California must both conserve water and reduce the amount of energy needed to meet water customer demand. The California Department of Water Resource’s (DWR’s) California Water Plan concludes that the largest single new supply available for meeting the state’s growing demand for water over the next 25 years is water use efficiency. In addition, as part of its 2005 Integrated Energy Policy Report Proceeding, the California Energy Commission (CEC) produced a report entitled “,” finding that water-related energy use consumes 19% of the state’s electricity, 30% of its natural gas, and 88 billion gallons of diesel fuel, per year.
California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) commits this agency to strengthen water conservation programs to a level comparable to the energy efficiency achieved by the energy utilities they regulate. The Water Action Plan also emphasizes the importance of reducing the amount of energy needed by water utilities for water pumping, purification systems, and other water processes such as desalination. In addition, the plan supports programs to reduce energy waste by water utilities from causes such as system leaks, poorly maintained equipment, defective meters, unused machines left idling, and improperly operated systems.
The Energy Commission’s report underscores the importance of determining whether the regulated energy utilities can and should do more to promote water conservation. If the energy utilities can create cost-effective energy savings by encouraging water conservation, then they should add water conservation programs to other more direct energy-saving programs as part of the utilities’ energy efficiency portfolio. However, as a threshold matter, CPUC must address several key questions about the actual energy savings related to reduced water consumption, and the appropriate way to allocate such savings among energy utilities that may or may not be funding a water conservation effort.
In D.07-12-050 on December 20th, 2007, the CPUC approved one-year pilot programs for the largest regulated energy utilities through which they will develop partnerships with water agencies, undertake specific water conservation programs, and measure the results. Concurrently, the energy utilities will fund studies necessary to understand more accurately the relationship between water savings and the reduction of energy use, and the extent to which those reductions would vary for different water agencies. D.07-12-050 approved numerous pilot programs, evaluations and studies totaling $6.37 million for the major gas and electric investor owned utilities.
The Petition in D.08-11-057 on November 24, 2008 requests an additional $1.33 million for pilot operational energy efficiency programs to be undertaken with Commission regulated water utilities. CPUC finds that the programs have merit, are consistent with our energy efficiency objectives, and are worthwhile to help them understand embedded energy in the use of water. CPUC further finds that these programs will significantly move them forward in their goal of determining whether less energy intensive water measures should be funded with electric utility energy efficiency dollars.