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Utilities Commission, public voting meeting on this date,
Thursday, June 3rd, 2021.
Today's call is being recorded.
If you have any objections,
you may disconnect at this time.
President Batjer, you may proceed.
Thank you operator and good morning everyone.
We need to establish a quorum.
So will the agenda court please call the roll.
Commissioner Houck. Here.
Commissioner Shiroma. Present.
Commissioner Guzman. I'm here.
Commissioner Guzman Aceves
Here
Backley Berkshire? Here.
So we have established a quorum. Thank you everyone.
Again, welcome to the California
public utilities Commission.
I am calling this meeting of June 3rd, 2021 public agenda
number 34872 to order.
Due to the Corona virus pandemic
and the shelter in place order from the Governor,
we are conducting today's business meeting online
and by remote participation.
Meeting is live-streamed on the CPU seeds website.
You can view the meeting at
www.adminmonitor.com/CA or/ CPUC.
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Close captioning is available in English and Spanish
through the webcast.
You can click on the green button
to select your language of choice.
Public agenda, public engagement, excuse me,
is critical to the CPUC process.
If you wish to make a public comment,
dial into (800) 857-1917
and enter passcode 9899501
and press *1,
You'll be placed into a queue
and the operator will take your name and information,
if appropriate.
You will be called upon to speak
when we get to the public comment period in today's agenda,
if you encountered difficulty
calling into the public telephone line,
please email votingmeetinghelp@CPUC.ca.gov.
Voting meeting health is all one word.
Before we commence with the public comment,
I would like to highlight two important topics today.
First, June is pride month,
a time to celebrate lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, and clear history and culture.
And to honor the sweeping impact
of the LGBTQ plus community.
The month of June holds great significance
for the LGBTQ community,
as it marks the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising.
During this time, LGBTQ plus people could be arrested,
lose their jobs,
or have their children taken away from them
for the simple fact of being who they are.
Since that time, we have made tremendous progress
to end legal discrimination against LGBTQ plus individuals,
but unfortunately discrimination in the workplace,
healthcare, the criminal justice system
and other areas continues.
This is why alongside celebrating LGBTQ plus history
and culture, it is important that we stand up
for the rights of the LGBTQ plus community
by opposing Mylans and attempts to deny them
access of their rights and services
afforded to them and to others.
To celebrate pride month,
the CPUC we'll be hosting a panel discussion
on LGBTQ plus history, current affairs,
and to discuss what is on the horizon
for the LGBTQ plus community.
More information on this event
and the CPUC's recognition of pride month
will be emailed to the CPUC staff later this week.
Second, extraordinarily warm temperatures in April and May
have accelerated already dry conditions
with much of the west and severe to exceptionally drought,
severe drought conditions
as defined by the US drought monitor.
California is in its second consecutive dry year.
And 2020 was the third driest on record
in terms of Statewide precipitation.
Water is essential and central
to the lives of all California's.
It is critical for drinking, cooking,
sanitary purposes, recreation,
and countless other aspects of our everyday life.
Dry conditions create the possibility
of an earlier wildfire season
and decreases in the amount of available water
which could lead to reduced power produced
through our hydro electric generation in state.
Under the Governor's leadership and through coordination
with our sister agencies,
we continue to track possible impacts of the drought
and what impacts there may be on all Californians.
The forecast for a hot and dry summer is a reminder that
we must do all of our part by using water more efficiently.
Every gallon say this year is a gallon available next year,
if these dry conditions continue as some are predicting.
For water savings tips,
please visit saveourwater.com.
Again, please visit saveourwater.com
for tips on how to save water.
Okay, thank you for that indulgence.
We will now turn to the public comment part of our agenda.
If you wish to make a public comment
and you have already dialed
into the public comment telephone line,
please press *1 to get into the public comment queue.
CPUC rules do not allow for parties in proceedings
to speak about open proceedings.
The public can make comments addressing items on the consent
and regular agenda as well as items not on today's agenda.
Please note that there will not be public comments
on items 18 and 31
and all items on the closed session agenda.
You will have two minutes to speak.
Let me repeat that.
You will have two minutes to speak.
You will hear a bell sound when your time is up.
So please listen for a bell sound
and please be mindful of other speakers in the queue
and keep to this two minutes alloted time.
With that guidance in mind,
I welcome today's speakers
and I will now turn to the operator
to open the public comment telephone line, operator.
Thank you.
The public comment telephone line is now open.
If it was to speak during the public comment period,
please press *1, unmute your phone
and clearly record your name and organization when prompted.
Our first caller is Lucia Marquez.
You may go ahead.
Hi, can you hear me?
Yes, we can.
Hi, good morning.
My name is Lucia Marquez and I'm a resident
of the Gorge county.
And my community has been overburdened by
heavy gas infrastructure where these facilities
are housed as to disadvantage neighborhoods.
And because of that,
our communities live with the effects of air pollution
and climate change every day as gas pollutes our air.
Right now,
SoCalGas is rushing a dangerous expansion project
and Ventura right across the street
from an elementary school
without even notifying the community
and parents of the children who play across the street
at that school.
This project is moving forward.
Without intervention from state agencies
is a clear sign that California is failing
and responsible energy planning
and has not been looking at real alternatives.
We're asking that you conduct environmental impact report
on the entire scope of the project
and an alternative studies.
We should also be prioritizing safe
and clean energy projects
shut down fossil fuel infrastructure. We can't,
I can't wrap my head around
the fact that fossil fuel infrastructure
is still being expanded in California today.
We need big investments in clean energy
that support our climate, air quality and reliability goals.
This next IRP decision is something that
Californians will be stuck with for decades.
And we cannot keep setting standards
that spart progress and innovation.
So I'm asking that this Commission also reject any plan
that waste any more money on gas plants
and prioritize frontline communities
for clean energy investment rather than fossil fuels.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, caller.
Next caller, please operator.
Our next caller is Francis yang.
You may go ahead.
Morning.
My name is Francis.
I'm calling from the Lake county area
and I want to talk about
the proposed IRP proceedings.
Really I mean calling because our communities, as you know,
suffered for far too long,
living next to fossil fuel infrastructure,
pollutes and harms for the planet and our lungs.
Many of us look to you to CPUC,
to phase out gas plants right next to our homes,
and to really help build better future to seem to propose.
APD makes it exciting to see that 10,000 megawatts of
nuclear energy will be procured,
but also set and disappointed that an additional 1000
megawatts of natural gas is also being delivered.
We know that this procurement is in line with the strong
greenhouse gas reduction,
but any new procurement of fossil fuels
just continues to leave us worried
that gas mints across California
will continue to be excused to run.
We have no room for natural gas in our grid,
and especially in frontline communities already overburdened
with systemic oppression.
Lastly the introduction of green hydrogen worries me.
The sudden addition of green hydrogen
and the APD signals to us
that we'll never get rid of combustion based energy.
Meaning power plants will always stay online
in our communities.
We don't know enough about these technologies,
so it's premature and worrying that it gets the green light
to enter our communities without sufficient education
and engagement about its impacts.
Please keep the aggressive 10,000 megawatts of clean energy,
remove the thousand megawatts of natural gas
and just halt any green hydrogen procurement.
And so we can better understand what's going on. Thank you.
Thank you.
Operator the next caller, please.
Our next caller is Shaw Lewis.
You may go ahead.
Hello.
Hello, please go ahead we can hear you.
Oh, it's me, sorry.
Hello. My name is Michelle,
a concerned resident of Long Beach
and I'm speaking on the IRP proceeding.
I'm calling because California is a leader
on solving climate change with legislation
to move us away from fossil fuels, relying on gas,
capital expenses on the IRP proceeding.
We'll continue to keep communities in the dark.
We cannot afford the unhealthy pollution from gas plants.
Then we cannot afford being blocked from
100% local clean energy.
That's why I'm asking the CPUC to keep it clean,
to order over a 10,000 megawatts of zero emitting resources,
reject plans to waste any more money on gas plants
prioritize frontline communities for clean energy
investments rather than fossil fuels.
Choose a 38 million metric ton greenhouse gas target now
and adopt a lower 30 million metric time target.
Then the next IRP cycle. Thank you so much.
Thank you for calling.
Operator, the next call please.
Our next caller is Roger Pandey. Go ahead.
Hi, thank you very much.
I'm Roger Pandey from Irvine,
and I would like to strongly encourage the CPUC
to keep rooftop solar
and battery storage growing in California
and not to slow it down by gutting net metering.
Instead strengthen it so that millions more California
can make store and share solar energy.
Solar and battery helps all people including low
and middle income residents.
The more apartment buildings that have rooftop,
solar and battery,
the lower electricity bills will be for those tenants.
And this cuts across all rental units from high-end to
subsidized housing.
As their conditioning during summer will likely become more
prevalent over the years.
Solar and battery can help renters and homeowners of all
incomes, lower their bills and will help all Californians
by decreasing stress on the grid.
I recognize that utilities must maintain their business.
They provide jobs and services to thousands of people.
However, this bill swings everything toward their profits
at the expense of California's grid
and our citizens' wallets.
The concern about lower and middle-income citizens paying
more on electricity should be addressed by incentivizing
more solar and battery,
not to destroy the solar and battery industry,
which will cost thousands of jobs and kill many small
businesses.
The utility say that they'll have to increase rates. Why?
When my panels are providing excess power to my neighbors,
their meters are still running because they're pulling power
from the grid.
So utilities are charging them for power that day,
that utilities are not using their own resources to produce.
If they are using less of their resources,
why would they have to charge their customers more?
Finally, please consider that solar and battery
as a model for how we should face almost all challenges.
It's about individuals and businesses
stepping up to do something to contributes mightily
to our shared goals.
We strengthened the incentives of ordinary citizens like me
to meet the urgent challenges of grid stress,
economic disparity and climate change.
Thank you.
Operator next caller, please.
Our next caller is Liz Composts
with Westside community council. You may go ahead.
Good morning.
I'm Liz, the chair of the Westside community council
in Ventura, California.
I want to remind you that your website says
the purpose of the California Public Utilities Commission
is to regulate services and utilities, protect customers,
and safeguard the environment.
What we know about Southern California gas
is that they are masters of harming consumers
and destroying the California environment.
In 2021 with both state and federal government
calling for swift and decisive action on climate,
you cannot allow Southern California Gas
to expand their Ventura compressor station
in the middle of a historically disadvantaged neighborhood
where thousands of residents live, work
and have school aged children.
You can not allow them to expand across the street
from our elementary school
where the children can hear the machinery
and hear the gas or smell the gas when they play at recess.
We demand that EIR be completed for this project
as soon as possible for the entire project.
If you want to join millions of Californians
in ending systemic racism
that has plagued our nation for over 200 years,
you will shut this site down.
We demand that you shut it down.
Thank you for hearing me.
Thank you for your call.
Operator the next caller, please.
My next caller is Jan Dietrich
with the three 50 Ventura, a club climate hub.
You may go ahead.
Thank you President Batjer and Commissioners.
I have three request.
I want to bring up the avoided cost calculator
that you'll be reviewing,
that we have noticed has some quite major changes,
inappropriate changes.
We want to remove barriers to DER's with their transmission
access charges and ongoing requests.
And we support Liz and the west side neighborhood,
just up the Waterside from us in asking
or the prohibition of expansion of a gas compressor
To meet the goals to decarbonize
and to triple renewables by 2030,
we have to stop this fossil fuel development and accelerate
rooftop, solar and wholesale distribution grid, PV,
and not favor investment in gas infrastructure
or in solar on transmission lines.
In your upcoming review of the avoided cost calculator.
This may seem subtle, but be aware.
The staff is proposing a major 50% cut in the value of BDRs,
undervaluing, rooftop solar, and energy efficiency,
which is how we'll get away
from our dependence on fossil fuels.
DER is actually are being shown to save hundreds of
billions of dollars
utilities the IOUS want that money to their 10% profit
on transmission.
We caution you to that.
The avoided cost calculator lighter update should properly
value the ERS from the perspective of the public
not IOU benefit.
That proposal takes us away
from our goals for resilience,
which we very much need in this part of the state
and safety.
Thank you.
Operator the next caller, please.
Our next caller is Bill Reese.
You may go ahead.
Take myself off of mute. Can I be heard please?
Yes, we hear you fine.
Please go ahead.
Thank you.
My name is Bill Reesenight and I have a concern
that applies to effectively item 35 on our agenda,
which deals with safety.
I experienced a very difficult situation
over the Memorial Day Weekend.
My father is 86 years old and lives in San Diego
while I live in Stockton.
That's a 10 hour drive.
My wife and I visited him before the holiday
because we went to make sure everything was good.
My wife was going to have surgery.
So all of last week I was taking care of her.
And at the end of the week,
I got a realization I couldn't get through to my father
and his buddy who had flown down to see him at lunch
calls and said it's as though his telephone company
had changed, I did some digging
and T's team dug and said no peers that we have
a change in his service from copper wire to fiber.
He needs to reboot his motor.
Well, unable to reach him over the entire weekend
because his phone service was out, I was very concerned.
His phone service is tied to his emergency button.
He has spent three of the last eight months in hospital,
and I was concerned about his health.
It falls to what is called bundling your services.
Whereby a provider gives you a single point of entry
for your telephone, your internet, and your television.
And in this case,
AT&T's U-verse service provided his telephone.
His telephone was totally useless.
There was no way for me to contact him the top of a 14 story
building in San Diego, short of calling 911.
My concern is that as he services continue with unregulated
services being provided the seniors in our community
and others at risk are not going to be able to reach out
when an emergency happens and that there will be unnecessary
suffering and deaths as a result.
The California CPUC needs to work with the likes of Ricen,
Comcast AT$T and so forth that are providing
all of these bundled services
so that there is a way for senior citizens
to effectively and easily reach out
in case that bundled service fails.
Please look at it, find a way,
and let's take care of our people in need.
Have a good day folks.
Thank you very much.
Operator please next caller.
And our next caller is Ashley Hernandez.
You may go ahead.
Hello. My name is Ashley Hernandez.
I'm speaking on the IRP proceeding
and I'm from Wilmington, California
living in a frontline community.
I know that harder climates make gas plants pollute more,
and the IRP can not allow more than 30 million metric tons
of these greenhouse gases and increasing the emissions
is another excuse for recent good progress.
We are promised in the state that next IRP decision
is one that California will be fed with for decades.
And we cannot in any way,
allow frontline residents that are living
amongst these plants to keep setting standards
and stop the progress that we desperately need
and the innovation that our communities
absolutely desire.
And that's why I'm asking the CPUC to keep its plants
to order over 10,000 megawatts of zero emitting resources,
reject the plans to waste any more money on gas plants.
This is really the most important part I want to emphasize
and obviously choosing
a 30 metric ton greenhouse gas target now
and adopting the lower 30 metric target
is really important for the next IRP cycle
and prioritizing frontline communities
for clean energy investment rather than fossil fuels.
This is absolutely imperative. Climate change is not ending.
The health impacts and realities that frontline communities
are dealing with on the ground due to COVID are not getting
easier and our communities need actual change in the next
couple of years.
So I really want to urge the CPUC to please listen
to our concerns as residents and thank you
Thank you. Operator the next caller, please.
Our next caller is Dr. Jim Stewart.
You may go ahead.
Hi, good morning.
I'm Jim Stewart, the energy consultant in Long Beach,
and I think the Commissioners need to look into
what's going on and they had Randolph's energy division.
It seems like your staff and consultants are trying to pull
a fast one to benefit the utilities by proposing in draft
resolution a 51 50 cut of about 50% in the avoided costs
calculator, which is, you know,
is a critical tool to set the value for local rooftop,
solar storage and energy efficiency for your CPUC analysis.
If you allow this 50% cuts to happen,
you'll undervalue the distributed energy resources
and waste billions on unneeded transmission lines,
which of course, as you know,
benefit utility shareholders with that excess
10% guaranteed profits on transmission investments.
Take a look at the 350 bay area comments for an intro
to how this supposedly minor update
could cost all ratepayers millions of dollars
if you don't stop it now.
In addition, talking about wasting millions,
keep CPUC from cutting the trees.
They need to Operator the utility wires.
That's what will help us stop these power shutoffs.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, operator the next caller, please.
Our next caller is Margo Davis.
You may go ahead
Hello. My name is Margo Davis.
I am a homeowner on the west side of Ventura, California,
living six blocks from the some Southern California gas
compressor station at 1555 North College street.
I am a member of the West Side Clean Air Coalition,
Southern California Gas wants to expand
this compressor station
with three new high power turbines.
The PUC has jurisdiction to help this project
until an EIR is performed.
We as a neighborhood coalition,
as well as the city council of Interra,
demand an EIR on the whole expansion project.
We, the west side community all live
within the evacuation zone of this new expanded compressor.
We are stakeholders.
We were never given any notice of this project,
including the city itself was never given any notice
by the DTSC.
We found out about it by accident submitted public comments,
demanding a public hearing,
which was denied by the DTSC for quote,
"Lack of public interest".
The DTSC as part of the California EPA
is charged with protecting the environment
and the communities from industrial pollution.
That is their job,
but by denying proper notice to stakeholders,
denying a public hearing, denying an EIR,
they are only protecting the profits of a billion dollar
corporation, which is accelerating the climate crisis.
On behalf of the west side community,
I request the PUC to hope this expansion
and require an EIR.
Thank you.
Thank you for the call upgrading next caller, please.
Our next caller is Ron Whitehurst
with spring convent Tova and secretaries.
You may go ahead.
Thank you.
My name's Ron white Harrison
live on the west side of Ventura,
and I'm calling regarding the gas compressors
that they want to expand in west side of Ventura
and I doc, a low income brown community,
and they replaced the originally because was,
it was a red line district.
And it's right next to the freeway,
which was put through a red line district.
And so this is a continuation of racial prejudice
against poor brown folks.
And so these compressors certainly
don't belong in neighbors hoods.
If they do then why not move it up to Montecito
next to Oprah Winfrey's house?
I'm sure she'd be happy to be a public service
to host it in her community.
