SAN FRANCISCO — On October 23, 2020, the California Public Utilities Commission issued a scoping ruling in docket A.18-11-015 that indefinitely postpones the ability of distributed energy resources (DERs) to benefit from data-sharing improvements made across the state’s investor-owned utilities.
“We’re extremely disappointed in this short-sighted decision,” said Michael Murray, co-founder and president of Mission:data Coalition. “After more than ten years and $5 billion spent on advanced metering, customers in California still do not have access to modern, streamlined methods for sharing all of their energy information with cost-effective DERs. This docket was a long-delayed venue to make things right, but the Commission thwarted even this attempt without explanation.”
In 2017, the Commission’s Resolution E-4868 required the investor-owned utilities (IOUs) to submit applications for approval that would improve datasets and the user experience (UX) for customers wishing to securely share their energy information with energy management firms. While demand response providers (DRPs) already had access to many of these improvements, all other DERs did not.
Using essentially a “pocket veto,” Commissioner Guzman Aceves eliminated the following question from consideration in the scope of docket A.18-11-015: “Should the investor-owned utilities’ click-through programs for Demand Response Providers be expanded to include other distributed energy resource and energy management providers?” Commissioner Guzman Aceves did not explain the basis of her decision.
“Friday’s ruling indicates that California doesn’t want to be a leader on cost-effective DERs,” said Michael Murray. “For two years, the Commission sat idly on the utilities’ applications that would have saved customers money and expanded energy efficiency. By stripping DERs from consideration and ignoring its own 2017 order, California is moving backwards, not forwards.”
Mission:data was joined in several pleadings by a coalition including Home Energy Analytics, OhmConnect, the California Efficiency + Demand Management Council, and the California Energy Storage Alliance.
The Commission’s ruling can be viewed here.
About Mission:data Coalition: Mission:data is a non-profit founded in 2013 that advocates for data portability and open standards in the energy sector. Data portability allows customers to access innovation from an ecosystem of energy management providers that exist outside of monopoly utilities. To date, Mission:data’s advocacy has led to five states establishing data portability policies, covering over 36 million electric meters nationwide.