Southern California Edison (SCE) has signed contracts for 2,221-MW of power from various new resources, representing approximately 10 percent of SCE’s current total customer peak usage.

The new contracts address reliability concerns after the closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station and anticipated retirement of older, natural gas generation plants along the Southern California coastline that rely on ocean water for their cooling needs.  

SCE received more than 1,800 final offers, including five offers with new natural gas generation plants and 69 offers from preferred resources and energy storage facilities. Preferred resources include energy efficiency, demand response and electricity generated by solar photovoltaic facilities.

“This solicitation is the first time that such a wide range of new diverse resources were directly competing in the purchasing process,” said Colin Cushnie, SCE Vice President, Energy Procurement & Management. “No single energy source can give us everything we need all of the time, particularly with our emphasis to use environmentally clean resources. To provide for flexibility, we need to accommodate a mix of energy resources. Using energy more wisely, improving energy diversity and increasing flexibility are the keys to maintaining and improving the reliability of Southern California’s grid while incorporating renewables and new technologies.”

The contracts require approval from the California Public Utilities Commission.   

For more information on the resources and contracts, click here

 http://www.power-eng.com/articles/2014/11/after-songs-closure-sce-signs-2-221-mw-worth-of-contracts.html