Announcer: Event, brought to you by adminmonitor.com,
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Thank you for your patience.
Operator: Welcome to the
California Public Utilities Commission.
This is the voting business meeting,
President Batjer, you may begin.
-: Thank you operator.
Good morning, everyone.
We need to establish a quorum
so will the agenda clerk,
please call the roll.
Agenda Clerk: Commissioner Houck?
-: [Commissioner Houck] Here.
Agenda Clerk: Commissioner Shiroma?
-: Present.
Agenda Clerk: Commissioner Rechtschaffen?
-: I'm here.
Agenda Clerk: Commissioner Guzman Aceves?
-: [Commissioner Aceves] Here.
Agenda Clerk: President Batjer.
-: Here.
We have establish a quorum.
Thank you all.
So welcome to the California Public Utilities Commission.
I am calling this meeting of August 5th, 2021.
Public agenda item number 3490 to order.
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic,
and the shelter-in-place order
we are conducting today's business meeting online
and by remote participation.
This meeting is live-streamed
on the CPUC's website.
You can view the meeting at www.adminmonitor.com/CA/CPUC.
Admin monitor is one word.
Closed captioning is available in English
and Spanish through the webcast.
You can click on the green button
to select your language of choice.
We also have Spanish translation available
during the public portion of today's meeting,
Please dial 800-857-1917
passcode 379-9627
and follow the instructions
to be connected to the Spanish line.
I asked that my colleagues
and today's speakers remain mindful
and speak clearly and slowly.
I will occasionally pause in my own remarks for translation.
Public engagement is critical to the CPUC process.
If you wish to make a public comment,
dial into 800-857-1917
and enter passcode 989-9501
and press star one.
You will be placed into a queue
and the operator will take your name and information.
If appropriate, you will be called upon to speak.
When we get to the public comment period in today's agenda.
If you encounter difficulty
calling into the public telephone line,
please email votingmeetinghelp@cpuc.ca.gov
Voting, meeting, help is all one word.
I want to provide an update on recent developments
in the State's ongoing efforts
to ensure Californians
continue to receive reliable energy
in the face of extreme heat events
and other reliability challenges.
Last Friday, Governor Newsom
released a plan to achieve 100% clean
electric system that is inclusive, clean, safe,
reliable, resilient, and affordable.
As we all work across the State
toward achieving that goal,
Governor Newsom also signed an emergency proclamation
to expedite clean energy projects
and increase the availability
of additional energy resources for this summer.
And next as climate change continues to threaten The West.
The proclamation specifically asks the CPUC,
(President Batjer clears throat)
excuse me, to act immediately
to help ensure energy reliability
is maintained during this period
and specifically asks us to work with the State's load,
serving entities on accelerating plans for construction,
determine and rapid deployment of new clean energy
and storage projects to mitigate the risk
of a pass the shortages
and increase the availability of carbon-free energy
at all times of the day.
The proclamation also requests
that we exercise our power to
expedite Commission action
in service of these objectives.
Over the last year
and particularly this last several months,
the CPUC and the other California Energy Agencies
have moved quickly to better position the State
to maintain grid reliability
during these ever more frequent
and more extreme weather events.
We have adjusted our planning inputs
to better reflect the changing climate.
We have ordered procurement of additional energy resources
like storage and created innovative demand response programs
to help ensure we are supporting customers
during the critical hours of the day
when the sun is setting,
but energy use remains high,
and we have made changes to our energy market value,
excuse me, rules.
However, the impact of a rapidly changing climate
are challenging, even these best efforts
and as identified in the proclamation,
have the potential to place additional strain
on our electric grid this summer and beyond.
Which is why this Commission has already initiated work
in our proceedings to respond
and help ensure we can keep the power flowing
in an environment that will be drier and hotter.
And we'll see extremely heightened wildfire risk.
This will be an effort that
will span across various proceedings.
And I thank you all in advance my fellow Commissioners,
the Administrative Law Judges, the Commission Staff,
who will contribute to this critical effort.
Further, on July 20th,
Governor Newsom signed a historic
$6 billion broadband package.
This investment will once and for all resolve
the pernicious digital divide
that has afflicted Californians for many years.
The package includes $3.25 billion for Statewide open access
middle-mile network.
This generational investment
will ensure Californians and businesses
have the broadband infrastructure finally
to meet their needs well into the future.
$2 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funds
for a grant program to provide last mile connections
to underserved households in the State
in accordance with the U.S. Treasury guidelines.
$750 million for a new loan loss reserve fund
that will support local governments,
that issue bonds to build their own broadband networks.
The package also includes funds
for local government Technical Assistance Grants,
reforms to the Public Housing Account
and the updates to the California Advanced Services Fund.
I'm very excited about these investments
and we have much work to do here
at the Commission to get these funds
to those in need as soon as possible.
We also expect a second legislative package to ensure
affordable broadband services for low income Californians
to be enacted in the coming months.
I would like to extend my deep gratitude
to the team that made this possible.
Commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves
has been a champion of broadband
on behalf of The Commission
and the people of California for years.
Sarah Sharpe, Rob Osborn, Micah Minkes,
Karen Eckersley, Grant Mac, Marina MacLatchie,
Laura Messica, Michael Malaney
for many long nights and weekends
spent developing this package.
Thank you all.
I would also like to extend my gratitude to our colleagues
in the Governor's office,
the Department of Finance and the Department of Technology
for their leadership and continued partnerships
throughout this process.
Finally, I want to take a moment
to recognize the impacts of the various fires
burning across our State.
The Dixie Fire ignited 22 days ago
has been burning in Butte and Plumas counties
and has burned over 300,
300,000 acres making it the 10th largest wildfire
in the State's history.
Last night, the fire grew explosively
driven by high winds and extremely low humidity levels.
And despite the best efforts of our firefighters
for the historic town of Greenville.
The images of the burn are terrifying
and we are only beginning to understand the impact
to those displaced and lost
of those who have lost their homes
and those that have lost businesses
and I would also add the loss of animals.
In parallel the river fire ignited yesterday,
burning parts of Nevada and Plumus Counties,
burning 35 structures
and threatening 1000's more
and driving evacuations in those counties.
The devastating impact of the Dixie wildfire to Greenville.
The community cannot not be overstated.
And we hold them
and those in the impacted area of the active wildfires,
who have had to evacuate in our thoughts today,
as we hold this Commission meeting.
And finally, as you have noticed,
I'm wearing a mask today as I am in the Sacramento office,
and the Governor has ordered mask wearing indoors
in public places due to the COVID surge
being caused by the Delta variant.
We must continue to take precautions to preserve our health
and our, and the health of our communities.
Please be safe and please get vaccinated.
With that I thank you all very much
for the indulgence of listening
to a rather lengthy statement of mine this morning.
We will now turn to the public comment.
If you wish to make a public comment
and you have already dialed into the
public comment telephone line,
please press star one, to get into the public comment queue.
The CPUC rules do not allow for parties in proceedings
to speak about open proceedings.
The public can make comments addressing items on the consent
and regular agenda as well as items,
not on the agenda today.
Please note that there will not be public comment
on items 23 and 36
and all items on the closed session agenda.
You have two minutes to speak.
You will hear a bell sound when your time is up.
You have two minutes to speak and you will hear a bell
when your time is up.
So please be aware.
Please be mindful of other speakers in the queue
and keep to this allotted time.
With that guidance in mind.
I welcome today's speakers.
I will now turn to the operator
to open the Public Comment Line.
Operator?
Operator: Thank you, the Public Comment Telephone Line
is now open.
If you wish to speak during the public comment period,
please press star one, unmute your phone
and clearly record your name and organization when prompted.
Our first caller is Jessica Tovar,
you may go ahead.
Jessica: This is Jessica Tovar,
East Bay Clean Power Alliance
I am actually super concerned and appalled
in concern about the Dixie Fire
and the fact that we are back here again
after so many times and so many fires
and so many communities
that have been destroyed,
people who have been killed and traumatized
as a result of these fires.
The CPUC needs to do something about this.
This needs to stop.
We can't allow PG&E to continue business as usual
as they slash and burn our communities
throughout California.
I also want to highlight that the only solution
to this problem
is to have community controlled, clean energy,
not clean energy, that's controlled by the utilities.
That's the only way we're going to be able to prevent fires
is to get rid of that transmission wire infrastructure
and build out local clean energy.
That is the only solution.
And until we actually turn this the system upside down,
it's not going to change.
Every year we're experiencing more and more
deadly wildfires
and let's talk about who really caused climate change.
It's these utilities who,
who have kept us addicted to fossil fuel energy
for way too long.
Our communities have solutions to this problem
and you need to make sure that those,
those solutions are actually happening
and controlled in the communities
that need it the most.
We've been dumped on for way too long
and now we're being ravaged
by these deadly wildfires that are caused by
the same utilities that have been
dumping on our communities
and affecting our health for way too long.
And I also speak for the workers
because they are the first in line
that are also, whose lives are at stake at the moment.
So you need to do something now.
The P stands for Public in CPUC, not PG&E.
Thank you.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller please.
Operator: Our next caller is Mark Lorenzen,
you may go ahead.
Mark: Good morning members of The Commission.
My name is Mark Lorenzen and I am the Fire Chief
for the Ventura County Fire Department.
Our county has been ravaged by wildfires,
such at the Thomas and Woolsey fires
in recent years with devastating results.
Both fires occurred during extreme windy, wind,
excuse me, wind conditions
and were started when equipment owned
by public utilities failed.
I strongly support a modification,
be made to SCE's General Rate Case
to allow for proper funding
of wildfire mitigation efforts.
The hardening of our public utilities infrastructure
is critical in preventing catastrophic wild land fires.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
-: Thank you.
Operator the next caller, please.
Operator: Our next caller is Sylvia Xi,
you may go ahead.
Sylvia: I am Sylvia Xi from Seaside, California,
and I am a rate payer to Cal-M for the water bill
and I am urging the Commissioner
to consider putting in the rule on sale.
There's the Gain-On-Sale rule,
which has been recommended by the Public Advocate Office.
This item is on concern item number five,
the sale of East Pasadena Water to Cal-Am.
By applying this rule,
you are supporting the customers
because it lessens the burden of the rate payers.
By the way, as a rate payer,
I wouldn't get a drop of the benefit from this sale
or from this purchase.
I still have to pay.
So if you are supporting the customer,
please, please accept the recommendation
from the Public Advocate Office
applied the Gain-On-Sale Rule
which is your rule anyway.
Thank you very much for listening.
Bye-bye.
-: Bye-bye, thank you.
Operator next caller, please.
Operator: Our next caller is Tony Budrovich,
you may go ahead.
Tony: Hi, my name is Tony Budrovich.
I'm the President and CEO
of the Catalina Island Conservancy.
My concern is the issue with hardening utility lines
and the risk that puts in various areas.
So our organization is a,
a group that focuses on conservation.
We have some of the most beautiful open space lands
available to the public lands in Southern California.
We have about 42,000 acres.
We have one source of producing power
that sits in the City of Avalon
and all power crosses the island from there.
Our island is highly prone
and is devastated by wildfires
because most of the county resources are mainland oriented
or ability to fight a fire
when they happen are slow and limited.
Trade winds tend to blow fire into the city of Avalon,
where there are just under 4,000 residents.
So, my encouragement is obviously not to waste funding,
but hardening of the utility lines,
I would find a critically important to various areas
and wildfires,
whether they're natural or manmade
can absolutely devastate open space land
and conservation of land areas.
Our last big fire on the island was 2007
and we are still
in terrible shape from that fire, you know,
partially because of droughts and other things,
but wildfires,
wildfires do all terrible things to these open space lands.
So I just would like the PUC to be
worried about safety first
and do what they can to support the idea of hardening
these power lines so that wildfires
aren't the thing that devastate
these beautiful open space communities,
where the public's allowed to relax and enjoy
and educate and recreate.
Thank you for your time.
-: Thank you, operator, next caller, please.
Operator: Our next caller is Harry Semerjian,
you may go ahead.
Harry: Yes, good morning Commissioner President Batjer
and honorable Commissioners.
My name is Harry Semerjian
and I'm a Senior Public Policy Manager
with the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce.
I'd like to start by thanking the Commission
for allowing this dialogue today.
On behalf of the 500,000 businesses in Los Angeles county
and our 1400 members,
the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce,
strongly supports modification of the CPUC's
proposed decision on
Southern California Edison's 2021 General Rate Case.
Edison's request reflect
the unprecedented short and longterm risks our State faces,
driven by climate change,
which Edison must help mitigate.
The PD Edison received from CPUC on July 9th
would approve increases for some activities
and decreases in others.
Unfortunately, the PD's most concerning reductions
are related to wildfire risk mitigation.
Specifically the PD would reduce the amount of work
necessary to replace their distribution conductors
with new covered conductors by 55%.
This is inconsistent with State Fire Marshal
well with State Fire Mitigation Goals,
to reduce the risk of wildfires in high fire threat areas
and to reduce the use of PSPS events,
to mitigate ignition events as soon as possible.
The PD would also reduce funding necessary
for tree inspections and trimming
that take place throughout the year
to help mitigate wildfires.
If the PD is not modified,
the proposed decision will have significant implications
for ongoing efforts to reduce our State's wildfire risks.
Hence we respectfully urge
CPUC to modify the PD to include
Edison's requests that would help enhance
wildfire mitigation risks in California.
Thank you.
-: Thank you.
Operator the next caller please?
Operator: My next caller is Craig Berry,
you may go ahead.
Craig: Yes, hello.
Yes, my name is Craig Barry
and I hope you can hear me, yeah.
So I'm a
resident of Del Rey
and the number one comment I'd like to make
is I'd like you to reject the application
to increase storage limits in Aliso Canyon right now.
I live close to the Playa Del Rey Gas Storage Facility,
and I smell gas odors in my neighborhood frequently.
We need you to please protect the health of the communities,
living, working, playing,
and going to school near Aliso Canyon, gas storage,
Playa Del Ray Gas Storage in the Ventura Compressor Station.
By shutting down these dangerous facilities,
we need to do it now.
California is on fire.
We need to start now transitioning off of fossil fuels.
Your decision today can save lives.
Thank you.
-: Thank you.
Operator the next caller please.
Operator: Our next question is from Dr. Jim Stewart.
You may go ahead.
Jim: Hi, I'm Jim Stewart, PhD Energy Consultant
and Commissioner Batjer, you mentioned the Dixie Fire,
well of course, it's the failure
caused by The Commission to regulate PG&E
and allow them to continue the use of bare wires
and antiquated fuses
and not install covered wires and advanced arc interrupters
like SDG&E has done.
And your failure is aiding the Newsom recall.
Wake up.
What happens if a Republican wins,
how long will you Commissioners be around?
You need to protect us and fix that horrible
100 year old infrastructure.
Secondly, Ed Randolph and your Energy Division Staff
need to stop listening to Professor Bornstein
and his siloed team,
defending decades old modeling tools,
to evaluate the integration
of distributed energy resources into the power grid.
As a result, you've got absurd numbers
in last spring,
that cut the value of local energy by 50%.
But you have been shown up.
Vibrant, clean energy,
more powerful computers
and advanced modeling tool
gives the right information.
It shows that rooftop solar
can save all Californians $120 billion.
Maybe you need to clean out your Energy Division Staff
and get them to use updated technology.
Thank you.
-: Thank you.
Operator next caller, please.
Operator: Our next caller is Dennis Morgan.
You may go ahead.
Dennis: Hello, my name's Dennis Morgan.
I appreciate the opportunity to address
the Commissioners this morning.
I'm the President of the local
508 Utility Workers Union of America,
which represents utility workers
at California American Water's Los Angeles District.
The UWA also represents workers
at the companies Ventura and Monterey Districts.
On behalf of my fellow utility workers
and the Utility Workers Union of America, AFLCIO,
I encourage the Commission to approve the proposed decision,
authorizing East Pasadena Water Company
to sell its assets to California American Water.
The acquisition promises to bring the benefits
of California American Water's Union jobs to East Pasadena,
non-union workers.
The UWA is deeply concerned that the Commission's failure
to approve the reposed decision
threatens those union jobs
and will hurt workers, customers,
and many people in this community.
Union jobs provide collective bargaining, fair wages,
safer working conditions, improved health care benefits,
job security in a stable schedule,
which are especially critical
in places like Los Angeles County,
where the cost of living is 43% higher
than the national average.
This transaction will also improve water supply reliability
by allowing the transfer for water rights
between those two systems,
which also remedies water quality issue
that landed East Pasadena Water System
on the human rights water list.
East Pasadena customers
will also gain important benefits like
web self service credit card payments,
the customer assistance program, multi-lingual services,
robust conservation programs
and the advantage of spreading expenses
over a large customer base,
reducing rate shock
and the benefits of a larger company
that has access to more favorable financing.
For these reasons
the UWA request that you vote in favor of
the proposed decision before you today.
Thank you for your consideration on this important matter.
-: Thank you.
Operator the next caller please?
Operator: Our next caller is Alex NaGee.
You may go ahead.
Alex: Yeah, good morning Commissioners.
My name is Alexandra NaGee, and I'm with the
Stop SoCalGas Coalition
Communities across Los Angeles and Ventura counties
are uniting to protect their communities
from harmful SoCalGas operations.
Right now we're actively fighting
to shut down the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility,
shut down the Playa Del Rey Gas Storage Facility
and stop the expansion of the Ventura Compressor Station
leading to its ultimate shutdown.
We are coming together
before The Public Utilities Commission today
to ask you to stand up to SoCalGas
to stop SoCalGas from continuing
the expansion of fossil fuels
during this insane climate crisis we're living in.
You know, we need you to be bold.
We need community energy,
we need energy decisions to be in the hands of the people,
the workers,
the people who live right next to these facilities
and we wanted to show solidarity for our Californians
also living in PG&E territory,
continuing to suffer at their hands
and the Dixie Fire, it's just absolutely unacceptable.
The Public Utilities Commission has a lot of work to do
to hold both of these utilities accountable
and all utilities
that are harming us and continuing to put profit
above health, above our climate.
And we ask that you do what's necessary
to stop increases at these facilities.
Just stop storage increases at Aliso Canyon.
I personally have been very effected by this issue
of the gas spill at Aliso Canyon.
I got horribly sick.
I saw my community get sick.
I literally saw people I know die during that disaster.
And so these types of decisions about allowing SoCalGas
to expand, continues to put people's lives at risk.
And that's what you need to confront.
Are you willing to have that type of blood on your hands
by allowing SoCalGas to get its way.
Thank you.
-: Thank you very much.
At this time,
I'm going to divert from protocol a bit
and I am going to ask
our executive director, Rachel Peterson,
to address some specific concerns that have already been
raised by some of the callers.
And I suspect there will be more
in the next queue who also had the same concern.
So I would like to have Rachel
say a few words at this time,
Rachel Peterson.
Rachel: Good morning President Batjer
and Commissioners and members of the public
who are calling in right now.
Thank you for calling on me.
I just wanted to offer kind of a real-time update
about actions that staff is taking to address
one of the areas that the caller just mentioned,
and that is related to
the Ventura Compressor Station Modernization Project.
