Calif. PUC Withdraws CCA Bonding Proposed Order, Sets Additional Briefing

The California PUC has withdrawn a proposed decision governing community choice aggregation (CCA) bonding and re-entry fee issues, and re-opened the proceeding for limited briefing (R. 03-10-003).

The proposed decision was first reported in Matters (9/9).

A scoping ruling withdrawing the proposed decision noted that the settlement agreements upon which much of the proposed order was based were entered into almost two years ago when there were no CCAs in operation.

Since that time, Marin Energy Authority has commenced its CCA program, and has been in operation for almost eight months.

Additionally, the two settling parties who were actively investigating or implementing CCA programs (San Joaquin Valley Power Authority and the City of Victorville) are no longer doing so.

Among other things, the scoping order requests briefing on whether bonding amounts should differ based on the first few years of CCA operation, and asked what procedures, if any, should be in place to ensure that changes in a CCA's bond obligation due to market volatility do not cause an otherwise financially stable CCA to cease operations.

For the limited purpose of briefing, parties are asked to combine responses with similar questions regarding electric service provider bonding levels, which are being addressed in R.07-05-025.