our ELECTRIC
POWER mix
California has provided a clean energy model for other states to follow with its
Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) established in 2002 and updated several times
since. In 2011, Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 350, requiring retail sellers
and publicly-owned utilities to procure 33 percent of their electricity from eligible
renewable energy resources by the year 2020.
*These resources are
greenhouse gas-free
and/or renewable.
Area
Power
Players
PG&E – Pacifi c Gas & Electric is
building and maintaining the infra-
structure and the delivery of energy,
and customer service.
CAISO – The California Inde-
pendent System Operator is the im-
partial grid operator charged with
ensuring the safe, reliable transport
of electricity on the power grid.
CEC – The California Energy
Commission is the state’s primary
energy policy and planning agency.
In 2015, Brown upped the target to 50 percent by 2030. More recent legislation also
tasked the California Energy Commission with certifi cation of renewable energy
facilities, and verifi cation of their renewable energy output in compliance with RPS.
south COUNTY’S clean
ENERGY future
In 2017, Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Martin joined other communities in Santa Clara
County to form the Silicon Valley Clean Energy Authority (SVCE), an innovative
community-owned agency that now serves as our electricity provider. Pacifi c Gas
& Electric (PG&E) has by no means gone away: the public utility still builds and
manages the infrastructure, delivers the energy, and provides customer service.
CPUC – The California Public
Utilities Commission is charged
with regulating investor-owned
utilities in California.
Sponsors – Interested sponsors
may include utility companies that
generate, transmit and distribute
electricity; and companies that
build and operate transmission
facilities, and companies.
14
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017
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