We have a letter going to the CEO of SoCalGas this morning,
it will be served on numerous service lists,
so members of the public will see it.
We are requiring SoCalGas to hold a community forum
in which they thoroughly and forthrightly respond
to community concerns
and thoroughly discuss their analysis
of the compressor station project,
including any and all alternatives that the company
has considered and is considering.
The letter is going today.
It also includes the data requests that our staff sent
to the company, for which the response is due tomorrow,
that largely also requests similar technical responses
about alternatives that the company has considered.
That data request
and the response will also be posted on our industries
and topics web page within our website
and so all of the responses and requests
will be available to the public.
That was my update from this morning, President Batjer,
I'm happy to answer any questions.
-: Rachel, thank you very much.
I think we'll move on now to the next caller.
Thank you very much for that update Rachel.
Operator, could you bring on the next caller please?
Operator: Our next caller is David Shawver,
Mayor, City of Stanton.
You may go ahead.
David: I'm stopping right now.
I was on my way to a board meeting.
So give me one second and I'll be okay.
Thank you.
Good morning, Madam president and fellow Commissioners.
My name is David Shawver
and I'm the Mayor of the City of Stanton
and current chairman of the Orange County Fire Authority.
First, I'd like to thank you
for giving me the opportunity to speak this morning.
I'm going to be talking and addressing
the request of Southern California Edison
and the importance of supporting
California Edison's aggressive action
to implement wildfire measures
that will protect the residents of Stanton
and the residents of Orange County.
All of this topic has not been brought up
to either the Stanton City Council or my board.
I want to give you my thoughts on both issues.
To begin I would like to publicly thank
Southern California Edison
for the support they have given
the Orange County Fire Authority
and our other neighbors mint firefighting agencies
in fighting wildfires
by providing two of the largest firefighting helicopters
available today for our use
and for developing their plan to replace their
distribution conductors with new covered conductors
to reduce Statewide wildfire risk.
Both of these programs will save lives
and reduce costs caused by fires
in indexed high-risk areas.
The reduction of personal property,
including homes and businesses will save millions of dollars
to improve the quality of life in Orange County.
I fully support all wildfire mitigation efforts
by Southern California, however,
I am concerned with the cost burden
to the rate payers of my community
and the cities that we serve
with the Orange County Fire Authority.
May I suggest that when we find out what the actual cost
for the wildfire risk mitigation program is,
and take it out of the rate increase to the rate payers.
This reduction would be fair for our rate payers
and all rate payers in California,
and we can supplement it with funds
from Governor Newsom's Wildfire Program.
So hopefully we can identify those costs
and supplant those out of the rate payers pockets.
I want to thank the board and Madam President
for your time and consideration
in this matter and have a good day.
-: Thank you, Mr. Mayor, I appreciate the call.
Operator the next caller please.
Operator: Our next caller is Brian Fennessy,
You may go ahead.
Brian: Good morning Commissioners.
My name is Brian Fennessy and as Fire Chief
for the Orange County Fire Authority
I'm calling in today to express my support
for addressing wildfire risk.
I have the privilege of leading a OCFA in providing
fire protection and EMS to the 23 independent cities
we serve in the County of Orange
and incorporated areas.
Altogether OCFA serves two million residents.
I wish to speak in support of taking aggressive action,
implement wildfire measures that will protect
the residents of Orange County
and the entire region served by Southern California Edison.
At OCFA We believe in pursuing
proven and aggressive strategies to mitigate wildfire.
This includes working with private sector partners,
ranging from developers, builders, landowners and utilities.
These partnerships have improved the safety of our community
and provide our residents critical resources,
such as state of the art water dropping helicopters.
Hundreds of feet of defensible space
in the wild land urban interface
and vegetation management that aligns
with local conservation goals.
Given the enormous cost of wildfires
early action can save lives, property, natural habitat,
and millions in added costs to taxpayers.
The fires in 2020 consumed 4.2 million acres
in cost the State's Emergency Fund over $1 billion.
In Orange County, and in 2020,
we dealt with three major incidents
that threatened tens of thousands
of our citizens, our structures
and burned tens of thousands of acres.
I urge the Commissioners and members of the public
to consider these costs
and how early and strategic investments
can save 100's of millions in the future.
I appreciate your role in that the other advocates
to seek a balance in the burden of cost.
However, it is important to remember
that in the case of wildfires,
the cost damage and risk over the long-term
are borne by local agencies, residents, businesses,
and in the end, taxpayers,
the loss of property, the closure of business,
whether due to fire or loss of power
and impacts to critical infrastructure
such as hospitals and schools are devastated.
Even a small reduction in the risk can lead to
significant results when considering the magnitude
of wildfire damage that can occur.
Taking actions to reduce public safety, power shifts,
and ignitions caught by power lines
will save 100's of millions of dollars in the future.
We believe the efforts and measures proposed
to harden Southern California Edison system
are reasonable and reduce fire risk.
I am speaking in supportive efforts
to harden the electrical system
and reduce wildfire risk, which is a message
OCFA consistently delivers to individual homeowners,
businesses and land owners in the wild land urban interface.
Thank you very much.
-: Thank you Chief.
Next caller, please Operator.
Operator: Our next caller is Jeanette Abbott Wicker.
You may go ahead.
Jeanette: Thank you so much Commissioner
for letting me speak today.
I stand with the Reclaim Our Power! campaign
to transform our energy system to meet community needs.
Energy is a human right,
and we need utilities that are affordable, safe, resilient,
and community and worker controlled.
To get there, we need you, our regulators
to hold them accountable.
I want PG&E held accountable
because they continue to recklessly endanger lives,
property and our land.
This is beyond appeal
how long PG&E has been able to continue
this dangerous behavior, all for shareholder profits.
We denounce the evil PG&E accountable
for causing the fires and killing people.
Use the accountability process you've voted for
and make those actions SWIFT and transparent
so we can move forward
toward an energy system that will keep us all safe.
PG admitted, PG&E admitted to
he may have caused a Dixie Fire,
which is now the 11th biggest fire in California history
and the fifth straight year PG&E
has caused a massive fire,
devastating our State.
And this agency approved the PG&E plan of reorganization.
Every Commissioner spoke to the need to give the CPUC
real authority to hold PG&E accountable
and to transform them yet you are still hesitating to do so.
We're still waiting for action on the Zogg fire,
Kincade fire, and many of the reckless dangerous shut off.
If you continue to wait to shut them down,
they will continue to fail and more people will die.
Don't be fooled by PG&E's promises of undergrounding
or other distractions and false solutions.
They have proven they can't keep us safe.
All the while PG&E is raising their rates and charges
to people for the dangerous failures and the utility
while paying out millions to shareholders
and corporate executives who caused this crisis.
We demand that you immediately place PG&E,
through step four of the enhanced oversight process
for gross negligence and systemic noncompliance,
to revisit and reject PG&E Safety Certificate
that you granted,
but refused to hold a vote on, in April of 2021.
Make the investigations of the 2019 Kincade Fire
and the 2020 Zogg Fire public.
Lessons from which might have prevented the Dixie Fire.
I also stand with the collars to end
the Dirty Energy System and shut down SoCalGas.
Thank you.
-: Thank you, operator the next caller, please.
Operator: Our next caller is Sarah Wiltfong
with LA County Business Federation.
You may go ahead.
Sarah: Thank you, good morning Commissioners.
My name is Sarah Wiltfong and I'm,
The Federation and Alliance over 200 business organizations
who represent over 400,000 employers in Los Angeles county.
And we're here to express some concerns regarding
Southern California Edison's General Rate Case.
And it's our understanding of the CPUC reduced
covered conductor funding,
a necessary part of grid hardening
and reducing wildfire risk by 55%
resulting in over 3000 fewer miles that were covered.
As stated earlier in the State has set clear and necessary
wildfire mitigation goals
and reducing funding for these important upgrades
puts our communities at risk.
Not funding these necessary measures
as temperatures increase will increase
the likelihood of wildfires
and frustrating public safety power shutoffs.
as a primary source of protection.
We strongly suggest the CPUC reconsider
Southern California Edison's requests
and increase funding for grid hardening.
Thank you very much.
-: Thank you, operator the next caller, please.
Operator: Our next caller- -: Operator?
Operator: Is Mark. -: Yeah, thank you.
My apologies Mark Serratt.
with the Greater Los Angeles Boy Scouts.
You may go ahead.
Mark: Good morning, thank you Commissioners
for listening to us.
My name is Mark Serratt
with the Greater Los Angeles Boy Scouts.
We have camps in different places,
but we do have one on Catalina Island
and I am here to ask for y'all to help us
with the covering of the wires
on Catalina Island and other places
and covering of the conductors
so that reduces the fire risk.
I lived on Catalina for 25 years.
I was part of the 2007 fire.
I was on the island when there was the 2007 fire.
We were without power for like three days
without phones for a month or so
and it was very hard for us to run our camp
and have our campers there
and it affected us that our business
and other things.
Thank you for listening to us and have a blessed day.
-: Thank you.
Operator next caller, please.
Operator: Our next caller is Kyoko Hibino.
You may go ahead.
Kyoko: Hi, my name is Kyoko Hibino,
I live 250 feet from Aliso Canyon Gas Facility for 14 years.
I was a happy, active person with healthy gene and habit,
no family history of cancer,
but my health started showing issues
after moving next to this oil and the gas field
by SoCalGas.
After gas blew out in 2015,
many of my health symptoms,
including nosebleed, respiratory issues, headaches,
and palpitations increased a lot more to the worse.
Even two of my cats had a nosebleed and all had asthma.
Often I had so much blood from my nose and throat
and I was drinking my own blood.
It was nightmare.
I was wondering, am I okay?
Well now I know I was not.
I was diagnosed with cancer.
My cat also was diagnosed with cancer and recently died.
We still also smell gas burning chemicals during the odor.
It's acidity increased capacity.
There will be more leaks.
For us it is a ticking bomb.
There is no such a thing like safe operation
in this facility.
You cannot ignore the public health crisis
this facility caused and it continues causing.
On top of it, multiple studies say
same gas poison us also cause health impact
like child asthma in our own homes due to gas appliances.
California's gas demand will be the one
with the carbonizations effort.
Already 48 cities are phasing out gas in new constructions.
Will you promote unsafe, unnecessarily gas for-profits
causing air pollution, climate and health crisis?
I urge you to at least decrease capacity to the minimum,
to use only to the last resort and work on shutting down.
Thank you.
-: Thank you, operator the next caller, please.
Rachel: Hey.
-: Hello.
Rachel: Guys if you do the pizza bagels today for lunch?
-: Yeah.
-: Rachel, I think your, your mike's on.
Operator could you please bring
the next caller on please?
Operator: Our next caller is Jessica Craven
and again, just a reminder for all callers,
please remember to speak slowly and clearly
to accommodate for Spanish translation.
Thank you, you may go ahead.
Jessica: Can you hear me? Hello?
-: Yes, we can hear you,
go ahead. Jessica: Okay, great, sorry
Hi my name is Jessica Craven
and I am also calling to stand
with Reclaim Our Power! and their campaign to transform
our energy system to meet community needs.
And I am also someone who really wants to see you all hold
PG&E accountable for causing fires and killing people.
And it's pretty remarkable.
I was just looking through all of the things that PG&E
has failed at doing.
The Zogg Fire killed four people
and burned over 56,000 acres.
They engage in reckless shove-ups
that endanger our power to live.
They have failed to make significant hardware upgrades
to power lines, to reduce fire risk.
They are shorting compensation for fire survivors.
They promise that the plan of reorganization
would be rate payer neutral and it's not.
I could go on.
Their safety certificate is a sham.
And you know, there's just, it's endless.
They are a complete disaster.
They have a dismal safety record.
It's just really terrible.
So what I am also asking is that
you immediately place PG&E
into step four of the Enhanced Oversight Process
for gross negligence and systemic noncompliance.
Also revisit and reject PG&E safety certificate
that you granted,
but did not hold a vote on
and also make the investigations
of the 2019 Kincade Fire and the 2020 Zogg Fire public,
lessons from which might've prevented the Dixie Fire
and all of the fires that we know
are coming down the pike.
I mean, these are lights
that you can either save or not,
depending on what you do.
And in closing,
I also want to stand with the people calling in
about Ending the Dirty Energy System
and the shutdown of SoCalGas.
And I would also like to add before I go
as a rooftop solar owner,
that it's really distressing to me to hear that SeaPak
is coming for rooftop solar.
Shame on you guys.
Please stop that and, you know,
stand with the environment and not with big industry.
Thank you so much. Bye-bye.
-: Thank you, Operator next caller please?
Operator: The next caller is Matthew Pukeko.
Your line is now open.
Matt: Hi, my name is Matt Pukeko.
I'm a Porter Ranch resident,
right next door to the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility.
Regarding potentially increasing the capacity there.
The March 30th, 2020 online meeting with CPUC.
A question was posed by me
as to how reliability is affected.
If that facility is shut down
or used only as an asset of last resort.
Suddenly like tomorrow
as it was during the blowout of 2015, 2016.
The answer from FTI Consulting was that
it has not been studied.
Yet that place was reduced
and not used for close to two years
due to health issues.
Still is reduced.
The only thing that has ever brought it offline,
that seems like a really big gaping hole in the study.
Now, one of the Commissioners
not sure who was speaking
on that meeting also said, I'm paraphrasing,
"We could look at the circumstances,
what the circumstances were at the time
and how they relate to what we are assuming.
And that could inform us knowing if there is a further gap
we need to account for,
or if there is an assumption that we need to examine",
end paraphrasing.
I'm here to remind you to put what happened
as a result of the blowout,
the health cost and the ongoing dangers of that facility
into the equation,
as it should have been from the beginning.
The storage capacity cannot be increased
until the health issues of that facility
have been addressed.
In fact, it should be reduced back
to an asset of last resort
as should the storage capacity.
That worked well for over two years,
but as long been abandoned by the CPUC.
Finally, this proceeding that
that proceeding is looking at the,
what might happen in one hypothetical event in 10 years
while SoCalGas in sworn testimony says that that facility
leaks two times per day.
They said that for the AQMD in 2016.
And the James Marshall head of the Adoga at the time
said that that place could be off gassing for 500 years.
They have no idea because of the blowout.
He said that in 2016 in testimony.
Other AQMD emission violations
have been issued to that facility since the blowout,
Dozens and dozens of emission events,
many documented by AQMD,
some admitted by SoCalGas
and most assuredly caused adverse reactions
from the local residents.
Those all have actually happened-
-: Matthew, excuse me, but your time is up.
Matt: One last sentence.
Please tell me you're not ignoring all that
what's going on now,
while we worry about what might happen once in 10 years.
Thank you.
-: Thank you.
Operator the next caller please
and I would like to remind those of you
who are calling in, try and speak slowly.
We are being translated from English to Spanish today.
So just a reminder to speak slowly, thank you.
Operator: The next caller is Matthew d'Alessio
from California State University in Northridge.
Your line is now open.
Matthew: Great, thanks.
Hi everyone. My name is Matthew d'Alessio,
I'm a Professor of Geology at Cal State Northridge,
and I also have some general public comment
about the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility.
Now in 2019,
I reviewed the draft seismic study
that was submitted by SoCalGas
I think you probably saw it as well.
And one of the things that it showed
is that if the Aliso Canyon Storage Facility
was operated at full capacity,
it could produce a leak eight times larger
than the 2015 blowout
during a worst case earthquake scenario.
So if you kind of thought that one out of control well
was difficult to deal with
this scenario has more than 40 active wells
rupturing and the leak could last more than five years
as gas migrates to the surface through geologic conduits.
So how likely is that scenario?
Well, according to the SoCalGas seismic study,
there's a 5% chance of this earthquake happening
in the next 50 years.
That's one in 20.
Beyond that we really don't know the probability of,
of this actually happening.
One of the things that a Cal Gen required SoCalGas to do,
is to update their study in part,
because they made some unwise assumptions
about post-earthquake permeability.
And I don't know if the updated seismic study is complete,
but I do know it has not been released to the public
where it can be independently reviewed.
With the previous draft
I know that Cal Gen was really responsive
to the geologic hazard community's concerns.
They integrated all public comments.
They ensured that SoCalGas is going to do things right.
But when I did talk with Cal Gen at the time,
they really reassured me that the field was operating
at a lower pressure in the interim.
And so I I'm hoping that that will continue to be the case
until we have a better sense of things
and I think that once the CPUC
does see the risk properly quantified,
I'm not sure that we're going to be comfortable with really
rolling the dice for the surrounding community.
There's a substantial seismic hazard there.
Thank you.
-: [President Batjer] Thank you.
Operator, the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Rachel Smith.
Your line is now open.
Rachel: Hi, my name is Rachel, I live in Los Angeles
and I'm here to talk about Aliso Canyon.
My community still suffers daily from the physical
and mental health from the gas blow out there.
So I'm calling to urge the CPUC to reject the request
request by oil companies
and SoCalGas- -: Maybe in another hour.
Rachel: To increase storage units
and storage limits at Aliso Canyon,
not only for the health benefits,
obviously of the constituents and frontline communities
that are right there,
before the jobs that involves as well.
What we need now is not a facility and expansions,
but address transition for the workers
and everyone involved at the location.
This has gone on for too long
and expanding this will just continue
the same kicking the can process out for years to come.
We need to be opposite.
And so therefore I urge you to not,
to reject the request to expand, thank you.
-: Thank you, operator the next caller, please.
Operator: The next caller is Al Weinrub.
Your line is now open.
Al: Hi, this is Al Weinrub Coordinator of
The Local Clean Energy Alliance.
We support the current and feverish calls
of Reclaim Our Power! campaign that you,
The Commission hold PG&E accountable
for the feral destruction and death
that it has imposed to fine California rate payers.
In April, over 500 of us called out your failure
to protect us,
finding to the inaction,
since you approved the PG&E bankruptcy settlement
that settled that stiffed wildfire survivors
and forced the rate payers to pay for PG&E's negligence.
At the time you promised,
an intent oversight and enforcement of PG&E's
safety responsibilities.
That process has proven to be a total sham.
The continued wildfire death and destruction
is on your hands.
You are responsible for the Dixie Fire
raging only a few miles from Paradise
where the campfire claimed 85 deaths
just three years ago.
You, The Commission
passively approved PG&E's flawed wildfire mitigation plan,
which is the license to burn that PG&E is now exercising
assured that it will escape financial liability
for the damages that it is causing.
You the Commission have now utilized your own oversight
and enforcement powers,
a violation of your obligation as regulators
to protect the California residents.
You the Commission or the enablers of PG&E's negligence,
of wildfire safety.
It is the failure of you, The Commission,
that is putting California's at risk
and demonstrating that the prosperity of PG&E
and the other investor owned utility shareholders
is more important to The Commission,
than the survival of the people of California.
We hold you responsible for this negligence.
Changing climate.
I also support the demands to shutdown,
the Dirty Energy Production by SoCalGas.
-: Thank you.
Operator the next caller, please.
Operator: The next caller is David McCord.
Your line is now open.
David: Hi, I'm David McCord,
and I'm a proud rate payer and El Cerrito.