This is similar to the pointed power plant,
another gas belching power plant on our coast in Oxnard,
that so we fought for four years
to get you to agree with us.
Don't make us fight you on this compressor siding.
You can help a lot by recommending that
the energy Commission seriously accelerate,
getting methane out of buildings.
We went distribution grid,
renewable generation in front of,
and behind the meter for resiliency and efficiency
than I constantly methane infrastructure.
It's bad for people in the planet.
Help us not need these gas resources.
We don't need them. We don't want them.
You can offer support for placing gas stoves
with things like induction, heaters and such.
And we'd like for you to remove the barriers
for local generated electricity,
such as rooftop solar.
I've got solar panels up on my roof and I don't want to pay
no stinking transmission access charges
to Addison for solar electricity
as I'm producing on my rooftop. That's ridiculous.
So let's remove the barriers to local DER's
and reform any for more generous payment for compensation.
And so the value of all of these
matters for efforts to provide more resilience
are worth every penny for everyone
and especially for low income folks.
Thank you.
Operator the next caller, please.
Our next caller is Elliot Gonzalez
with Mont in long beach.
You may go ahead.
Good afternoon, Commissioner.
Can you hear me?
Yes.
Okay, great.
I just wanted to check.
I just wanted to comment.
So, you know,
I do thank the Commissioned for creating
more renewable mandates,
but I always thought that these Commissions
and various bodies HUMD,
all of them sort of sound weak
when it comes to the power over corporations,
you all are the regulators.
If you want,
you have the power to dissolve these corporations
for non-compliance or for egregious offenses to the public
causing cancer, causing global warming.
That's huge global warming is going to be
the death of all of us.
You would think that
you would have you be a little more harsher than you would
act as if you are a powerful entity
in charge of regulating energy.
Instead I see that these corporations
are just running circles around you guys.
You're talking about renewable energy,
but even in your latest rule,
it still makes a space for natural gas.
Natural gas is methane.
It requires water to extract it from underground.
A lot of it is done through fracking.
It's very controversial.
It's very dangerous and very deadly.
So I don't know why California is still including this
in our energy mix.
We have nine years before this planet
reaches a point of no return.
And here we are,
we start the day off with some sort of ceremony.
Talking about pride in various months has been
black lives matter,
but those are all activists movement.
People fought to to get these movements advanced you all are
in positions of power. What are you fighting for?
How are you fighting for the planet?
Are you fighting for the children?
Are you fighting for the communities
that are affected by these gas plants?
So I want to hear some of that
and I want to see it in your regulation.
You don't have to be an activist,
but you do have to pass policies that are in favor
of a healthy and habitable planet for future generations
and for communities that are suffering now.
So again,
methane is not a natural is not a renewable source.
It is a fossil fuel.
I would like to see you guys over overseeing them.
Thank you.
Thank you. Operator, next caller, please.
Our next caller is Abby Thomas.
You may go ahead.
Good morning. My name is Abby Thomas,
and I'm calling in from the west side of Ventura.
As a member of the west side Ventura community.
I'm appalled by SoCalGases Ventura compressor station
expansion project,
which is a major industrial project that has a history of
leaks and contamination.
Not only this,
but if it's in a state recognized disadvantaged community
right next to EAP foster elementary school,
the boys and girls club and affordable housing,
there is no other compressors station and the residential
neighborhood like this and this and this site should not be
in the Westside neighborhood like other Ventura community
members who have spoken and advocating
for an environmental impact review of the whole site
and support other fellow speakers
demanding no new gas infrastructure in California.
Thank you.
Thank you. Operator the next caller, please.
My next caller is David McCord.
You may go ahead.
This is a David McCord and ratepayer
and El Sorito.
I'm speaking about the new 2021 avoided cost calculator
used in many proceedings.
I understand that results using the new version
are significantly different
from those using the 2020 version.
People are seriously concerned.
Among other things I've been told
that avoided transmission costs are seriously undervalued.
Over the past five years, the regulated utilities
have greatly increased their revenue requirements
for transmission costs.
So at least that's what they're asking for.
Also, this agency should work with CAISO
to remove the transmission access charge
from distributed energy resources
that do not use the transmission network.
Thank you.
I'm done Operator, next caller, please.
Next caller is Dusty Cavazade.
You may go ahead.
Hello.
My name is Yassy and I'm speaking on behalf of myself.
I'm a resident of the inland empire in Southern California,
and our communities are burdened with air pollution
and unavailable opportunities to generate clean energy.
I'm also in solidarity with the caller from Oxnard
and Ventura regarding the SoCalGas infrastructure projects.
Gas infrastructure leaks,
and harms our communities.
As we keep its use lower and eventually
hoping to phase it out.
I'm mostly here to speak on the integrated resources plan.
I urge the Commission to choose a 38 million metric ton
greenhouse gas emission target now,
and adopt a lower 30 million metric ton target in the next
IRP cycle.
The IRP must reject wasting resources on gas procurement.
California can not afford to move backwards on its renewable
energy goal.
A few weeks ago,
the California grid was powered by renewables up to 80%
at one point.
We need a resilient operating system with local renewables
at the center of it. I hope they IRP can be an opportunity
to grow renewable energies and not
expand the gas infrastructure.
Many communities in California simply cannot afford it.
Then you all have the opportunity and responsibility
to improve not only our climate and our environment,
but the health of individual human lives.
Thank you for the time to speak today.
Operator the next caller, please.
Our next caller is Alexis.
You may go ahead.
Hi, thank you.
Thanks Commissioner for your time.
My name is Alexis and I'm speaking mostly on the integrated
resource plan proceeding.
I'm calling because I'm fearful that our state is not going
far enough to combat the climate crisis
with the urgency it needs.
And as we all know,
this threatens our entire species and existence,
but it disproportionately harmed environmental justice
communities the most to breathe in toxic air
and pollution on a daily basis,
as well as experienced the worst impacts from
the intensifying climate disasters
we've seen across our states.
The next IRP decision is one that Californians will be stuck
with for decades.
So I think it's very important that we get it right.
We can't set standards that stop progress toward our clean
energy goals.
And we absolutely can not rely on gas capital expenses
that keep leaving our communities.
This is why I'm asking the Commission and the CPUC
to please first and foremost reject any plans
to waste more money on gas plants.
Secondly, I asked the Commission to keep its plans
to order over 10,000 megawatts
of zero emitting resources and to
prioritize frontline communities
for clean energy investment,
and finally to choose a 38 million metric ton greenhouse gas
target now and adopt a lower 30 million metric tons target
and the next IRP cycle,
which will really help us be on track
for our clean energy goal
while there's some exciting parts of the alternative
proposed decision in the IRP.
As I mentioned,
we're in a climate emergency and therefore urge the
Commission to please go further
and get this decision, right.
Lastly, just want to mention also in reference
to the utility that proceeding,
I also urge the Commission to do everything in its power
to provide full UT utility debt relief for all Californians,
and to create an easy and expedient process for the relief
to be delivered in a way that does not place any additional
burdens on customers only then will we be able to recover
from the COVID crisis and begin to repair our state?
Thank you so much for your time.
Thank you for your call.
Operator, next caller, please.
Our next caller is Wendy Avila.
You may go ahead.
Hello.
Hi, this is Wendy Alvina and I'm from the city of Maywood.
Good afternoon, everyone.
I'm here to comment about the IRP proceedings.
I think it's urgent that the CPUP
are more strict with the MMT recommendations,
and I also want to like mimic everyone else that has also
commented on this and how urgent it is
in order to prioritize this for our planet
and wellbeing for all our futures
and livelihoods on this earth.
I also asked to eliminate fossil fuels
and that the communities they're out the front lines
are communities of color
like the one that I currently live in and are impacted
on a daily basis.
We're tired of falling sick
from living near oil drilling facilities.
These are livelihoods or homes, places that you know,
we see every single day that we live in every day.
And we are at an extreme disadvantage.
The CPUC needs to step it up and transition into cleaner
forms of energy.
We don't want to move forward with putting communities of
color at risk,
and we want clean energy and healthy communities.
Thank you.
Thank you for the call.
Operator, the next caller, please
Patty Glick. You may go ahead.
Thank you.
My name is Patty Glick with the Alisal moms Alliance.
I also serve on the Aliso canyon disaster health steady
community advisory group.
As someone who has experienced
the worst gas disaster in US history,
the lethal canyon gas law in 2015,
I improre the CPUC to reconsider any plan expansion
of the Venter compressor station.
We know from the Lisa facility,
which has been managed,
proven to be managed by Saco gas in negligent manner
that our gas operations damaged the health of nearby
communities then seen at other carcinogens are admitted
daily from Alyssa Playa Del Rey,
the Interra compressor station at other gas facilities.
CastleBay elementary school in Porter ranch
has seen too many teachers come down with cancer.
The latest I've heard is Tan.
I wonder how many teachers and students at AP foster
elementary school will suffer the same fate because of this
comparison station.
This station should not be located near a community,
which will be at risk from the emissions and from the
possibility of explosions.
I hope the CPUC will value health and safety
over coal gas profits.
