CA clean energy bill unanimously passes Senate, Assembly

August 28, 2014 | By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

The California Assembly and Senate have voted unanimously in favor of Senate Bill 1414, which will accelerate the use of demand response that will allow people and technology, rather than power plants, to meet California's rising electricity needs.

With a 79-0 vote from the Assembly and 36-0 vote from the Senate, elected officials made it resoundingly clear that California prioritizes clean energy technologies and seeks to make the state's power grid more reliable and economical through the use of demand response.

"Demand response is low-hanging fruit in California; it's clean and flexible, and cost effectively helps address the state's rising energy needs, especially in light of fossil fuel power plant closures in Southern California," said Lauren Navarro-Treichler, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) attorney and California senior clean energy manager.

SB 1414, sponsored by EDF, directs the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and electric utilities to consider demand response, not just fossil fuel power plant investments, in planning how to balance and ensure reliability for the state's power grid. Further, the bill requires the PUC to properly value demand response and establishes a mechanism for the PUC to value certain types of demand response for its ability to help with energy system and reliability needs, as well as to support the state's goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"The State Legislature has affirmed the importance of this technology in modernizing and enhancing California's outdated power grid," said Navarro-Treichler. "Now it is up to Governor Jerry Brown to stand with the legislature and clean energy champions and sign the bill into law."

For more:
- see the bill

http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/ca-clean-energy-bill-unanimously-passes-senate-assembly/2014-08-28