I've got two things.
First, The Commission needs to hold PG&E accountable
for it's lack of investment
to harden its conductors from wildfire hazards.
Simply replacing its bare wires with covered conductors
and reinforcing cable,
could radically reduce the danger from tree strikes.
Types of fuses that spark when they blow
should not even be in high fire danger areas.
That may be what caused the Dixie Fire.
Second, decades old modeling tools
to evaluate the integration
of distributed energy resources into the power grid
are far out of date.
With today's powerful computers and technology,
more broad-based and detailed modeling tools
will give you much better information.
Vibrant, clean energies modeling tool
is now state of the art.
Considering The Commission's seriously
responsibility to get things right,
you need to use this or something similar.
This agency could contract with Vibrant
to run the models that we need now.
In the meantime,
we could gear up to be able to do our own modern modeling
if we so choose, thank you.
-: Thank you, Mr. McCord.
Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Rick Guerlain.
Your line is now open.
Rick: Good morning, my name is Rick Guerlain.
I was hired Economics Instructor and lifetime resident
of California, and a member of Kern.
Two close friends of mine
whose lives were severely threatened
and lost their home and the community
that they lived in for decades in Paradise
is one of the reasons I'm calling.
Recently over two years after the fire,
they've gotten a little bit of money,
but they're unclear about when
and how they'll get the remainder.
Thankfully most of their friends
have still received no compensation at all.
I also lived in Sacramento for four years,
where there is a publicly owned energy company.
SMUD, their strange name
telecom and municipal utility district.
Not as well managed with rates about
35% less than PG&E.
SMUD shared responsibility with the public
by closing down Rancho Seco Nuclear Plant in '89.
I did (indistinct) things.
I believe our energy should be provided
by similar public institutions.
As someone who has installed solar I'm appalled
at obstacles to rooftop solar power that exist in California
to boost PG&E profits.
I stand with Reclaim Our Power!
The transformer energy system
to meet community needs not profits for shareholders
and massive executive compensation packages.
As the responsible regulator, you must immediately
price the PG&E into step four
of the Enhanced Oversight Process,
revisit and reject PG&E safety certificate,
make the investigations of the 2019 Kincade Fire
and Zogg Fire public,
lessons that may prevent future fires.
Lastly, I'd just like to put a plug
to my son who's 24 years old in training
to be a firefighter
and as a proud department of fire
and is ready to get up there
and I hope to hire a hell of a lot more people
to do what's needed to protect California.
Thank you.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Shaina Nanavati,
your line is now open.
Shaina: My name is Shaina Nanavati
from the Reclaim Our Power! campaign for utility justice.
Pardon my language,
but what the hell are we living in?
With all due respect to Commissioners
you are not doing your job.
We can blame climate change for how awful these fires are,
but let's not ignore the fact that PG&E
and their negligence is causing them.
They were given a safety certificate, a license to burn,
and that's what they keep doing.
And the Enhanced Oversight Process was put into place
to put PG&E in receivership
if they don't clean up their act.
How many more years of losing entire towns
before you do what you know needs to be done?
How much is PG&E paying you to sit on your hands
while people die President Batjer?
Move PG&E into step four of the Enhanced Oversight Process
now for their systemic noncompliance,
serious violations of the law and gross negligence.
If this isn't conscious and willful disregard
of their rights and safety of others,
then I don't know what it is.
They didn't report the Dixie Fire for five days
and sent secret drones to try to put out the fire
that they knew they caused,
stopping Cal Fire from being able to do their job.
Don't allow them to keep passing the cost of murder onto us.
Do your job.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is a Margot Davis.
Your line is now open.
Margot: Hello, can you hear me?
-: Yes, we can, please go ahead.
Margot: Margo Davis here, as it concerns,
California senior citizen
to demand that there be no expansion
of the gas storage facility at Aliso Canyon,
no more expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure.
Also here to demand that the CPUC
revisit the SoCalGas project
to expand the gas compressor station
in Ventura and order a halt to that project
for an EIR to be performed.
Repeat, we do not need
expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure.
Please observe what more and more concerned citizens
are telling you.
They're in the streets,
they're marching and picketing.
They're flooding the social media.
They're forming neighborhood coalitions.
They're forcing public forums to be held.
They have the unanimous support of their City Council,
School Board Members, County Supervisors,
State Assembly and Senate Members
and they have corporate funding and support.
They're trying to do everything they can
to do the job that this Commission is charged to do.
Wake up!
Rain in SoCalGas.
Think about our grandchildren.
Thank you.
-: Thank you, operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Suzanne Canning.
Your line is now open.
Man: Hello, hello.
Suzanne: Hello, good morning.
-: Good morning, go ahead.
Well, you can go ahead.
Suzanne: Can you hear me?
-: Yes, we can now, please go ahead.
Suzanne: Good morning Commissioners.
My name is Suzanne Canning.
I'm a resident of Marina Del Rey
and a member of Sierra Club.
I'm asking that you not allow additional gas storage
at either Aliso Canyon or Playa Del Rey,
Southern California Gas storage facilities
and to shut them down.
They're dangerous.
The Ventura Compressor needs to be shut down too.
As you heard the County of L.A. submitted opening comment
to you last year about closing
the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility.
I want to support those comments.
The County authorized the CPUC
to close down the Playa Del Ray Gas Storage Facility.
Why has the CPUC ignored those comments?
Playa Del Ray needs to be added to the CPUC's closure list.
The study by the
California Council on Science and Technology
dealt for the state legislature,
singled out the Playa Facility as having a quote,
"Relatively higher risk to health and safety
than the other facilities in California", unquote.
They told the legislature that the Playa Del Rey
that Playa Del Ray is the most dangerous gas storage
operation in the State.
And it provides less than 1% of the total gas storage
in the State.
The cities of Culver City,
Santa Monica and Los Angeles have all passed motions
that are written to the Governor,
asking him to prioritize
shutting down the gas storage facility at Playa Del Ray.
Please as his appointees,
please add this to your work plan and assure the public
you are working diligently on this, thanks.
-: Thank you, Operator next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Peter Warda
from Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Your line is now open.
Peter: Good morning Commissioners.
My name is Peter Warda and I represent
the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce
and our Latino Business Alliance.
We are the largest business membership organization
in the Santa Clarita Valley
representing more than a 65,000 member workforce.
I mean we're the leading business advocacy organization
in the third largest city in the County of Los Angeles.
I'm speaking today in regard to
Southern California Edison 2021 General Rate Case
and the importance fire mitigation place for our region.
As you know,
the Santa Clarita Valley is a high risk zone for wildfires.
As someone who has grown up in this city,
I've been the victim of multiple evacuation
because of the severity of wildfires
our area experiences.
I think we can all agree that
you cannot quantify wildfire protection.
While affordability is important,
wildfire mitigation is something we should prioritize.
During the 2020 Bobcat Fire
our region witnessed the importance of public safety,
power shutoff,
the business community suffered tremendously
during this time because resources were limited
and Edison was doing the best they could
to ensure our area was protected, but at what cost?
Our businesses suffered because Edison was limited.
Furthermore, the Santa Clarita Valley
is proud of the rich Hispanic heritage
and diverse businesses that make up
SCV and the great place that it is.
Unfortunately, during the PSPS business resources
were even more limited
and some businesses were forced to shut down.
With the Commissioner's proposed changes,
you are yet again limiting Edison
to be a good neighbor and mitigate fires,
not just for the Santa Clarita Valley,
but all high fires zones.
With the approval of their proposal
our monthly bills will only change by approximately
$2 a month, which has no price tag compared
to the amount of fire protection
we will be receiving.
Our question about affordability should be based on
protection and not necessarily on cost.
We must continuously work to mitigate wildfire exposures
and protect all who are in a high fire zone,
including the residents of the Santa Clarita Valley.
Our community will be insignificant danger
if you do not support Edison's original General Rate Case.
Thank you.
-: Thank you, next caller please Operator.
Operator: The next caller is Carole Combs
from Community of Three Rivers.
Your line is now open.
Carole: Thank you, good morning.
As a generational long-term resident
of the Three Rivers Community
in the foothills of Tulare County
and the founding member of the
Three Rivers Fire Safe Council Board
established in 2019,
I am calling in to urge the CPUC
to reverse the proposed decision
that would limit Southern California Edison's
ability to fully implement its wildfire mitigation program
to install insulated cover
to 6,250 miles of above ground wires
in communities of extreme high wildfire risk,
such as Three Rivers.
Instead I urged the CPUC
to fully support
approved Southern California Edison's
wildfire mitigation plan
to install up to 6,250 miles
of insulated conductor cover
on its above ground wires
peak beginning now through 2023.
it is absolutely necessary to do everything,
to help protect extreme high wildfire risk communities
such as Three Rivers.
Thank you for your consideration of this urgent request.
-: Thank you for your call.
Operator next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Robin McCollum.
Your line is now open.
Woman: Now?
Robyn: Yes hello, good morning Commissioners.
-: Good morning, we can hear you.
Robyn: Good.
I'm appalled to learn this morning that you have impeded
Southern California Edison's efforts
to harden their system in any way.
Their proposal is well founded in science,
they studied it well,
and they've shown good progress implementing it.
If the wires at the,
at the start of the Dixie Fire had been covered conductors
there would be no fire there today.
This is an emergency the condition of our forests
and the potential for PG&E's ancient, inadequate,
unsafe, unmaintained bare wire system
with explosive fuses
to not be allowed to continue at all.
And it should be a priority of the Commission
to push them forward to cover those conductors.
Patty Poppy's promised to underground 10,000 miles,
a small fraction of the 25,000 miles
in their 25, fraction of the 25,000 miles
of their high fire threat areas.
It is under undercut by her,
her attempt to make a hero of Joe Wilson,
who throughout the period of nine hours of delay
did not call Cal Fire
knowing that their equipment had caused a fire.
One can 90% sure know that their fuses have blown,
that there were sparks on the ground
and in these conditions,
nine hours is long enough to start a fire
that can't be stopped.
So with these false promises,
we're not very encouraged to believe that PG&E
has the will to go forward honestly
and effectively as they have shown
otherwise not to do so.
Contrarily in Paradise after the campfire,
they demonstrated the ability to stand up their system
in a very short amount of time,
much shorter than their trees flyer technology
that was going on at the same time.
Covered conductors are the appropriate way to go forward.
System hardening should not just be a PR point
it should be dealt with humility.
Thank you.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Troy Corley
from Ventura West Side Clean Air Coalition,
Your line is now open.
Troy: Thank you so much.
Sorry I'm pausing to make my statement.
Yes, I'm a resident in the Ventura County,
but also I experienced the problems with
the Aliso Canyon leak on October of 2015,
my daughter and I were visiting the JOANN's,
it's the one of the largest craft and sewing places
in the area.
Even though we lived in Ventura county,
we went all the way down there to visit it.
When we got out, we became sick.
We felt like we were going to throw up.
We went into JOANN's and we got headaches
and we're like, what's going on?
We have to leave.
I got into the car and I had a major asthma attack.
Luckily I had my rescue inhaler.
We drove as far away as we could
and a few days later I found out what had happened.
So that actually affected me directly
and that's one of the reasons why I'm also involved
in participating with Stop SoCalGas Coalition,
and protesting the expansion of the gas compressor
on the west side of Ventura County.
So for that particular project we needed,
we don't need just a meeting, you know, have show and tell,
well, we're here,
SoCalGas is here, CPUC is here,
we've had a meeting, isn't that great?
No, we need you to take action.
We need you to say SoCalGas,
we need an EIR and we need alternative analysis
of what's going on
and no further work will go forward until we have that.
So put a stop work order on them now
and protect the children who live,
who go to school right across the streets
from the compressor.
And I feel the same about Playa Del Ray and Aliso.
It's time to shut it all down.
I can't believe we've just lost another community
to fire in this State.
Albeit it probably had nothing to do with gas,
but that's exactly the problem is that
gas can cause that very problem.
Imagine if something were ignited with that,
with the earthquake that the guy said had happened
and the possibilities of what will go on.
It'll be, you'll be cleaning that up for years.
You will lose an entire community of Porter Ranch.
So please take action on these things, thank you.
-: Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Robert Jan Roy van de Hoek,
your line is now open.
Robert Jan Roy van de Hoek, your line is now open.
Robert: Hello, my name is Robert Jan Roy van de Hoek
and I'm an environmental scientist here in Los Angeles.
And I'm so happy that by the way, can you hear me?
I just want to double-check.
-: Yes, we can hear you fine.
Robert: Okay, great.
I am so pleased to learn if I'm correct
that three of the five of you Commissioners
are women and that's important
because we're getting a feminine eco feminist,
possibly philosophy and ethics, more involved.
The L.A. County Board of supervisors
is five women currently
and that's why I think we have a strong letter
from L.A. County to,
for Aliso Canyon and Playa Del Ray both,
to not do any kinds of activities
that are going to lead to like in a sense modernization
and for those plants to exist into the future.
I also want to point out that in two minutes,
we can't really say that much,
three or five minutes would be better
and native Americans should get more time
because I think you've even had training on sensitivity
that they need to be heard.
And I think that
wildlife, I'm a wildlife trained scientist
and that the birds and their respiratory systems
are different, their lungs and their hearts.
And they're more sensitive to contaminants.
And when we talk about the community,
we are definitely talking about humans, of course,
but we need to include animals in the community
and even trees and plants and lichens and mushrooms.
The air pollution,
the 200 types of chemicals that are used in methane gas.
I don't even want to call it natural gas anymore
or methane gas,
I think we should just use a new adjective, toxic gas.
And we have environmental groups
that are bought out by Edison
and you know, the gas is used to make electricity.
It shouldn't be stored.
It should be like in San Diego and Arizona and in Nevada
where you buy the amount of gas that you need at the time,
regardless of the cost and you don't pass the rate
of their onto the consumer, you pass the rate,
you pass on to keep it with the gas company.
They have plenty of profits, they can take a hit on.
By the way
I love your closing sound rather than an alarm bell,
that also shows a feminine perspective in my opinion,
mindful and participation has been my key
and trying to follow you as the chair on your statement.
Thank you.
-: Thank you, operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is David Klein.
Your line is now open.
David: Hi, my name's David Klein.
I'm a professor at Cal State Northridge
where I study and teach Climate Science.
And I very much agree with the President of the Commission's
statements that started this meeting.
And I hope that The Commission engages in actions
that actually support those very fine words.
In particular,
I'd like to urge The Commission to focus on shutting down
the Aliso Canyon Gas Facility,
the Playa Del Rey Gas Storage Facility
and the Ventura Compressor Station
and moving as rapidly as possible
to getting off fossil fuels.
We're rapidly approaching planetary suicide,
and we need to accelerate in the opposite direction.
Thank you.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller please.
Operator, do we have a next caller please?
Operator: The next caller is Luis Cetina.
Your line is now open.
Luis: Thank you, Madam President and Commissioners.
My name is Luis Cetina.
I had the good fortune of being the Vice President
of the Board of the Cucamonga Valley Water District
Chair of its Government Affairs Committee.
And I also have the good pleasure of being a Board Member
on the Chamber of Commerce for Rancho Cucamonga
and a Board Member on Foothill Family Shelter,
a transitional shelter for families with children.
I am providing comment today
and we also provided this comment in written form,
urging you to reconsider the funding,
replacing the funding level in the General Rate Case
submitted by Southern California Edison
for its fire prevention effort
and I want to provide my comments and I,
I purposely provided you some of
the involvements that I have
because I have an opportunity to see perspective how
Southern California Edison's efforts would benefit
not only utility from a liability perspective,
business to prevent business, disruption and community,
because there's a lot of people who live in our communities
identified as being part of a disadvantaged community
by the State of California
who have a really difficult time
when there's PSPS incidents,
who could lose all of the food
that they have in refrigerators.
And I know Southern California Edison
has a reimbursement program,
but some of those folks may not have access
to computers and broadband.
The Cucamonga Valley Water District Services,
200,000 people in Western San Bernardino County
within the cities of Rancho Cucamonga
and portions of Fontana, Ontario, Upland,
and also communities at the base of the mountains.
So utility reliability and fire prevention
for us is critical.
We are fortunate to have a series of generators
at an additional cost
in the event that we have a PSPS incidents
and we've had to use them on occasion,
but keep in mind that those generators are highly regulated
by the Air Quality Management District
and that's not the intended way to operate a system.
We desperately need electrical utility reliability,
like the general public needs,
water supply reliability specifically
during the hot summer months.
So I would ask that you reconsider
and support the funding requests
of Southern California in its original entirety
so that they can conduct their best work, thank you so much.
-: Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next color is Janice Nardella.
Your line is now open.
Janice: Hi, can you hear me?
-: Yes, we can hear you, please go ahead.
-: Yes, we can hear you fine, please go ahead.
Janice: Thank you.
Good morning, President and Commissioners.
My name is Janice Nardella
and my family lives in Porter Ranch
next to the SoCalGas Aliso Canyon Gas Facility.
We still suffer daily from
physical and mental health effects
from the SoCalGas, Aliso canyon gas blow out.
We still have to keep our windows and doors closed
because of the daily leaks at the gas facility.
When gas is injected or withdrawn,
there is a lot of guests released into the air
right next to our house
and then it spreads throughout the valley.
My family experienced very bad health problems
due to this facility,
including my husband and my son
when he was just seven years old.
Many neighbors and local elementary school teachers have
gotten cancer and some have died due to this gas
being released that we are still being exposed to.
This facility was originally built to hold oil not gas,
and it leaks daily.
Any increase in storage limits at this dangerous facility
will expose CPUC's failure to shut down the facility.
I urge CPUC to reject the request by oil companies
and SoCalGas to increase storage limits at Aliso Canyon.
It's time California prioritizes
public health and safety over fossil fuel profits.
L.A. County, Los Angeles, LAUSD and others
are on record in support of
an expedited shut down of Aliso Canyon.
Expanding gas storage limits at this time is wrong
and sends a horrible message
that community health is less important
than SoCalGas wealth.
In November, 2020 CPUC rejected SoCalGas's
application for increased storage limits
at Aliso Canyon, and nothing has changed to warrant that
SoCalGas gets its way this time.
The facility is operated for two years
at the lower capacity successfully
and does not need storage increased.
The County Board of Supervisors and L.A. City Council
both support the effort to stop the increase
of storage at Aliso canyon.
Please do not increase the gas storage at Aliso Canyon
and save our health, please.
Thank you.
-: Thank you.
Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Asaad Alnajjar.
Your line is now open.
Asaad Alnajjar, your line is open.
Asaad: Hello?
-: Hello we can hear you, please go ahead.
Asaad: Yes hi, this is Asaad Alnajjar.
I'm the former Vice President of the
Porter Ranch Neighborhoods Council.
And for the past six years,
we've been actively trying to get a resolution
for the Alicia Canyon Gas Facility
to restrict the operations immediately
and eventually to close it permanently.
And I'm here seeking your assistance
to restrict all operations
until we find solution for this dangerous risk.
Also, I'm asking you to, for immediate deployment
of test pilots to our solar and wind turbine
to serve Porter Ranch till we reach
a resolution on Aliso Kenyon.
And thank you very much for all what you do
for our community.
Thank you.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Gail Westrate.
Your line is now open.
Gail: Thank you, good morning.
I'm Gail Westrate, I live in East Pasadena.
I've lived in this house for over 45 years
and my grandfather lived here before me.
This neighborhood is not affluent,
but it is actually full of interesting, valuable people.
My own background is art and biology.
I hold a lifetime teaching credential in VOAG,
that's Vocational Agriculture with a specialty in ethology,
that's animal behavior.
Based on that I can tell you the rule of nature,
a good parasite does not destroy its host.
You are clever, educated business people,
you know that good business does not destroy
or even weaken its customer base.
You know that when profit seeking
gets too far out of balance,
the small people,
the essential workers in any society
become insecure, no matter how hard they work.
You wind up with a series of foundational collapses.
We're witnessing that now.
Your recent choice or someone's recent choice,
whether conscious or confused,
allowed an extra windfall of profit
on top of the carefully planned
annual fee structure profits
and that was screamingly out of balance,
in the attempted takeover
or distribution of power
in the East Pasadena Water Company.
It's said (indistinct) cheat
and it becomes normal.
But it's not clever, it destroys the host.
So now on this, this is all just the Kabuki Theater here.
You must support the original intent
of the safety measures to encourage a healthy balance
between ordinary workers
and profit for the few who deservedly soar high,
but with no treaty, play fair, control, Cal-Am.
Thank you.
-: Thank you, operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Dominick Galson,
your line is now open.
Dominic: Good morning, my name is Dominic Galson
and I live in Los Angeles.
Please shut down the Aliso Gas Storage Facility
in Los Angeles.
This facility is causing an ongoing problem.
In 2016, the gas company itself reported to State Regulators
that there are an average of two leaks a day
at Aliso Canyon.
The Aliso Canyon Facility
causes significant health problems.
The South Coast Air Management Quality Manager,
the South Coast Air Quality Management District
says that this facility emits
numerous types of hazardous chemicals.
63% of nearby residents reported health problems
to the Los Angeles County Public Health Department.
Dr. Jeffrey Nordella from the nearby community has found
large concentrations of several
hazardous materials in residents hair, blood and urine.
Nearby residents suffered from foul orders,
which this facility causes.
This facility is contributing to it's widespread
environmental harm, including drought,
massive wildfires in heat waves.
This facility is not needed in order
to produce enough energy.
For two years since the initial blow out occurred
and the gas company stopped using this facility,
Southern California did not have any gas shortages
or other energy shortages.
My City Council, my school district,
my county government have all urged you
to shut this facility down.
Governor Newsom has directed that this facility
be shut down.
Please also shut down the gas storage facilities
in Los Angeles's Playa Del Rey area
and the gas concentration facility in Ventura County.
These facilities may cause similar problems.
We cannot depend on this type of facility
when something goes wrong,
we need resilient sources of energy,
such as solar power.
We also need energy efficiency.
Thank you.
-: Thank you, operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Pete Wywoody,
your line is now open.
Pete: Good morning Commissioners.
My name is Pete Wywoody.
I'm at the Reclaim Our Power! Utility Justice Campaign.
We represent over 75 organizations of fire survivors,
people with disabilities,
black and indigenous people of color across California
who have been demanding for years now,
a transition away from PG&E and towards a safe, reliable,
and resilient energy system.
First we want to say the public comment system here
has been a consistent failure
and a number of our members have been trapped outside
and so I would encourage you all
to change that as we have called for before.
But I also want to point to President Batjer
you opened up about the hearts going out,
our hearts going out to the people of Greenville
and it sounds very familiar to me.
(indistinct) of the gun control world,
at Baxter, a violent shooting that people could predict
and the infrastructure was in place to facilitate
politicians talking about thoughts and prayers,
thoughts and prayers to the victim.
Well, I, we want more than thoughts and prayers.
We want actual action and you are empowered to do so.
This Commission has talked,
voted a year ago.
(indistinct) going to hold PG&E accountable,
this Commission has the ability to not just say,
"We're thinking about you as we make decisions,
but actually to act."
So we were launching a Utility Desert Campaign
demanding that you move PG&E
into step four of the accountability process
that's gross negligence,
systemic disregard for human life.
We can't have just thoughts and prayers
for the people of the town of Paradise,
for the people of the town of Greenville today,
for the people who are in caught in Santa Rosa
for the victims of the Zogg Fire,
for the victims of the Kincade fire,
we could go on.
There's no such thing (indistinct) under control.
We need, you all take your responsibility seriously
and step forward to take them over,
use assets that you designed and do it now.
I also want to lift up that we stand up
with people of Aliso getting you
to call to shut down SoCalGas.
A dirty energy system can never
serve the people of the community
when you transition away from wall street energy
and into the hands of the community now.
Thank you for your time.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Anna Thompson,
your line is now open.
Anna: Can you hear me okay?
-: Yes, we can,
please go ahead. Anna: Thank you.
Thank you, Anna Thompson Carmel.
Please pull item five from the Consent Agenda
and hold that the proposed decision for further review.
The Public advocates Office
as fully explained why the gain-on-sale rules
must be applied to the East Pasadena sale.
In fact,
the CPUC gain-on-sale rules were created
to protect the payers from exactly this kind of situation.
East Pasadena's Attorney's argument
that the owners should receive the entire $30 million
in profit because they ought to invest the dividends
back into the utility, is incorrect.
The owner has already benefited
from the 10% annual rate of return.
A portion of the $30 million profit
on East Pasadena Water Assets,
should be allocated to rate payers
to offset the cost of the acquisition.
Gain-on-sale rules apply to all
used and useful assets.
Current argument that The Commission
has never applied it's gain-on-sale rules
to Cal-Am's previous acquisitions may be true,
but some of those decisions may have been wrongly decided.
The Commission should make sure
this decision is correctly decided.
In knowing the gain-on-sale rules will set
a terrible precedent for the rate payer funding
of monopoly profiteering.
The Monterey Peninsula rate payers
are paying the highest water charges inn the nation
and would receive zero benefit from this sale.
Please hold the proposed decision for further review
and revise it, thank you very much.
Bye.
-: Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Frank Montes,
your line is now open.
Frank: Good morning President Batjer
and members of The Commission.
My name is Frank Montes,
I am past chairman of the
California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce,
which represents the interest of over
850,000 Hispanic businesses in the State of California.
But more importantly, I am co-owner of
Inland Body & Paint Center,
a small business located here in the Inland Empire.
As someone who has lost a father in a fire
and as a burn survivor myself,
I am concerned of the proposed 55% cut
to Edison's Conductor Program.
The reason is many,
but more importantly is the danger to human lives.
There is no amount of money that can replace a human life.
So these cuts are not only reckless,
but dangerous.
Also the negative impact to our small businesses,
with the threat of rolling blackouts,
add more issues,
more loss of funds for our small businesses.
When there's a threat of a blackout,
most businesses just shut down
because they can't start a project
or continue working with that threat.
Also, as I sit here in my office,
I can look out the window and see a wildfire right now,
burning in Mount Baldy.
This will continue with this proposed cuts of 55%.
I urge The Commission to rethink that
and save human lives along with property.
This has been a terrible, terrible
thing that's been happening in our State
with these wildfires.
So please, as a burn survivor myself,
I urge you to reconsider that 55% cut.
I would hate to be on one of these calls
in a month or a year from now.
I'm talking about this
because The Commission acted improperly.
So please again,
on behalf of our small businesses
and on behalf of the families
that live in the State of California,
please reconsider those cuts.
Thank you so much.
-: Thank you.
Operator I'd like to remind all the callers
that they need to adhere
to our two minute timeframe.
We have many, many callers on the line today,
and many, many people in the queue.
So I want people to be mindful and courteous
of other people who want to speak.
When you hear the bell, your time is up.
Thank you.
Operator you can bring on the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Alex Massey,
your line is now open.
Alex: Hello, I hope you can hear me.
I am Alex Massey,
I'm 18 years old and I am from Ventura County.
I'm calling in support of the letter to the
Venturas SoCalGas Compressor Station,
and for bold climate action.
It is time that we prioritize people over profits,
especially the residents of the West Side Community
who do not want this compressor station
near their children and where they live.
I demand that you use your power as the CPUC
to stop SoCalGas and do more
than just send a letter.
On a global scale we have seen the effects
of climate crisis in all parts of the world,
from floods in Europe and Asia
to intense heat waves in California.
The climate crisis is here to stay
if we do not do anything.
There is extensive scientific proof that climate change
is catalyzed by fossil fuels,
such as the SoCalGas Compressor Station.
Mitigating wildfires is not enough.
We must prevent wildfires by rapidly transitioning
to clean energy and dropping fossil fuels immediately.
Stopping SoCalGas's reign over California,
while we have alternative clean energy resources
is the least we can do
for the health of the Westside Community
and for the future of my generation.
We cannot wait 24 years until 2045 to take action
and rely on measly promises
from Governor Newsom or This Commission.
You personally may not feel the worst effects
of the climate crisis, but as an 18 year old, I will.
We must act now for a rapid and fair transition
to clean energy.
As a Youth climate leader in Ventura County,
I demand that the CPUC use its power
to hold SoCalGas accountable for wildfires
and taking part in climate change
and for the CPUC to uplift the transition
to clean energy now.
Thank you for your time.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Alexandra Austin,
your line is now open.
Alexandra: Hello, my name is Alex Austin
and I'm a former resident of Porter Ranch for over 20 years.
I recently moved away,
specifically because of the negative health impact
of Aliso Canyon.
The historical chemical and heavy metal exposure
that our community has faced
from this facility has resulted not only in physical,
but also emotional and psychological trauma
on these community members
and increasing storage at the same facility
only exacerbates that trauma.
It's a slap in the face to this community
and neighboring communities.
We've been seeing as was mentioned just a minute ago
the effects of climate change
and the effects of fossil fuels on our environment,
From historical flooding, heat waves and fires.
And decisions like this to increase storage
only contribute to these disasters.
It slows progress in turning toward clean energy.
If anything, the Aliso Canyon Storage Facility
should be one of the first priorities
of the Clean Energy Transition
because of its record breaking disaster, thank you.
-: Thank you, Operator next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Liz Campo,
your line is now open.
Liz: Madam Chair,
I appreciate your opening statement today,
including the need of this Public Utility Commission
to quote, "Expedite specific actions
to achieve the goals of the Governor's proclamations"
end quote.
But one important action you must take
to achieve this goal
is to shut down the SoCalGas, Aliso Canyon
and Playa Del Rey Storage Facilities.
I also appreciate you sharing your outgoing memo
requiring Mr. Drury of SoCalGas to hold another meeting.
But we of the Clean Air Coalition are far past
SoCalGas's lies.
Another public meeting with them
without the completion of an environmental impact report
is not acceptable.
Continued use of toxic gas exacerbates the horrific effects
of climate change.
And we've recently learned that 20% of toxic gas,
used in California is used for production of oil
by heating water to steaming,
to loosen and release oil trapped in the ground.
This wastes a precious water resource.
Please close Aliso Canyon and Playa Del Rey
and block SoCalGas Compressor Expansion in Ventura,
at least until an environmental impact report is complete.
And watch the speeches of Mr. Drury
when he got appointed to lead SoCalGas.
His disingenuous desire to modernize and expand
SoCalGas infrastructure all over Southern California
is frightening.
Stop the toxic gas.
Thank you for hearing me today.
-: Thank you.
Operator next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Ariana Stern,
your line is now open.
Ariana: Hi, thank you so much.
So first I want to respond to the speaker's comments
that SoCalGas wants to investigate
the potential impact of expanding Aliso.
They are just trying to confuse the situation
and insert ambiguity, where there is none.
It's already clear that expanding Aliso
would make people horribly sick
and just lining SoCalGas's pocket.
Californians elected Governor Newsom
on a mandate to shut Aliso Canyon down.
And the L.A. County Board of Supervisors
has spoken out against it.
Their study actually showed it's not needed to deliver
consistent power to SoCal.
This facility leaks carcinogens into the air
on an ongoing basis
and makes the most vulnerable people desperately sick.
We've actually heard from some of them on this call.
You can talk about green energy all day,
but if you increase their reliance on fossil fuels
then your words fall flat.
Friendly SoCalGas has already attempted
to build way safety checks on Aliso on spurious grounds.
This is just so SoCalGas can't train a puppy,
and now they want to adopt a child.
This idea is dangerous, stupid, and unpopular,
and I urge you to reject it.
That's all.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Jack Neff,
your line is now open.
Jack: Madam Chairman and honorable members
of the Public Utilities Commission,
my name is Jack Neff.
I am a Southern California Gas residential rate payer.
I don't think any of the prior speakers announced themselves
as rate payers,
but I can tell you that Alexandra Nagee and Matt Pukeko
are also SoCalGas rate payers,
if that gives us more standing before the Commission
with our comments.
I'm opposing the Aliso Canyon expansion
and the Ventura County Compressor Station expansion,
Southern California Gas is a danger.
The concern of other callers on today have been about
wildfires and the Southern California Gas,
Playa Del Rey Gas Field, which is not at issue today,
but he's also very controversial,
has caught fire, does flare up.
And during the 1994 earthquake,
I did myself see Southern California Gas,
natural gas, compression stations,
shut down and catch fire.
So we're dealing with real hazards here
and I agree with other speakers who say,
what we need is local energy production.
We need rooftop solar, we need net metering.
We need to move away from this consolidated, expanding,
of you know,
detrimental utilities that is really driving climate change
with their reliance and love affair with fossil fuels.
Thank you.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller, please.
Operator: The next caller is Elena Kariyanna,
your line is now open.
Elena: Hi, my name is Elena Kariyanna
co-founder of Aliso Movement Alliance
and a resident of Granada Hills for 30 years.
To be honest,
living here next to Aliso
feels like living next to a ticking bomb,
which can go off at any time.
Even on it's own like it did in October of 2015
or have catastrophic events because of the fire,
which is our new norm and earthquake.
Aliso needs to be shut down but not allowed to be added
more fuel to this ticking bomb.
Last six years,
I have watched so many of my friends and neighbors suffer
from different health issues,
including too many cancer cases.
I watched an 18 years old young lady,
die because of this
exposure to the toxic that was coming from Aliso.
My family and I are still having health issues
because of all the polytoxins in that area.
Since 2015, I had to rush my daughter twice to ER,
and numerous times to urgent care
and doctor offices.
I had to call 911 twice
when my then healthy tennis player, husband,
and watch him to be taken to a hospital.
Myself having too many health issues,
including stomach issues,
heart palpitations, dizziness, muscle aches,
eye irritation, foggy memory and being lethargic at times,
which just started after October of 2015.
Please do not go by what SoCalGas is telling you obviously
for them to make more money
and that's what the facility is open right now.
Do your job, do your own research.
Talk to the Community Representative
like Alicia Lind in Porter Ranch,
talk to local health clinics and doctors
to find out the rise of cancer cases since 2015.
In a perfect world,
we would not be giving public comments
to beg you save our lives.
It is not so messed up for people have at least
one L.A. County Public Health Representative
to advocate for our communities health
and tell you how harmful
that facility is for anyone's health
and why it needs to be shut down.
Thank you for your time.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Sasha Fulsom,
your line is now open.
Sasha: Hello? Can you hear me?
Hello? Can you hear me?
-: Yes, we can hear you fine, please go ahead.
Sasha: Great thanks.
My name is Sasha Fulsom.
I am a Cal-Am water rate payer
here in Carmel Valley Village,
which is located on the Monterey Peninsula.
I am a member of a really important
public rate payer organization called Public Water Now.
And I was alerted to agenda item five,
which basically approved a purchase
for the East Pasadena Water Company there.
And I understand that there's a rule that
the actually California Public Utilities Commission,
it's one of their own rules that was placed on the books
in order to specifically avoid
these types of profiteering from buying water systems.
You know, a 750% profit.
Wow!
I mean, this is a very,
very massive windfall
for this person who apparently
is the main shareholder.
And Cal-Am
will have the right to essentially
froist this onto all of us,
including people in the far away Northern reaches
of the Monterey Peninsula.
I think, you know that we will receive
absolutely zero benefit from this.
And you know, it's just really terrible.
I mean, how can CPUC ignore their own rules?
I don't believe I've had my full two minutes here.
Can I proceed?
-: I'm sorry, Ms. Fulsom no.
We have somebody that times each call.
So we appreciate your comments.
So we need to move on to the next caller.
Thank you.
Operator: The next caller is Lisa Levinson,
your line is now open.
Lisa: Hello, Lisa Levinson
with In Defense of Animals
representing a quarter million supporters.
We oppose adding any new gas storage
at either Aliso Canyon or Playa Del Rey
SoCalGas storage fields,
which are dangerous to people and animals.
We urge you to shut down these gas storage fields
and the Ventura Compressor Station.
We support the County of L.A's opening comments
to you last year to shut down Aliso canyon Gas Storage,
and urge the CPUC to add Playa Del Rey
to its agenda to shut down.
The Playa Del Rey facility lies beneath
the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve.
We oppose the close proximity of this dangerous and toxic
gas storage operation to this fragile ecosystem.
Thousands of animals,
including some endangered species and rare plant populations
live at the Ballona Wetlands.
Don't further endanger these animals
that Governor Newsom is interested to protect.
We are in a climate emergency.
Fracked gas stored beneath Ballona Wetlands
uses over 200 chemicals and resulting emissions
contribute to climate change impact.
We ask the CPUC to close the Playa Del Rey and Aliso canyon
sites within the next year, thank you.
-: Thank you operator, the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Susan Giovanni,
your line is now open.
Susan: Thank you.
Thank you for letting me speak.
I am a Seaside Cal-Am rate payer
and I'm addressing item five
on the Consent Agenda.
Approval of Cal-Am's proposal
would be a dangerous precedent in unfair profit taking,
an unfair financial burden on rate payers
and based on faulty arguments.
You are responsible for fair rates and consumer protection,
and must thoroughly review this proposal,
including the supposed evidence.
CPUC's gain-on-sales rule
explicitly makes allocation requirements
applicable to the sale of used
and useful utility assets.
The sole exception is sale of
no longer used and useful real estate.
The East Pasadena Assets are used and useful
and gain-on-sales rules must apply to this sale.
Please follow your own rules.
Please either amend this decision to include this rule
or delay this decision for full public hearing
so there is a complete and fair review.
Thank you.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Lori Avazian,
your line is now open.
Lori: Good morning, President Batjer and Commissioners.
Thank you for the opportunity to give comment today.
My name is Lori Avazian
I'm a family member of the Aliso Moms Alliance,
a Board Member of Save Porter Ranch
and a member of the L.A. County Department
of Public Health Community Advisory Group
for the $25 million health study
on the effects of the blowout on my community.
More importantly, I'm a 21 year resident of Porter Ranch.
I live less than two miles from
the Aliso Canyon Storage Facility.
My family and pets were terribly affected
by the 2015 blowout
and continue to suffer health problems
we attribute to emissions from the facility.
I'd like to comment in opposition to
any increase in storage capacity
and limits at the Aliso Canyon Facility.
Governors Brown and Newsom,
the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, the L.A. City Council,
Senator Feinstein and State Senator Henry Stern
have all asked for in support an expedited timeframe closure
of this dangerous facility.
In terms of safety, Aliso Canyon
is documented to be in a high fire hazard area.
My family, since we've lived here
have been evacuated three times,
most recently in 2019 for the system fire,
which burned right up to the edge of the compressor station
on the Aliso Canyon property.
This Santa Susanna fault line transects all
119 Wells on the property
and according to the Blade Energy Report,
SoCalGas was faulted for negligence in its operations,
which led to the blow out of 2015, 2016,
which affected so many of my neighbors.
Your own safety and health enforcement division
is listed 330 violations against SoCalGas
and its investigation
of a lack of safety culture at the facility.
And then in terms of health,
six of my daughter's elementary school teachers
at Castlebay Lane Elementary,
which is less than a half mile from the facility have died.
I urge you and implore you to support
expedited closure of Aliso Canyon
and go back to using it as an absolute last resort.
Please protect the health of our community, thank you.
-: Thank you.
Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Marley Nelson,
your line is now open.
Marley: Good morning.
The CPUC was founded by the State of California
to prevent monopolies from exploiting their customers
and local residents.
So thank you Commissioners for your work to do this.
Water is a public good.
It must not be treated as just another commodity
for rich profiteers to buy and sell.
Please pull out item five from the Consent Agenda
and take time to read and follow the clear
and beneficial advice in the Public Advocate's briefing.
Gain-on-sale rules apply to used and still useful assets.
The owner's argument
that for 750% profit on this sale
ignore something that every first year business student
would catch.
They've already received a 10% profit every year
on all of the funds they reinvested.
So part of the $30 million from the sale
of the East Pasadena Water Company must go to rate payers.
Perhaps there've been mistakes in the past about this,
but please do not repeat them.
You'll be protecting more than 600,000 California people
and businesses.
Families with little kids from having to pay for water
they will never see or use.
Please pull item five and reconsider.
Thank you.
-: Thank you.
Operator, we are going to take a 15 minute health break.
My fellow Commissioners and I, for 15 minutes,
maybe just a little under.
We will return to the virtual dais at 12:15.
12:15, a 15 minute health break.
So thank you.
Announcer: The feed for this streaming event
brought to you by-
Maria: This is Maria,
should we start raising quorum again?
-: Yes, Maria thank you.
I was just about to text you and see if we should.
So let's first operate before we bring on the next caller
we need to establish a quorum.
So Maria, could you please call the roll?
Maria: Commissioner Houck?
-: Here.
Maria: Commissioner Shiroma?
-: Present.
Maria: Commissioner Rechtschaffen?
-: I'm here.
Maria: Commissioner Guzman Aceves?
-: Here.
Maria: President Batjer.
-: Here, a quorum has been established.
Thank you all.
Operator, now, if you could bring on the next caller.
Operator: The next caller is Karen Paul,
your line is now open.
Karen: Good afternoon Commissioners, can you hear me?
-: Yes, we can please proceed.
Karen: Thank you, my name is Karen Paul.
I am a Cal-Am ratepayer,
I'm also a Monterey Peninsula Water Management
District Board Member.
But I'm speaking for myself here.
Like several of the previous callers
I'm calling to ask you to
pull item five from the Consent Agenda
and hold it for further consideration
of the gain-on-sale issue.
The proposed decision accepts the applicant's argument
that the Commission should not
apply it's gain-on-sale rules
to acquisitions of water utilities
under the Consolidation Act.
But Public Advocates are right.
That is not the law.
The Commission's gain-on-sales decisions
do apply to consolidation at acquisitions.
Allocating some of the gain to rate payers
would reduce the seller's profit,
but this proposed decision
authorizes a 750% return on investment.
Surely this is way more than necessary
to incentivize the sale
and some of the gains could be shared with rate payers.
Should be shared with rate payers.
Cal-Am would still get to add the entire acquisition price
of $34 million to it's rate base.
That's required by the Consolidation Act.
And this creates a situation where both seller and buyer
has an incentive to make the acquisition price high.
And please don't be swayed by Cal-Am's argument
that gain-on-sales rules don't apply
to acquisitions of entire utility systems.
The Commission may not have applied its gain-on-sales rules
to Cal-AM's previous acquisitions,
but those cases may have been wrongly decided
or there may have been special circumstances.
Please make sure to correctly apply the gain-on-sale rules
In this decision.
there are many more water company consolidations coming,
so it is important to know whether and how
The Commissions gain-on-sale rules apply.
Thank you.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Margaret Anne Copper-Knowles
your line is now open.
Margaret: Oh, good afternoon.
This proposed a decision
on the sale of East Pasadena Water,
agenda number five, Consent Agenda number five,
is unconscionable from my perspective.
How can the CPUC that is required
to protect rate payers from profiteering
approve this transaction?
Gain-on-sale rules should be applied to this sale
because these are used and useful assets.
Why should Cal-Am rate payers pay for the entire acquisition
with zero benefit?
Why should one very wealthy family
be greatly enriched by forcing Cal-Am customers
to pay this enormous sum
added to their already rising water bills?
Is 750% profit on a public water utility,
it's not reasonable.
Please do not approve this unfair transaction as is.
Water is an essential for life,
God given human right.
Ensure, please ensure that the rate payers
you are mandated to protect are protected from greed
justice CPUC rules,
as the Public Advocate's office require it.
Thank you so much and have a blessed day.
-: Thank you.
Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Dennis Townsend,
your line is now open.
Dennis: Thank you very much and thank you Commissioners.
My name is Dennis Townsend,
I'm a Tulare County Supervisor for District Five.
Most of my District is in the Sequoia National Forest.
Now the Giant Sequoia National Monument,
and this last year,
the Sequoia or complex fire or SQF Fire
in 2020 took about 300 structures
and about 3000 Giant Sequoias,
and it took about 170,000 acres that it burned.
That's the largest wildfire we've had
in Tulare County's history.
I mentioned 3000 Giant Sequoias,
mature Giant Sequoias.
That represents about 10% of all mature Giant Sequoias,
which is just an alarming number of these giants
that we lost.
We really can't afford to stop hardening
SCE's systems,
especially in this tier three high fire threat area.
These cupboard conductors are a proven method
to stop that sparking whenever the,
the wires touch a tree or whenever they,
if they fall or something falls against them.
And therefore it's a proven method of stopping
ignition of fuels that are starting
in these wild land areas.
So I would just request that you don't,
or you look at this again about reducing funding
and not reduce funding for the,
for Southern California Edison's covered conductor program.
It's really critical.
It's a critical player in wildfire mitigation.
Our board, the board of supervisors,
for Tulare County also submitted a letter to this effect.
And so I just wanted to add my, my plea with you to,
to reconsider that I'm not advocating for rate increases,
but maybe we can find a different way to reduce those rates
other than cutting this proven program.
Thank you for your time.
-: Thank you for your call.
Operator and next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Troy Gowen,
your line is now open.
Troy Gowen, please check your mute button.
Troy: Did you mean Troy Ishikawa?
Operator: Yes, I apologize.
Troy: Okay, thank you.
Good afternoon Madam President and Commissioners.
This is Troy Ishikawa, Cal-Am rate payer from Carmel.
-: Could you speak more directly into your phone, please?
We're very hard to hear you.
Troy: Oh, I'm sorry.
-: That's much better, thank you.
Troy: I'm here to give public comment
on agenda item five,
the sale of East Pasadena Water
to California American Water.
The East Pasadena attorneys argue
that applying gain-on-sale rules,
which require a seller to pass the share of the profit
to customers destroys the incentive for it's owners,
the small water utilities to sell to
larger, more capable utilities
saying a 750% profit is necessary,
is a necessary incentive to sell the public water system,
defies logic and smacks of greed and profiteering.
Amazing all the benefits they claim
justify this transaction,
but they are relying on the ignorance of others
pertaining to finance.
They claim the 750% profit is reasonable
since the owner invested dividends back into the utility.
This is financial doublespeak
because the reinvested dividends
also earn the 10% annual rate of return.
Please reconsider this sale as proposed.
Thank you.
-: Thank you, operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Karen Ruby,
your line is now open.
Karen: Hi, my name is Karen Ruby
and I'm calling because I believe that this committee
needs to reject the increase in storage
for the Aliso canyon gas storage facility and shut it down
as Governor Newsom directed.
This is an egregious and unwarranted expansion
of fossil fuels including toxic gas.
During a time when we need to be moving rapidly,
as rapidly as possible to clean energy
so the younger generations have any chance to survive
on a livable planet.
Climate change is here, it is manmade,
and it is due in large part to fossil fuels.
We already know that we do not need the facility
to maintain reliability.
For two years after the gas blowout,
Aliso Canyon was under strict regulations
and withdrawals were not permitted
unless in the case of emergency.
the SoCal region faced zero blackouts
or gas supply shortages,
as a result of Aliso Canyon being offline.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District
reports that Aliso Canyon routinely emits
carcinogens and chemicals like formaldehyde,
benzine, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylene,
and all these all like so many more.
These toxins and heavy metals have been found in resident's
hair, urine and blood in significant concentrations.
This is unacceptable.
How many people are you willing to sicken
or kill to unnecessarily line SoCalGas's pockets.
You need to shut down Aliso Canyon Storage.
Since the gas blow out ended in February 2016,
there have been over 15 reported leaks and spills
at the facility by SoCalGas to State regulators.
There are two leaks per day on average
at the Aliso Canyon Storage Facility
as per SoCalgas's sworn testimony
on August in August 2016.
There are countless ongoing complaints of health problems
reported identical to those during the peak of the blowout.
According to the L.A. County Department of Public Health,
63% of residents surveyed reported health symptoms
after the blowout with cap.
You must prioritize our community
and the health of our residents
over SoCalGas and their earnings.
Thank you.
-: Thank you, operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller, Walt Tunotley,
your line is now open.
Walt: Hello, good afternoon.
I hope you can hear me.
I am Walt Tunotley of Monterey Peninsula, Cal-Am rate payer.
I would like,
first I'd like to say that water is a public resource
that the CPUC must protect from profiteering.
In this new deal here with East Pasadena Water,
make sure that the final price,
of East Pasadena Water System
includes all construction infrastructure upgrades
that may be necessary when Cal-Am gains this ownership.
With good environmental stewardship,
that include The Commission gain-on-sales rules profit
be split with rate payers
so Cal-Am and other utilities do not continue
to maximize profits at rate payer expense.
Please pull item five from consent
and hold this proposed decision
on the sale of the East Pasadena Water
for future discussion.
So that rate payers are fairly represented,
such empowering you to do
what the law intended you to do,
protect rate payers and the environment in which they live.
Thank you.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Lincoln Oliver O'Neil
from Sunrise Bay area, your line is now open.
Lincoln: Thank you, good morning Commissioners.
My name is Lincoln Oliver O'Neil
and I'm a member of Sunrise Bay Area.
We stand with the Reclaim Our Power! campaign to transform
our energy system to meet community needs.
Energy is a human right,
and we need utilities that are affordable, safe, resilient,
and community and worker controlled.
Now, I have no illusions that on this call
we can correct all of the decades of haphazard
infrastructure investments,
broken relationships with communities
and short-term profit driven decisions
that are piling up on your desks as regulators.
Lucky for you,
we're not here asking for anything
that you don't already know how to do
or have the power to do.
A little over a year ago
when PG&E was exiting bankruptcy,
we came to you asking for complete transformation
to community control overnight
and you said, whoa, whoa, whoa, not so fast,
our hands are tied.
In your process you gave yourself the power
you would need to protect Californians from
PG&E's negligence and move towards an energy system
that will keep us safe.
Since then,
PG&E has admitted their potential involvement
in the Dixie Fire
and been confirmed as responsible for the Zogg Fire
claiming thousands of acres of land,
as well as the lives and livelihoods
of too many Californians.
As the climate in California gets drier and hotter
PG&E's inability to adapt, represents gross negligence.
One of the criteria for making PG&E,
moving PG&E to step four
of your Enhanced Oversight and Enforcement Process.
As such, we demand that you immediately place
PG&E into step four,
appointing a Chief Restructuring Officer revisit and reject
PG&E's safety certificate
and make the investigations of the
2019 Kincade fire and 2020 Zogg fire available to the public
so that we can learn the lessons
that might have prevented the Dixie Fire.
Thank you again for your time and I,
yeah, do what we say, thank you.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Alan Marley
from the Sunrise Movement, your line is now open.
Alan: I wish I could agree
The Commission has made the community more resilient,
unfortunately,
you swallowed a bill of goods sold to you by PG&E
for the solar cost calculator,
which will make rooftop solar,
a luxury item and economically unaffordable,
which is the opposite of the Governor's mandate.
PG&E is a criminal organization
that burns California citizens alive for profit
and you should treat it as such.
I joined Reclaim Our Power!
And calling on you to immediately place
PG&E into step four of Enhanced Oversight Process
for gross negligence and systemic noncompliance.
Also you must revisit and reject PG&E's
safety certificate that you granted,
but refuse to hold a vote on in April this year.
Until you take this action
I can only say President Batjer, shame on you.
You're an accomplice to PG&E's crimes
in this climate crisis.
Commissioner Aceves, shame on you.
You're an accomplice to PG&E's crimes
in this climate crisis.
Commissioner Rechtschaffen, shame on you.
You're an accomplice to PG&E's crimes
and this climate crisis.
Commissioner Shiroma, shame on you.
You are an accomplice to PG&E's
crimes and this climate crisis.
Commissioner Houck, shame on you.
You're an accomplice to PG&E's crimes
and this climate crisis.
-: Okay, Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Daniel Tam,
your line is now open.
Daniel: Thank you very much.
My name is Daniel Tam.
I am Chair of Interfaith Solidarity Network.
We are a consortium of 54 diverse faith communities.
We are churches, mosques, synagogues,
and temples throughout the San Fernando Valley.
And I'm calling to support
the outreach to CPUC to please
contain, stop the continued
movement of SoCalGas
and applications for oil shippers
to increase storage limits on Aliso Canyon.
So many of our congregations
are surrounding the Aliso Canyon Facility
and they are suffering.
There are congregants who have story after story
of suffering.
I can say this, I know that I have two minutes,
I don't need the two minutes to say that
every major faith community,
every major religion rejects the,
you know,
profiteering over based on the suffering of people.
The suffering of people must be prioritized.
The communities must be prioritized.
We ask you to please reject
SoCalGas and the oil shippers application,
and to shut it down.
Our, all of our attention needs to be focused
on reorienting investment into clean, renewable energy.
I don't know how much more clear it can be.
Thank you very much.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Andrew Sisolak,
your line is now open.
Andrew: Good afternoon Commissioners,
and thank you for making time for my comments.
I work as the Scout Executive CEO
of the Verdugo Hills Council Boy Scouts of America
Verdugo Hills Council BSA operates two camp properties
that are located within areas that experience
extremely high fire danger.
We have Silver Fir on Huntington Lake
and Sierra National Forest in Camp Verdugo Oaks,
in the Los Angeles National Forest.
In 2020, that Camp Silver Fir
experienced and near catastrophic loss
during the Creek fire.
Multiple structures were lost on the property
as well as our access bridge to camp
and much of the timber on the property.
Verdugo Hills Council, it's Board of Directors,
and the thousands of youth and adult campers
that visit our properties every year
are very concerned for the continued operations
of our properties
and for their stay and continued enjoyment
and use of our camp.
Fire is and will continue to be one of the most
significant risks to our properties, our youth,
and our mission to impact youth and family.
Verdugo Hills Council, Boy Scouts of America,
in support of SGE's general rate increase proposal,
and SCE's ongoing efforts through projects
like the installation of covered conductors
to improve our electrical infrastructure
and mitigate the ongoing threat of fire
due to climate change.
We encourage The Commission to support SCE's proposal
and would offer that while rate increases
are never appreciated,
the cost of insurance and insuring commercial properties
far outweighs the cost of increases
to secure property and ensure safety performance.
Thank you so much.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Morgan Fowler,
your line is now open.
Morgan: Hi, can you hear me?
-: Yes, we can, please go ahead.
Morgan: Okay, great.
My name is Morgan Fowler.
I have lived on and off in Granada Hills
for the last 15 years.
and I'm calling today to urge you to reject the increase at
the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility.
I sort of want to take a different approach and just say
that for the past five years,
we've been living through several different crises,
presidential racial class, climate housing attacks
on our democracy.
They've been playing nonstop in all facets of our media
and this blowout,
this consistent perpetual leak of poison
in our air and our communities is just as important.
I would ask you all to consider that
each crisis I have listed
has been a cancer to this country and our world.
For some, for hundreds of years, others are more recent,
but citizens, Americans
and people all around the world are calling times up.
And it's only a matter of time before
the time is up for the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility.
It's only a matter of time before these tireless work
of these activists are brought to the forefront.
So please,
I ask that you be on the right side of history
beyond the right side of the news.
Reject the increase Aliso is proposing.
This gas has just killed my pet.
It's left my parents with health ailments
that they'll probably have for the rest of their lives
and I'm calling time's up, thank you.
-: Thank you.
Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Kathy Tavoularis,
your line is now open.
Kathy: Thank you, this is Kathy Tavoularis
and I'm a Councilwoman for the City of Orange
and Orange County.
I'm calling regarding The Commission's proposed decision
on Edison's 2021 GRC.
Orange is located in a high fire threat district.
The proposed decision,
as it now stands would authorize less than half the funding
for Edison's most important and effective
wildfire mitigation program,
installation of covered conductors.
And it would cripple their ability to protect the safety
of the cities they serve,
one of which is Orange.
That this proposed decision
proposes dramatic cuts to cover
conductors base on affordability.
Given that understanding,
given that undergrounding is far more expensive
and much more slower to implement
that will leave Edison with only public safety power shutoff
for reducing the fire risk
of our overhead circuits
during extreme weather conditions.
As the Governor and this Commission
continue to warn of climate change,
please reconsider this proposed decision
and increase the funding to covered conductors,
to help California City survive during this climate
inclement weather and what it causes.
Our utilities need the tools to protect their communities
and continue to fulfill the Governor's
and this Commission's commitment to help climate change.
Thank you.
-: Thank you.
Operator the next caller please.
Operator, next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Luis Portillo,
your line is now open.
Luis: Thank you, good day, my name is Louis Portillo.
I'm speaking on behalf of
the Inland Empire Economic Partnership.
I'd like to voice our concern with the proposed decision
for Southern California Edison's General Rate Case,
especially as they will authorize less than half
of the funding that SCE has requested
for the installation of covered conductors.
You know,
fundamental requirement of any energy system
must be that it is resilient, reliable, and affordable.
The public safety power shutoffs in our region,
our regional experience have undermined
the principle of our electric system being reliable.
And while we recognize that it's the reality
of the types of mitigation efforts that need to be done
in order to avoid greater damage,
we were heartened by SCE's proposal
to strengthen their system
and reduce the need for power shut offs.
However, decisions undermine those efforts
by having such a massive reduction in funding.
There are only three ways to mitigate,
significantly mitigate the risk of fire on power lines
with covered, insulated conductors,
which is the most cost effective way to quickly
and effectively and permanently reduce the risk,
two to underground the lines,
which is about eight times more expensive
and it takes years to implement
or three with power safety shutoffs.
So a proposed decision proposes,
these dramatic costs to cut cover conductors
based on affordability.
However, undergrounding is far more expensive
and much slower and power and public safety
power shutoffs should not be considered an appropriate
alternative to investing in the grid.
I know that for some of the urban areas,
they may never have had
to deal with public safety power shutoffs,
and even the part we have,
we felt that we have seen them
disrupt our communities for hours, even days.
We urge you to reject the cut,
proposed cutting in funding,
and provide our utility with the tools they need
to strengthen the reliability of our grid.
Thank you.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller, please.
Operator: The next caller is Thomas Manuel Trebeki,
your line is now open.
Tomas: Hi, can you hear me?
-: Yes, we can hear you fine, thank you.
Tomas: Hi, my name is Tomas Manuel Trebeky
and I'm calling from Ventura
with the Westside Clean Air Coalition.
I live a few blocks from the compressor station with my kids
who also attend the elementary school
right across the street.
We stand in solidarity with the Porter Ranch community
and all of the communities impacted
by the Aliso Canyon Storage Facility and leaks.
The CPUC needs to reject SoCalGas,
that application to increase storage limits
on Aliso Canyon and instead focus on shutting it down
just like Governor Newsom has directed.
The CPUC also needs to stop this SoCalGas Compressor Station
expansion in our neighborhood and shut down
the Playa Del Rey storage facility
as directed by the L.A. City Council.
It's great you're demanding more info
from Southern California Gas
about the compressor expansion, but we,
we don't need another dog and pony show hearing.
They've done them in the past.
We already had one, they avoid the questions,
they don't answer the questions.
What we need you to do is to demand an EIR,
a health impact assessment
and an independent alternative analysis.
There needs to be a stop work order
because they're pushing forward with this project
even when they don't even have the permits,
we've already caught them prematurely digging
and going forward with the project a couple of times.
We recently had a blow down of gas into our community,
at the beginning of July.
It took half of our city's fire resources
just to respond to the leak,
which SoCalGas never even informed the community about
or the fire department.
So they had to go on a wild goose chase
to discover the leak was coming from their facility.
We need those resources to be responding to fire,
not SoCalGas polluting and gassing our community.
These blow-downs happened multiple times a year
and this one in July was just 1/10 of the size
of a normal blow-down.
It still caused dozens of calls to 911
and serious health effects to many of our neighbors.
Residents suffered bloody noses, headaches for days,
and some live even half mile or further from that site.
We've been suffering from these kinds of health effects
from the compressor station for decades,
and they've been recorded.
And our kids are the ones who are impacted most
and they're first impacted by being right across the street.
So there needs to be an EIR,
the health impact assessment,
an independent alternative analysis
to the expansion proposal.
The blow-downs won't end
if they build a new compressor.
So please, we need you to do more.
My children, our neighborhood,
and our future generations are all counting on y'all.
-: Thank you.
Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller
is Council Member Damon Alexander,
your line is now open.
-: [Council Member Damon] Good morning.
Madam President and Council.
I appreciate you taking my call.
I would just like to ask you to fully fund
SCE's most important and effective
wildfire mitigation program.
I believe it's the installation of covered conductors.
Please take, many of our communities live
in a high fire threat district, I being one of them
and I represent 35,000 residents
of the city of San Bernardino
which I am a Council Member.
If you could please do that,
it would prevent the many needs of
doing public safety power shutoffs,
which occur all the time in my area,
which drives the health and safety of our residents
that have breathing machines
and other machines that rely on these on SCE.
There are many tools that can
significantly mitigate this risk,
covered conductors is one of them
and I believe the most effective
and efficient and permanent way to reduce the risk.
Undergrounding lines is not a cost effective.
I asked my own public works because I didn't believe SCE.
They told me that it's eight times.
So please, please fully fund the conductor
portion of this wildfire mitigation.
As a publicly elected official,
I am directly responsible for the lives,
health and safety of the people which I represent.
If I could,
I would vote to pass the additional funding
to complete this project.
I would.
And as they tell me on the dais, as late as last night,
you are now responsible.
So please fellow Commissioners,
you have the power to fully fund this.
We had five events last year
for an average of 18 hours of outages.
That is unacceptable.
I know you think that's unacceptable.
Please fully fund this conductor program
to wildfire mitigation, thank you.
-: Thank you Councilman.
Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Darryl Gale,
your line is now open.
Darryl: Good afternoon I'm Darryl Gale.
Toxic methane air pollution affects all of us.
It's not clean or safe and it's not natural.
Contrary to what SoCalGas,
keep incessantly and falsely promoting.
They have, don't forget they have constantly,
a recent one in the City of Ventura
just a few weeks ago.
For how long do SoCalGas get to
sicken our population, traps more greenhouse gases,
increased our heat level
and holding and trapping, yet more air pollution
and drying out our land, our trees
and potentially starting even more wild fires.
And now they want to increase their toxic,
methane storage at Aliso?
How can we ever trust them?
Reject their rate theft.
-: Thank you.
Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Jennifer Ward,
your line is now open.
Jennifer: Hi, good afternoon Members of The Commission.
My name is Jennifer Ward,
and I'm speaking on behalf of the
Orange County Business Council.
I appreciate the opportunity
and thank you for your consideration of my comments,
which are, as you've already heard,
in regards to the proposed decision
for Southern California Edison's 2021 General Rate Case.
As I know you all know, and,
and we've heard a lot today already,
a reliable infrastructure for providing consistent energy
to Orange County's 3.2 million residents,
not only critically important for public safety,
but also for the productivity of the businesses here
that make Orange County
one of the most competitive economies in the world.
Ensuring that grid is better protected against
growing threats of wildfire
and other events exacerbated by climate change
is so important to our business community
and economic resiliency.
You already heard some,
some really compelling data earlier from
Orange County's Fire Chief.
And so this is why I strongly urge The Commission
to consider modifying the proposed decision
and enable Southern California Edison
to complete its covered conductor project
and related grid hardening efforts,
which are so important to prevent
both disruptive PSPS events,
but also mitigate the threat of devastating wildfires.
Southern California continues to grow and our communities
are working hard to address another crisis
impacting California, our housing crisis.
So it's critical that the infrastructure serving
oddly needed new developments,
be safe and updated to protect both current and future
residents and businesses against the avoidable potential
for fires to start.
Thank you and hope you have a great rest of your day.
-: Thank you, Operator next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Marcia Hanscom,
your line is now open.
Marcia: Honorable Commissioner, Marcia Hanscom.
I'm on the Executive Committee of the
Sierra Club Los Angeles Chapter
and I chair the Bio Weapons Committee.
Sierra Club has been working to close down the dangerous
and toxic Playa Del Rey Gas Storage Facility
that is leaking like a sieve.
And it's contributing to the climate change impacts
that Ms. Boucher spoke about.
We are in a climate emergency.
It is irresponsible for the CPUC to continue
to allow this plant to pipe in fracked gas
from Oklahoma, Texas, and Colorado,
then use more than 200 chemicals in the operation
to inject that gas, a mile above Ballona Wetlands,
extract it and then clean it up to send to customers.
Think of all of the emissions in this process,
let alone the gas emissions you are continuing to enable
and contribute to climate change impacts.
Please stop and start with Playa Del Rey and Aliso Canyon.
Close them down within the next year, please.
Instead, the State is supporting
a horribly destructive project
at the Ballona Wetlands,
a project that would benefit SoCalGas
and enable they're adding new fossil fuel infrastructure
to the facility.
That's the opposite direction we need to go.
Again please prioritize closing.
Playa Del Rey and Aliso Canyon move to close
the Ventura Compressor Station as well
and please prioritize getting an action plan
moving forward.
Mary Beth Trautwein from Protect Play
now waited for more than two hours to speak
and asked that I include her in my comments.
Protect Play now also wants the SoCalGas Storage Facility
at the Ballona Wetlands shut down as soon as possible.
Thank you.
-: Thank you.
Operator next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Kip Drubeck,
your line is now open.
Kip: Yes, hello everybody.
Well, you can tell we're dedicated
to our community because I have been waiting here
for three hours waiting to speak.
So I'm very happy to be able to address everybody.
I am calling from Chatsworth Lake Manor,
a very small unincorporated area
in the Northwest corner of Los Angeles County.
We happen to have the dubious distinction of being
one of the most burned out communities.
We also have the distinction of having the most shut down
power circuit,
the energy circuit in the SCE power infrastructure.
We have been working with SCE quite intensively
since the Woolsey fire,
where the PSPS shutdowns began in our community,
where we were shut down during high weather.
So I'm speaking in favor of the covered conductor program
that SCE has implemented on their own volition.
They were instructed to take measures
to secure their system.
They've gone ahead and per their comments
insulated something like 1700 miles of lines,
or we'll have that complete by the end of this year.
We are one of the communities
that was in the forefront of that.
We're nearly complete in our community.
I can tell you that this has made Lake Manor
one of the safer areas because of that,
we can have confidence that we will have fewer PSPS
as they won't be eliminated
because of the unpredictable nature of conditions
that create them.
But I will urge the Power Commission
or the Public Utilities Commission
to rescind their opposition to the full program.
The arguments presented that I've been able to see
were only submitted by turn,
which has a model that we feel is not sufficient.
It's based on a fire damage
after six hours of wildfire.
We all know that while the longer the Woolsey fire,
the Thomas fire were $10 billion
that's a cost that cannot be born,
and this is a cost effective measure to secure our systems.
Thank you very much.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next color is Mark Carol,
your line is now open.
Mark Carol please check your mute button.
Mark: Well, thank you.
My name is Mark Carroll.
I'm the President and CEO of Breathe Southern California
Breathe SoCal strongly supports full funding
for the General Rate Case Application
having been submitted by Southern California Edison
and under consideration by the CPUC,
this legislative session,
Breathe SoCal introduced assembly bill 619
to protect Californians from the harmful
health effects of wildfire smoke.
Researchers have found that particles in wildfire smoke
are up to 10 times more damaging to humans
than particles released from other sources,
including vehicles.
We know that wildfire smoke is just,
is an additional impact health impact on individuals
other than the property damage
and of course the damage to life.
But it impacts even more people than those,
because the particle pollution is,
blows all the way
in the air, all the way to the East Coast.
We've seen that last week with some of the
particle pollution reaching Maine from California.
Smoke from burning forest contains hundreds of chemicals
destroyed by the fires.
Smoke from burning houses and buildings
contains even more toxic chemicals.
And so we know that this is an extremely
toxic and damaging pollution.
Breathe SoCal strongly encourages the CPUC
to fully fund SCE's GRC,
which will significantly improve
our wildfire mitigation efforts
in the Southern California region.
By addressing the threat of wildfires.
You're also addressing the public health risks
posed by wildfire smoke,
and we appreciate your consideration of our comments.
Thank you.
-: Thank you.
Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Christopher Kilpatrick,
your line is now open.
Christopher: Good morning,
my name is Christopher Kilpatrick,
Crescenta Valley Town Council.
The Crescenta Valley is located
at the Northern portion of Los Angeles County.
It's about 3.4 square miles,
and about 20,000 residents live here.
The majority of our community is within the
wildfire hazard zone.
We've been subject to several wildfires with evacuations,
and when that occurs,
the entire community essentially shuts down.
This is not only a danger to a homes, it's a danger to life.
Access is very, very poor into our neighborhood.
Fire resources have a lot of issues getting up there.
We support full funding of any mitigation efforts
that be accomplished right away.
Obviously in the long-term there's some strategies
like underground,
more locally generated electricity like solar
and that kind of thing.
But we need a solution right now.
We're not advocating for any major rate increases,
but we do think that this needs to be taken into account
and it's worth noting.
I understand you've heard
from a lot of people regarding this.
It's worth noting that not a single person
at this meeting has advocated
for not insulating these lines
and for not doing all the full mitigation efforts.
Frankly, we consider the 6,000 mile proposal
to be a down payment
on what needs to be done
because of the cost of damage
done by wildfires.
And frankly, it's also worth noting that
95% of the general public
probably believes that high tension lines
already are insulated.
That just shows what a common sense approach this is.
Thank you very much for getting through all these calls
and for your time.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Deirdre Bolona,
your line is now open.
Deirdre: Hello, good morning
or good afternoon now Commissioners.
My name is Deirdre Bolona.
I'm a founding member of the Aliso Moms Alliance
and a resident living next to
the Aliso Canyon Storage Facility.
The North San Fernando Valley has the carcinogenic emissions
that constantly leak from this facility.
And I urge the CPUC to reject the requests by oil companies
and SoCalGas to increase Aliso storage movement.
I urge you to prioritize public health and safety
over fossil fuel profits.
Local apologies,
official support and expedited shutdown of SoCalGas
expanding gas storage limits at this time is wrong
and sends a message
that community health is less important than SoCalGas wealth
My father is one of the many
who contracted kidney cancer on my street
and in my neighborhood.
Unfortunately he passed away
and is not able to be here.
How he trusted our department of pamphlet cap and SoCalGas
with their weekly (indistinct)
no forget gap and how no harm has come to our community.
Well, natural gas is toxic and a fugitive emission.
It constantly escapes from miles of pipes and compressors
and other components that operate and leak 24 hours a day,
seven days a week from these facilities.
These toxic chemicals are forever now in our bodies.
Last week, the L.A. Board of Advisors voted to oppose
the storage increase at Aliso.
And this week the L.A. City Council also introduced the
relative solution to oppose storage increases,
increases the CPUC needs to listen to
the local leadership increase
and instead focus on
shutting down Aliso Canyon now.
Please Commissioners do more to protect, prioritize,
invest in clean energy solutions and in the L.A. base
and not let SoCalGas expand.
We want the CPUC to put health safety first
for all communities,
shutting down Aliso Canyon, shutting down
Playa Del Rey and stopping the expansion of the Ventura
Compressor Station.
Thank you for my time.
Three hours of waiting, I'm exhausted, but thank you.
I appreciate it.
-: Thank you very much.
Operators the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Farah Amar,
your line is now open.
Farah: Hi, thank you.
I'm a resident of Los Angeles County
in the San Fernando Valley
and the area affected by the Aliso Canyon Gas blowout.
I have been affected by it.
I suffered nosebleeds, I had to keep my windows closed.
And so on.
I'm asking The Commission, don't allow SoCalGas
to expand this facility.
Any increase in storage limits will expose the CPUC's
failure to shut this facility down.
I urge the CPUC to reject the request
and instead prioritize public health and safety
over fossil fuel profits.
The County of L.A., the City of L.A.,
the L.A. Unified School District,
and many others are on record in support of an expedited
shutdown of Aliso Canyon.
I am also asking that the Commission
listen to other communities across the State,
whether it's those that are calling for the shutdown
of the Playa Del Rey Gas Storage Facility
or the compressor's station in Ventura County.
We need to move to 100% renewable energy.
That means shutting down the gas infrastructure.
The Aliso Canyon location in particular has had measurable
releases of toxins every day,
including some like radioactive uranium.
It is appalling that instead of closing this down,
we might be exposed to an increase
of these are toxic pollutants.
The facility is no longer needed.
We have shown during the period that it was closed,
that it's possible to readjust the gas system
and operate smoothly without it.
Thank you very much.
What we need is to set a precedent, close Aliso Canyon.
Don't expanded it, thank you.
-: Thank you, operator the next caller, please.
Operator: The next caller is Anitro Wessel,
your line is now open.
Anitro: Hello, thanks for taking my call.
I hope you all can hear me.
I'm about to drive out of reception.
I'm gonna pull over for this.
So I am definitely a concerned citizen of the earth.
I've lived near oil and gas projects in Los Angeles
my whole life.
I just turned 40 years old.
I have allergies to petroleum chemicals since I was a kid.
And they've gotten extremely worse
since I lived near Aliso Canyon
out of the five mile range, by the way,
where millions and thousands of us have been
illy affected
just like everyone else who gets migraines.
I have bloody noses, cold flu symptoms, nausea.
I personally had to stop going to protest,
even though I am very much against fracking.
I hope we can all take the sixth largest extinction
that humans are not immune to
very seriously.
We've lost hundreds of different species
since the seventies.
And speaking as someone who also worked in Porter Ranch
and did not get any help also
from the regulatory captured industries,
making profits off of lives in all species.
Please, please shut down Aliso canyon,
shut down the compressor facility and no more storage of gas
in Playa Del Rey either you have a lot of rich folks,
you know,
complaining in Porter Ranch and in Playa Del Rey
and countless people unaccounted for
just like they have been able to share with it,
with their neighbors in our communities
that people are dying over this.
I don't understand why people would tip themselves up
in a position to regulate this.
It's not regulatable, it is ongoing, stewing.
It's not just two weeks a day.
It's not when it's going to leak, it's always leaking.
We need to get off fossil fuels now,
we have the technology,
we have tidal waves, a geothermal without fossil fuels.
Solar of course, Southern California is tremendous,
all over California is tremendous as well as wind.
So we have all these technologies living on the Coast.
Please it's time to get off.
Scientists all over the planet are
asking us to get off by 2030.
We have to start now.
-: Thank you, Operator in the next caller, please.
Operator: The next caller is a Marylyn Fuss,
your line is now open.
Marylyn: Thank you, can you hear me well now?
-: Yes, we can hear you just fine, please proceed.
Marylyn: Thank you.
I'm a member of, SoCal 350.org,
of the National Action Network, Color of Change
and I'm putting this in the simplest form,
simplest terms.
For so many years
there have been stories of poor health
and death of many species around the whole region
surrounding Aliso Canyon.
There's unprecedented fire danger now,
and there's intense pollution of both air and soil.
Aliso Canyon Storage Plant needs to be shut down permanently
tomorrow while we're at it.
Playa Del Rey needs the same action closure.
These shutdown should coincide with budget increases
for fire safety measures.
Thank you so much for listening.
-: Thank you for the call,
Operator the next caller, please.
Operator: The next caller is Melodie Chrislock,
your line is now open.
Melodie: Melodie Chrislock,
McCallum Repair and the Director of Public Water Now.
Now why is East Pasadena sale back in consent again?
How does a sale that will impact add $34 million
to our water bills?
Not even rate a public discussion.
This proposed decision is an error.
It's completely backwards.
Your gain-on-sale rules absolutely do apply
to these used and useful assets.
From the public's perspective,
it looks like you've allowed Cal-Am's attorneys to confuse
and intimidate you in this matter.
If you don't apply the gain-on-sale rules here,
where would you ever apply them?
Abandoning the gain-on-sale rules leaves rate payers
to bear the entire cost of utilities acquisitions.
Yet the utilities shareholders
are the ones who benefit.
How is this fair?
Please pull this from consent and take a closer look at the
intent of the gain-on-sale rules.
It's your duty to protect the public
from this kind of profiteering.
Please don't approve the East Pasadena sale as proposed.
Thank you.
-: Thank you, operator the next caller please.
Operator: Our next caller is Patty Glueck,
you may go ahead.
