Informing & Monitoring
» Capitol Updates
» Leg. Watch
» Press Releases
» Leg Vote Record
» CA Cost Index
» Features
» Audio & Reports
» Job Data
» Calendar
» Coalitions
» Fed Update
» Policy Objectives
» Policy Principles
Membership
»Membership list
»Invest in CMTA
»About Us
»Yellow Pages
»Questions?
»Join Committees
»Advertise
Services & Discounts
»Group WC Program
»Discount Programs
»Training
Directories
»CMTA Staff
»Send us e-mail
»Directions to CMTA
»Rent Conference Room
Grassroots Activism
Sign up to receive action alerts
| CMTA’s annual energy gig concluded its panels, speeches and forums late July up in South Lake Tahoe. Here’s a few paraphrased highlights that should be recorded and well known as consumers, employers, legislators, regulators and media navigate the trepid waters of a California-only global warming mandate. Jeff Byron - California Energy Commissioner 1. Needed - Transmission, transmission, transmission 2. Electricity costs will likely rise for consumers because of increased system "peakiness", tight natural gas market, aging transmission and distribution infrastructure. Transmission is the hardest thing to site in California, apart form nuclear facilities. View Byron’s video Download Byron's Powerpoint Severin Borenstein UC Energy Institute 1. Meeting California's aggressive greenhouse gas reduction goals will not be costless. 2. Minimizing those costs requires realistic policy analysis. 3. Markets are not sending signals on true environmental costs. 4. The public isn't ready to pay the true costs of AB 32 because they don't know the costs. View Borenstein’s Video Download Borenstein's Powerpoint Karen Douglas - California Energy Commissioner 1. Increasing demand requires aggressive work and innovation to keep up performance on energy efficiency. 2. Can we use energy efficiencey to reduce per capita energy use? 3. Increasing peak demand presents a significant problem, and we also have to plan for the prospect of growing electricity usage by transportation sector. 4. At the Energy Commission, we approve a lot of projects that never get built, which is a source of frustration. 5. Up front costs are high for renewables but fuel source is then free. We must focus and shift from coal and natural gas to renewable power. Business as usual will not work. Douglas’ Video: Yakout Mansour - President and CEO, CA Independent System Operator 1. Net new generation since 2001 outpaced demand growth by 5,000 MW 2. Transmission vs. generation tough challenging question. Unless streamlined process, transmission will be the major challenge over coming yeas 3. 55,000 MW total generation capacity in state. 14,000 MW needed and 6 new major 500 KV transmission projects needed to deliver renewables to meet 33 percent Renewable Portfolio Standard. 4. Demand response must be broader,more inclusive. Demand should shape itself every day. Price transparency must drive demand and competition. 5. ISO meeting goals but goalposts keep moving. View Mansour’s Video V John White - Renewable energy advocate 1. We’ve made a lot of "holes in the wall". The problem is our failure to execute and it’s haunting us on the renewable front. We bet on low fossil fuel prices and we got hammered. 2. Ab1X created fundamental distortion in the market. 450 mw online since renewable portfolio standard passed. We’ve worried about paying too much for renewables but we bet wrong, given current gas prices. (ex. Sweden now has 1 of every 3 wind turbines in the world) View White's video Kip Lipper - Office of Sen. Don Perata 1. 200 bills that use the words "global warming" or "climate change" 2. State must practice what it preaches
Darren Bouton - Deputy Cabinet Secretary, Gov. Schwarzenegger 1. Governor is a "focused environmentalist". 2. The state's focus on green tech yields economic opportunity. 3. $3 billion in venture capital invested in clean tech in 2007. 83 percent of those companies in United States. For every $100 million in clean tech, 2700 jobs created. 4. We need to ensure that California capitalizes on this opportunity, especially with the 33% RPS. Focus on opportunity, not the rates. View Bouton’s video John Fielder - President, Southern California Edison 1. Overall electricity rate levels driven by the price of natural gas. 2. AB1x's inequitable rate design (frozen rates for 70 percent of residential users) "is a time bomb ready to go off". All the natural gas volatility, AB 32 costs, etc. are distributed only to large users. We are working to get this changed. 3. Problems with the 33 percent RPS bill.
|
|