Faced with the onset of another wildfire season, and seeking to avoid both the prospect of utility-caused wildfires and the impacts of utilities’ Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) to avoid them, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) recently took wide-ranging actions to expand the penetration of microgrids in California and enhance reliability and resilience of electric service. The decision partially implements Senate Bill 1339 (SB 1339) and the CPUC’s related three part rulemaking (Rulemaking 19-09-009). The CPUC’s decision focuses on behind the meter applications and directs California’s large Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs) to, among other things, develop standardized pre-approved system designs for interconnections, create methodologies to simplify utility inspections of proposed projects, and remove electric energy storage size restrictions from IOUs’ net metering tariffs.
Continue Reading CPUC Issues Order Promoting the Development and Interconnection of Microgrids
