EPIC Presents at Western Energy Policy Research Conference

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Dr. Nilmini Silva-Send

Western Energy Policy Research Conference 2013

Scott Anders and Nilmini Silva-Send attended and presented at this 3rd Annual conference in Portland, Oregon, Sept 5-6, 2013.

Scott Anders and Nilmini Silva-Send presented on a panel titled “Metropolitan and Regional Planning. ” Nilmini Silva-Send spoke about the effects of CEQA GHG Guidelines 2010 and SB 375 on local and regional greenhouse gas planning and in particular how GHG planning is being shaped by the courts. Litigation by “any interested group” and the Attorney General based on her duty to protect natural resources of the state are so far based on CEQA and the courts are doing what they always do – filling the gaps left by the legislature in application of these regulations. In particular, the courts have held that it is legally insufficient to not take into consideration Executive Order S-3-05 (state goal of reaching 80% below 1990 GHG levels in 2050) in any planning document that extends to that year. Continue reading →

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Water-Energy Nexus: City of San Diego

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Dr. Nilmini Silva-Send

This is the second in a two-part series on the water-energy nexus and this post focuses on the City of San Diego. The previous post, discussed the energy and greenhouse gases associated with moving water in the state of California. Generally, the water-energy nexus refers to how energy is consumed and embedded within the water use cycle. A common breakdown separates that energy into two categories:

a) energy use by the water industry, and

b) energy use by the water customer, known as end-use.

End-use represents the amount of energy used by the customer for heating and pumping water in a home, office or facility.

In 2010, per capita water use (end-use) in the City of San Diego was about 125 gallons/day. Total water use has remained steady since the mid 1990’s, decreasing only slightly within the last few years. Also, per capita water use is relatively independent of rainfall.

PPT

Source: Urban Water Management Plan 2010, SDCWA Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Energy Efficiency, Greenhouse Gas | 1 Comment

World Energy Consumption Will Increase 56% by 2040

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Clark Gordon

Yesterday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released it’s annual International Energy Outlook 2013, in which it projects that world energy consumption will increase 56% by 2040.

The report cites growth in the developing world as a primary cause for the increased energy demand, with over half of the total world increase attributable to China and India.

ScreenHunter_114 Jul. 25 10.30 Continue reading →

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Surviving Sub One-Percent Growth — The Choices Facing the Utilities

Posted on July 25, 2013 by ahmadfaruqui

Coping with Sub-One Percent Growth

Ahmad Faruqui[1]

The Great Recession ended in 2009.  The economic recovery from the recession has been anemic at best.  Some have even argued that there has been no recovery.

This is particularly true for electric utilities.  Some 41 months later, electric sales have not bounced back to their pre-recession levels.  According to Dr John Caldwell of the Edison Electric Institute, electric sales have bounced back on average within five months during the post-war period.  The longest they have ever taken has been twelve months.  So something different is going on this time.  What could that be and what does it mean for the future of electric utility industry? Continue reading →

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The Water-Energy Nexus in California

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Clark Gordon
Image Credit: http://u.s.kqed.net/2012/06/11/WaterPipeline20120611.jpg

Q: Are these pipelines supplying (a) water, (b) energy, or (c) both?
See bottom for answer.

The water-energy nexus has been in the news since the California Energy Commission’s landmark finding in 2005, that water related energy uses account for about 19% of all electricity use and 30% of non-power plant natural gas use in the state. Continue reading →

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Residential Rates Revisited – Part 3: Legislative Fixes

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Scott Anders

In Part 1 of this series was a brief retrospective of some of the antecedents of today’s discussion of residential rates in California.  In Part 2, we discussed in more detail the concept of inclining block rates, the policy rationale behind them, and how residential electricity rates look today in California. In the third and final part of this series we will discuss legislative actions to address residential rates.

Increasing Upper Tier Rates and SB 695

In Part 2, we left off with a look at the current residential rate structure for San Diego Gas & Electric customers.  With increases in costs allocated to the upper tiers until the Department of Water Resources bonds are recovered, the upper tiers have grown significantly to the point where the average rates for the upper two tiers are nearly double that of the lower two tiers. Continue reading →

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Residential Rates Revisited – Part 2: Inclining Block Rates

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Scott Anders

Part 1 of this series provided a brief retrospective of some of the antecedents of today’s discussion of residential rates in California. We discussed AB 1x and its role in capping rates for consumption below 130% of baseline, we defined baseline, and saw an example of baseline allowances from San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E).  In the previous entry, we left off right when the California Public Utilities Commission adopted a 5-tier, inclining block structure for residential electricity rates [D.01-09-059, D.01-05-064].  In Part 2, we will discuss in more detail the concept of inclining block rates, the policy rationale behind them, and how residential electricity rates look today in California as a result of this policy. Continue reading →

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Residential Electric Rates Revisited – Part 1: A Historical Perspective

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Scott Anders

Residential rates always seem to be in the news for one reason or another.  These days, residential rates are the subject of pending legislation (AB 327) and an ongoing rulemaking at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) (R.12-06-013). To help add some context to the discussion, we will be writing a series of blog posts to address the history of how we got the current residential rate structure, a bit about the inclining block structure (tiered rates) that we have today, and some of the outcomes of the current residential rate structure and legislative action to address residential rates. Continue reading →

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Induced Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) – Background and Pending Legislation

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Clark Gordon

This post provides a general background on fracking technology, the related environmental and safety concerns, and pending legislation. In an upcoming post, we’ll address the issues surrounding the vast Monterey shale deposit in California.

Induced hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a process in which a highly pressurized fracturing liquid is injected into cracks in rock layers. The energy within the pressurized liquid induces fractures in the rock layers to propagate and grow. The technology has uses in oil and natural gas industries principally because hydrocarbons that would otherwise be inaccessible or not economically viable can be extracted at much higher yield rates.

The economic pros of hydraulic fracturing are obvious. The estimated global remaining reservoir of shale gas, tight gas, and coalbed methane, all recoverable via hydraulic fracturing, is roughly 310 trillion cubic meters. As of 2012, the total combined oil reserve of the top seventeen oil-rich countries totaled only 210 trillion cubic meters. Due in large part to hydraulic fracturing operations, current forecasts are that in late 2013, U.S. monthly crude oil productions are expected to exceed imports for the first time since 1995. With global oil demand continually increasing, the vast supply of north American shale gas reserves is expected to provide the U.S. with substantially greater stability in an otherwise extremely volatile global market.

However, obvious economic impacts aside, significant environmental and public health concerns have majorly delayed the proliferation of hydraulic fracturing technology. Continue reading →

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CEQA Greenhouse Gas Litigation San Diego County

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Dr. Nilmini Silva-Send

This post summarizes the most important greenhouse gas planning lawsuits initiated in San Diego County and their potential implications for local planning.

In Citizens for Responsible Equitable Environmental Development (“CREED”) v. City of Chula Vista (2011) the City of Chula Vista certified a mitigated negative declaration (MND) and approved development permits for a project that would demolish existing buildings and replace them with a larger and more energy efficient building. The trial court denied the petition for a writ of mandate that the City should have prepared an environment impact report instead of an MND. Upon appeal, the California 4th Court of Appeal rejected arguments about insufficiency of greenhouse gas analyses but remanded the case to the trial court for other reasons. The court upheld the lead agency’s discretion to select the appropriate threshold for evaluating a project’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, provided the threshold decision is supported by substantial evidence. Continue reading →

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