Let's move California off of the use of
harmful fossil fuels for good.
Thank you very much.
Thank you for your call.
Operator, next caller, please.
My next caller is John Brooks
from Oakview near west Ventura.
You may go ahead.
Thank you Commissioners.
You've you've heard now from many people
about the McFarland gas compressor unit.
What we need now is that he's the Commissioner to step
forward and put this on an agenda for future discussion.
Let Southern California gas come in and explain why they
need this facility. And if it's a legend, if it's safe,
according to them.
We needed commisioners to step forward
to correct the environmental injustice,
which of Commissioners would send your kids
to EAP foster school in this disadvantaged community
directly across the street from this compressor station?
I was reading about the backgrounds of the Commissioners.
One said she was really interested in environmental equity.
Are those just words or is there really something
to environmental equity?
There was another air quality expert on the Commission
why is the air quality at this
environmental justice location
not important to you Commissioner?
The reason no one wants the EIR is because they know
the explosive danger can not be mitigated.
You need to put this on the future agenda
and let's move this forward.
We're going to call every meeting until this is done.
I thank you very much for your time.
Thank you for your call.
Operator, the next caller, please.
Our next caller is Alden Slider.
with the city of Ventura.
You may go ahead.
Hello.
My name is Alden slider and I live
and work in the city of Ventura.
I'm calling to echo the demand for an environmental impact
review of the SoCalGas compressor station project in the
west side neighborhood of our city,
the proximity of this dangerous project to a residential
community, one that is disproportionately
economically disadvantaged at that is unprecedented
and unacceptable.
We must prioritize the health and safety of the members of
our community,
especially those who have been historically put at risk
by commercial interests.
Thank you.
Operator, next caller please.
And our next caller is Troy Corley.
You may go ahead.
Hi, this is Troy Corley
and I am a resident of Ventura county,
and I'm also a member of the Westside clean air coalition.
And I'm finding it rather shocking
that we're having to beg our CPUC
to do something about a situation
that is clearly detrimental to our entire county.
It's your job to make sure that these utilities
are taking care of business,
not only in terms of economic health,
which I saw on your website,
but in terms of our environmental health.
And this compressor station
that is across the street from the school,
doesn't even provide gas to the low income community
in which it sits.
It pushes that gas further north and all the while
it is contaminating the air around the community,
including children at a school across the street.
If SIM Bruno did not put you guys on alert
where just a pipeline blew up and destroyed a community,
what the heck are you going to do?
If this compressor station blows up
wide across from a school
and right across from a low income housing community.
Also Alicia has that taught you nothing.
I hope it's taught you something because
we need you to step up and do your job. We need an EIR.
We need SoCalGas to answer our questions.
We have been to forums, we have been online with them.
They're not answering our questions
and they can go forward as they please.
That's not the way it's supposed to work.
And we hope that you'll step up and do your job.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for the call.
Upgrading the next caller, please.
My next caller is Alex Massey.
You may go ahead.
Hello. Can you hear me?
Yes we can. Go ahead please.
Awesome. Thank you.
Hi, I'm Alex Massey and I'm a high school student
calling from Camerino California.
As a member of the environmental voices academy
with sea frog I am demanding the CPUC
stop the expansion of the SoCalGas, Vinture compressor.
The gas compressor poses public health,
environmental and social justice issues in the west side
community and California as a whole.
As a young environmentalist,
I'm adamant about rapidly moving away from fossil fuels,
fuel energy to protect current and future generations.
The kids, parents, teachers,
and community members in the west side neighborhood in
California are counting on you to make the right decision.
One based on the wellbeing of our community,
not the wellbeing of the billion dollar corporation.
Please listen to our community and do the right thing
by stopping the expansion
of the SoCalGas compressor station. Thank you.
Thank you for your call.
Operator, the next caller, please.
Our next caller is Liz bell
with Sea Frog in Ventura county.
Yeah. Hi, good morning.
My name is Liz bell. I'm the executive director at sea frog.
I also have a background in biostatistics,
epidemiology and public health.
I wanted to just highlight the fact that the health effects
of natural gas at living near these types of facilities
in Ventura, especially on vulnerable populations,
like young children as well known.
So the fact that this compressor station is placed
right across the street from an elementary school
and a boys and girls club means that the pollution burdens
experienced by this community are extra, extra high.
The 10,000 foot view can be found in CalEnviroScreen.
So if you go to that tool and you look at Ventura,
the city of Ventura as a whole,
you'll see a long skinny strip to the west.
That's the west side,
it's bright red where everything else is yellow and green.
That's the long history of environmental racism in Ventura
that has caused this area to be overburdened with pollution
for more than a hundred years.
It's time for that practice to come to an end.
And now I want to take you down on the street level to a
story told to me by a friend of mine.
This was September in 2020,
and the whole neighborhood filled with the smell of gas.
Dozens of people called 911,
called the fire department,
children had asthma attacks, nosebleeds,
everything was deemed dangerous on the ground.
And finally relayed through the fire department.
The message came.
SoCalGas is just blowing out their pipes.
There's nothing to worry about.
That's how this community gets treated.
That's what happens when environmental racism
is allowed to continue for more than a hundred years.
We want that to come to an end right now it's time.
And it's in your hands.
We recently had a conversation with CPUC staff
who were very dismissive of this.
He UCS ability to conduct an environmental impact report.
They claim that all their approval that SoCalGas gas needed
was in the general rate case in 2019.
So two paragraphs, but don't mention any of that
are being used to justify a
massive expansion project.
That's just not morally, right?
It's also not technically correct.
Please direct your staff to conduct an EIR.
Thank you.
Operator the next caller please.
And our next caller is Annalise Flung.
Go ahead.
Good morning.
My name is Annalise and I am a high school student
from Kimberly of California.
In Tara city Council passed a resolution on May 10th,
unanimously asking for further review finished project
or the city council meetings, residents, parents, teachers,
the housing authority and others testified in both English
and Spanish about their concerns.
Over 280 emails are submitted in support of an environmental
review of expansions.
It is obvious that the public does not
want the SoCalGas in the Ventura and neighborhoods.
Thank you.
Operator, next caller, please.
Hello, next caller please.
How are you there?
Our next caller is Angie.
Angie, you may proceed.
Yes. Hello.
This is Angie I'm speaking regarding the Ms.
I'm a resident of the IAE and I'm speaking on the IRP
decision.
I hope I encourage and have faith that the CPUC will uplift
and fight for disadvantaged communities
with more than just words
we need y'all to do more than just give uplifting words
on specific months.
We should celebrate every day folks lives
and what does our community need? Yes, clean air.
How can you help? Well, here's a few ways.
Move forward with the plans to order over 10,000 megawatts
of zero emitting resources and per ties to disadvantaged
communities.
We shouldn't have to beg y'all to make sure y'all vote
the right way to throw us a lifesaver.
This major investment in renewable energy is the right level
of you built that.
We need to meet our climate goals and remedy California's
terrible air quality.
During this pandemic,
the last thing we need is y'all wasting taxpayers' money
on gas plants that are harming our communities.
As someone from the LGBTQ community that you spoke
so dear up earlier,
The last thing I need as I walked down the streets
of my community and having to always watch my back
because of the hate that goes on in our society, please,
that goes on our societies.
I don't want to have to worry about the air I'm breathing,
that's poisoning my lungs.
Please do your part to stand with us and show us some love
gas equals hate.
So please, are you an ally accomplished?
Are you just full of words?
Thank you.
Thank you for your call.
Operator, the next caller, please.
Our next caller is Anika.
Hi, can you hear me?
Yes, we can please go ahead.
Okay.
First I want to acknowledge the other speaker
who reminded us all of the incident in San Bruno.
And I hadn't planned on speaking to that point,
but it happens that my brother is a battalion chief
with the San Bruno city fire department.
And it was his station and his engine
that was the first one to go in on that call
on that horrific explosion.
It was also his job to take the families in
after the devastation
and to show them their homes or show them where
their loved ones died.
He personally accompanied those people in to that situation.
I didn't expect to get this emotional,
but I wanted to predicate my comments with that.
I oppose the expansion of the SoCalGas station
in west Ventura
and demand a proper EIR.
The city of Ventura resolved unanimously
to request further review last month,
based on overwhelming community concern about the risks and
pollution his station presents to this neighborhood.
One of the most economically and socially marginalized parts
of our county.
This project is a violation of the PUC
is environmental justice policies.
There is no other such compressor station in a residential
neighborhood like this.
This type of expansion project has a history of leaks
and contamination and should not be approved.
Please stop investing in greenhouse gas production for the
sake of all that is precious and irreplaceable.
And I thank you for your service.
Thank you for your call.
Operator, next caller, please.
My next caller is Nancy Chevelle.
You may go ahead.
Hi, my name is Nancy Checelle.
I'm a member of the Ventura county community.
I really appreciate the street view story that Liz shared
regarding the measurable negative impacts.
We well it is measurable.
Anyway.
I want to reiterate the comments that we've heard from all
of our community members regarding the gas compression
project and what to echo Elliot's reminder is that
your Commission has the power to guide us
thoughtfully into the future.
