WEBVTT 00:00:15.600 --> 00:00:20.253 Good morning, and welcome to the California 00:00:20.278 --> 00:00:24.606 Public Utilities Commission Business Meeting of September 00:00:24.632 --> 00:00:28.823 26, 2019. It is now 10:02. Public Agenda number 3446 to 00:00:28.847 --> 00:00:33.087 order. It is with great sadness that I call this meeting 00:00:33.113 --> 00:00:37.535 in honor of Rashid Rashid, an attorney in the Commission's 00:00:37.560 --> 00:00:41.882 Legal division, who passed away this month. Rashid joined 00:00:41.906 --> 00:00:46.016 the Commission in 2005, not long after graduating from 00:00:46.041 --> 00:00:50.200 King Hall at the University of California Davis. People 00:00:50.225 --> 00:00:54.419 who knew Rashid best tell me he was a lovely, kind, and 00:00:54.444 --> 00:00:58.987 gentle soul. His work in the legal division was primarily on 00:00:59.012 --> 00:01:03.044 the advocacy side, with a strong focus on enforcement 00:01:03.069 --> 00:01:07.599 matters. He was particularly proud of his work on the CPUC’s 00:01:07.624 --> 00:01:11.818 Disability Advisory Committee. Rashid worked in the San 00:01:11.843 --> 00:01:16.161 Francisco office before relocating in Los Angeles to work 00:01:16.186 --> 00:01:20.379 in the LA office. He will be dearly missed. I ask for a 00:01:20.404 --> 00:01:24.671 moment of reflection before we turn to today's business. 00:01:35.400 --> 00:01:38.561 Thank you for joining me in a moment of silence. 00:01:38.586 --> 00:01:41.939 Everyone, please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. 00:02:03.040 --> 00:02:07.265 Thank you so much. Please listen to the safety announcement that is going to be played. 00:02:09.090 --> 00:02:13.587 As you're aware, our number one priority is safety. 00:02:13.612 --> 00:02:18.204 As such, we will address certain safety concerns in this venue. In the event 00:02:18.229 --> 00:02:22.414 of an emergency, please calmly proceed toward the exits. We have four 00:02:22.440 --> 00:02:26.899 exits, two in the rear and one on either side of the dais. In the event we 00:02:26.924 --> 00:02:31.295 need to evacuate the building, our assembly point is in the Garden Plaza 00:02:31.320 --> 00:02:35.906 area between the War Memorial Herbs Theater and the War Memorial Opera House 00:02:35.931 --> 00:02:40.409 on Van Ness. When going out the rear exits, head through the courtyard and 00:02:40.434 --> 00:02:44.768 down the front steps, then head south on Van Ness by crossing McAllister 00:02:44.793 --> 00:02:49.283 streets. You'll find the Garden Plaza area on your right immediately after 00:02:49.308 --> 00:02:53.892 walking past the Herbs Theater. When going out the side exits, after heading 00:02:53.917 --> 00:02:58.334 out either exits, you'll find yourself on Golden Gate Avenue. From there, 00:02:58.359 --> 00:03:02.751 proceed east, turn south on Van Ness, and walk towards McAllister Street. 00:03:02.776 --> 00:03:07.385 After crossing McAllister, the Garden Plaza area will be on your right after 00:03:07.410 --> 00:03:11.575 passing the War Memorial Herbs Theater. In the event of an emergency, 00:03:11.600 --> 00:03:16.328 Executive Director Alice Stebbins will call 911 and our public advisor, Alison 00:03:16.353 --> 00:03:20.661 Brown, is certified in CPR and first aid. Thank you for your attention. 00:03:22.190 --> 00:03:26.224 Thank you very much. We will now 00:03:26.249 --> 00:03:30.179 take public comment. The public can make comments 00:03:30.204 --> 00:03:34.305 addressing items on the consent and regular agendas 00:03:34.330 --> 00:03:38.406 and including items not on the agenda today. Please 00:03:38.431 --> 00:03:42.380 note that there will not be public comment on any 00:03:42.405 --> 00:03:46.487 agenda on the closed session agenda and the falling 00:03:46.511 --> 00:03:50.447 adjudicatory items 10 and 29. Each person who has 00:03:50.472 --> 00:03:54.147 signed up will have three minutes. Please come 00:03:54.172 --> 00:03:58.196 up to the podium when I call your name. There will 00:03:58.221 --> 00:04:02.220 be a sign held up in front of you, or near you, to 00:04:02.245 --> 00:04:06.257 alert you of the one minute remaining you have. If 00:04:06.282 --> 00:04:10.269 you have written comments, please hand them to the 00:04:10.293 --> 00:04:14.238 Executive Director, Alice Stebbins, who’s here in 00:04:14.263 --> 00:04:18.341 front. Okay, thank you very much. I believe we have 00:04:18.365 --> 00:04:22.073 one person from the public who wishes to speak 00:04:22.098 --> 00:04:26.120 today. Would Mr. David McCord please come forward? 00:04:37.949 --> 00:04:40.095 We can't. I think you need an adjustment. 00:04:41.020 --> 00:04:46.644 I'm David McCord. I live in El 00:04:46.669 --> 00:04:52.388 Solito, and I welcome President Batjer, welcome 00:04:52.413 --> 00:05:02.679 to the CPUC, and the Bay Area, and I look forward to getting many years of a smoothly 00:05:02.704 --> 00:05:13.222 running agency with a forward-looking perspective. For all the Commissioners, thank you 00:05:13.246 --> 00:05:23.619 for giving me the opportunity to speak. Yesterday, the IPCC issued a new report on the 00:05:23.644 --> 00:05:29.265 oceans and ice-covered regions. It emphasized, 00:05:29.290 --> 00:05:35.005 again, the need for quickly and deeply reducing 00:05:35.030 --> 00:05:40.638 greenhouse gases emissions worldwide. And this 00:05:40.663 --> 00:05:45.649 relates to the rule making 1901011 crafts 00:05:45.674 --> 00:05:51.527 a policy framework surrounding a decarbonization 00:05:51.552 --> 00:05:56.902 of buildings for the reduction of greenhouse 00:05:56.928 --> 00:06:06.937 gas emissions associated with energy use in the buildings. That's what we need. And 00:06:06.962 --> 00:06:17.355 with that, low income households should be prioritized, in both the build and the tech 00:06:17.380 --> 00:06:22.743 programs, with an emphasis on efficiency and 00:06:22.768 --> 00:06:28.225 energy savings. And it properly focuses staff 00:06:28.251 --> 00:06:33.740 proposal properly focuses on electric and new 00:06:33.765 --> 00:06:38.990 construction and electric technologies with 00:06:39.014 --> 00:06:49.250 an emphasis on efficiency and energy savings. Another matter on item number 14 on our 00:06:49.275 --> 00:06:55.006 Consent Agenda, it requires treating behind the 00:06:55.031 --> 00:07:00.140 meter solar as a supply side resource in a 00:07:00.164 --> 00:07:05.762 model feeding into the RPS procurement. I hope 00:07:05.788 --> 00:07:11.004 the Commission can find a way to count this 00:07:11.029 --> 00:07:16.395 directly towards a large saving energies RPS 00:07:16.420 --> 00:07:22.000 requirement. This will encourage rooftop solar 00:07:22.024 --> 00:07:32.254 installation and a renewable energy production and resiliency of the grid. Thank you. 00:07:32.280 --> 00:07:38.666 Thank you, Mr McCord, very much. Is there 00:07:38.691 --> 00:07:45.584 anyone else today here who would like to address the Commission? 00:07:45.609 --> 00:07:52.089 Okay. Without further comments, public comment period is now 00:07:52.114 --> 00:07:59.100 closed. We’re now moving on to the next agenda item, which is the 00:07:59.125 --> 00:08:06.249 hold list. I will read through that. The following items are being 00:08:06.274 --> 00:08:12.629 held or withdrawn. Item number two held to 10-24-2019. Item 00:08:12.654 --> 00:08:20.084 number three held to 10-10-2019. Item number four held to 10-10-2019. 00:08:20.109 --> 00:08:26.240 Item number six has been withdrawn. Item number seven has 00:08:26.265 --> 00:08:33.166 been held to 10-10-2019. Item 10 has been withdrawn. Item 34 has 00:08:33.191 --> 00:08:40.173 been withdrawn. Item 35 will be taken up with the Consent Agenda. 00:08:40.198 --> 00:08:46.874 Item 36 will also be taken up with the Consent Agenda. Item 37 00:08:46.899 --> 00:08:53.232 has been withdrawn. Item 38 has been withdrawn. Item 39 has 00:08:53.257 --> 00:08:59.727 been withdrawn. Item 40 has been withdrawn. Item 41 has been 00:08:59.752 --> 00:09:06.728 withdrawn. Item 42 will be taken up with the Consent Agenda. Item 00:09:06.752 --> 00:09:13.527 45 has been held to 10-10-2019. We will now take up the consent 00:09:13.553 --> 00:09:19.774 items. Is there anyone who would like to give me a motion? 00:09:19.799 --> 00:09:20.582 So moved. 00:09:20.607 --> 00:09:21.837 Is there a second? 00:09:21.862 --> 00:09:22.396 Second. 00:09:22.421 --> 00:09:27.074 It has been moved and seconded. 00:09:27.099 --> 00:09:31.459 All in favor, please say aye. The Consent Agenda 00:09:31.484 --> 00:09:35.857 items have been passed unanimously. Excuse me. I 00:09:35.882 --> 00:09:40.408 don't think I spoke. For the record, I said I aye. 00:09:40.433 --> 00:09:45.242 We're moving on to the next agenda item. We will take 00:09:45.267 --> 00:09:49.605 up the regular agenda items now. I will call out 00:09:49.630 --> 00:09:54.260 the item and the assigned Commissioner, and then we 00:09:54.285 --> 00:09:58.736 will take a vote. Item 28. Commissioner Randolph. 