Dance: "In the past 10 months, the CPUC has green-lighted the grid hookup of three data center projects in the Bay Area. It’s requiring developers to pay the up-front costs to connect to the grid, and then receive a refund later from the utility, to prevent other customers from footing the bill if the projects fall apart. And CPUC staff proposed approving a Google facility — which the agency describes as a data center but the company told POLITICO is actually a different type of digital infrastructure called a computing lab — which will have an electricity demand rivaling all of Marin County, according to the CPUC. Agency leadership is scheduled to vote on that proposal next month." POLITICO
Californians Sour on Newsom's Push to Ban Gas-Powered Cars: "Among likely voters, 65% oppose the termed-out governor’s edict and just 34% support it. The opposition among infrequent or nonvoters is even stronger. Negative attitudes are especially stiff in inland California — particularly the Central Valley — and among middle-class people with incomes between $40,000 and $100,000, those over age 55 and Republicans." LA TIMES
California Reliability Program Taps OTC Gas Plants Rather Than Imports: "A California reliability program could call upon natural gas plants this summer to reduce stressed grid conditions as the state tries to move away from backup diesel and imported power. Despite California's push to eliminate once-through cooling gas-fired plants, the state still relies on a handful of them to be on standby in case of extreme heat or other grid emergencies. The Electricity Supply Strategic Reliability Reserve Program, operated by the California Department of Water Resources, acts as an insurance policy and safeguards the state’s grid during extreme weather and compound events (overlapping heat waves, droughts and wildfires) driven by climate change, DWR Staff Services Manager Mindy Graybill said at a California Energy Commission business meeting July 9." RTO INSIDER
California Resources Corporation Files for California Pipeline System Acquisition: "California Resources Corporation filed an application with the California Public Utilities Commission seeking approval to acquire control of the San Pablo Bay Pipeline and Crimson California Pipeline, two major crude oil pipeline systems serving California refineries." iMONZA
California Restricts Utility Shutoffs as Dangerous Heat Ripples Across State: "As another stretch of dangerous heat gripped the state, the California Public Utilities Commission wrote stronger rules itself. In a 4-0 vote, the commission lowered the temperature at which utilities must stop shutting off power to delinquent customers, from 100 to 90 degrees, and ordered utilities to adopt a more protective, region-specific heat standard within six months." CAL MATTERS
FERC Orders CAISO, SPP to Deliver Report on Market Seams: "FERC ordered CAISO and SPP to submit a report on their joint efforts to resolve the seams expected to arise between the ISO’s Extended Day-Ahead Market and SPP’s Markets+, saying an agreement between the two operators could improve the economic performance of their respective markets. The July 16 order requires CAISO and SPP to detail how they are engaging with one another, identify specific seams and market coordination issues caused by regionalization, submit a plan on how to address those issues and identify areas in which the operators are not yet aligned. The deadline for submitting the report is Sept. 30, 2026." RTO INSIDER
Retail Electric Rate Increases Outpace Inflation with Prices Set to Rise Higher: "LBNL flagged transmission and distribution system spending, much of it related to wildfire mitigation, as a significant driver of rate inflation in California. Reductions in retail sales magnified price increases for customers there and in New York and New England, LBNL said. All three regions have seen significant increases in behind-the-meter solar and battery capacity since 2019. California has about 20.5 GW of distributed solar capacity, according to the state public utilities commission — more than 40% of the California Independent System Operator’s anticipated peak load this summer." UTILITY DIVE
San Francisco Completes Major Step as it Explores Public Power Expansion: "San Francisco took a major step today as it explores public power expansion, with the Planning Commission voting unanimously to certify the final Environmental Impact Report for the City’s proposed acquisition of PG&E’s electric assets that serve San Francisco...The report evaluates the PG&E Power Asset Acquisition Project. If San Francisco policymakers decide to proceed with a purchase, the SFPUC would need to physically separate the portion of PG&E’s existing electric system that serves San Francisco. This work – generally along the San Francisco-San Mateo County border – would create two systems to be safely, reliably, and independently operated." SAN FRANCISCO PUC
Santa Barbara County Grants Sable Air Pollution Variance: "On July 17, 2026, the hearing board of the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District unanimously voted to allow Sable Offshore Corp. a 90-day variance for exceeding air pollution limits for its Platform Heritage, which restarted oil production in March 2026." CALIFORNIA ENERGY JOURNAL
Sunrun, FranklinWH Expand BESS Virtual Power Plant Capacity in California, Texas: "US residential solar installer Sunrun will expand its virtual power plant capacity in California, US to 425MW. Announced 14 July, Sunrun claimed that its California distributed power plant has more than 80,000 households enrolled this year, representing more than 110,000 residential battery energy storage systems. The power plant launched in 2024 with 16,000 Sunrun customers enrolled. The current enrollment marks a fivefold increase in just two years. Sunrun customers are compensated for participating." ENERGY STORAGE NEWS
Why Are We Sinking Billions into a Gas System We Plan to Leave Behind? "The good news is that some states are trying to get ahead of this problem. Here in California, the PUC recently authorized a process for natural gas utilities to pilot neighborhood retire-and-electrify projects if this option appears cost effective and 67 percent of property owners sign on. Whether utilities will volunteer to make less money is the question regulators are now confronting in a long-term gas planning proceeding. None of this will make retire-and-electrify an easy choice. But it could give this option a fighting chance. Right now, it doesn’t have one." ENERGY AT HAAS
You might also like...
30
Jun
NEWS CODEX: At-Berth Regulation; Senate Bill 1221 PD; Gridmatic Study
4 min read
11
Nov
MID-WEEK NEWS CODEX: Western Gateway Pipeline; Biofuels' Slow Growth; Arrival of EDAM and Markets+