The well-prepared public comments that we've heard this
morning reflects so many of our residents perspectives
regarding those risks and consequences, and no doubt,
there are many more of our neighbors
would call in if they could,
or if they even knew that it was possible
to voice their opposition to this project,
both in terms of public safety and environmental safety,
I will add that my husband is a mathematician engineer
at NASA, which I at JPL.
And part of the mission of NASA is to measure harmful global
emissions. It is clear that we have already
been informed of the significant issues from the compressor
that we already have.
It is a super emitter not a good title.
I just want to reiterate the need for greener energy
mentioned by so many of our residents and as retired
teacher,
I will piggyback on the other callers concerns
regarding unfair impact on communities of lower income
and the lack of notification of this project
due to supposedly lack of public interests.
Please do not allow Ventura compressor project to proceed
and focus instead on decreasing harm to both people
and the environment.
Thank you.
Next caller please.
And the next caller is Hans Cole.
You may go ahead.
Hello.
My name is Hans Cole and I lead the environmental team at
Patagonia and outdoor clothing and gear company has been in
business in Ventura for nearly 50 years with over 500 local
employees.
SoCalGasses and Ventura compressor station
expansion project is just over a mile away
from Patagonia's global headquarters.
And as you've heard already from many folks today,
it's right across the street from EAP foster elementary
school and the boys and girls club of interrupt and in the
immediate vicinity of many homes and businesses,
this is a neighborhood where it employees and many of our
larger community live work and spend significant time.
And our concern has already been stated,
but compressor stations like this one have a history
of documented leaks and contamination
and or even at risk of explosion.
Recent Ventura city council meetings have been packed with
local people voicing their concerns, parents, teachers,
kids, businesses like ours,
housing authority speaking in English and Spanish
and given our city council's unanimous decision
to pass a resolution for further review
of the compressor station.
It's clear that the community does not want this facility in
such a densely populated neighborhood.
So near to schools, street kids and families.
More than that this is in a state
recognized disadvantaged community,
which makes this an environmental justice issue as well.
Patagonia supports all of our fellow
Ventura community members,
Who've expressed their concerns about the site
and we join them in demanding
a full environmental impact review,
clean up and shut down of this compressor station site.
I thank you very much for your time and your serious
consideration of these concerns.
Thank you for your call.
Operator, next caller, please.
Our next caller is Issa Silva.
You may go ahead.
Hi, my name is Issa Silva.
I'm a resident of the west side of Ventura,
and I'm also a mother of two children that will be attending
AP foster elementary in the fall.
I cannot state how disappointed I am,
that one that I just found out that
there's a fell castration.
That was right across the street where my kids go to school.
Honestly, how many of us,
how many of you would send your kids
to AP Faster knowing this now on the job.
I just found this out and
I have no means to like move my kids to another school
with this at this time anymore.
I don't want my kids inhaling all of these
messing with the August speaks of heavy happening.
I don't want my kids growing up
to have asthma problems, cancer.
I'm concerned for the teachers in the school
and the boys and girls club as well.
How many our kids deserve to go to school
with clean air free of contaminants.
Some of these children have their lunch in the outside
thinking that it's healthier,
especially during this COVID time.
And instead they're inhaling missing with their sandwiches.
When SoCal started their expansion project,
the children will be exposed to lead to arsenic
and other volatile organic contaminants.
SoCal company doesn't belong in our community.
I know they have been here for a lot of time,
they've been here for, for a lot of years here,
but its time that they go,
they should not be expanding.
We need an EIR required,
and ultimately they need to leave this community
and go in the middle of the desert
and when nobody is around them.
Thank you very much.
Okay. Operator next caller please.
The next caller is Racheal Crerk.
You may go ahead.
Hello. My name is Rachel Creck.
I'm a resident of Opium, California,
which is the next town north and upwind
from where the compressor station is located.
So I have a personal interest in not having this go through,
but my concern is much more for the people in that area,
especially the,
all the points that people have brought up before
are, you know, I won't repeat them,
except I'll summarize them yet.
This compressor station,
they leak
organic compounds
that are very deleterious to health.
They do explode once in a while.
We should not be expanding anything
that relates to the use of fossil fuels.
Our emphasis should be on deCommissioning,
all fossil fuel production and putting in place
sustainable forms of energy production.
It's astounding that they can even consider
that you as a Commission
could even consider this process going ahead
without an EIR that's what they were created for.
So the, the problems are not just local
in that community the poisoned, the explosion
and all of that,
but in terms of the methane output
of these compressor stations, it's not just as I said,
life in our smaller area with Ventura county,
but the more methane we put in the air,
the more that life on the entire, our life support system,
which we call mother earth is threatened.
So it's time to start deCommissioning
all fossil fuel projects.
And I appreciate your consideration
and listening to all of us,
give you our opinions.
So thank you very much.
Thank you for your call.
Operator, next caller, please.
The next caller is Veer Long.
You may go ahead.
Did you say Veer long?
Yes. Veer long.
Oh, hello, hello.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak.
My name is Veer Long. I'm calling from Ohio, California,
but I've lived in Ventura county for over 30 years.
I was a firefighter for six years.
I've been a mother for over 20 years
and a teacher for over 10 years.
20 years ago when I was first pregnant,
I opened the paper to read a big sprawling article that
cited a research study that children in the Oxnard claim
were being harmed by the air pollution.
The overspray from the fields that were right next to
school,
they were spraying pollutants with brown eyes from planes.
I was a gas.
This study had proven,
measurably lowering these children by cues,
harming their organs, harming their reproductive rights,
to be able to have kids when they grew older
and just causing respiratory problems.
I thought it would be something that would be fixed.
I went into teaching.
I've taught at exclusive private schools and lower income
schools. And I can tell you,
every one of those kids is precious.
They are all geniuses. This is a community.
Those are our neighbors kids,
and we should treat them with our kids.
And I know that their economic industry,
but when you have clean energy options,
that's what you're going to do because
we cannot let treat children as collateral damage
for industry.
These future health problems.
When kids go to public school,
they're in the public trust.
It's not an acceptable balance sheet to balance organ damage
against industrial profit.
And you've got clean energy options on the table.
So I strongly urge the Commission to demand
an environment impact report
and get behind the clean energy solutions.
We need to beyond just your job as the Commission
(beep) it's to protect kids.
And they're all important.
Thank you.
Operator, we had a difficult time hearing you
on the last couple callers.
Can you speak more directly into the phone
and can you bring on the next caller.
The next speaker is Stephanie Sullivan.
You may go ahead.
Yes, hi.
My name is Stephanie Sullivan and I'm calling
from thousand Oaks, California in Ventura county,
but I've lived in Ventura, the city AMA in the past.
And I spend a lot of time there cause I have a lot of
friends and I spend time in the downtown area
and learning about
the SoCalGas compressor expansion project
was just, honestly,
it's heartbreaking and listening to all of the people
who've called in today
to share their personal experiences
and ask that you take a closer look at this.
It shouldn't have to be this hard. It really shouldn't.
This is right next to a school and I'm a mother.
I can't fathom having to put my child in a school.
I've got mothers who called just a few times ago and putting
them in potential danger and that being a staff person,
a faculty member, or per teacher at that school,
just knowing that that's a possibility that there could be
an explosion that I would have to deal with.
It's just seriously unfathomable.
There needs to be an EIR conducted for this entire project.
No vague approvals.
And honestly,
the community needs to be more informed about any updates
and changes to this project.
There needs to be more stringent oversight.
Also, there should be an emphasis
on renewable energy so that
there is no need for gas resources of this type.
We know the science,
we understand how methane has impacted us,
how it's dangerous and it's important that
we actually start making,
taking actionable steps to eradicate it as opposed to
letting it continue to expand.
People in Ventura county have been asking
for this oversight have emails in, sent letters,
spoken at the city council meetings.
And it's clear that there is a strong desire
to have SoCalGas out of this neighborhood.
So I ask that you please do the right thing
and support the people who live here,
especially since it is disadvantaged communities
who have been exposed to red lining
and environmental racism for far too long.
Operator the next caller, please.
Thank you. The next caller is Alice Edgar.
I'm sorry. I could not hear you.
your line.
Hello? Can you hear me?
Yes, we can hear you.
Please go ahead.
Awesome. Hello everyone.
My name is Alex Edgar and I am 17 years old
and a senior at Royal high school
in Simi valley, California.
And I'm calling in on today. My graduation day 11/15.
Not not because this is how I imagined spending the morning
of my graduation,
but because this is something that is
extremely important to me and extremely important
to many other members of my community.
The SoCalGas compressor station expansion project is
unethical and it is extremely disappointing to see
how it's going forward in this way.
We have a extreme amount of community support
at the Ventura county,
the Ventura city council meeting just a couple of weeks ago.
As you heard before,
it was unanimously voted on by the city council
to ask for this EIR
and not only that, we had 283 community comments.
That is an insane number two was the, for anything,
let alone for a city council meeting,
the public wants to see this change happen.
They want to see this EIR be done
and we are tired of waiting and waiting and waiting
for the bureaucracy to change for our kids,
for our community to protect us.