00:10:00.289 --> 00:10:04.159 Good morning. I am presenting 00:10:04.184 --> 00:10:07.325 item 28 to you, which is a proposed decision 00:10:07.350 --> 00:10:10.926 addressing the 2019 General Rate Case applications 00:10:10.951 --> 00:10:14.642 for San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California 00:10:14.668 --> 00:10:17.969 Gas Company, both of which are owned by Sempra 00:10:17.994 --> 00:10:21.692 Utilities. The decision adopts a revenue requirement 00:10:21.716 --> 00:10:25.355 of 1.990 billon for SDG&E’s combined operations and 00:10:25.381 --> 00:10:28.785 2.770 billion for SoCal gas using a Test Year of 00:10:28.810 --> 00:10:32.606 2019. The decision also adopts post-Test Year revenue 00:10:32.631 --> 00:10:35.840 requirement adjustments in 2020 and 2021. The 00:10:35.865 --> 00:10:39.508 decision adopts a revenue requirement that is 9.65% 00:10:39.533 --> 00:10:43.362 lower than what was requested by SDG&E and 5.66% lower 00:10:43.387 --> 00:10:46.896 than what was requested by SoCal Gas. The adopted 00:10:46.921 --> 00:10:50.335 revenue requirement and post-Test Year increases 00:10:50.359 --> 00:10:53.925 for SDG&E and SoCal Gas will provide the necessary 00:10:53.951 --> 00:10:57.422 funds to allow the two utilities to operate their 00:10:57.447 --> 00:11:00.682 respective electric distribution, natural gas 00:11:00.707 --> 00:11:04.550 transmission and distribution and gas storage systems, 00:11:04.575 --> 00:11:08.289 safely and reliably, and to fulfill customer service 00:11:08.315 --> 00:11:11.654 functions at reasonable rates. As is always the 00:11:11.679 --> 00:11:14.909 case with general rate cases, this was a very 00:11:14.934 --> 00:11:18.490 complex proceeding. Nearly 20 interveners actively 00:11:18.514 --> 00:11:22.363 participated by submitting testimony, conducting cross 00:11:22.388 --> 00:11:26.072 examination, and filing motions and briefs on nearly 00:11:26.096 --> 00:11:29.750 50 distinct issues. The evidentiary record includes 00:11:29.775 --> 00:11:33.123 over 500 exhibits consisting of testimony, work 00:11:33.148 --> 00:11:36.999 papers, and other exhibits from utility and intervener 00:11:37.024 --> 00:11:40.150 witnesses. And the decision, as you may have 00:11:40.175 --> 00:11:43.823 noticed when you looked at it, is almost 800 pages. 00:11:43.848 --> 00:11:47.611 The applications were filed in October 2017, so we're 00:11:47.636 --> 00:11:51.201 completing this case just shy of two years. And if 00:11:51.225 --> 00:11:54.625 we adopt it, then we will not need to extend the 00:11:54.650 --> 00:11:58.167 statutory deadline, so please adopt it. While the 00:11:58.192 --> 00:12:01.825 decision adopts revenue requirements less than what 00:12:01.850 --> 00:12:05.706 the utilities requested, we recognize that as a result 00:12:05.731 --> 00:12:09.141 of this decision, there will be a bill increased 00:12:09.166 --> 00:12:13.028 for the average residential electric and gas customer. 00:12:13.053 --> 00:12:16.539 Based on a high-level estimate, it is anticipated 00:12:16.564 --> 00:12:19.572 that a typical residential inland electric 00:12:19.597 --> 00:12:22.999 customer will see a monthly increase of 0.70% or 00:12:23.024 --> 00:12:26.538 $1.01 per month, while an average residential gas 00:12:26.563 --> 00:12:30.474 customer can expect to see a monthly bill increase of 9 00:12:30.499 --> 00:12:34.281 to 14% or about $4.50 to $5 a month for gas services. 00:12:34.306 --> 00:12:37.713 However, a large part of the increases represent 00:12:37.739 --> 00:12:41.247 costs for incremental safety-related programs and 00:12:41.272 --> 00:12:44.825 activities that are being added to the GRC for the 00:12:44.850 --> 00:12:48.065 first time as a result of the risk assessment 00:12:48.090 --> 00:12:51.630 mitigation phase or RAMP Process. The RAMP Process 00:12:51.655 --> 00:12:55.311 requires SDG&E and SoCal gas to identify key safety 00:12:55.336 --> 00:12:58.827 risks and to propose programs that mitigate those 00:12:58.852 --> 00:13:02.636 risks. Many of these programs that are being approved 00:13:02.661 --> 00:13:06.280 allow the companies to perform increased mitigation 00:13:06.305 --> 00:13:09.885 efforts to mitigate key safety risks, such as wild 00:13:09.910 --> 00:13:13.254 fires caused by utility equipment, catastrophic 00:13:13.279 --> 00:13:17.126 damage from pipeline failures and third party dig-ins, 00:13:17.151 --> 00:13:20.413 and other key risks. One example is SDG&E Pole 00:13:20.439 --> 00:13:23.741 Risk Management and Engineering program called 00:13:23.766 --> 00:13:27.254 Prime. It will utilize local wind data conditions 00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:30.920 gathered from SDG&E’s fleet of anemom, I don't even 00:13:30.944 --> 00:13:34.630 know how to say this word, anemometers, whatever. 3D 00:13:34.655 --> 00:13:38.162 modeling software that goes beyond the capability 00:13:38.187 --> 00:13:41.739 of visual inspections, allowing for an analysis of 00:13:41.763 --> 00:13:45.537 wood poles at all reasonably known potential wind and 00:13:45.563 --> 00:13:49.103 conductor loading conditions, including worse case 00:13:49.127 --> 00:13:52.784 conditions, in order to guide maintenance for those 00:13:52.809 --> 00:13:56.512 poles that have been subjected to increase loads due 00:13:56.537 --> 00:14:00.322 to additional attachments, thereby adding to the list 00:14:00.347 --> 00:14:03.756 of things I know now that I did not learn in law 00:14:03.781 --> 00:14:07.432 school. A large portion of the cost increase is for 00:14:07.457 --> 00:14:11.153 the Pipeline Safety Enhancement Program, also called 00:14:11.178 --> 00:14:14.816 PSEP, which consists of 11 pressure tests projects, 00:14:14.841 --> 00:14:18.104 10 pipeline replacement projects and 284 valve 00:14:18.129 --> 00:14:21.853 replacement projects. In 2011, by way of background, 00:14:21.878 --> 00:14:25.226 the Commission ordered California's investor of 00:14:25.251 --> 00:14:28.612 natural gas utilities to submit individual PSEP 00:14:28.637 --> 00:14:32.253 plans for the purpose of addressing pipeline safety 00:14:32.278 --> 00:14:35.996 issues in the wake of the 2010 San Bruno natural gas 00:14:36.021 --> 00:14:39.714 explosion. In the intervening time period, utilities 00:14:39.739 --> 00:14:43.374 have come forward with applications containing PSEP 00:14:43.398 --> 00:14:46.658 plans. However, this particular GRC represents 00:14:46.683 --> 00:14:50.268 the first instance of the utility, including their 00:14:50.293 --> 00:14:53.783 PSEP projects, in the general rate case, pursuant 00:14:53.808 --> 00:14:57.241 to Decision 160803. So an example of the kind of 00:14:57.266 --> 00:15:00.954 incremental safety projects included is the Gas Leak 00:15:00.979 --> 00:15:04.628 Survey IT Project, which uses software to track the 00:15:04.653 --> 00:15:08.418 progress of leak survey activities through electronic 00:15:08.443 --> 00:15:12.149 mapping and reports, all of which are pronounceable. 00:15:12.174 --> 00:15:15.366 Line 235 memo account. So this decision takes 00:15:15.391 --> 00:15:18.973 a look at Line 235 which is scheduled for pressure 00:15:18.998 --> 00:15:22.485 testing during this period. On October 1, 2017, a 00:15:22.510 --> 00:15:25.939 rupture occurred on Line 235, and numerous leaks 00:15:25.965 --> 00:15:29.509 have ensued as the company has sought to bring the 00:15:29.534 --> 00:15:33.180 line back on service, and the line is currently out 00:15:33.205 --> 00:15:36.896 of service. I have been quite vocal in many meetings 00:15:36.921 --> 00:15:40.624 and forums regarding the concerning pattern of leaks 00:15:40.649 --> 00:15:43.908 on Line 235. As a result, this decision orders 00:15:43.934 --> 00:15:47.731 SoCal Gas to establish a memorandum account to record 00:15:47.756 --> 00:15:51.036 all costs related to 235, West Sections 1 & 2. 00:15:51.061 --> 00:15:54.354 This includes capital costs, including rate of 00:15:54.379 --> 00:15:58.068 return, operations and maintenance costs, repair and 00:15:58.093 --> 00:16:01.884 replacement costs, and any other costs related to the 00:16:01.909 --> 00:16:05.534 line. Cost to repair the rupture and leaked on Line 00:16:05.558 --> 00:16:08.986 235 are not requested in this GRC. But this memo 00:16:09.011 --> 00:16:12.693 account will allow the Commission the future ability 00:16:12.718 --> 00:16:16.512 to adjust the revenue requirement for 2019, 2020, and 00:16:16.537 --> 00:16:19.954 2021, should a future inquiry find that Line 235 00:16:19.979 --> 00:16:23.549 is no longer used and useful, and if costs related 00:16:23.574 --> 00:16:26.979 to 235 are unreasonable. SoCal Gas and SDG&E did 00:16:27.005 --> 00:16:30.582 request a third attrition year in this case, which 00:16:30.607 --> 00:16:34.088 would have had the effect of creating a four-year 00:16:34.113 --> 00:16:37.747 general rate case. We considered parties’ arguments 00:16:37.772 --> 00:16:41.101 in support of this, such as more flexibility in 00:16:41.126 --> 00:16:44.429 resource management, and arguments against it, 00:16:44.454 --> 00:16:47.943 such as leaving a larger a longer gap between the 00:16:47.969 --> 00:16:52.032 Commission's review of utility operations. But as I noted 00:16:52.057 --> 00:16:55.605 when we voted out PG&E’s GT&S decision at our last 00:16:55.630 --> 00:16:59.278 meeting, we currently have a general rate case plan 00:16:59.303 --> 00:17:02.856 rulemaking that is considering the appropriateness 00:17:02.882 --> 00:17:06.378 of a four-year rate case cycle, and I didn't find 00:17:06.402 --> 00:17:09.873 anything unique in this particular rate case that 00:17:09.897 --> 00:17:13.338 would warrant stepping outside of that rate case 00:17:13.363 --> 00:17:16.779 cycle proceeding. So we deny the request for the 00:17:16.804 --> 00:17:20.373 four-year because we find that any decision should 00:17:20.398 --> 00:17:24.082 be, about the four-year rate case, should be applied 