Demand Analysis Working Group (DAWG)

Meeting Notes

Demand Analysis Working Group (DAWG)

Demand Forecast Subgroup

December 5, 2013

10:00 am-12pm

Meeting Link:

Date Thursday, December 5, 2013

Time 10:00 am – 11:30 am PST

Webex:

Password: dawg

Dial-in: 866-740-1260 code 5859653#

AGENDA

Presentation on California Net Energy Metering Cost Effectiveness Analysis – Ehren Seybert, CPUC

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) contracted with Energy and Environmental Economics, Inc. (E3) to provide an evaluation of the costs and benefits of the net energy metering (NEM) program in California. This study fulfills the requirements of Assembly Bill (AB) 2514 (Bradford, 2012) and Commission Decision (D.) 12-05-036, to study “who benefits, and who bears the economic burden, if any, of the net energy metering program.” This study also serves as an update to the CPUC’s 2010 NEM Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation.

The report is primarily focused on solar PV.

The study includes:

•A cost-benefit study of NEM at the capacity needed to reach the solar photovoltaic goals of the California Solar Initiative and the 5% net energy metering program cap. The costs and benefits of NEM should be evaluated relative to energy that is exported to the grid and energy consumed onsite.

•An evaluation of the extent to which NEM customers pay their share of utility costs.

•An estimate of the reduction in public purpose charges avoided by NEM customergenerators.

•An income demographic assessment for residential customers with NEM generation.

This study is extremel detailed, and in a short summary, it would be difficult to do it justice.

However, key results of the research are that:

• NEM benefits higher income customers
• Due to the variability and number of underlying rate structures, it is difficult to assess how to better design the NEM rate to more evenly distribute benefits and costs.

This study has proven to be controversial, and CPUC is in the process of determining how to address these issues.

The link to NEM Study Information on CPUC Website (October 2013) is included below.

(A key feature of the report is the availability of the resulting dataset for use by the public. The final report, spreadsheet analysis tools, methodology workshop presentation materials, draft and final scope of work, stakeholder comments on the methodology and draft report, and E3’s reply comments are available on the CPUC’s NEM study webpage.)

Final NEM Study -- October 28, 2013

Link to NEM Study Information on CPUC Website

1