This is a issue of utmost importance.
This is an issue of the people
versus a multi-billion dollar corporation that has no rights
acting in this way and being pushed aside
as, oh, you know,
this small paragraph gives them the right to continue to
pollute our community and truly just run rampant
over our health.
It is not something that should be allowed anywhere.
Let alone in California where this compressor station is the
only one in the entire state located in such an area that is
densely populated, surrounded by community.
There have been protests. There has been outreach.
These kids, they're too young to be here.
They are too young to be able to speak up,
and that's why we're speaking up.
So I urge you to take action on the CIR. Thank you.
Thank you for your call.
Operator, the next caller, please.
The caller is Mrs. Massey. Your line is open.
Thank you to the Commission for hearing comments
this morning.
I am here to echo what you've heard numerous times with
regards to the gas compressor
next to AP foster elementary school.
I have grave concerns about the health,
not only to our environment,
but mostly the children and the neighbors in that area.
This is a disadvantaged area and their voices are not heard
often and they weren't heard for this.
And I really asked the Commission to this Commission to do
whatever it can,
to make sure that we're protecting the community
and the environment in this area.
I would ask you to look into an environmental protection
report to see what's the impact,
or maybe an impact report to see
how this is going to impact that area
and treat these citizens at the high regard that
you would want yourselves treated and that you would want
the entire community of Ventura,
which I am proud to be a resident of.
Please help us be proud of the work you're doing today.
Thank you for the time.
Thank you for your call.
Operator, next caller, please.
President Batjer. Our next caller is
Laila Michael Hannon.
Ma'am you may peak?
Thank you Laila.
Hi, I'm from Ventura county calling to put a stop
to the SoCalGas into her compressor station
in the west side of Ventura.
This compressor is known to have many weaks containing
methane, volatile, organic compounds, nitric oxide,
and other chemicals that are extremely harmful to overall
health and child development.
This would occur in the state recognized disadvantaged
community right next to an elementary school boys and girls
club and affordable housing.
There is no other compressor station in a residential
neighborhood like this SoCalGas should not be in the
west side neighborhoods.
Thank you.
Next caller please.
Our next caller is Jonathan Ahlman.
Sir, you may proceed.
Hi Commissioners.
My name is Jonathan Ahlman.
I'm the director of the Los Padres chapter of the Sierra
club representing Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
Boy, I wish we had had these calls in 2019,
right before you approved the, the document for SoCalGas,
which only had two paragraphs
and no budget for this project in it.
Did those two paragraphs convey what was going on?
No, they didn't because the community didn't know about it.
And why did the community not know about it? Well,
the community did not know about it because
they weren't even told about it,
by DTSC until January.
Now they say that they distributed
all of the information out,
but the truth is the city had no idea
and the school had no idea.
and the school district had no idea.
And I bet you had no idea when you voted for this,
but you do have the power to open this back up
and look at it closely,
because this is like no other project that you may normally
approve without much thought.
This is, as we've said,
it's in the middle of a dense community.
It's next to an elementary school.
It's next to the boys and girls club.
And it is an expansion.
It is not just a modernization as SoCalGas
and some of the staff members of the PUC continue to say,
please talk to your staff.
Please take some action, please.
This is I'm telling you, this is only going to Crow.
This I've never seen anything like this before.
This is a turnout from Simi valley to Ventura.
It's pretty broad
and it's not going away. So anyway,
I thank you for your time and take care.
Thank you for the call.
Next caller, please.
President Batjer,
our next caller is Kathleen Maloney.
Ma'am you may proceed
Kathleen, please go ahead.
Was it Kathleen Maloney?
Yes, it was.
[Kathleen] That's me.
Okay. I'm sorry.
I couldn't hear you.
Well, I'm just reiterating what many have said.
I strongly object to the expansion of this natural gas
compression station in Ventura.
I live Camereo but I have family in Ventura,
not in this immediate neighborhood,
but I certainly am concerned for this neighborhood with the
contains an elementary school right across the street,
from where they want to expand this natural gas compressor
station.
It will greatly increase health risks, leaked the station,
leaks toxic chemicals into the air. I mean,
it's methane gas.
There's the possibility of explosions,
the people in that community need to live in constant danger
of health issues and explosions.
I definitely oppose this expansion
and would like to see money
invested much more in clean energy.
And it's definitely there is a need for an environmental
impact report. I can't believe that's not been done.
That's about all I have to say. Thank you.
Thank you for your call.
Next caller please.
Thank you.
Our next question is from Terra Creech.
Your line is open.
Hello.
Thank you for allowing us to make public comments.
I wanted to echo many of the that were made about the
expansion in the Ventura compressor for SoCalGas.
My concerns are as a Ventura resident,
my whole life as a teacher and as a parent,
I lived in Ventura through 2008 and I live in the city of
Camerino right now.
One of the things I wanted to point out is that one of the
values that you have listed on your website under
stewardship is to ask with a commitment to the health and
safety of California and to the preservation of the natural
environment and to design and implement public policies that
promote California's environmental sustainability goals.
I believe that we need to make sure that there is an
environmental review of that SoCal Ventura compressor
station based on adhering to those two values that we talked
about right there, there is several things that
are of concern with that particular site.
As multiple people have mentioned,
it's already near a elementary school.
It is in a state recognized disadvantaged community.
And I can say for sure that as a parent,
I would not want my students to be attending an elementary
school near that.
And as a teacher,
I wouldn't want to be teaching at that school.
In addition, as other people have mentioned,
the city of Ventura did unanimously unanimously in a 7-O
vote asked for an environmental review of that expansion.
And I also wanted to add an echo,
many of the concerns around the climate concerns with using
fossil fuels and expanding the use of fossil fuel when we
should in fact be going in the opposite direction.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you for your call.
Next caller, please.
Thank you.
Our next question comes from Karen Boston.
Your line is open.
Well. This is Karen Boston.
I am a resident of Ventura county and I am calling
everything that I was going to say.
It's been said multiple times,
so I'm not going to go over it except to say that I hope the
Commissioners are noticing what a groundswell there is in
our community, teenagers, parents, teachers,
corporate entities, activists.
We all are, excuse me,
We are all joining our voices and we are demanding an EIR.
Thank you.
Next caller, please.
Thank you.
Our next question or comment comes from Molly McCoy.
Your line is open.
Please go ahead.
Good morning. My name is Molly McCoy.
I'm calling as a student from Ventura county in regards to
the SoCalGas into our compressor
station expansion project.
I first want to thank everyone.
Who's called in expressing concern for this issue.
Second, I'm calling for the rest of my team members
who could not be here today due to the timing
and nature of this meetings.
This compressor station has a history of leaks in 2017
it was found to be by NASA to be supervisor of nothing.
I suddenly know methane is a greenhouse gas known
to contribute to the effects of climate change, at 20 times,
the rate of carbon dioxide as Californians,
we have all experienced
the drastic clinical consequences of climate change.
As we have seen our forest in the Hills,
ravished by wildfires, climate change is no joke.
There's no reason why we should.
We put in more time and energy towards fossil fuels.
As our federal government is moving towards renewable and
green energy.
This compressor station poses a direct threat to those who
live in west side and attend.
AP foster elementary
which is located right across the street.
This is a state recognized disadvantaged community.
There is no other compressor station in a residential
neighborhood like this.
Please do your part to help us in the fight against the
environmental injustice.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
I hope you join us who is doing this is what is doing best
for our community. Thank you.
Thank you for your call. The next caller, please.
Thank you, Catherine Nancy,
please go ahead.
Good morning.
My name is Catherine Nancy
and I'm a resident of Ventura county.
I'm a parent of two school aged children.
Our community has spoken and has demanded
and an environmental impact report.
Please conduct a further review before allowing this
compressor station to expand.
Children, parents and the community
don't deserve to be exposed to a constant
fear of respiratory health issues and explosions
in their neighborhood.
Commission, please do the right thing
and reject this expansion.
Thank you.
Next caller, please.
Thank you. Shana Steiner, please go ahead.
Hi. Can you hear me? Hello?
We can please go ahead.
We can hear you.
Thank you. Okay.
My name is Shana Steiner. I'm 20 years old.
I'm a Santa Paula residents and I'm a substitute teacher
for elementary school grade kids.
I'm calling about the Ventura gas compressor,
just to reiterate that the science points out,
that it emits noxious fumes, such as methane,
nitrous oxide, vinyl, fluoride, arsenic lead,
and more that directly call
the morbidity of chronic illnesses exacerbate
and already climbing temperature
and pollutes ground water
that is approximately only 35 feet below ground.
Somehow these are the best case scenarios
concerning the gas compressor.
And that's because they're known for exploding
with an elementary school just across the street,
several affordable housing plans in the area,
a homeless shelter and a veteran shelter that works
to keep bedrooms off the street. It's their only option.
As far as housing in the area.
It really just stresses that the value placed on all these
people's lives
isn't much in your eyes.
I don't think there's a moral gray area here.
And if you don't work to shut down this project,
there will be blood on your hands.
I can't think of another way to say it.
This shouldn't proceed.
I would urge you to carry out an EIR report
and just shut it down please.