00:17:24.108 --> 00:17:27.964 uniformly to all of the utilities and deferred to that 00:17:27.989 --> 00:17:31.469 rate case plan rulemaking. If a decision adopting 00:17:31.494 --> 00:17:34.777 a four-year GRC cycle is made in the rate case 00:17:34.802 --> 00:17:38.549 planmaking, rulemaking, then our decision includes an 00:17:38.549 --> 00:17:42.959 ordering paragraph telling the utilities to file a petition to 00:17:42.984 --> 00:17:47.229 modify this decision. With regard to executive compensation, 00:17:47.254 --> 00:17:51.582 during the course of this general rate case cycle, SB 901 was 00:17:51.607 --> 00:17:56.189 signed into law. Among many other important changes to the Public 00:17:56.215 --> 00:18:00.339 Utilities Code was an amendment prohibiting investor-owned 00:18:00.364 --> 00:18:04.603 utilities, such as SDG&E and SoCal gas, from recovering from 00:18:04.628 --> 00:18:08.950 ratepayers any annual salary bonus benefits paid to executive 00:18:08.974 --> 00:18:13.480 officers of the utility and required that compensation be funded 00:18:13.505 --> 00:18:17.842 by shareholders. The revision to Section 706 became effective 00:18:17.867 --> 00:18:22.109 on January 1, 2019, which was the first day of the Test Year 00:18:22.134 --> 00:18:26.528 for the utilities. Because of that timing, we were not able to 00:18:26.553 --> 00:18:30.713 extract executive compensation from the revenue requirement 00:18:30.738 --> 00:18:34.859 as proposed by the utilities. And so our decision requires 00:18:34.884 --> 00:18:39.260 that any and all executive compensation and benefits that fall 00:18:39.285 --> 00:18:43.673 under SB 901 must be tracked in a memo account and refunded to 00:18:43.698 --> 00:18:48.061 ratepayers beginning January 1, 2020.Aas with any general rate 00:18:48.086 --> 00:18:52.215 case, it takes a very large group of people to produce the 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:56.764 decision. So I am going to do a long list of thank you's. First, 00:18:56.788 --> 00:19:01.044 I want to express my thank you to Judge LaRock. I don't see, 00:19:01.070 --> 00:19:05.441 where is he? There he is. The administrative law judge on this 00:19:05.465 --> 00:19:09.937 case, Rafael LaRock, worked tirelessly and very collaboratively 00:19:09.962 --> 00:19:14.409 through the entirety of this proceeding and just did a fabulous 00:19:14.435 --> 00:19:18.546 job and is now working on another GRC, just as this one is 00:19:18.571 --> 00:19:23.075 finishing. So we were in hearings…was that yesterday? Day before 00:19:23.100 --> 00:19:27.575 yesterday? Anyway, so we're on a break, and he's, like, running 00:19:27.600 --> 00:19:31.701 to start to make sure the revisions for this decision were 00:19:31.726 --> 00:19:36.397 properly done and being posted, and he's just been just incredibly 00:19:36.422 --> 00:19:40.302 hardworking, very thorough, a lot of great attention to 00:19:40.327 --> 00:19:44.586 detail, and I really appreciate his work on this decision. I 00:19:44.611 --> 00:19:49.055 also want to thank Assistant Chief ALJ Michelle Cook, who put a 00:19:49.081 --> 00:19:53.328 great deal of work into it, and proceeding analysts Marianne 00:19:53.353 --> 00:19:57.714 Davina and Nathan Poon for their invaluable support during the 00:19:57.739 --> 00:20:02.216 review and revision process. Marianne, in particular, created a 00:20:02.241 --> 00:20:06.553 tool that was hugely helpful for us in reviewing the comments 00:20:06.578 --> 00:20:11.182 filed on the decision and made sure to track all of the revisions 00:20:11.207 --> 00:20:15.228 that were requested and needed to be made. And I think we 00:20:15.253 --> 00:20:19.444 stopped counting after 3000 individual revisions. In Energy 00:20:19.469 --> 00:20:23.915 Division and the Safety Enforcement Division, there was a great 00:20:23.940 --> 00:20:28.467 group of talented staff who worked on this case with dedication, 00:20:28.492 --> 00:20:32.507 resourcefulness and expertise. I want to especially thank 00:20:32.532 --> 00:20:36.866 Laura Martin and Belinda Gotti for acting as project managers 00:20:36.891 --> 00:20:41.200 in this case. Not only did they do a fantastic job of keeping 00:20:41.225 --> 00:20:45.547 everything organized and moving forward, they also provided a 00:20:45.572 --> 00:20:50.008 lot of great subject matter expertise. Since this case was both 00:20:50.033 --> 00:20:54.012 gas and electric, we were really pulling on a lot of our 00:20:54.037 --> 00:20:58.549 resources here at the Commission. I'd like to thank our RO model 00:20:58.574 --> 00:21:03.168 master, Bess Liquer, who worked very diligently, including nights 00:21:03.192 --> 00:21:07.274 and weekends in our LA office, making sure all the numbers 00:21:07.299 --> 00:21:11.425 in this decision was correct. And I want to give a special 00:21:11.450 --> 00:21:15.900 thanks to Michael Conklin, Julia Andy and Renee Guild for their 00:21:15.925 --> 00:21:20.249 excellent work. From legal division, I get to thank my former 00:21:20.274 --> 00:21:24.851 adviser and Commissioner Shiroma’s current chief of staff, Leuwam 00:21:24.876 --> 00:21:29.624 Tesfai, who, when she was in legal division, served as our advisory 00:21:29.649 --> 00:21:33.744 attorney on this case. And then a shout out to Greg Haydn, 00:21:33.770 --> 00:21:37.947 who stepped in and did some terrific pinch hitting on legal 00:21:37.972 --> 00:21:42.194 issues. I'd like to thank my BK partner, Commissioner Guzman 00:21:42.219 --> 00:21:46.831 Aceves, and her chief of staff, Adenike Adeyeye, and her adviser, 00:21:46.856 --> 00:21:50.954 Jonathan Koltz, for giving a lot of great thoughtful input 00:21:50.979 --> 00:21:55.369 through this process. And for my office, I would like to thank 00:21:55.394 --> 00:21:59.898 my chief of staff, Rachel Peterson, my advisors, Suzanne Casazza 00:21:59.923 --> 00:22:04.528 and Anand Durvasula, who just put a ton of work. Again, you know, 00:22:04.553 --> 00:22:08.715 lots of great expertise and organization and thoughtfulness 00:22:08.740 --> 00:22:12.844 and careful attention to detail. So thank you all for your 00:22:12.870 --> 00:22:16.949 work on this, and I ask for your support of this decision. 00:22:16.974 --> 00:22:22.695 And Commissioner Randolph, I thank you for all of your 00:22:22.720 --> 00:22:28.339 very, very hard. Over this, nearly, two years. So thank you. And I add my 00:22:28.364 --> 00:22:34.426 thanks to that list of fine people that worked so very hard. I appreciate that. 00:22:34.451 --> 00:22:40.057 Now, we'll open item number 28 up for the Commissioners to make comments. 00:22:41.934 --> 00:22:46.944 Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Randolp, 00:22:46.969 --> 00:22:51.886 for all of the amazing work and coordination. I also, I won't go through 00:22:51.911 --> 00:22:56.637 all the list of staff, but the amazing resources that they've been to 00:22:56.662 --> 00:23:01.296 our office in this process, and I absolutely agree that Judge LaRock 00:23:01.321 --> 00:23:06.189 has done a great coordination job in really giving time to every issue. 00:23:06.214 --> 00:23:10.584 I wanted to just highlight a couple of small revenue issues, but 00:23:10.609 --> 00:23:15.599 important issues, that are included in this decision that took a priority 00:23:15.624 --> 00:23:20.387 for me about a year ago when we heard from our Consumer Affairs branch 00:23:20.412 --> 00:23:25.283 in L. A. about a series of customers that were receiving up to two week 00:23:25.308 --> 00:23:29.951 delays in getting their gas reconnected after they paid their bills. 00:23:29.976 --> 00:23:34.834 So I want to thank Commissioner Randolph for including a provision that 00:23:34.860 --> 00:23:39.356 requires, that provides SoCal Gas with more resources as well as a 00:23:39.381 --> 00:23:43.976 provision to require that they provide a report back on how they're 00:23:44.001 --> 00:23:49.111 improving reconnection rates with these new resources and how they're going 00:23:49.135 --> 00:23:53.853 to ensure that customers are reconnected within 36 hours. I hope that 00:23:53.878 --> 00:23:58.773 they'll take the opportunity to fix the problems customers have had with 00:23:58.797 --> 00:24:03.868 paying their bills and believing that, when customers, one of the problems 00:24:03.893 --> 00:24:08.398 has been, when customers pay their bills, they don't automatically 00:24:08.424 --> 00:24:13.280 get put in the queue for reconnection. They have to actually call back, 00:24:13.304 --> 00:24:18.000 and most normal people don't know that. They think I pay my bill, I'm 00:24:18.025 --> 00:24:22.955 going to get reconnected. So I hope part of the process that SoCal looks 00:24:22.980 --> 00:24:27.547 at is remedying that and making that an immediate fix. In addition, 00:24:27.572 --> 00:24:32.219 I want to thank Commissioner Randolph for including a provision that 00:24:32.244 --> 00:24:37.001 requires the utility to conform with existing law as it comes to their 00:24:37.026 --> 00:24:42.364 advocacy amongst, particularly, sister agencies in relation to decarbonization 00:24:42.389 --> 00:24:46.689 of buildings and transportation electrification. As Mr. McCord, 00:24:46.714 --> 00:24:51.634 actually, mentioned this morning, our climate is heating at a very rapid 00:24:51.659 --> 00:24:56.217 pace and all of the impacts that we know there are taking place are 00:24:56.242 --> 00:25:00.966 becoming more extreme. And we need the partnership of the gas company 00:25:00.991 --> 00:25:05.487 and SDG&E, but we need it in an honest way. So I thank you for the 00:25:05.512 --> 00:25:10.493 amendment to including very stern language to ensure that those resources 00:25:10.518 --> 00:25:15.205 are not used against fighting for climate goals. Thank you very much. 00:25:15.230 --> 00:25:19.872 Are there other Commissioner comments? Yes, Miss Commissioner? 