Assembly Bill (AB) 1969 (Yee, Stats. 2006, ch. 731) added § 399.20 to the Public Utilities Code, creating California’s Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) program. On February 14, 2008, the California Public Utilities Commission implemented the § 399.20 FIT, authorizing the purchase of up to 480 MW of renewable generating capacity from renewable facilities smaller than 1.5 MW. These "feed-in tariffs provided a simple mechanism for small renewable generators to sell power to the utility at predefined terms and conditions, without engaging in timely contract negotiations. The AB 1969 FIT program set the price paid to small generators at the level of the Market Price Referent (MPR).
Existing (AB 1969) FIT
|
Capacity
Allocation (MW) |
Capacity Under
Contract and
In Development* |
Capacity Online* |
| PG&E |
209.2 |
94.8 |
11.7 |
| SCE |
247.6 |
70.5 |
4.9 |
| SDG&E |
40.2 |
9 |
6 |
| Total: |
497 |
174.3 |
22.6 |
* This data is sourced from the IOUs’ FIT webpages as of June 7, 2012 and has not been verified.
SB 32 (Negrete McLeod, 2009) amended PU Code Section 399.20 and increased the eligible project size to 3 MW. SB 2 (1x) (Simitian, 2011) amended PU Code 399.20 and deleted the reference to PU Code Section 399.15 and inserted language on how to determine the feed-in tariff price. Rulemaking 11-05-005 is currently implementing these statutory changes.
On February 14, 2008, the California Public Utilities Commission made feed-in tariffs available for the purchase of up to 480 MW of renewable generating capacity from small facilities (1.5 MW or less) throughout California. These "feed-in tariffs" present a simple mechanism for small renewable generators to sell power to the utility at predefined terms and conditions, without contract negotiations.
On May 24, 2012, the Commission adopted Decision (D.) 12-05-035, implementing a new pricing mechanism and program rules for the revised § 399.20 FIT program. In addition to increasing the eligible project size from 1.5 MW to 3 MW, D.12-05-035 also created the renewable market adjusting tariff (Re-MAT), a mechanism that allows the FIT price to adjust in real-time based on market conditions.
D.12-05-035 increased the overall statewide size of the FIT program to 750 MW, divided between the investor-owned utilities (IOUs) and the public-owned utilities (POUs). The IOU-share of MWs under the revised FIT program is 493.6 MW, divided among the IOUs as follows:
- PG&E: 218.8 MW
- SCE: 226 MW
- SDG&E: 48.8 MW
Note, however, that D.12-05-035 expands upon the existing FIT program and thus the capacity available per IOU when the revised program becomes effective will be reduced by the capacity already subscribed under the existing FIT program.
For any questions about the Feed-in-Tariff program, please contact Adam Schultz at adam.schultz@cpuc.ca.gov or (415) 703-2692.
Recent Developments
July 18, 2012: Joint IOU proposed feed-in-tariff PPA filed with the Commission.
- Text of proposed Joint IOU Feed-in-Tariff PPA (PDF)
- Deadline for parties to file comments: August 15, 2012
- Deadline to file reply comments: September 10, 2012
July 18, 2012: Each of the three large IOUs filed its proposed standard tariff for the revised Feed-in-Tariff program.
- PG&E’s proposed tariff (PDF)
- SCE’s proposed tariff (PDF)
- SDG&E’s proposed tariff (PDF)
- Deadline for parties to file comments: August 15, 2012
- Deadline to file reply comments: September 10, 2012
May 24, 2012: The Commission adopted Decision (D.) 12-05-035 establishing the renewable market adjusting tariff (Re-MAT), increasing eligible project size to 3 MW, and implementing other new program rules.
- Text of D.12-05-035 (PDF)
May 7, 2012: PG&E hosted a follow-up joint IOU workshop to review edits to the standard Feed-in-Tariff PPA based on feedback received from the February 22, 2012 workshop at the CPUC.
March 20, 2012: Proposed Decision to establish Revised Feed-in-Tariff Pricing Mechanism mailed to parties of record in R.11-05-005
- Text of Proposed Decision (PDF)
February 22, 2012: Feed-In Tariff Workshop
On January 10, 2012, Commissioner Ferron and the Administrative Law Judge issued a Ruling directing the utilities to work together to create one standard contract for the revised feed-in tariff program and to file the contract with the Commission by February 15, 2012. The ruling also set a workshop date of February 22, 2012 to provide stakeholders an opportunity to vet the proposed contract. The Ruling indicated that the Commission intends to issue two proposed decisions on the renewable feed-in tariff program. The first proposed decision will address price and other program details and will issue in the first quarter of 2012. The second proposed decision will address the single standard form contract and will issue in the second quarter of 2012.
The February 22, 2012 workshop (RSVP by Feb. 20th: https://ia.cpuc.ca.gov/feedintariffs/) on the standard contract will be held in the CPUC’s Courtyard Room: 505 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco.
A videoconference simulcast of the workshop will also be available at the CPUC’s Los Angeles Office:
California Public Utilities Commission
320 West 4th Street, Ste. 500, Hearing Room
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Participants may also call-in by using the following conference line:
Conference line: 866-812-8481
Participant code: 4545236#
Please RSVP by February 20, 2012 using the following link: https://ia.cpuc.ca.gov/feedintariffs/
Proceeding History
The ALJ issued two other Rulings seeking party briefs/comments on January 27, 2011 and June 28, 2011. Party briefs/comments are available in the docket for R.11-05-005. A pre-hearing conference was held on July 11, 2011.
Energy Division staff held a workshop on September 26, 2011. Materials from the workshop are available below.
September 26, 2011 Workshop Materials
On October 13, 2011, the Administrative Law Judge issued a Ruling seeking comments on the October 13, 2011, Renewable FIT Staff Proposal and related attachments on how to implement changes to PU Code § 399.20.
Utility Contact Information
PG&E Contact:
SDG&E Contact:
SCE Contact: