Around the country clean energy resources, energy efficiency and demand response are quickly being adopted alongside more traditional resources. Southern California Edison (“SCE”) recently contracted for an assortment of clean energy resources that will be used in a groundbreaking attempt to see whether those resources can supply electricity to a densely populated area – Orange County – with the same reliability as a traditional power plant.[1]

• Project Name: The Preferred Resources Pilot.
• Goal: The multiyear study is designed to determine whether these preferred resources –including solar, wind, battery storage, energy efficiency and demand response – can be used to safely, reliably and affordably serve the electrical needs of customers in a real-world environment,^[2] and to determine if more gas-powered capacity is needed in the region.[3]

• Preferred Sources: Preferred sources include solar and wind power, along with demand response and energy efficiency products.

• Potential Consequences: Proving the capabilities of preferred resources may defer or eliminate the need for new gas-fired generation in the PRP region.[4]
• Territory: A large part of the cities of Irvine, Tustin, Santa Ana and Newport Beach, as well as all or parts of the cities of Aliso Viejo, Corona del Mar, Costa Mesa, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest and Mission Viejo. The area is home to approximately 204,000 SCE residential customers and 30,000 SCE commercial and industrial customers.[5]
• Current Accomplishment: SCE recently contracted with six developers for 125 MW of power representing an assortment of battery storage, “demand response”[6] and the combination of solar and battery storage resources. These clean energy resources are expected to come online between 2019 and 2020 and will add to the 136 MW of “preferred” clean energy resources that have already been acquired for the Preferred Resources Pilot.[7] The utility’s combined 261 MW of clean energy in the pilot is enough to power about 195,000 customers, moving SCE closer to a 100% adoption in Orange County.[8]

For more details about Preferred Resources Pilot, please consult SCE’s webpage at http://www.edison.com/home/innovation/preferred-resources-pilot.html.

[1] http://insideedison.com/stories/orange-county-pilot-tests-whether-clean-energy-resources-can-meet-major-metro-needs.

[2] Id.

[3] http://www.utilitydive.com/news/socal-edison-seeks-125-mw-of-clean-energy-resources-for-orange-county/426620/

[4] http://www.edison.com/home/innovation/preferred-resources-pilot.html.

[5] Id.

[6] Demand response means customers reduce their use of electricity from the power grid in response to an electronic signal. SCE has continued to add demand response and storage projects in its power portfolio in the wake of the Aliso Canyon methane gas leak disaster and regulatory mandates. Part of those efforts include a partnership with Nest thermostats to connect 50,000 homes in SCE’s service territory and transform them into a virtual power plant capable of controlling about 50 MW of load reduction. See supra note 3.

[7] See supra note 1.  Please see the chart below for more details.

[8] See supra note 3.