00:25:19.897 --> 00:25:27.095 I'll go next. Thank you. Thank you, President Batjer. Thank 00:25:27.120 --> 00:25:33.954 you. Well, I'm in support, of course, for the proposed decision and to say thank 00:25:33.979 --> 00:25:40.995 you, Commissioner Randolph and to the entire team is, you know, an understatement. 00:25:41.021 --> 00:25:48.266 Really. I am just so impressed by the caliber of the work. You alluded to an 800-page 00:25:48.291 --> 00:25:55.737 decision. Well, I was going through the table of contents and the sheer detail. I mean, 00:25:55.762 --> 00:26:02.760 there were 30 pages to the table of contents itself. It shows you the magnitude of 00:26:02.784 --> 00:26:10.048 what it takes to do a general rate case on and consideration of all aspects, all four 00:26:10.073 --> 00:26:17.312 corners of what it means to put together the future budgeting and all the pieces that 00:26:17.337 --> 00:26:24.690 go into it. And so I hope to live up to your work as the assigned Commissioner for the 00:26:24.715 --> 00:26:31.874 Phase Two for San Diego, and we will be looking to, once adopted, to update the work 00:26:31.900 --> 00:26:38.650 papers to take a look at the precise rate and bill impacts on customers and the 00:26:38.674 --> 00:26:46.074 revenues that we’re poised to adopt today. And I think it's very, very key that this is 00:26:46.099 --> 00:26:53.277 the first general rate case and it’s twofer for San Diego and SoCal gas on the RAMP. 00:26:53.302 --> 00:27:00.033 This Risk Assessment Mitigation Phase. It's infusing assertively upfront safety 00:27:00.058 --> 00:27:07.224 requirements and safety review requirements that are right there in the general rate 00:27:07.249 --> 00:27:14.558 case. And again, I thank you so much and I'm ready to support the decision. Thank you. 00:27:14.583 --> 00:27:16.307 Thank you, Commissioner. 00:27:16.331 --> 00:27:22.089 Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Randolph, 00:27:22.114 --> 00:27:27.847 for resolving so many thorny issues in this well-reasoned decision. And it 00:27:27.873 --> 00:27:33.619 does take a very large village to produce an 800-page decision. But I want 00:27:33.644 --> 00:27:39.365 to especially thank Judge LaRock for his great work on this. I support the 00:27:39.389 --> 00:27:45.295 decision. I want to highlight two points very quickly. One is the decision’s 00:27:45.320 --> 00:27:51.124 very careful treatment of Line 235, as Commissioner Randolph explained, and 00:27:51.149 --> 00:27:57.118 the ability of us to revisit, later on, whether or not that line remains used 00:27:57.144 --> 00:28:02.782 and useful. And second, I wanted to reiterate the point that Commissioner 00:28:02.807 --> 00:28:09.012 Guzman Aceves made. I was concerned by party comments about the use of ratepayer 00:28:09.037 --> 00:28:14.451 dollars to oppose state climate goals. And I think it's important that 00:28:14.477 --> 00:28:20.516 in this decision, a judge, Commissioner Randolph included language reiterating 00:28:20.541 --> 00:28:25.867 that SoCal Gas is not permitted to use money in its customer strategy 00:28:25.891 --> 00:28:31.554 and engagement budget or for its policy and environmental solutions group 00:28:31.579 --> 00:28:37.370 inappropriately, and in particular, that means not to be used in opposition 00:28:37.395 --> 00:28:42.969 to established state policy goals promoting building electrification and 00:28:42.995 --> 00:28:49.003 transportation electrification. With that, I will fully support this decision. 00:28:49.027 --> 00:28:53.282 All right, are there any other comments from the Commision at 00:28:53.307 --> 00:28:57.537 this time? Okay, seeing none, may I ask the Agenda Clerk, please to call the roll. 00:28:57.563 --> 00:29:00.590 For Item 28, Commissioner Shiroma. Aye. 00:29:00.615 --> 00:29:02.274 Commissioner Guzman Aceves. Aye. 00:29:02.299 --> 00:29:04.670 Commissioner Randolph Aye 00:29:04.669 --> 00:29:06.554 Commissioner Rechtschaffen Aye. 00:29:06.579 --> 00:29:08.145 President Batjer. Aye. 00:29:08.170 --> 00:29:13.162 Thank you. With that, the vote is unanimous. 00:29:13.187 --> 00:29:17.693 I think, as a result of the vote, item number 30, which is 00:29:17.718 --> 00:29:22.583 connected to item number 28, will be withdrawn from the Consent 00:29:22.608 --> 00:29:27.600 Agenda. Moving on, now, to item 29. Again, Commissioner Randolph. 00:29:27.600 --> 00:29:31.746 Okay, so this, it's kind 00:29:31.771 --> 00:29:35.643 of a long and complicated case. This complaint 00:29:35.668 --> 00:29:42.774 was filed by AT&T. Well, first of all, this is an order extending statutory deadline. 00:29:42.798 --> 00:29:49.751 The complaint was filed by AT&T alleging that Vaya violated, Vaya Telecom, violated 00:29:49.776 --> 00:29:53.653 ordering paragraph three of decision 14-06-00, 00:29:53.679 --> 00:29:57.366 I’m sorry, 14-01-006. The specific complaint 00:29:57.391 --> 00:30:01.202 is that Vaya is continuing to send InterLATA, 00:30:01.227 --> 00:30:04.764 which in layman's terms, an InterLATA call 00:30:04.789 --> 00:30:08.587 can generally be described as a long distance 00:30:08.612 --> 00:30:12.303 call. So InterLATA traffic over AT&T’s local 00:30:12.328 --> 00:30:19.523 interconnection trunks. Similarly, Vaya sent InterLATA traffic to AT&T’s point trunks. 00:30:19.548 --> 00:30:23.587 Again, more things I did not know in law school, 00:30:23.612 --> 00:30:26.966 did not learn in law school. A presiding 00:30:26.991 --> 00:30:34.191 officer's decision was issued on April 9, 2019. Vaya filed an appeal on May 9, 2019. A 00:30:34.216 --> 00:30:38.010 modified presiding officer's decision, or mod 00:30:38.035 --> 00:30:41.639 POD, was voted out on August 15, 2019. That 00:30:41.665 --> 00:30:45.383 decision set a second phase to determine the 00:30:45.408 --> 00:30:49.184 dollar amount for the access charges owned by 00:30:49.209 --> 00:30:52.832 Vaya as well as potential penalties. Before 00:30:52.857 --> 00:30:56.620 that second phase had a chance to begin, Vaya 00:30:56.645 --> 00:31:03.922 filed an application for rehearing of decision 19-8-028. Therefore, in order to resolve 00:31:03.947 --> 00:31:11.199 the application for rehearing, as well as to address the phase two issue of determining 00:31:11.224 --> 00:31:18.406 the dollar amount for the access charges owed by Vaya, the statutory deadline for this 00:31:18.431 --> 00:31:22.133 proceeding needs to be extended to September 00:31:22.158 --> 00:31:25.835 29, 2020. I ask for your support on item 29. 00:31:25.860 --> 00:31:31.295 Thank you, Commissioner Randolph. IN Now Open item 29 up for the 00:31:31.320 --> 00:31:36.475 Commissioner’s comments. Seeing none, will the agenda clerk please call the roll? 00:31:36.500 --> 00:31:39.710 For item number 29, Commissioner Shiroma. Aye. 00:31:39.735 --> 00:31:42.358 Commissioner Guzman Aceves. Aye. 00:31:42.383 --> 00:31:43.800 Commissioner Randolph. Aye. 00:31:43.825 --> 00:31:46.520 Commissioner Rechtscheffen. Yes. 00:31:46.520 --> 00:31:48.313 President Batjer. Aye. 00:31:48.338 --> 00:31:53.544 Thank you. The vote count is unanimous. Thank you very much, Commissioner 00:31:53.569 --> 00:31:58.258 Randolph. We're now turning to item 31. Commissioner Guzman Aceves. 00:31:58.283 --> 00:32:02.076 This extension is not as 00:32:02.101 --> 00:32:06.420 complicated as the last one. This is dealing with the Southern 00:32:06.445 --> 00:32:10.707 California Edison's energy resource recovery account. The ERA 00:32:10.732 --> 00:32:14.626 compliance of 2017, and I'm asking for a short extension 00:32:14.651 --> 00:32:18.696 to March of next year, which will really not be necessary, 00:32:18.721 --> 00:32:22.741 hopefully, because we have issued a proposed decision, and 00:32:22.767 --> 00:32:26.868 we hope to vote on it at the October 24th meeting. So I ask 00:32:26.893 --> 00:32:30.969 for your extension just to cover that timeframe. Thank you. 00:32:30.994 --> 00:32:37.055 Okay. Turning item number 31 over to the Commissioners for comment. 00:32:37.080 --> 00:32:41.720 I only have one comment, and I underscore, hopefully, that it will come in before 00:32:41.720 --> 00:32:46.751 March of 2020. Thank you. Any other comments? 00:32:46.776 --> 00:32:52.329 Okay. Would the agenda clerk please call the roll? 00:32:52.354 --> 00:32:54.677 For item 31, Commissioner Shiroma. Aye. 00:32:54.702 --> 00:32:56.710 Commissioner Guzman Aceves. Aye. 00:32:56.710 --> 00:33:00.205 Commissioner Randolph. Aye. 00:33:00.230 --> 00:33:02.019 Commissioner Rechtscheffen. Yes 00:33:02.044 --> 00:33:03.247 President Batjer. Aye. 00:33:03.272 --> 00:33:06.016 The vote is unanimous. Thank you very much. We're 00:33:06.041 --> 00:33:08.760 now moving on to items 32. Commissioner Randolph. 