RPS Utility Scale RFO

RPS Procurement Plans

Every year, the Commission receives annual renewable energy procurement plans from load serving entities including investor-owned utilities, small and multi-jurisdictional utilities, electricity service providers, and community choice aggregators. Under Public Utility Code § 399.14(b), the Commission must approve these renewable procurement plans prior to commencement of renewable procurement prior to commencement of renewable procurement by the utilities. The RPS Procurement Plans include information on current renewable portfolio information, upcoming solicitation plans for renewable energy, and long-term planning for renewable energy procurement. The plans also include possible compliance delay factors, risk assessment for RPS projects and plans for sales of renewable energy. RPS Procurement Plans may be found in the RPS proceeding docket.

In the 2022 RPS Procurement Plans, the forecasts for the three large IOUs show excess RPS procurement going forward. This may be affected by the results of the Voluntary Allocation Market Offer program, however the IOUs are generally expected to meet or exceed 2030 RPS requirements. A long RPS position indicates that a retail seller has procured more energy from RPS-eligible resources than is required under the RPS procurement rules. In general, the CCAs and ESPs have additional procurement to complete to meet the 2030 requirements. See the 2022 RPS Annual Report to the Legislature for more information on the procurement progress of all retail sellers.

Procurement Plan Process

Retail Sellers submit annual RPS Plans based on the requirements outlined in the year’s Assigned Commissioner Ruling (ACR). IOUs are required to also file their solicitation protocol for any intended solicitations.
The Commission reviews the procurement plan and any comments received regarding the draft RPS procurement plan.
The Commission issues a Decision accepting or conditionally accepting the RPS procurement plan.
Retail Sellers have 30 days after the Decision is issued to modify any non-approved plans to address identified deficiencies
Final Plan submissions are reviewed to verify that retail sellers have corrected all issues.
The next year's ACR is developed based on experience from the previous cycle and any new requirements.