Patty: Well, thank you.
I'm a co-founder of the Aliso Moms Alliance.
I also serve on the L.A. County's Aliso Canyon Health Study
Community Advisory Group.
I'm speaking in opposition to any increase in capacity at
Aliso canyon.
Elected officials, including Governors Brown and Newsom,
Senator Dianne Feinstein,
the L.A. County Board of Supervisors,
the L.A. City Council and State Senator Henry Stern
have told the CPUC to shut down Aliso,
and here's some important reasons why.
First according to Cal fire Aliso
is located in a very high fire hazard zone,
a salary fire in 2019 came just feet away from the Wells.
Second,
the sentence is the earthquakes run through every well there
and there's other faults nearby too.
Third, cases of multiple
myeloma, leukemia, lymphoma and other forms of cancer
have been increasing since the 2015 blow out.
For the Blade Energy Root Cause Analysis
has shown that SoCalGas runs its
facility and negligence manner.
Your safety enforcement division,
south 335 violations and part of your investigation
into possible sanctions for the gas company.
More than 1.5 million residents of San Fernando valley
are at risk every day, Aliso remains open.
If anything, the CPUC
needs to be truly expediting the closure,
not looking at increasing the amount of gas there
increased capacity will mean increasing
the amount of polytoxins that are attacking our bodies.
Our health and safety should be more important
than lining the pockets of SoCal management.
That's true with Playa Del Rey and Ventura too.
Anywhere that SoCalGas has facilities.
Thank you very much.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller please.
Woman: Your safety is an important position-
-: I can barely hear you.
Operator: Our next caller is Tammy Jennings,
you may go ahead.
Tammy: Hello?
-: Hello, we can hear you.
Are you still there?
-: Yes, we can hear you please go ahead.
Tammy: Sorry My name is Tammy Jennings.
I'm with, I live in Monterey.
I'm calling.
Hold on, I lost my place in my,
I know I've got two minutes, so I'll be quick.
shot.
Okay, here we go.
Please pull item five from consent and hold this
proposed decision on the sale of East Pasadena Water
for future discussion.
This decision is an error and should not be approved.
Ignoring the gains-on-sale rules
would be a terrible precedent for tax payer funding
of monopoly profiteering.
CPUC gain-on-sales rules were created
to protect rate payers from exactly this kind of situation.
Water is a public resource that the CPUC
must protect from profiteering.
No one should be able to make money on something we all need
to live, which is water.
Thank you.
-: Thank you, operator the next caller please.
Operator: Our next caller is Tammy Kim.
You may go ahead.
Tammy: Hello, this is Tammy Kim,
I'm Vice Mayor for the City of Irvine.
Can you hear me?
-: Yes, there is activity in the background however.
Tammy: Sorry, as a resident and as an elected official
within the City of Irvine,
I've seen the impact firsthand of wildfires
California has over two million households
at extreme risk from wildfire,
including my own constituents.
In Irvine we've experienced two major wildfires last year
where nearly 100,000 people in my city and surrounding areas
were evacuated from their homes.
I'm very concerned that the proposed decision to cut back on
requested funding for wildfire mitigation
will leave my community at risk for future wildfires.
I urge you to approve the full funding requested by
SoCal Edison for installing covered conductors
for the 6,000 miles
of high risk power lines.
This funding will save countless lives, property,
and resources.
I'm also concerned that without the funding
to install cover conductors,
there will be an increase in power shut off events.
Power shutoffs,
put our communities at risk and should only be used as a
measure of last resort.
This isn't just about convenience.
Shutting up power has adverse impact on our residents.
And when you think about senior citizens
and working families who are already many food insecure,
who can't afford to throw away food
ruined by lack of refrigeration.
We have families dependent on the internet
because they're working or going to school remotely.
That require electricity for their modem.
And it's an unfortunate reality that wildfires
have become a natural part of California's landscape.
And the fire season is starting earlier
and is nearly year round.
We need to do more,
not less to mitigate and prevent wildfires.
I respectfully ask The Commission to reconsider
your proposed decision and approve full funding
to SoCal Edison for installing covered conduction.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration.
Thank you.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller please.
Operator: Our next caller is Jane Fowler,
you may go ahead.
Jane: Hi, well sorry, take a bathroom break
Okay hi, my name is Jane Fowler.
I live in Granada Hills,
co-founder of Aliso Moms Alliance.
Thank you for allowing us to give public comment.
I guess SoCalGas is requesting
an increase of gas in the Aliso Gas Storage Facility.
And I hope you're not considering this increase.
To quote Catherine, Supervisor Katheryn Barger,
she says, "The health and environmental impacts
from the 2015 blowouts are still not fully known."
She goes on to say, "The findings in the root cause analysis
cast doubt on the site operators ability to operate
the facility safely.
I want to remind you of the Blade Report."
So let me tell you once again,
you know about my experience within here, my hair fell out.
My stomach is still hard and distended,
I'm nauseous constantly,
I get itchy burning skin, sore throat, blurry vision,
heart palpitations.
My liver is now failing because I can't process
all the toxins Aliso has put in my body.
I can't remember things.
I always have brain fog and anxiety and depression.
My friend who came to visit left
because she was getting nauseous, headaches,
and also itchy burning skin.
I'm sorry.
And my beloved Missy, my dog died.
There are still two leaks per day.
And with the vending and two weeks per day,
and with the venting and the acid piping wash
SoCalGas is not a good neighbor.
They don't warn us about this
and nor do they take time to take care
of their crumbling, old pipes.
Again, the Blade Report, but you know, you're the CPUC
so you must be aware of their negligence.
And last to remind you that, you know,
we're in a climate crisis, like, you know,
it's everywhere now, climate crisis, the climate crisis,
and we're supposed to be moving away and transitioning
from fossil fuels
not increasing SoCalGas's money-making thing.
Anyway, we have difficult decisions to be made,
to save the destruction of the planet
and just, this is a light brewing situation for us
so imagine if you don't do anything in California
and the planet feels the way we are feeling
in the San Fernando Valley.
Don't let California and us ruin the planet.
No increase in gas transmission from fossil fuel.
I'm very sorry, thank you so much.
I waited so many hours, thank you.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller please.
Operator: Our next caller is Jesse Johnson.
You may go ahead.
Jesse: Yes, can you hear me?
-: Yes, we can hear you, go ahead Mr. Johnson,
please carry on.
Jesse: Oh, okay thank you, yeah.
My name is Jesse Johnson and I'm the Founder and President
Emeritus of the 100 Black Men of Long Beach
Incorporated, NASCE rate paying residential customer.
I live in View Park,
which is an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County.
Most of our members are also commercial
and are residential rate paying customers.
I am speaking in support of SCE's
General Rate Case Requests.
If SCE's funding is reduced, it will have an,
an adverse impact on SCE's pole, transformer
and wire replacement programs,
which hardened the grid against the threat of wildfires.
The reduction would also decrease SCEs crews
and call center staff that responds to emergencies
such as wildfires and earthquakes.
In addition would also reduce SCE's ability to invest
in fire resistant equipment and hamper updates
to their cybersecurity system
that protects the grid from hackers.
SCE's clean energy goals would also be adversely affect
as well as climate change, thank you very much.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller please.
Operator: Our next caller is Phil Wellman
you may go ahead.
Phil: Hello.
-: Hello, please go ahead, Mr. Wellman.
Phil: Can you hear me?
Yes, we can hear you just fine, please go ahead.
Phil: Right, okay, good.
Phil Wellman, Cal-Am rate payer on the Monterey Peninsula.
The sale of East Pasadena Water to Cal-Am
is not about union jobs.
I don't oppose the sale.
I oppose the terms of the sale that are
unfair to rate payers across Cal-Am system.
a 750% profit is obscene.
Why should we pay for an acquisition
that we don't benefit from?
Please pull item five from consent
and hold this proposed decision
on the sale of East Pasadena Water for future discussion.
This decision is enormously unfair to rate payers
and it should not be approved.
Most of the 630,000 Cal-Am rate payers in this State
have no idea that if this sale goes through,
they will be charged $34 million
and they will receive no benefit.
Take your time.
Study this issue carefully assure Cal-Am rate payers
they won't be victimized once again.
Thank you.
-: Thank you very much, Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Jane Velez Mitchell.
Your line is now open.
Jane: Thank you, I've been listening to this.
Clearly, the people are talking
and so many people couldn't stay on for three hours,
but the message is clear.
The time for bold action is now I live in Marina Del Rey,
I'm a journalist and author,
and I only recently discovered
that there was a massive gas storage facility
under the Ballona Wetlands,
which now they've created a whole phony restoration.
SoCalGas giving money to so-called environmental groups
so they can say, oh, let's restore it
when the real plan is to dig deep
and upgrade and rejigger
their crumbling gas storage facility,
which needs to be shut down.
The Los Angeles City Council has told the Governor,
"Shut it down."
The governments of Santa Monica and Culver City have said,
"Shut it down."
The people are talking, "Shut it down."
It's fracked gas.
Fracking is contributing to the climate crisis.
We can't just sit here and say, "Oh my God, we're victims.
The wildfires, the droughts,
the heat, it's all because of climate."
When this industry
is creating the crisis in the first place.
There's a simple solution
and I urge you to take bold action.
Shut down the gas storage facility in Playa Del Rey
under the Ballona Wetlands.
Shut down the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility.
Send a bold message to this industry,
which is running rough shot over the people,
which is literally burning our State down.
If not you who?
Who is going to take the action?
Or are we just going to wait
until the entire place goes up in flames?
I mean, this industry is arrogant
because nobody has said enough.
It is time for you, it is your responsibility,
it is your duty.
You signed up for this to stand up and say, "No more!"
You are killing people, you are destroying wildlife.
You are not a force for good,
because the way industry operates until you do that,
they will run roughshod over everybody.
I was just watching a documentary about Teddy Roosevelt,
standing up to The Trust.
He took bold action, that's why he's a hero.
Be heroic, do something.
Don't give us lip service, thank you.
-: Thank you, Operator next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Jackie Barsac,
from Democratic Socialists of America,
Your line is now open.
Jackie: Hello, I want to tell you that you Commissioners,
you are responsible for this profit making monopoly,
that you have no control over.
It is outrageous to me that you allow
and enable this unaccountable illegal monopoly
to continue operating in San Francisco.
And you are actually preventing San Francisco
from using its own public hydro-power
so that the company can stay in power
earning monopoly profits.
Electricity should have never been controlled
by a private company and sold for profits.
And now you, the Commissioners,
you have to be held accountable for not sufficiently
monitoring PG&E's management of vegetation.
Step one of the Commission's
Enhanced Oversight and Enforcement process
required your oversight of utilities,
performance of maintaining risks for your high power lines.
Yes, you failed.
You are failing to hold PG&E accountable.
So the Dixie Fire
which was caused by PG&E's failure to manage vegetation
in high risk areas.
Now, the PUC is resolution on
Enhanced Oversight and Enforcement Process
states that the Commission did not move through
the EOC steps sequentially.
Therefore, I am demanding,
we at the Reclaim Our Power! demand
that based on the Dixie fire
that you advanced to step six of the process
and do a formal review of PG&E's certificate
of public convenience and necessity.
We bought a public power system
and we want PG&E to be sold.
and if they don't want to sell,
we will protest until the city uses its legal right
to take over PG&E and seize the system by eminent domain.
And despite all of it's brainwashing,
PG&E could care less about fires and climate change
and renewable power.
We need to shut it down, shut it down.
CPUC could help.
And you could, you,
you are The Commission,
you Commissioners are tasked with
determining the price of its poles,
it's wires and meters.
This is where your cooperation is needed in order to prevent
future climate catastrophe
and stop the emissions of carbon.
-: Thank you, Operator the next caller please.
Operator: The next caller is Dina Fisher,
your line is now open.
Dina: Hello, I am a resident of
Chatsworth Lake Manor and my community
is one of the communities in L.A. County
at most risk to wildfire.
I'm calling with conditional support for SCEs requests for
the covered conductor program.
I find that the turn analysis is faulty
in especially in the fact that the risk curve
that they use to analyze their recommendation.
Considers only fires while they burned for six hours.
As you all know, fires in California,
if they get out of control burns for days, weeks and months
and cost billions of dollars to arrest.
So I'm why is my,
why do I say that my support is conditional?
SCE needs to give us much more information
to justify the number that they're asking.
I support doing the full 6,000 plus miles
that they're requesting.
However, I am concerned with one of the issues
that is valid,
that turned did raise on SCE between 2019 and 2021
has only been able to,
they optimistically hope to be able to
do 2,500 miles in that two, two and a half year timeframe.
However, they are requesting funding
to do almost double that within the next two years.
So I think it's great if they can actually do that
and if they are actually committed to doing it,
but I would like to see proof of that commitment
and ability.
Thank you so much in our neighborhood.
It is clear that the covered conductors have lessened
the PSPS events for us,
which have been to say the least incredibly dramatic
and painful for our community and we're all losing money
every time that we can't work from home.
This is a neighborhood of sole proprietors
and small business owners.
Thank you so much for your time.
-: Thank you for your call.
Operator the next caller please.
Operator: I'm showing no further callers in the queue.
-: Okay, thank you operator.
I want to thank all those who did call in today.
There were a lot of people who wanted to speak.
We have at my count,
86 callers that called in and nearly everyone talked
or wished to talk for their full two minute timeframe.
So it was a long wait.
I apologize to those who had to wait a long time,
but thank you for doing so,
because we do want to hear from you.
So thank you very much.
I, with no other callers on the line,
the Public Commentary is now closed.
Thank you, thank you Operator.
-: [Commissioner Rechtschaffen] Senator Batjer
you are on mute.
-: I'm sorry.
Was I on mute this whole time?
I wanted to thank all of the callers
for their length of time in waiting,
and I appreciated it very much.
We had over 86 callers today.
I think everyone who waited the three plus hours
on the line,
I want to thank those who could not get on
or could not stay also.
Okay, we're moving on.
The Public Commentary is closed
and we're now moving on in our agenda.
-: Here are the agenda changes for the day.
Item 11 is withdrawn.
Item 16 is held until the August 19th, 2021 meeting,
item 18 is held until the August 19th, 2021 meeting,
item 32 is held until the August 19th, 2021 meeting,
item 36 is withdrawn,
items 37 is held until the August 19th, 2021 hearing.
Okay, we will now take up the consent item.
Is there a motion?
-: I move.
-: A second?
-: I'll second the motion, thank you.
-: And thank you, Commissioner Shiroma.
It has been moved in seconds.
Will the agenda clerk please call the roll?
Agenda Clerk: Commissioner Houck?
-: Yes.
Agenda Clerk: Commissioner Shiroma?
-: Aye.
Agenda Clerk: Commissioner Rechtschaffen?
-: Yes.
Agenda Clerk: Commissioner Guzman Aceves?
-: Aye.
Agenda Clerk: President Batjer?
-: Aye, thank you all.
The vote is unanimous for the Consent Agenda items.
Commissioner Shiroma, I think you wanted to speak
on item 15.
-: Yes, thank you, President Batjer.
If I wanted to highlight that item 15 is our first track
as a Commission's clean energy financing rulemaking
to design clean energy financing options
for all electricity and natural gas
investor owned utility customers.
We held a two day workshop back in January
with many expert panels.
This decision extends the California Hub for Energy
Efficiency Financing Programs,
which we originally established in 2013
and it is administered by the States Treasurer's Office,
the California Alternative Energy and Advanced
Transportation Financing Authority, or CAEATFA.
We have authorized 75.2 million for five years
through June 30th, 2027.
Importantly it authorizes CAEATFA
to leverage its platform
to also incorporate non investor owned
utility rate payer funds
to expand the reach of these programs.
An example of a non IOU fund,
is something supported by a publicly owned utility
like SMUD.
We do have some additional tracks that we're working on.
I know we're all I would like to thank CAEATFA,
our initial objective is to Ray Fithcer and Caroline Sisto
my Batjer key partner
Commissioner Rechtschaffen and his advisors,
Rose George, our legal divisions,
Matthew Yurgovich and the Energy Division Team,
which includes Peter Fonzie, Lorie Cox, Kevin Phasey.
Hal Cain and Jen Halford,
and the members of my team,
my Chief of Staff legal advisor Milan Tethwhile
interview advisor, Sherwin and our intern this summer,
Carlos Siegal Real.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak.
Back to you President Batjer.
-: [President Batjer] Okay, thank you, Commissioner Shiroma.
And we are now moving on on the agenda
to the regular agenda items.
We will first take up item 33
that is assigned to Director Randolph
and Executive Director Rachel Peterson
will make a presentation on this item,
item 33, Rachel.
Rachel: Good afternoon, President Batjer
and Commissioners.
Thank you for the opportunity to present today.
The draft resolution M-4855,
addressing the Commission's direction
to place an independent safety monitor
within Pacific Gas and Electric or PG&E.
Can you go to the next slide please?
My name is Rachel Peterson, Executive Director.
Apologies, I forgot to clarify that on the first slide.
I wanted to start the presentation with locating this within
several other safety related actions that this Commission
has taken and is taking with respect to PG&E.
In April, you voted to place PG&E into step one
of the Enhanced Oversight and Enforcement Process
based on findings that
they were not appropriately risk prioritizing their enhanced
vegetation management activities.
Just Tuesday this week,
you held a public briefing on the utilities preparedness
for public safety, power shutoff events.
Just with the Consent Agenda that you voted on just now
you directed PG&E to enhance their reporting requirements
within their public safety power shut off event,
post event reporting.
On August 25th,
you're going to hold a Commission and Office of Energy
Infrastructure Safety Briefing by Pacific Gas and Electric
on their request for safety certification.
From an earlier decision, you,
This Commission has directed PG&E to create a mobile app
for customers to report electric infrastructure
safety concerns across their service territory.
That app is scheduled to be released in August.
And then finally,
as you've heard at two presentations
at recent Commission meetings,
the staff of our Safety and Enforcement Division
is overseeing safety initiatives that follow
from two large investigations and settlements.
The first into PG&E's Natural Gas System located in Marc
investigation and the second these investigation
and settlements following the 2017, 2018 wildfires.
So with that, I'll turn to the resolution at hand.
Next slide, please.
As a condition of PG&E exiting from bankruptcy,
this Commission directed the creation of an
independent safety monitor
to report to the CPUC with functional
equivalent to the federal safety monitors that has been
operating since the federal criminal court proceeding has
been going on.
Next slide please.
In crossing the scope of work we thought to compliment
and not unnecessarily overlap with the numerous safety
initiatives that are going on with,
with respect to PG&E,
both here at the Commission and at
the New Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety.
Next slide please.
And so in order to compliment that work, what we've focused,
the scope for this monitor on is
to monitor and alert Commission Staff
about whether PGNE is implementing
it's highest priority,
risk driven safety mitigations across all lines of business,
not just electric, but gas as well.
And then second to very much focused on PG&E's,
safety related recordkeeping and records management system.
Any revisions to that scope can be proposed either by the
Monitor or by the Commission Staff and brought to you
or to the Executive Director for approval.
Next slide, please.