People will die.
Thank you.
Next caller, please.
Thank you, Elizabeth Kane, please go ahead.
Good morning.
My name is Elizabeth keen and I'm a Ventura county resident
living in unincorporated Oxnard
as well as a small business owner
and I'm calling regarding the IRP proceeding.
I'd like to ask you prohibit the expansion of the SoCal
gas compressor station.
This project like many others have,
it's kind of catering to big business.
And the use of fossil fuels is failing to do the work of
actually determining how this project might affect the
community or our environment long-term.
When I learned this,
I read the removal action work plan,
and it seems glaringly clear that the gas company is trying
to absolve themselves from having to address the past and
current groundwater contamination beginning from the
previous Ventura manufactured gas plants that reportedly
proceeded its operation at the same location.
According to a recent article by the VC star toxic
substances remain in the soil from decades of industrial
operations at the site.
And the plan as is only removes toxic soil from shallow
depth, leaving contaminants that have also been found in
groundwater samples. To make matters worse,
since the gas company has acquired the property,
this facility is known to leak harmful chemicals
into the air and soil.
While they have claimed to take a handful of samples that
discuss the need to clean up the soil beneath
the current building.
It seems as though it would be best
to have a full review done by an outside agency
with no motive to gain from an expansion project.
Unlike Norris who was hired by the gas company
to complete the removal action workplace plan,
the families and students of EAP foster deserve to be
informed of such a dangerous project. And they were not.
This is a clear case of environmental injustice
given the neighborhood,
which is known for being historically disadvantaged,
having to already persist with the sprawl of gentrification
right next to an affordable housing
and as well as the school and the boys and girls club.
How is it fair that the gas company can try and come in and
take resources from the land through dangerous fracking
while offering none of the benefits of the come to the
resident with substantially increased risk
for disaster incidents.
Further, these kinds of incidents have been followed
with little accountability or follow up on
environmental cleanup after the corporations are well aware
that they are rarely forced to clean up
in costly legal settlements.
(bell beep)
Please do not allow this project to move forward.
Thank you.
Operator, next caller, please.
Thank you, Liz Lamar.
You may go ahead.
Hi, thank you.
I'm Liz Lamar and I'm chair of the Ventura Sierra club.
I currently live in Oxnard,
but I used to live on the west side of Ventura
and I still have family that lives there.
I'm calling because I'm really concerned about,
SoCalGas has plans of expanding
the Ventura compressor station.
This compressor creates more air pollution and it increases
health issues for people in a predominantly BiPAP or working
class community compressor stations have been known to
explode. They leak they're simply unsafe.
Explosions would harm nearby homes,
the elementary school and the boys and girls club.
Children and low-income residents
should not have to face yet another burden like this.
Well, SoCalGas makes millions of dollars profiting
off the harmful gas compressor.
At the very least,
we needed an environmental impact report.
Gas is dead. It's deadly.
The future is electric and it's clean energy
and we all know this.
So please stand up and do the right thing.
Thank you.
Thank you for your call.
Operator, next caller, please.
Thank you.
The next caller is Benito Delgado Olson.
You may go ahead.
Thank you. Good morning Commissioners.
My name is Benito Delgado Olson,
and I have the privilege of serving as the chairperson of
the low-income oversight board at the PUC.
On behalf of my colleagues voting the affirmative
I'm speaking to offer two key recommendations
for your consideration and the proposed decision item 26.
The first is on the topic of tribal communities,
consultations and benchmarks for success
that are key to evaluation.
Following the discovery of the need for substantial
improvement in this area on November 17th of last year,
with the assistance of our assigned Commissioner,
our board convened a panel of tribal community
representatives to understand how consultations from IOUs
to tribal communities could be improved.
The direct outcome of this convening
in a subsequent board meeting
was the recommendation for a grant program is in our
letter from December 18th of the same year
and further expanded upon in public comments or excuse me,
submitted comments on January 15th
by the public advocate's office.
While this PD does provide some guidance,
which we're happy with our board believes that the absence
of clear benchmarks will limit the success
that we've experienced in the past of tribal consultations
and maintaining contacts within each community.
We suggest incorporating public advocates proposal
to the greatest extent possible as our first recommendation.
The second is on the topic of the ISA working group.
While we do commend to ALJ for authorizing
a historic six year budget cycle
for the low-income programs,
We also recognize that this represents a significant shift
in the ISA program design policy and implementation.
The program will move towards
a customer centered prioritization model
based on treating households on need and customer profiles.
With the new measures that focus on deeper energy
savings and prioritize cost effectiveness,
our board believes that well-trained workers
compromises essential frontline
to any programs effectiveness.
As such, we recommend the Commission established
transition plans that will preserve this workforce network,
avoid gaps in programs, unnecessary fixed costs
and delays in effective delivery of program services.
The way we see to accomplish this is a recommendation that
the ISA working group be required to include a member
of the low-income oversight board
that is equally qualified as
stated in the PDs current form.
We believe this will ensure continuity of the board,
statutory purpose and inclusivity,
and is consistent with our charter and statutory charge.
Thank you again to the ALJ, the Commissioners,
and all parties involved for their work to improve the lives
of low income children and families throughout California,
and this decision. Thanks very much.
Thank you for the call Appreciate it.
Operator, next caller please.
Lauren McCoy, please go ahead.
Hi. I have the term county residents
I am calling about SoCalGas expansion projects.
This is an unsafe project that it's supposed to go in next
to the school and neighborhood planning has already been
shown to be a super emitter right now.
I think I oxide and other compounds and they gave me our
environment into some chunks of elements.
This is a county needs to be making changes to move towards
these that seen energy.
We noticed this would be a healthy choice for our community,
both residents and environment.
Like we need to start making the transition energy.
Now it's not putting money towards fossil fuel
and it says energy.
We're just supposed to get EIR at the very least.
they're really just meant to be phased out and it does not
serve to help our community.
And where does it serve our transition to see energy?
We are looking to you. So please take extra minutes.
Thank you.
Thank you. Next caller please.
Laura Golan, You may go ahead.
Hello. Thank you so much.
Appreciate the time.
Also, the ability to have input from the public
is so well done and I sure appreciate it.
SoCalGas has not been upfront with this project
and what it entails from day one
and that alone raises alarms.
Well when asked why? Well, there just wasn't any interest.
Well, I guess they see now that there is a lot of interest
Once we're aware of what has happened.
The school across from right now from the contaminated site,
AP foster.
When I started there in 1968, it was just K through three.
Now it's K through five.
So, many more children are being put at risk.
And I think you've heard everybody so well presented today.
And now it's not a question of,
oh, are we going to let them keep making it bigger?
It needs to be cleaned up the soil and the water
and then not expanded.
It needs to be shut down.
Thank you so much for the opportunity
to get our voices heard.
Bey now, thank you.
Thank you for your call.
Operator, the next caller, please.
Jasmine Gill. You may go ahead.
Hello.
I am Jasmine from Camaria of Ventura county
and I'm calling to demand the halt
of the SoCalGas Ventura compressor station expansion,
because I was a high schooler.
When I looked back, when I was in elementary school,
I see myself carefree, happy little self playing outside,
always never ever having to worry
about constant dangers of health issues and explosions.
I can't imagine being an elementary school
with kids only up to 10 or 11 years old
and already having to worry about my health
and potential problems with my safety.
There's no other compressor station
in a residential neighborhood like this.
SoCalGas should not be in the west side neighborhood.
Okay, thank you.
Operator, the next caller, please.
Kaitlin Tackett, you may go ahead.
Hi, good morning.
I'm Kaitlin Tackett,
a resident and students from Cambrio Ventura county
and I'm calling to demand the halt
of the SoCalGas Ventura compressor stations expansion.
Thankfully, I grew up in a stress free environment
elementary school environment.
Although I live in a district where I was required to go to
a high school across the street from a field that got
sprayed with pesticides and chemicals very often,
fortunately, I found a way around it
and ended up going to a better safer high school.
But I still worry about my friends
that had to go to that school.
I can't imagine having to go to a school
where you can't even focus on your education
because of the environment around you.
The SoCalGas compressor expansion will cause
an increase as affects to the air quality
and create a risk of potential explosion.
All in all the expansion of the SoCalGas compressor
needs to be stopped.
Let's care about children's lives and the lives of everyone
within that neighborhood and the avenue.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you for the call.
Next caller, please operator
Evan Taylor. You may go ahead.
Hello, my name is Evan Taylor.
I'm a 17 year old junior high school student
calling from Cameroon.
I recently learned from my peers about the Venter compressor
station and would like to express my concerns.
The expansion of the SoCalGas into our compressor station
holds a history of many mistakes,
dangerous mistakes that include contamination and leaks.
According to the column compressor station threatened
school, children denies community voices and the PC star.
The facility has had
a bad track record of leaks and violations over its
100 year history as an industrial and fossil fuel site.
As a result,
the soil is contaminated with lead, diesel fuel
and many other known carcinogens.
If this expansion continues, it will be placed
in a state recognized disadvantaged community.
It will also neighbor the EP foster elementary school
and affordable housing further disadvantaging the community
while simultaneously putting many lives,
including those of young children at risk.
