Article 8. Energy Resource Investment Plan of California Public Utilities Code >> Division 1.5. >> Chapter 3. >> Article 8.
(a) Within 180 days of the effective date of this division,
the authority, in consultation with the Energy Commission and the
Independent System Operator, shall develop an Energy Resource
Investment Plan and submit that plan to the Governor and the Joint
Legislative Budget Committee and the chairs of the policy committees
with jurisdiction over energy policy in the State of California.
(b) The Energy Resource Investment Plan shall take into account
California's anticipated energy service needs for both electricity
and natural gas over the next decade. The plan shall address issues
regarding adequacy of supply, storage, reliability of service, grid
congestion, and environmental quality. In developing the investment
plan, the authority shall compare the costs of various energy
resources, including a comparison of the costs and benefits of demand
reduction strategies with the costs and benefits of additional
generation supply. The plan shall acknowledge the potential
volatility of fossil fuel prices and the value of resources that
avoid that price risk.
(c) The plan shall outline a strategy for cost-effective energy
resource investments, using the financing powers provided to the
authority by this division. The plan may recommend changes to the
specific expenditure authority granted in this division in order to
carry out the investment strategy contained in the plan.
(d) The plan shall be developed with input from interested parties
at scheduled public hearings of the authority. The authority should
adopt the plan by majority vote of the board at a public meeting. The
authority shall update the plan on a regular basis as determined by
the authority.
(e) All investments made by the authority under this division
shall be consistent with the strategy outlined in the Energy Resource
Investment Plan. Nothing in this section shall preclude the
authority from exercising its powers prior to the adoption of the
initial Energy Resource Investment Plan.
(f) The authority shall be the agency responsible for ensuring
that the investment strategy outlined in the Energy Resource
Investment Plan is implemented. To that end, the authority may, on
its own or through a partnership with a participating party, make
those investments necessary to ensure that the plan is implemented.