00:33:08.784 --> 00:33:14.518 This is an order extending statutory deadline in the 00:33:14.543 --> 00:33:20.032 resource adequacy program. Typically, every other year, we do a new OIR to 00:33:20.057 --> 00:33:25.632 kick off the next set of issues in the RA program. However, we have been so 00:33:25.656 --> 00:33:31.132 busy actually dealing with those issues that we have not yet drafted a new 00:33:31.158 --> 00:33:36.647 OIR. We just voted out a decision on the Consent Agenda today. And then we 00:33:36.672 --> 00:33:41.990 have another one coming up in October, so we are extending the statutory 00:33:42.015 --> 00:33:47.711 deadline in order to give ourselves a little more time to prepare a new order 00:33:47.737 --> 00:33:53.408 instituting rulemaking in a few months, hopefully. So I ask for your support. 00:33:53.433 --> 00:33:58.415 Okay. Thank you. I'm turning item 32 over to the Commissioners 00:33:58.440 --> 00:34:02.977 for comment. Okay, seeing none, would the agenda clerk please call the roll. 00:34:03.002 --> 00:34:05.034 For item 32. Commissioner Shiroma. Aye. 00:34:05.059 --> 00:34:06.755 Commissioner Guzman Aceves. Aye. 00:34:06.780 --> 00:34:08.625 Commissioner Randolph. Aye. 00:34:08.650 --> 00:34:10.443 Commissioner Rechtschaffen. Aye 00:34:10.468 --> 00:34:14.161 Rresident Batjer. Aye. Thank you, Commissioner Randolph. Turning 00:34:14.161 --> 00:34:17.893 now to item 33 which is assigned to me. Item 33 is 00:34:17.918 --> 00:34:21.405 an order instituting investigation, an OII. The 00:34:21.430 --> 00:34:25.222 Commission is opening on its motion to consider the 00:34:25.246 --> 00:34:28.721 ratemaking and other implications of a proposed 00:34:28.746 --> 00:34:32.179 plan for resolution of voluntary case filed by 00:34:32.204 --> 00:34:35.977 Pacific Gas and Electric Company, PG&E, pursuant to 00:34:36.003 --> 00:34:39.498 Chapter 11 Bankruptcy code in the United States 00:34:39.522 --> 00:34:43.574 Bankruptcy Court in San Francisco. PG&E elected to file 00:34:43.599 --> 00:34:47.254 Chapter 11 case in bankruptcy court in January of 00:34:47.279 --> 00:34:50.690 this year. As primary state regulator of PG&E, 00:34:50.715 --> 00:34:54.357 before the Chapter 11 matter can be resolved, the 00:34:54.383 --> 00:34:57.855 Commission must review and approve any proposed 00:34:57.880 --> 00:35:01.456 resolution and find it compliant with California 00:35:01.481 --> 00:35:05.324 law, including AB1054. This proceeding establishes a 00:35:05.349 --> 00:35:08.913 preliminary schedule and scope of issues for the 00:35:08.938 --> 00:35:12.622 Commission's consideration of whether to approve a 00:35:12.647 --> 00:35:16.372 plan of reorganization and any associated proposed 00:35:16.397 --> 00:35:19.805 settlement agreements and make other statutory 00:35:19.830 --> 00:35:23.543 findings necessary for PG&E’s participation in the 00:35:23.568 --> 00:35:27.329 Wildfire Fund, created pursuant to 1054. Initiation 00:35:27.354 --> 00:35:30.927 of this proceeding is not an indication that the 00:35:30.952 --> 00:35:34.646 Commission approves or disapproves of any proposed 00:35:34.671 --> 00:35:38.304 plan of reorganization that has been announced to 00:35:38.329 --> 00:35:41.792 date. The Commission is party to the Chapter 11 00:35:41.816 --> 00:35:45.392 matter in the bankruptcy court and will continue 00:35:45.417 --> 00:35:48.968 to represent the interests of California in this 00:35:48.993 --> 00:35:52.556 matter. The Commission's focus remains solely on 00:35:52.582 --> 00:35:56.048 ensuring Northern Californians receive safe and 00:35:56.073 --> 00:35:59.862 reliable service at reasonable rates and consistent 00:35:59.887 --> 00:36:03.578 with achieving California's climate goals. I asked 00:36:03.602 --> 00:36:07.087 my fellow Commissioners for any comment and, of 00:36:07.112 --> 00:36:10.790 course, for their support. Are there any comments? 00:36:10.790 --> 00:36:14.306 Thank you. Thank 00:36:14.331 --> 00:36:17.597 you, President Batjer. I wanted to say just 00:36:17.622 --> 00:36:24.105 a couple of quick things. As President Batjer notes, this proceeding and the resulting 00:36:24.129 --> 00:36:30.475 plan of reorganization is a central part of resolving PG&E's bankruptcy. This is not 00:36:30.500 --> 00:36:33.773 entirely new ground for this Commission. We 00:36:33.798 --> 00:36:37.269 heard and resolved a similar plan in the prior 00:36:37.294 --> 00:36:43.721 PG&E bankruptcy, and I’m confident that we could do so, expeditiously, providing full 00:36:43.746 --> 00:36:47.246 opportunity for the parties to participate. In 00:36:47.271 --> 00:36:50.820 this proceeding, as President Batjer notes, the 00:36:50.845 --> 00:36:57.260 scope of the proceeding includes issues that we must resolve under AB1054 in order to 00:36:57.284 --> 00:37:00.851 approve a plan of reorganization. Central among 00:37:00.876 --> 00:37:04.046 those include ensuring that the governance 00:37:04.072 --> 00:37:07.885 structure of a new reorganized PG&E is appropriate 00:37:07.910 --> 00:37:11.100 to deal with its safety record, especially 00:37:11.125 --> 00:37:17.604 in light of its poor safety performance in the past, that the reorganized company will 00:37:17.629 --> 00:37:21.062 further state climate goals, that any plan is 00:37:21.087 --> 00:37:24.271 ratepayer neutral. Those are the statutory 00:37:24.296 --> 00:37:27.790 requirements. We also have a mandate to ensure 00:37:27.815 --> 00:37:31.061 that the plan is consistent with the public 00:37:31.087 --> 00:37:37.660 interest and ratepayer interests under our existing statutory schemes. Again, this is a 00:37:37.685 --> 00:37:41.257 regular, even though it's in the context of the 00:37:41.282 --> 00:37:44.457 bankruptcy, this is a regular OII. All the 00:37:44.482 --> 00:37:50.819 procedural opportunities for public input that are available in a normal OII will be 00:37:50.844 --> 00:37:54.410 available, in this case, and we look forward to 00:37:54.435 --> 00:37:57.753 robust stakeholder participation. Thank you. 00:37:57.778 --> 00:38:00.694 Thank you, Commissioner. Are there any other comments? Yes. 00:38:00.718 --> 00:38:04.187 Thank you. Thank you. 00:38:04.212 --> 00:38:07.806 Present Batjer. I support the proposed decision 00:38:07.831 --> 00:38:14.291 to issue the OII. It is essential to provide for timely decision making on the formal 00:38:14.316 --> 00:38:20.789 bankruptcy, and it'll provide the opportunity to gather comments and information from 00:38:20.814 --> 00:38:24.113 stakeholders and including those who aren't 00:38:24.138 --> 00:38:27.562 involved in the formal bankruptcy proceedings 00:38:27.588 --> 00:38:33.898 in court. I look forward to a robust record on any proposed plan of reorganization, 00:38:33.923 --> 00:38:40.358 the effect on customer bills and rates, including those for low income households and 00:38:40.383 --> 00:38:44.057 disadvantaged communities in the PG&E territory, 00:38:44.082 --> 00:38:47.056 and along with that, also achieving our 00:38:47.080 --> 00:38:53.503 progress towards greenhouse gas goals, and, of course safety requirements. Thank you. 00:38:53.527 --> 00:38:57.063 Thank you, Commissioner. Are there any other comments at this time? 00:38:57.088 --> 00:39:01.537 I think my fellow Commissioners have all 00:39:01.562 --> 00:39:06.112 said it very well and just the importance of having this public forum to 00:39:06.137 --> 00:39:10.574 be able to hear things that the limited parties in bankruptcy will not 00:39:10.599 --> 00:39:15.011 provide. And I think it's excellent that we’ll be including all of the 00:39:15.035 --> 00:39:19.774 swath of things that you've included in the OII, and look for to additional 00:39:19.799 --> 00:39:23.952 comments from the public on what else we should be considering and 00:39:23.978 --> 00:39:28.455 ensuring the protections that my fellow Commissioners have mentioned in 00:39:28.480 --> 00:39:32.870 terms of a safety culture and to be rate neutral. Thank you very much. 00:39:32.895 --> 00:39:34.330 Thank you Commissioner. 00:39:34.355 --> 00:39:40.564 I'll just briefly reiterate, you know, the importance of 00:39:40.589 --> 00:39:46.773 this proceeding. As my fellow Commissioners mentioned, this is, as much as we get 00:39:46.797 --> 00:39:53.371 criticized for being complicated and arcane, we are nothing compared to the bankruptcy 00:39:53.396 --> 00:39:59.719 court. So this really is the opportunity for parties with more diverse interests to 00:39:59.744 --> 00:40:06.004 participate in a somewhat more publicly accessible process. And for us to not only 00:40:06.029 --> 00:40:09.410 ensure the statutory goals of 1054, but also 00:40:09.435 --> 00:40:12.716 our constitutional responsibility to ensure 00:40:12.741 --> 00:40:18.913 safe and reliable service provided with reasonable rates. So thank you, President 00:40:18.939 --> 00:40:25.538 Batjer, for getting this OII started, and I look forward to assisting in any way I can. 00:40:25.563 --> 00:40:28.393 Thank you. I thank my fellow 00:40:28.418 --> 00:40:31.107 Commissioners very much for your comments. Any 00:40:31.132 --> 00:40:33.977 further comment to be made? Okay. Thank you. I'll 00:40:34.002 --> 00:40:36.708 turn the vote over to the agenda clerk, please. 00:40:36.733 --> 00:40:39.803 Item 33. Commissioner Shiroma Aye. 00:40:39.828 --> 00:40:41.701 Commissioner Guzman Aceves Aye. 00:40:41.726 --> 00:40:43.014 Commissioner Randolph. Aye. 00:40:43.039 --> 00:40:44.250 Commissioner Rechtschaffen. Aye. 00:40:44.250 --> 00:40:51.240 President Batjer. Aye. Thank you very much. We'll now turn to the next agenda item. 00:40:51.240 --> 00:40:58.240 And that is the management reports. And we have no management reports. Excuse 00:40:58.240 --> 00:41:11.950 me, Alice. I didn't have any on my agenda. (inaudible speech from off-mic) No. Yeah, I do not. Unfortunately, I understood 00:41:11.950 --> 00:41:14.956 that the manager reports come before the Commissioner's 00:41:14.981 --> 00:41:17.210 reports. So thank you for the correction. 00:41:17.210 --> 00:41:20.983 But having said that, there are no management reports today, so let's just move on. 00:41:21.008 --> 00:41:26.143 I just have one, Maryam, well, it's not really report, but Deputy 00:41:26.168 --> 00:41:31.147 Executive Director Maryam Ebke would like to introduce her new staff person. 00:41:31.172 --> 00:41:32.652 That's lovely. Thank you. 00:41:32.652 --> 00:41:37.993 Maryam, are you here? Yes. Please. Please introduce 00:41:38.018 --> 00:41:42.820 yourself, Maryam. And then that of your staff. 00:41:42.820 --> 00:41:45.747 Good morning, Commissioners. 00:41:45.772 --> 00:41:49.006 President Batjer. Thank you. Maryam Ebke, Deputy 00:41:49.031 --> 00:41:52.477 Executive Director, Safety and Consumer Protection. 00:41:52.502 --> 00:41:55.658 I'm pleased to introduce Doug Ito. He's our new 00:41:55.682 --> 00:41:58.802 division director for the Division of Consumer 00:41:58.827 --> 00:42:02.321 Protection and Enforcement Division. Doug joined the 00:42:02.346 --> 00:42:05.586 Commission on September 9th. He comes to us from 00:42:05.611 --> 00:42:08.694 the Air Resources Board where has worked there 00:42:08.719 --> 00:42:11.975 for almost 20 years, mostly the past 14 years in 00:42:12.000 --> 00:42:15.098 management positions and leadership positions. 00:42:15.123 --> 00:42:18.234 Most recently, Doug was the Assistant Division 00:42:18.259 --> 00:42:21.610 Chief for the Division of Toxic Transportation and 00:42:21.635 --> 00:42:25.084 Toxic Division working on implementing, developing, 00:42:25.109 --> 00:42:28.267 and implementing regulations and incentives for 00:42:28.293 --> 00:42:31.266 cleaner freight transportation equipment and 00:42:31.291 --> 00:42:34.635 facilities. Doug earned a Master of Science degree 00:42:34.660 --> 00:42:37.714 in Transportation Technology and Policy and a 00:42:37.739 --> 00:42:41.233 Bachelor of Science in Environmental Policy Analysis 00:42:41.258 --> 00:42:44.764 and Planning, both from the University of California 00:42:44.789 --> 00:42:47.807 at Davis. Doug’s extensive background both in 00:42:47.832 --> 00:42:51.145 work experience and his educational background in 00:42:51.170 --> 00:42:54.326 transportation and enforcement is much welcomed 00:42:54.351 --> 00:42:57.718 in CPED. As you know, we now have four branches in 00:42:57.743 --> 00:43:00.887 the division of Consumer Protection Enforcement 00:43:00.911 --> 00:43:04.360 Division. We have an Enforcement branch in Southern 00:43:04.385 --> 00:43:07.212 California, Enforcement Branch in Northern 00:43:07.237 --> 00:43:10.540 California, Transportation Licensing and Analysis 00:43:10.566 --> 00:43:13.382 Branch in San Francisco and also a Utility 00:43:13.407 --> 00:43:16.585 Enforcement Branch. Doug is at 300 Capitol Mall 00:43:16.610 --> 00:43:19.564 in Sacramento. But you’ll see him in our San 00:43:19.589 --> 00:43:22.953 Francisco and LA office with his staff, and I just 00:43:22.977 --> 00:43:26.250 wanted to introduce him and welcome into the PUC. 00:43:26.275 --> 00:43:31.140 Maryam, thank you. And we welcome you, Mr Ito. 00:43:31.140 --> 00:43:35.078 Thank you very much. Executive Director Stebbins, 00:43:35.103 --> 00:43:38.150 do you have anything else? I apologize 00:43:38.150 --> 00:43:41.282 for taking that out of order. All right. Thank 00:43:41.307 --> 00:43:44.280 you. We'll now move on to the Commissioner's 00:43:44.280 --> 00:43:47.780 reports. Who wants to start? 00:43:47.805 --> 00:43:53.164 Okay. Okay. Just as a quick update. I did have 00:43:53.189 --> 00:43:58.593 few events over the last week or so, and I wanted to share some of them. Last 00:43:58.618 --> 00:44:04.173 Thursday, I was down in a community called Parlier, where the Solar Task Force, 00:44:04.198 --> 00:44:09.312 the interagency task force that has been formed with the Contractor State 00:44:09.337 --> 00:44:14.621 Licensing Board, the Department of Business Oversight and the Fresno County 00:44:14.646 --> 00:44:20.252 District Attorney, where we were doing a press conference to bring the attention 00:44:20.277 --> 00:44:25.479 to the electric customers in Fresno County of a bulletin that was sent out 00:44:25.504 --> 00:44:30.958 jointly to 300,000 residents in Fresno County and letting them know about some 00:44:30.984 --> 00:44:36.479 of their new requirements that are in place and giving them tips on how to get 00:44:36.504 --> 00:44:41.835 solar in a safe and affordable way without any sort of fraud. And so, at the 00:44:41.861 --> 00:44:47.413 end of the month, we will be requiring the California Solar Consumer Protection 00:44:47.438 --> 00:44:52.479 Guide as part as of interconnection. I did also join Southern California 00:44:52.503 --> 00:44:57.922 Edison in Tulare for their Hispanic Heritage Day, which was actually a really 00:44:57.947 --> 00:45:03.203 fabulous day down in Tulare. I think over 300 people were there. Tremendous 00:45:03.228 --> 00:45:08.496 community partnerships and business partnerships that were discussed there, 00:45:08.521 --> 00:45:13.903 so it's a real honor to be there with them. Right after our LA visit, I did a 00:45:13.928 --> 00:45:19.286 tour with some of the communities in South LA, Southwest LA, and this was in 00:45:19.311 --> 00:45:24.783 partnership with State Water Resources Control Board, the regional board, many 00:45:24.808 --> 00:45:30.292 community partnerships. And we went to visit these unincorporated parts of LA, 00:45:30.317 --> 00:45:35.568 Sativa, Maywood, Linwood, all of these areas that are served currently with 00:45:35.593 --> 00:45:41.153 private mutual water companies that are not regulated by the PUC, and obviously 00:45:41.178 --> 00:45:45.949 they're not elected by their citizens. So there's been a real story, 00:45:45.974 --> 00:45:51.522 unfortunately, of neglect. LA County has stepped in with one particular system, 00:45:51.547 --> 00:45:57.278 Sativa, to improve their infrastructure. And just while we were there, they issued 00:45:57.303 --> 00:46:02.866 their RFP for who will take over that system. It's very likely that an IOU will 00:46:02.891 --> 00:46:08.082 try to bid for that. So this issue will be coming our way, most likely, of 00:46:08.107 --> 00:46:13.727 these communities and others like them, where the rule of potentially of private 00:46:13.752 --> 00:46:19.000 water utilities taking over these failing systems. So I really look forward 00:46:19.025 --> 00:46:24.304 to our water division stepping up and looking at not just the accounting of 00:46:24.329 --> 00:46:29.791 these systems and the affordability but the public process of how to take into 00:46:29.816 --> 00:46:35.290 account what the communities there really, really want. And this was something 00:46:35.315 --> 00:46:40.210 we heard during the tour from the communities themselves of being able 00:46:40.235 --> 00:46:45.800 to participate and something that we struggle with here. So we're gonna need to 00:46:45.825 --> 00:46:51.296 be grounded. We're gonna be need to be in LA, at least, for these communities, 00:46:51.321 --> 00:46:56.526 but there will be many others. And as Commissioners Roma and I are working 00:46:56.550 --> 00:47:01.660 with the State Water Board on their bigger agenda of safe drinking water, 00:47:01.686 --> 00:47:07.245 this is gonna be a continued need to focus on. I did also visit a couple of the 00:47:07.270 --> 00:47:12.595 CCAs over the last few weeks, and the most recent one was with MCE Board and 00:47:12.620 --> 00:47:18.096 just really had a brief visit with them here in Richmond, last week, which was 00:47:18.121 --> 00:47:23.295 really impressive in terms of the amount of dedication and leadership from 00:47:23.320 --> 00:47:28.534 the local governments to the issue of energy procurement. So I hope we can 00:47:28.559 --> 00:47:34.165 continue to do more of those engagements and dialogues as we move forward. Okay. 00:47:34.191 --> 00:47:39.532 Almost done. Two more things. I also, with Commission Rechtschaffen, did one 00:47:39.556 --> 00:47:44.802 of the consultations down for tribal consultations that we've been doing on 00:47:44.828 --> 00:47:50.245 two topics on broadband access and on the tribal land policy. We were down in 00:47:50.270 --> 00:47:55.592 Tuolumme with the Miwok Native Americans, hosted the consultation there, and 00:47:55.617 --> 00:48:01.160 that was just a fabulous story on the amount of progress has been made in their 00:48:01.185 --> 00:48:06.426 communities. We have two more consultations. The next one is this Monday at 00:48:06.450 --> 00:48:11.805 the Blue Lake Rancheria, and the final one will be down in the Pechanga area 00:48:11.830 --> 00:48:17.299 with the Pechanga in the Tumecula area of Riverside County on October 11th. So 00:48:17.324 --> 00:48:22.805 those will be our final consultations. And in in that vein, tomorrow is Native 00:48:22.830 --> 00:48:28.078 American Day at the Capitol, and President Batjer and I will be joining the 00:48:28.103 --> 00:48:33.591 Tribal Council tonight at their forum, which is a great honor and a tremendous 00:48:33.616 --> 00:48:38.801 progress that we have done in really the restitution of our tribal nations 00:48:38.825 --> 00:48:44.092 here in California, as the state with the most tribal governments. And also 00:48:44.117 --> 00:48:49.428 in that vein, I wanted to finally recognize Darcy Hauk, who unfortunately is 00:48:49.454 --> 00:48:55.084 leaving. I don't think she's here today, but she will be leaving the Commission. 00:48:55.109 --> 00:49:00.505 Administrative Law Judge Hauk has done a tremendous amount of work for tribal 00:49:00.530 --> 00:49:05.731 communities in our policy development here at the Commission, amongst many 00:49:05.756 --> 00:49:11.140 other things, like all over work on nuclear decommissioning. Songs, YABO, you 00:49:11.164 --> 00:49:16.579 name it. She is going to be a huge loss for us, but she is not going too far. 00:49:16.604 --> 00:49:21.855 She will be general counsel at the California Energy Commission. So we look 00:49:21.880 --> 00:49:27.421 forward to working with her in her new role, but are very sad to see her leave. 00:49:27.446 --> 00:49:32.685 But thank her for her tremendous service here at the Commission. Thank you. 00:49:32.710 --> 00:49:38.677 Thank you, Commissioner. Who would like to report next? 00:49:38.702 --> 00:49:45.322 Thank you. Thank you, President Batjer. Okay, so a number 00:49:45.347 --> 00:49:51.781 of things to share with you since the last voting meeting, we had what's called 00:49:51.806 --> 00:49:58.414 the Universal Life Line Telephone Service Trust Administrative Committee Meeting. 00:49:58.439 --> 00:50:04.780 And these are folks who have volunteered to advise us on the lifeline program, 00:50:04.805 --> 00:50:11.500 which is the discount telephone program, discount phones. And this committee meets 00:50:11.525 --> 00:50:17.630 quarterly. And so at this committee meeting, we received a very informative 00:50:17.654 --> 00:50:24.174 presentations from the Communications Division staff on the rollout of two pilot 00:50:24.199 --> 00:50:30.131 programs. The Boost Care program, which Boost has access to the customers 00:50:30.156 --> 00:50:36.289 who are on the CARE discount electricity and gas utility programs. And over 00:50:36.314 --> 00:50:42.825 750,000 postcards have been sent out to eligible participants, letting them know 00:50:42.850 --> 00:50:48.971 that they qualify, by qualifying for the care program, they qualify for the 00:50:48.997 --> 00:50:55.737 Lifeline program. And I'd like to thank Caleb Jones for sharing the information and 00:50:55.762 --> 00:51:02.373 managing the program, and Shari Worster for the overall coordination, the meeting 00:51:02.398 --> 00:51:08.661 and heading up the group that implements these programs. There's also a pilot 00:51:08.686 --> 00:51:15.042 program referred to as I Foster and that will be launching soon, and that will 00:51:15.067 --> 00:51:21.076 be for riding discounts and phones to the California's Foster Youth. And I 00:51:21.101 --> 00:51:27.478 think we heard that there were 30 or there are 33,000 youth in California that 00:51:27.503 --> 00:51:34.016 would qualify for the program, and we had voted this out earlier this year. Now, 00:51:34.041 --> 00:51:40.889 on October 16 and 17, we’ll have two days of workshops, right here in San Francisco, 00:51:40.913 --> 00:51:47.011 to talk about some additional pilot programs and to garner other ideas that 00:51:47.036 --> 00:51:53.568 people may come forth with for pilot programs to provide for greater opportunity 00:51:53.593 --> 00:51:59.858 for access to the Lifeline program. Now, we also will be having an autonomous 00:51:59.883 --> 00:52:06.241 vehicle pilot workshop on October 22 here as well, and we'll be discussing the 00:52:06.266 --> 00:52:12.760 quantitative and qualitative data provided by companies so far, and also looking 00:52:12.785 --> 00:52:18.755 at, again, what other ideas do companies have, the public have, about the 00:52:18.780 --> 00:52:25.451 autonomous vehicle program and other ideas that can be applied for and potentially 00:52:25.476 --> 00:52:31.676 authorized by the CPUC under the autonomous vehicle program and proceedings. 00:52:31.701 --> 00:52:37.956 Okay, then last week, I've been talking about this low income oversight board 00:52:37.981 --> 00:52:44.590 meeting, and we did have it. In San Ysidro, The investor owned utilities provided 00:52:44.615 --> 00:52:51.199 a preview of their applications for the next phase of the CARE and EASA programs, 00:52:51.224 --> 00:52:57.337 again for the utilities, those are the discount programs for bills and also 00:52:57.363 --> 00:53:03.773 weatherization and appliances. Those next applications are due November 4th, we 00:53:03.798 --> 00:53:10.254 had voted out the CARE and EASA decision earlier this year. And this next phase 00:53:10.279 --> 00:53:16.790 is underway. We received some good information from the investor owned utilities 00:53:16.815 --> 00:53:23.097 as a preview, again, their applications are due on November 4th. We emphasize 00:53:23.121 --> 00:53:29.297 it's very important to have metric goals and they will, which is required by 00:53:29.323 --> 00:53:35.772 the decision, and we look forward to seeing what is submitted. Also, during the 00:53:35.797 --> 00:53:41.979 committee meeting, we heard some good news from the Water division staff, in 00:53:42.004 --> 00:53:47.958 so far as, as a requirement that all schools test for lead, and for those 00:53:47.983 --> 00:53:54.797 investor-owned water utilities, under the jurisdiction of the CPUC, the schools have 00:53:54.822 --> 00:54:01.194 completed their testing. Those where there was lead found, the pipes have been 00:54:01.219 --> 00:54:07.888 replaced and that work is completed. That was very, very good news to hear for the 00:54:07.913 --> 00:54:14.192 investor-owned water utilities. Now, it was also Mexican Independence Day. We 00:54:14.217 --> 00:54:20.551 had a wonderful celebration. After the meeting, we were at a middle school and 00:54:20.576 --> 00:54:27.183 their Folklorico Dance group dance. Also, a nearby high school mariachi band came 00:54:27.208 --> 00:54:33.387 and played a number of traditional songs. And then we were joined by Senator 00:54:33.413 --> 00:54:40.008 Ben hueso, who did indeed sing a number of songs along with the band. And we were 00:54:40.033 --> 00:54:46.281 also joined by Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez and also the San Diego Mexican 00:54:46.305 --> 00:54:52.759 Consul General. It happened also be Assembly Member Gonzalez's birthday, so the 00:54:52.784 --> 00:54:59.213 Mariachi band serenaded her as well. Well, it really raised the bar in terms of 00:54:59.238 --> 00:55:05.518 Low Income Oversight board meetings. And I do want to thank our board member, 00:55:05.544 --> 00:55:12.122 Robert Castaneda, for helping to organize that, and within the CPUC, it does take 00:55:12.146 --> 00:55:18.513 a lot to organize these meetings, and I do want to thank Zayda Amaya, formerly 00:55:18.538 --> 00:55:24.880 with the Energy Division, now with the Rail division. She was the LIOB's staff 00:55:24.905 --> 00:55:31.260 coordinator for 17 years and what a wonderful job she has done all these years 00:55:31.285 --> 00:55:37.695 keeping the LIOB organized, doing minutes, agendas, making sure we have all the 00:55:37.720 --> 00:55:44.493 materials well ahead of time, and I know that the Rail division is very, very lucky 00:55:44.518 --> 00:55:50.702 to have her. I also want to thank, from the News and Outreach office, Monica 00:55:50.727 --> 00:55:56.924 Palmera, for her help. Again, we heard yesterday in committee about what the 00:55:56.949 --> 00:56:03.362 Public Adviser's office does, and having Monica there with the audio-visual and 00:56:03.388 --> 00:56:09.832 all the pieces that go into an advisory committee meeting. She really helped to 00:56:09.857 --> 00:56:16.035 make that a very smooth process and allow people for the public to listen in 00:56:16.060 --> 00:56:22.572 online and also to provide comments through the voice feature. So thank you very 00:56:22.597 --> 00:56:28.682 much. We’ll see what happens next in the two weeks before our next meeting. 00:56:28.707 --> 00:56:31.225 Would anybody else like to report? 00:56:31.250 --> 00:56:35.053 I have a couple of quick 00:56:35.078 --> 00:56:38.448 thank yous. One, I want to echo what Commissioner 00:56:38.473 --> 00:56:42.196 Guzman Aceves said about Darcy Hauk. I’m happy for her 00:56:42.221 --> 00:56:45.986 that she's got a new, exciting job as the Chief Counsel 00:56:46.011 --> 00:56:49.740 for the Energy Commission, but sorry to see her leave. 00:56:49.765 --> 00:56:53.469 She did fantastic work on the tribal lands policy, and 00:56:53.494 --> 00:56:57.007 she has a lot of existing relationships with tribes 00:56:57.032 --> 00:57:00.587 that allowed us to work cooperatively with them in a 00:57:00.612 --> 00:57:04.412 way that was really very effective. So we're gonna miss 00:57:04.437 --> 00:57:08.008 her. And second, I want to say thank you and goodbye 00:57:08.033 --> 00:57:11.414 to Amy Chumarty. Amy's been serving as an interim 00:57:11.439 --> 00:57:15.200 advisor for me for the past year. She took over when my 00:57:15.225 --> 00:57:18.815 advisor, Simi George, was on maternity leave. I want 00:57:18.840 --> 00:57:22.540 to thank particularly Director Lisa Veramalashenko for 00:57:22.566 --> 00:57:26.481 first reluctantly, but then, maybe more enthusiastically, 00:57:26.506 --> 00:57:29.789 agreeing to lend Amy to our office. Amy provided 00:57:29.813 --> 00:57:33.406 a lot of expertise on our safety and risk management 00:57:33.431 --> 00:57:37.067 programs, which she had developed when she was in the 00:57:37.093 --> 00:57:40.539 Safety division, so it was a great transition. She 00:57:40.564 --> 00:57:44.255 also worked on water and telecommunications issues. In 00:57:44.280 --> 00:57:48.003 addition to that, she was the main staff person on the 00:57:48.028 --> 00:57:51.793 enforcement initiative that President Picker and I, and 00:57:51.818 --> 00:57:55.258 President Batjer and I now, have been leading with 00:57:55.283 --> 00:57:58.968 Director Stebbins. And she did a great job on that. In 00:57:58.993 --> 00:58:02.922 her spare time, she also became the unofficial Commission 00:58:02.947 --> 00:58:06.241 photographer. And most importantly, she schooled 00:58:06.267 --> 00:58:09.777 me in the use of social media, allowing me to enter 00:58:09.802 --> 00:58:13.422 the 21st century effectively. She's leaving to become 00:58:13.447 --> 00:58:16.896 the director of the Consumer Affairs branch of the 00:58:16.921 --> 00:58:20.683 Commission, where she'll do a great job. I'm very happy 00:58:20.709 --> 00:58:24.483 for her there, but I will certainly miss you. And thank 00:58:24.508 --> 00:58:27.988 you very much, Amy, for your great work. (applause) 00:58:28.012 --> 00:58:31.102 Commissioner Randolph? 00:58:31.127 --> 00:58:35.062 Okay. A couple of quick 00:58:35.087 --> 00:58:38.997 things. I am introducing a new energy advisor in 00:58:39.022 --> 00:58:43.024 my office, Jason Ordego, over there. Jason joined 00:58:43.049 --> 00:58:46.706 the Commission in 2015 as a senior regulatory 00:58:46.731 --> 00:58:50.900 analyst in the Energy division, where he has worked 00:58:50.925 --> 00:58:54.748 exclusively on the integrated resource planning 00:58:54.773 --> 00:58:58.849 proceeding, so I got to know him quite well there. 00:58:58.874 --> 00:59:02.685 He has focused on how load serving entities can 00:59:02.711 --> 00:59:06.803 account for their greenhouse gas emissions as they 00:59:06.828 --> 00:59:10.815 plan toward a lower carbon profile, and he helped 00:59:10.840 --> 00:59:14.599 develop the standards and requirements so that 00:59:14.624 --> 00:59:18.598 each of the 43 LSEs file plans that can be easily 00:59:18.623 --> 00:59:22.629 compared to one another. He has recently been our 00:59:22.654 --> 00:59:26.554 point staffer for the joint workshops that we're 00:59:26.579 --> 00:59:30.731 holding around the state with the Energy Commission 00:59:30.756 --> 00:59:34.244 and the Air Resources board on our progress 00:59:34.270 --> 00:59:38.444 towards SB100. Before joining the Commission, Jason 00:59:38.469 --> 00:59:42.297 worked as a program manager at Global Footprint 00:59:42.322 --> 00:59:46.243 Network and a research associate at the National 00:59:46.268 --> 00:59:50.484 Academy of Sciences. He holds an MA in International 00:59:50.510 --> 00:59:54.758 Affairs and Technology Policy from George Washington 00:59:54.783 --> 00:59:58.445 University and a BA in English from Louisiana 00:59:58.469 --> 01:00:02.303 State. He is 100% Cajun-French, born and raised 01:00:02.328 --> 01:00:06.137 in Southern Louisiana. So welcome to my office, 01:00:06.162 --> 01:00:10.253 Jason. I also wanted to note, to give a small plug 01:00:10.278 --> 01:00:14.023 for those SB100 workshops. There is one coming 01:00:14.047 --> 01:00:18.045 up on September 30th on Monday in Fresno, another 01:00:18.070 --> 01:00:21.883 one in Reading on October 25th, and a technical 01:00:21.908 --> 01:00:25.992 workshop here, in this auditorium, on November 18. 01:00:26.017 --> 01:00:29.916 So I encourage you to get involved in the public 01:00:29.941 --> 01:00:34.172 process around the SB100 statutory report. And then, 01:00:34.197 --> 01:00:37.844 I will also note that I, last week, I had the 01:00:37.869 --> 01:00:41.801 opportunity to attend a peer review in Cambodia, 01:00:41.826 --> 01:00:45.973 sponsored by the National Association of Regulatory 01:00:45.998 --> 01:00:49.757 Utility Commissioners, or NERUC, and the State 01:00:49.781 --> 01:00:53.515 Department, where a team of myself, an analyst 01:00:53.540 --> 01:00:57.465 from Minnesota and an expert in solar issues who 01:00:57.490 --> 01:01:01.230 is now at USEPA, had the opportunity to go and 01:01:01.255 --> 01:01:05.167 meet with the Electricity Authority of Cambodia, 01:01:05.192 --> 01:01:08.920 EAC, to talk about time of use rates and solar 01:01:08.945 --> 01:01:13.194 interconnection. In the last 15 to 20 years, EAC has 01:01:13.219 --> 01:01:17.523 done a big push to get the entire country electricity 01:01:17.549 --> 01:01:21.464 service, and they are working towards that goal. 01:01:21.489 --> 01:01:25.060 And in addition, they have proposed some new 01:01:25.085 --> 01:01:29.808 time of use rates and are looking at solar interconnection 01:01:29.833 --> 01:01:33.170 issues, both for utility scale and behind 01:01:33.195 --> 01:01:37.105 the meter solar. So, they have two utility scale 01:01:37.130 --> 01:01:41.095 projects underway and have about five or six more 01:01:41.120 --> 01:01:44.809 in the queue to provide increased electricity 01:01:44.834 --> 01:01:49.140 reliability and to displace some of the coal and fuel 01:01:49.165 --> 01:01:53.403 oil resources they have there. So we had spent three 01:01:53.428 --> 01:01:57.161 days meeting and having detailed conversations 01:01:57.186 --> 01:02:01.030 about their proposals and sharing with them our 01:02:01.055 --> 01:02:04.874 experiences in California, Minnesota, and other 01:02:04.898 --> 01:02:08.809 parts of the United States. I wanna give a quick 01:02:08.834 --> 01:02:12.560 thanks to some staff people who helped me pull 01:02:12.585 --> 01:02:16.913 together some documents, so that my staff and I could 01:02:16.938 --> 01:02:20.680 come up with the powerpoint presentations that 01:02:20.704 --> 01:02:24.378 I worked on. So from Energy division, Whitney 01:02:24.404 --> 01:02:28.373 Richardson and Paul Phillips were a big help. And 01:02:28.397 --> 01:02:32.478 from ALJ division Sofia Park and Steve Roscoe were 01:02:32.503 --> 01:02:36.319 forwarding me some of the information that they 01:02:36.344 --> 01:02:40.172 have compiled over the years. So thank you very 01:02:40.197 --> 01:02:44.160 much. And that's it for my Commissioner comments. 01:02:44.185 --> 01:02:50.153 Thank you to all the Commissioners for your important 01:02:50.178 --> 01:02:56.121 updates. As I'm continuing to introduce myself to folks and going through 01:02:56.145 --> 01:03:02.341 some meet and greets, I, last weekend, this week, met with Elizabeth Echols, 01:03:02.367 --> 01:03:07.975 the Executive Director of the Public Advocate's office, and yesterday 01:03:08.000 --> 01:03:14.122 with Mark Toney, who, of course, is with Utility Reform Network, TURN. They 01:03:14.147 --> 01:03:19.842 both represent entities that are integral to the CUPC’s process, and I 01:03:19.867 --> 01:03:25.816 look forward to working with them further as well as their staffs. Just a 01:03:25.840 --> 01:03:31.603 note, we are working on finalizing 2020 Commission meeting schedule and 01:03:31.628 --> 01:03:37.351 want everyone to know that we anticipate releasing that schedule soon. 01:03:37.376 --> 01:03:43.074 Most importantly, I am also thrilled to introduce Saul Gomez. Saul was 01:03:43.098 --> 01:03:49.211 recently appointed by Governor Newsome as the Deputy Executive Director for 01:03:49.236 --> 01:03:55.002 the Office of the Commission. Saul brings a depth of administrative and 01:03:55.027 --> 01:04:01.227 policy making experience from both the public and private sectors, including 01:04:01.252 --> 01:04:06.863 serving in the Governor's Office and the Natural Resources Agency and 01:04:06.888 --> 01:04:13.075 the Energy Commission. Saul will be reporting directly to me and among other 01:04:13.099 --> 01:04:18.698 efforts, will be assisting me and Executive Director Stebbins, in the 01:04:18.723 --> 01:04:24.766 implementation of the recently enacted legislation AB1054 and AB111. These 01:04:24.791 --> 01:04:30.406 measures established the new Wild Fire Safety Advisory Board, the new 01:04:30.431 --> 01:04:35.738 Wilfire Safety Division and tasks the CPUC with many new critical 01:04:35.763 --> 01:04:42.170 responsibilities. Saul will also advise me and the Commissioners as we continue 01:04:42.195 --> 01:04:48.151 to move on organizational goals and policy initiative the CPUC is charged 01:04:48.176 --> 01:04:53.946 with. I look forward very much to working, again, here at the CPUC with 01:04:53.971 --> 01:04:59.834 Saul. Welcome. I'd like to thank Forest Keyser, who has been my interim, 01:04:59.859 --> 01:05:05.778 this short little interim I have had, interim advisory energy adviser and 01:05:05.803 --> 01:05:11.604 has been a tremendous help to me with my transition into this new role. 01:05:11.629 --> 01:05:17.405 He has been appointed as supervisor at the newly created Resiliency and 01:05:17.430 --> 01:05:23.541 Microgrids Unit within the Energy Division. Thank you, Forest, very much. I 01:05:23.566 --> 01:05:29.571 look forward to continuing your work, although I'm terribly sad to see you 01:05:29.597 --> 01:05:35.881 go. Forest, of course previously and admirably served under President Picker. 01:05:35.906 --> 01:05:41.521 Thank you so much, Forest. I believe that finishes the Commissioner's 01:05:41.546 --> 01:05:47.266 reports, and I want to thank you all for coming. The public meeting is 01:05:47.291 --> 01:05:53.090 now adjourned. Please clear the room for the closed session. Thank you.