The relationship is one in which
the Independent Safety Monitor is going to work
for and be directed by the Commission.
The Monitor will provide a public report
summarizing their activities
every six months to this Commission.
The Monitor will also meet regularly with Commission staff
on a confidential basis to report on its safety oversight
and any concerns.
The contractual relationship is directly with PG&E,
but the consulting advising and reporting relationship is
with the Commission.
Next slide, please.
We've established a budget in this last resolution
of up to $5 million per year,
unless modified, the term is for five years.
And the resolution denies PG&E's requests to establish
a memorandum account for possible future requests
for rate payer recovery
and instead says that PG&E shareholders
shall pay for the costs of this Monitor.
Next slide please.
On an administrative basis,
The Safety Policy Division will lead the process of
reviewing bids,
interviewing bidders, presenting bidders for
my ultimate selection and approval
and reviewing any potential conflicts of interest
or the appearance of conflicts of interest.
Next slide please.
And if you vote this vote to approve this resolution today,
then we are on a schedule to ensure that the selection is
conducted by November
and that the Monitor begins their duties in January.
We anticipate that the Federal Monitor is going to conclude
its duties by February of 2022.
And the next slide, please.
Here I included an appendix
because we've been speaking about all
the different safety initiatives that have been implemented
in about the last five years,
which is when the Federal Monitor has had its
has been working within that federal criminal court case
and I just wanted to list them all here
because they are extensive
and this Monitor is intended to fit within them,
compliment them,
and also continue to inform us at the Commission about PG&Es
safety performance.
That concludes my presentation Commissioners.
I'm happy to answer any questions.
Thank you very much.
-: Thank you, Rachel.
Let me turn to the Commissioners
to see if they have any questions.
-: (indistinct)
-: Speak up, please
-: Present Batjer this is- -: Commissioner Guzman Aceves
-: Thank you, thank you Director Peterson.
I know we heard from the public about their
urgency and request to move to a higher threshold
and I wonder if you could speak to that
in terms of what's the next step would be to,
to get to any further level beyond this bubble.
-: Commissioner, thank you for the question.
The initial step one that we've placed the company in
is on the basis of extensive fact finding
that we've been conducting
and the staff continues to conduct that fact finding
with respect to both the corrective actions
that are identified for that step one,
which are focused on the company's enhanced veggie
management activities.
But we also continue to examine safety reports
and safety trends at the company.
The process for moving to a different step would be similar
to what we've presented to you in the past,
which would be another resolution articulating the facts
as a basis for possible additional actions.
-: Commissioner Rechtschaffen, go ahead please, yes.
-: Thank you, I very briefly,
I want to thank Director Peterson for her presentation
and all the work that she and staff
and senior management have done
putting this together and the numerous and extensive
close monitoring and enforcement actions
that she just articulated.
I want to highlight two things.
One, the cost of the Monitor will be completely paid
by shareholders.
That was an issue as Director Peterson noted
that was raised by PG&E,
but the need for the Monitor arises out of PG&E's
recurring safety transgressions,
and it's appropriate that the shareholders
bear the costs of the Monitor.
Secondly, even though there's a lot of eyes on PG&E,
the Independent Safety Monitor plays a unique role
as a Director Peterson mentioned
the role is designed to compliment,
not overlap other efforts.
And in particular, the roles modeled after that of
the Federal monitor who's been monitoring PG&E
as the condition of its criminal probation
and our understanding
and our experiences that that Monitor has played
a important and distinct role
in helping keep PG&E accountable
and prove its safety performance.
So it's important that this monitor position fulfill
and continue the role that,
that Federal Monitors placed.
Thank you very much.
-: Thank you Cliff, Commissioner Rechtschaffen.
Commissioner Houck do you have a question as well?
-: I don't have a question,
I just wanted to thank Executive Director,
Rachel Peterson for
the briefing today and for the briefing
that she gave my office prior to prior to today.
And so the work that her staff and our,
our legal office had done in regards to
getting this resolution out.
So thank you.
-: Okay, Commissioner Shiroma.
-: Yes, thank you, President Batjer.
I just wanted to also express appreciation for,
especially the revisions and the resolution that strengthen
the relationship between the Independent Safety and Monitor
and the CPUC,
which really go to supporting our oversight
of PG&E's activities.
And it is very important that in a real time manner,
that we are monitoring PG&E's activities,
as it relates to the various steps,
we were prescriptive in those steps
and all geared towards holding utility accountable.
Thank you, I support this resolution.
-: Thank you very much Commissioner Shiroma
and Rachel, indeed.
I join my fellow Commissioners in voicing,
our great appreciation to all the hard work that you
and staff, I mean, we worked hard, even,
even going back to when we first developed
the six steps
and how hard you and staff worked in doing that.
So thank you again very, very much.
And we will be taking a vote on number 33,
or is there any other discussion at this time?
No Questions?
Okay, seeing none.
Will the Agenda Clerk please call the roll.
Agenda Clerk: Commissioner Houck?
-: Yes.
Agenda Clerk: Commissioner Shiroma?
-: Aye.
Agenda Clerk: Commissioner Rechtschaffen.
-: Yes.
Agenda Clerk: Commissioner Guzman Aceves.
-: Aye.
Agenda Clerk: President Batjer.
-: Aye, the vote for item number 33 is unanimous.
And I want to thank everyone very much, thank you.
Moving now to item 34.
It is assigned to me this order extending statutory deadline
is for the PG&E's application to
recover insurance costs reported
in its wildfire expense memorandum account,
also known as Lima.
The proceeding experienced delays due to COVID pandemic
and parties twice requested
a schedule modifications to provide
additional time to finalize settlement negotiations.
On June 30th, 2021, PG&E and Cal-Am Advocates
in turn filed a motion for adoption of the settlement.
An extension of the statutory deadline
from August 8th, 2021 to December 31st, 2021,
will allow the ALJ to review the settlement
and draft a decision.
We're hoping that it will be done before that timeframe
at the timeframe that's being asked
in terms of the order ordering extension.
So I request your support on item 34.
Is there any discussion?
Okay, seeing none,
will the Agenda Clerk please call the roll.
Agenda Clerk: Commissioner Houck?
-: Yes.
Agenda Clerk: Commissioner Shiroma?
-: Aye.
Agenda Clerk: Commissioner Rechtschaffen?
-: Yes.
Agenda Clerk: Commissioner Guzman Aceves?
-: Aye.
Agenda Clerk: President Batjer?
-: Aye, the vote on item 34 is unanimous.
Thank you all, moving now to item 35
and that is assigned to Commissioner Houck.
-: Thank you, President Batjer.
This is an order to extend the statutory deadline
and rulemaking 14-10-003 to September 15th, 2021.
The rulemaking is working towards creating a consistent
regulatory framework for the guidance planning
and evaluation of integrated distributed energy resources.
The OYR should remain open to allow time to complete
the current major avoided cost calculator update,
which is in progress.
I ask for your support to extend the deadline
to September 15th, 2021.
An additional extension will probably,
will be needed once we
have a better estimate as the time needed
to complete that process.
But I ask for your support in this extension.
-: Thank you very much Commissioner Houck.
Are there any questions or for the discussion on item 35?
Okay, seeing none.
Will the Agenda Clerk please call the roll.
Agenda Clerk: Commissioner Houck?
-: Yes.
Agenda Clerk: Commissioner Shiroma?
-: Aye.
Agenda Clerk: Commissioner Rechtschaffen?
-: Yes.
Agenda Clerk: Commissioner Guzman Aceves?
-: Aye.
Agenda Clerk: President Batjer?
-: Aye, the vote on item 35 is unanimous, thank you.
Moving on on the agenda to the management report,
there is no report for item 38,
which is the management report and discussion
on recent consumer protection and safety activities.
There is no report for item 39,
which is the management report and discussion
on administrative activities.
Now we will turn to the Commissioners Reports,
who would like to go first?
(President Batjer laughs)
Don't you all come running to the finish line,
Commissioner Houck
-: Okay, it's Martha who wants to go.
That's fine- -: Oh I'm sorry, Martha you-
-: Go ahead, no go ahead Darcie.
-: I've got room on my layout for all five of us
so I have to toggle back and forth.
I apologize, Martha.
-: Okay Martha, did you want me to go or did you want to go?
-: Yes, please, go ahead. -: Okay.
So I just want to take a moment
to acknowledge as President Batjer did earlier in,
in her comments,
the devastation caused by the Dixie Fire
in the town of Greenville.
And my heart does go out to the community of Greenville,
to the Greenville Ranch Area and its citizens
who have been devastated by this fire.
We have lost yet another town to catastrophic wildfires
and these devastating wildfires
have occurred over and over in recent years.
And this fire like the ones before it is
not only a call for us to act on the
mitigation and adaption measures needed to
address climate change impact,
but also for the Commission and the utilities we regulate
to reassess our approach
to how we address wildfire prevention measures
and accountability.
As well as the system hardening requirements
as we're living through these tragedies year after year,
which is unacceptable.
So I believe that myself
and all of the Commissioners are going
to be taking a hard look at the current situation
and looking at how we are going
to be addressing these issues going forward.
So I wanted to make those comments and then just briefly
provide an update on some of the activities since our last
voting meeting that I attended
our Disadvantaged Advisory Committee Group
to talk about Distributed Energy Resource,
some OIR and Distributed Energy Resource Action Plan.
I attended the neighborhood summer events
that were held the week of July 19th.
I also attended our geo 156 OIR workshop,
and I want to thank Commissioner Rechtschaffen
for his leadership on this effort.
I learned a lot from the presentations and looking forward
to seeing how that process progresses
and the further events in October.
I want to thank my adviser, Candace Cho,
and my Chief of Staff Panay Demarion for their work
in making sure that I was prepared
and up to speed on these issues.
I also attended the California Energy Commission,
Integrated Energy Policy Report,
Commissioner Workshop on Hydrogen
to support California's clean energy transition.
This is an area I'm endeavoring to learn more about
as we explore options for clean from dispatchable resources,
as well as the transition to
decarbonized fuel for our transportation sector.
I learned a lot from the presentations
and look I forward to learning more
as we move through
our transition and looking at the future
of our natural gas industry.
On July 30th,
I attended the California Tribal Broadband Connectivity
Partnership, virtual summit,
and participated on a panel to discuss our tribal assistance
grants and the CPUC tribal partnerships that we have.
It was a great opportunity to hear from tribal leaders
regarding tribal broadband needs,
as well as how tribes are utilizing our programs to expand
their broad brand infrastructure in Indian country.
I want to thank Rob Osborne and his team,
particularly Karen Eckersley and for all of their work in
assisting with the summit and Rob's role in moderating.
I want to thank Ken Holbrook,
our tribal advisor for his work in coordinating with various
tribes in the State on broadband issues.
And again, recognize the historic events
of the recent legislation
and all of the work that Commissioner Guzman Aceves,
President Batjer and OJIR,
our communications division folks have
have done in getting that across the finish line.
I also attended the 12th annual California Climate and
Energy Collaborative Forum
to discuss clean energy future
and local government opportunities.
And the, I also attended the IO,
the Investor on Utility Owned Workshops this week regarding
readiness for the 2020 Public Safety Power Shutoff,
which was very informative
and very important information there.
And I attended my first meeting as the PUC delegate
for President Batjer's,
the California Broadband Council yesterday.
And I'm looking forward to being a part of that group
and contributing to implementation
of the recent legislation.
And with that, I will conclude my report.
-: Thank you, Commissioner Houck.
Now, Commissioner Guzman Aceves.
-: Thank you President Batjer.
Many of the comments that we heard today
were discussing the petition that was made by the shippers
indicator shippers for an increase in the withdraw level,
excuse me, for the inventory levels in Aliso.
And certainly we heard many of them calling for
urgent actions
and our Governor has declared an emergency proclamation
that you mentioned President Batjer
to reinforce the need for urgent action.
As we continue to face these
very catastrophic impacts from climate.
And I do want to recognize,
and acknowledge the role that methane does play
in warming the climate.
They want it to just reflect on the workshop that we had
and that many of you participated in over a month ago.
We've already talked about it as part of the
Energy Commissions, the IEPR process.
We focused on the electric and gas,
reliability issues that we're facing this winter.
We did have a day focused on Aliso
and particularly what the impacts are going into the winter.
What the impacts will be if,
if, when the facility is closed
and during the workshop of
one of the consultants that is,
is doing what we're calling the phase three,
of the Aliso proceeding,
that's looking at the alternatives to our dependency
on Aliso as these,
this consulting group is called FTI Consulting.
One of our staff presented their current results.
There'll be, FTI will be
soon releasing their final results of our modeling,
which will tell us what the shortfall is of Aliso
if it would have closed in 2027,
and if it were to close in 2035.
And of course they're going to be presenting
the options for us as we go through
the proceedings of how to meet the
shortfall for both summer and winter reliability.
So there's many,
many pieces in many alternatives
that they'll be looking at
both on the gas infrastructure side,
and also on the alternatives to gas side,
be that electrification and certainly the need to replace
our gas generation in the basin
with clean generation in the basin.
And I want to acknowledge just as we had at the workshop,
we had LADWP and many of the new needs in the basin,
as well as all of the other LSC's,
which are jurisdictional to us.
So like the CCAs in Edison
and of course our partner with the ISO
and the role for transmission
to get to this clean energy alternative.
One of the questions and invitations that I wanted to make
here publicly was to work with you,
Commissioner Rechtschaffen and President Batjer
in the IRP proceeding
to really discuss and take advantage
of the call to action, not just from the Governor,
but from the public and not miss an opportunity in this next
iteration of our IRP procurement,
to really delve into the very, from my perspective,
clear interplay that exists between the procurement needs
to procure clean generation and storage in the basin
that could obviously count against
this overall IRP procurement
to make sure that we're not missing an opportunity
in the near term here, and the midterm to create more local
resiliency that's based on clean generation and storage.
And so it's a very timely conversation.
You've obviously heard this morning.
So much of the consternation,
valid consternation from the public
and want to see if we can hold the workshop
in short order to inform both of our proceedings
on this very integrated topic
of what that local and system generation
needs can be as we face this dynamic with Aliso.
-: Okay.
-: President Batjer, can I?
-: Yes, absolutely Commissioner Rechtschaffen-
-: Just to respond to that, I think that's an excellent idea
Commissioner Guzman Aceves and I'm happy to work with
you and the Energy Division and President Batjer
to try to pull together that works out right away
and to further explore
the issues that you just raised.
-: Thank you.
-: And I would agree.
Commissioner Rechtschaffen as your Batjer team partner
in the IRP, the interim IRP
that we'll certainly work on this.
Okay.
Thank you, and who would like to now speak
to give their Commissioner Report?
Okay, you're leaving it up to me then.
(President Batjer laughs)
All right.
I will ask your for your indulgence
if mine's a little longer than I typically do,
but I think it's important that the public hear a little bit
about what Commissioner Houck mentioned earlier,
and that is the public safety power shutoff,
public the meetings we held
with the investor owned utilities this week,
to both the large and the small to hear from them on
their preparedness for the wildfire season
that yes, indeed,
we are already in the midst of.
These briefings we're timely
as we are in what they'll likely be a long
and very difficult wildfire season
as we have repeatedly said today.
It is only August and already over 6,000 fires have burned
over half a million acres.
And we have seen already great tragedy.
As we have said repeatedly,
the utilities must use PSPS only as a measure of last resort
to prevent catastrophic wildfires.
We, along with our colleagues at
the New Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety,
are holding the utilities accountable
for reducing wildfire risk
by safely maintaining their electrical infrastructure,
conducting extensive vegetation management and some fleeting
grid measures that target the most at risk circuits.
I appreciate the information we received from the utilities
and the important questions raised
by my fellow Commissioners, OEIS Director Thomas Jacobs,
Cal OES Director Ghilarducci,
and Chief Richwine from Cal fire.
While all of the utilities have made progress
in planning for PSPS,
we also noted areas where more work is needed
to reduce customer impact.
Both the Commission and the community serve
need to have confidence that the utilities have assessed
and fully understand the public safety risks
that are created when a PSPS event is called.
The three large IOUs described
new efforts to understand where their access
and functional needs populations are located.
But we expect this important work to accelerate and the IOUs
battery backup programs to further,
further expand and go beyond the established goals.
Some of the utility specific takeaways
from this week's briefing are as follows;
for SDG&E, we are concerned about
its vegetation management inspections,
which appeared to be well below the targets
for this year.
SGD&E is also consistently behind in meeting its
vegetation management targets.
We look forward to SDG&E launching its PSPS portal
by September one,
which will provide important information
to its public safety partners.
SDG& E continued collaboration with tribal government
is particularly important,
given the wildfire risks faced by the tribal nations
in the SDG&E service territory.
On SCE on Edison,
we are eager to see the launch of their
address based PSPS pool
by early October, which it could be earlier.
This information is vital for customers,
especially those who do not have
their own electricity account.
We know that customers continue to struggle
to get accurate information from Edison.
While we appreciate Edison's effort
to gain more spatially, granular data
with additional weather stations.
We also expect Edison to improve their access
to more real-time weather data.
For PG&E, we remain concerned about how it's used,
how it's use of pre over strike criteria
will impact the frequency, duration, and scope
of the PSPS events.
As part of today's Consent Agenda,
we adopted a resolution that requires PG&E
to provide new reporting
on how the inclusion of tree over strike
distinct from other factors
and its PSPS modeling, impacts PG&E's
PSPS decision-making.
PG&E must be more transparent about its
PSP modeling and decision-making.
This is something both we at the Commission
and the communities they serve expect.
On the small and multiple jurisdictional utilities,
The civic Corps has only called one PSPS event
and Liberty utilities and Bear valley
have never called any PSPS events.
This preparation of all the more,
therefore the preparation for them is all the more important
We expect all three of these utilities
to engage with large IOUs,
to benefit from their lessons learned
and avoid the mistakes made when PG&E Edison
and SDG&E first ramped up their PSPS programs.
It is urgent that the Civic Corps, Liberty and Bear Valley
expand identification of their medically vulnerable
and access and functional needs customers.
We will continue to judge utilities by their outcomes
on PSPS, not their plans for PSPs.
We are working to standardize the 10 day post event reports
across the utilities.
And in our recent decision on the PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E
2019 PSPS events,
we ordered the utilities to identify and quantify
public risks and harms from the proactive de-energization
in those post event reports.
In addition, this year,
the utilities must produce a postseason PSPS report.
This enhanced reporting will enable us to assess
whether utilities are meeting our expectations
on reducing impacts and ensuring customer safety
when they implement PSPS events.
I would like to thank Tony Nowell and his team
in the Safety Enforcement Division
for their hard work in organizing these
very informative and important PSPS briefings.
I would like to also add my thanks to
Executive Director Rachel Peterson,
and my staff, my wonderful Chief of Staff,
Shannon O'Rourke and the incomparable Nora Hopkins
for all of the hard work
in preparing me and the Batjer team
for these very important PSPS briefings.
That finishes my report
and I think that finishes all the Commissioners Reports
unless somebody would like to speak up now, okay,
then this public meeting is adjourned.
(President Batjer laughs)
We will now move into the closed session on legal matters.