Author Archives: Joe Kaatz
What Questions Will be Answered by the Appeals Court as it Applies a Less Deferential Standard to the CPUC in its Review of the CPUC’s Net Billing Tariff Decision
This is a follow up to my previous blog post on the California Supreme Court’s Opinion that remitted the Center for Biological Diversity v. CPUC (A167721; S283614) to the 1st Appellate District. With supplemental and responsive briefing filed on November … Continue reading
Posted in CPUC, Energy, Legislation, Litigation, Renewable Energy
Tagged California, CPUC, Distributed Energy, Electricity, Independent Judicial Review, Legislation, nbt, NEM 3.0, Policy, solar
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The Recent California Supreme Court Opinion in Center for Biological Diversity v. Public Utilities Commission Upends Decades of Statutory Interpretation Deference to CPUC
On August 8, 2025, the California Supreme Court issued an opinion (Center for Biological Diversity v. Public Utilities Commission, S284614 (August 7, 2025)) on a single issue of law specific to the degree of deference afforded to the California Public … Continue reading
EPCA Preemption: What are its limits and How May it Harmonize with the Direct Regulation of Emissions from Appliances
This is Blog #4 on this this topic that will look at two issues. First, where is the line between what is preempted and what is not under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA)? This will look at rules … Continue reading
Legislative Update: End of 2024 Legislative Session
The deadline for the Governor to sign or vetoes bills passed on September 30th. The Governor has called an extraordinary session where nine bills were introduced. So far, ABX2-1 and ABX2-9 appear to be active while the other seven may … Continue reading
Posted in Air Pollution, All-electric, APCD, CEQA, CPUC, Energy, GHG targets, GHGs, Greenhouse Gas, Legislation, Renewable Energy, Transportation, Vehicle Miles Traveled, VMT
Tagged California, Electricity, Energy, Greenhouse Gas, Legislation, Policy, rates, Renewable
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Blog # 3 on EPCA Litigation: What can the Limited Case Law Tells Us About Interpreting the EPCA?
This blog will continue the discussion on the EPCA specific to two past, unpublished EPCA cases that predate the litigation against the City of Berkeley. The first is a building performance regulation that applied to both existing and new construction … Continue reading
Posted in All-electric, Building Peformance Standard, climate planning, Energy, Energy Efficiency, EPCA, Federal Preemption, GHG targets, GHGs, Litigation, Reach Codes
Tagged California, climate planning, Electricity, Energy, EPCA, Federal Preemption, Legislation, Local Energy Codes, Policy, State Energy Codes
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Blog # 2 on EPCA Preemption: Benchmarking as the Basis of Building Performance Standards: What Did the State of Colorado and City of Denver Implement?
This is the second blog post in this series looking at the requirements that the State of Colorado and City of Denver adopted to implement building performance standards (Blog # 1 can be accessed here). It will review the benchmarking … Continue reading
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Blog #1 on Energy Policy Conservation Act (“EPCA”) Preemption Lawsuit filed Against State of Colorado and City of Denver
On April 22, 2024, the Colorado Apartment Association, Apartment Association of Metro Denver, Colorado and Lodging Association, Inc., and NAIOP Colorado Chapter filed a complaint in federal district court against the State of Colorado and City of Denver challenging building … Continue reading
Posted in Air Pollution, All-electric, Energy, Energy Efficiency, EPCA, Federal Preemption, GHGs, Greenhouse Gas, Legislation, Litigation, Reach Codes
Tagged California, colorado, denver, Electricity, Energy, Greenhouse Gas, Legislation, Policy
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City of Berkeley Files Petition for Rehearing in CRA v. City of Berkeley 9th Circuit Case Regarding Authority to Ban Natural Gas Plumbing in New Construction
As the previous post discussed here, the City of Berkeley was granted until 5/31/23 to file a petition for rehearing en banc to the full 9th Circuit. Yesterday, the City of Berkeley filed its Petition for Rehearing En Banc. This … Continue reading
Implications of CRA v. Berkeley on All-Electric Building Codes and Reach Codes in California
On April 17, 2023, a three judge panel for the Ninth Circuit issued an Opinion in California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley finding that the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) preempts a City of Berkeley’s ordinance that prohibits … Continue reading
Posted in Air Pollution, All-electric, climate planning, Energy, Energy Efficiency, EPCA, Federal Preemption, GHG targets, GHGs, Greenhouse Gas, Reach Codes
Tagged All-electric Construction, Building Codes, California, City of Berkeley, climate planning, Electricity, Energy, Federal Preemption, Greenhouse Gas, natural gas ban, Policy
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Legislative Update: Review of Trends through the 2022 Summer Recess
This blog was drafted by Allie Maggart, a 2024 J.D./M.A. joint degree candidate at the University of San Diego School of Law and Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, with minimal edits. As the legislative calendars move towards the … Continue reading
Posted in Air Pollution, CEQA, climate planning, CPUC, Energy, GHG targets, GHGs, Greenhouse Gas, Legislation, Renewable Energy, Transportation
Tagged California, Climate Change, climate planning, Electricity, Energy, Greenhouse Gas, Housing, Legislation, Policy, Reliability, Renewable, Transportation, Utility Regulation, wildfire
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