RT-Cal PUC allows cost recovery for green power lines
LOS ANGELES, June 15 (Reuters) - Investor-owned electric utilities in
California will be allowed to pass on to customers the costs of building
lines to transmit renewable power from sources such as wind farms, the
California Public Utilities Commission ruled on Thursday.
The wind farm being developed at Tehachapi in Southern California will cost
an estimated $1 billion to connect to the grid, and the commission's ruling
will allow utilities to make the deals needed to recover power line costs
when several companies share lines and the costs.
The Tehachapi area, with the potential for about 4,000 megawatts of wind
power, is key for investor-owned utilities in California trying to meet a
state requirement that renewable sources generate 20 percent of their power
portfolio by 2010.
Among investor-owned utilities in California are Pacific Gas & Electric Co,
a subsidiary of of PG&E <PCG.N>, Southern California Edison, a subsidiary of
Edison International <EIX.N>, and San Diego Gas & Electric, a subsidiary of
Sempra Energy <SRE.N>.
"Today's decision provides a breakthrough in development of new renewables
by giving utilities the assurance that investments in new transmission
facilities to access areas of known renewable resources, such as the
Tehachapi area, will be recovered in customer rates," the California PUC
said in a statement after Thursday's meeting in San Francisco.
"Absent such assurances, utilities have been hesitant to take the steps
necessary to develop new renewable resources.
Customers are protected under today's decision by careful guidelines to
ensure that cost recovery will be available only in clearly defined
circumstances that demonstrate that proposed transmission facilities are
necessary for renewable development." |