It is a threat to the community,
to the children and to the environment.
Under no circumstances is it right or just
to allow for such a dangerous compressor station to
neighbor and elementary school.
Thank you for your time.
Thank your call.
Operator, next caller please.
Dr. Patrick Kearns, you may go ahead.
Madam president and Commissioners.
My name is Dr. Patrick Kearns.
I'm a rate payer in the south bay.
Thank you for your efforts to reinforce the safety net
for those impacted by the pandemic
or born on the wrong side of the financial divide.
I've had a patient recognize that I was running late
and offered to cut their appointment short
so I could have time to attend to other patients'
significant problems.
I've been moved by the compelling comments
articulated by today's speakers.
I yield my time for commenting on other crucial issues
out of respect to your time required to absorb
and deliberate on these public health issues
articulated by students, seniors, and an entire community.
Most impressive.
Thank you very much for your time.
Thank you Dr. Kearn for your call.
Operator, the next call, please.
Rose Aley, you may go ahead.
As a biologist Thousand Oaks resident
and Woolsey fire survivor,
I oppose any expansion of the gas compressor station across
from EP foster elementary school in west Ventura.
As the parent of the child who suffers
with Petro chemical pollution triggered asthma,
I have watched helplessly as my daughter
struggled to breathe and could not.
It is unconscionable for you to knowingly allow SoCalGas
to cite their dangerous polluting infrastructure,
anywhere near where children congregate daily,
exposing them to the constant danger
of respiratory health issues
and life-threatening explosions.
Parents shouldn't have to worry whether our kids are safe
in our homes and schools.
And it's your duty as public servants to ensure
we don't have to identified as a nets
and super emitter by NASA.
This facility has a dismal record of leaks and violations.
We all witnessed what similar conditions at STGs Aliso
storage facility did to the community of Porter ranch.
Furthermore,
ITCC warned over two years ago that preventing an overshoot
over 1.5 C degrees and the most catastrophic impacts of
climate payoff,
including the devastating heat drought and wildfires already
plaguing our county,
which is warming faster than any other in the continental US
requires massive cuts in the use of coal oil and natural gas
IPCC's report makes it absolutely clear that in a world
where clean energy renewables are not only available,
but also less expensive than traditional polluting
counterparts, fossil fuel energy is not worth it's health,
safety and climate justice impacts
and is incompatible with our climate goals.
The international energy agency further warned
just last month that meeting those goals
requires no new fossil fuel investment.
That means you and people in agencies like yours
at every level of government
must prohibit any additional fossil fuel infrastructure,
not at some later date, but starting right now.
This compressor should never have been allowed anywhere near
this community.
You not allow it or any natural gas facilities to expand.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you for your call.
Operator, the next caller, please.
Maya, you may go ahead.
Hi. My name is Maya Yetz,
and I'm in Sophomore High School from Cambrio California
located in Ventura county.
I'm calling in regards to the compressor station expansion
in our community.
I believe this is so wrong,
especially for the health of those children.
As a youth myself,
I understand that all those kids
just want to play outside for hours
and they shouldn't have to worry about anything.
As a 16 year old now I'm able to look back
and appreciate those experiences I had,
especially with my friends.
Being outdoors is so crucial free kids' life
and imagination,
and we should not be putting their health in danger.
Would you all send your kids to that nearby school?
I honestly don't think so.
This is dangerous children and other community members,
which makes it hard for me to wrap around the idea
that this is even being discussed.
My dad, Dr. Todd Gates is an oncologist
Ventura city himself
and I've had a long discussion with him
about the horrible effects of this leading to cancer
and other health problems.
As a specialist,
I believe that you all should listen to that
along with all the wonderful speakers
who have voiced their opinions and concerns,
knowing that these children are becoming higher risk to
cancer for going to school is so heartbreaking.
Continuing on,
SoCalGas claims this project was approved
in 2019 rate case.
But myself, along with my peers,
don't think this project has been approved.
The rate case is vague about the project and no plans or
costs for the project were included.
The community was never notified and the residential
location was never disclosed.
If it's supposed through it is a major violation of the PUC,
environmental justice policies.
We cannot let this happen.
And for the last two hours,
it has been a privilege to listen to everyone,
voice their opinions.
Thank you.
And please keep in mind the health of our community members.
Thank you.
Thank you for your call.
Operator, our next caller, please
Operator next caller, please.
President a Batjer.
Yes please.
Thank you ma'am.
Our next caller is James Brown sprint,
please proceed.
Yes. Hi.
I'd like to speak on a few things,
including the Ventura compressor station,
the IRP hearing, the avoided cost calculator.
The second two of which I honestly don't know much about,
and I haven't known much about until today.
I hope that you are as moved as I am by all of the comments
that we've heard today. And I would like to echo them.
I live in this neighborhood and west Ventura
and I don't want this in my neighborhood.
The risk is unacceptable.
I would also like to point out that
the international energy agency,
as I'm sure you're well aware of
is not just a bunch of hippies,
has announced that all new oil
and gas infrastructure must cease.
If we are to stop global warming from reaching
critical levels
by 2050.
And I want to point to the big picture,
And I want to point to the big, big picture,
What did scientists predict to happen before 2100,
if we did not significantly alter our course?
Life-threatening heat, global water and food shortages,
billions of climate refugees,
possible release of ancient bacteria and viruses
from melting ice which no immunities exists,
acidification of the oceans that is already happening
and may kill all marine life
besides certain slimes and algae,
toxification of the air we breathe,
the perpetual war and civil unrest
and economic collapse.
What is your job?
Who are you working for?
If your job is to protect members of the public,
please do it.
If your job is to protect economic, the answer is the same.
I want you to think about this really seriously.
It sounds silly, but how much does the planet cost?
Is that in your avoided cost calculator? How much?
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Brown.
Next caller, please.
Our next caller is Karena Kay
You may go ahead.
Hi, thank you for calling today.
My name is Karena Kay,
and I'm a board member of climate first,
replacing oil and gas and Ventura.
In 2017, SoCalGas is the insurer compressor site
was founded by NASA to be a super emitter of methane.
And one of the few sites in California
that creates most emissions.
Methane is a greenhouse gas known to contribute to
the effects of climate change at 28 times
the rate of carbon dioxide.
Under no circumstances,
an energy resource that will plunge as fed into climate
chaos. Okay. It's unfathomable to me
that's at least it has been at least five years
since the Aliso canyon gas leak in Porter ranch
has been widely reported for its longterm negligence
and leaking gas employees in the community.
Governor Newsome has condemned the at least obtaining site.
And from your own website,
I see the joint agencies, the CPUC LAD WP,
the CEC and CalISO have a disappointingly slow withdrawal
protocol for that site, which is also owned by SoCalGas.
So why is this site at the state recognized disadvantage
community of the west side of Ventura allowed to seek
expansion without a full EIR when other similar methane
leaking sites have been called to be shut down
for over half a decade?
It's just irresponsible dangerous and having natural gas
in our energy portfolio is an unfair,
terracing, wrong headed investment
in the clean, renewable energy transition that we need.
Thank you.
Operator, next caller, please.
Our next caller is Jane Fowler.
You may go ahead.
Hi, my name's Jane Fowler
and I live in Granada Hills.
I'm also a co-founder of Elisa moms Alliance.
I I'm calling today because I lived through
and am still living through SoCalGas's largest gas blowout
in US history and it continues to leak
our health continues to be affected.
And I know that you at the PC have heard testimony
from my Aliso community.
So for me, in a way I cannot believe
you are even considering more compressors
or building any kind of thing for the fossil fuel industry.
I mean, these new compressors are gonna
let press gas push gas through harder and faster
so that it can blow out, leak or explode.
We have too many examples of
these horrible occurrences because it's SoCalGas has
old infrastructure pipelines.
They're crumbling also methane is a fugitive gas.
So, any nut or bolt it's going to leak from,
and there really is no safe compressor.
And the fact that it's across the street from an elementary
school and you know, a disadvantaged community,
this is dangerous.
And I worry for the community.
The school that was in our area
by the Aliso canyon gas facility was a mile away
and it had to be relocated.
So many teachers have died, residents have died,
pets have died, elders have died,
cancers of all kinds are propping up in our community,
blood disorders and so much more.
And it continues and it is slow.
It is a slow invisible death to many
or a disruption to physical health.
And as many have said,
mass all causes place a super admin or,
and that's because SoCalGas doesn't really keep track of
their product. Their methane gas.
Anyway, I just wished that you would stop expanding.
The world is moving away from fossil fuels to gas was
killing people and do not build any more gas infrastructure.
It is coming to an end fossil fuels.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Thank you. Operator, next caller, please.
Our next caller is Gabriela Mendez.
You may go ahead.
Hello? Can you hear me?
Yes go ahead.
Yes, we can hear you fine.
Thank you. Good morning.
I'm Gabriel amended and I live in the county of Riverside.
I'm here to speak for myself and for my family
and my friends.
I'm here to ask also for the IFP role
to keep with plans, to order over 10,000 megawatts
of zero emitting sources also,
and this is super important as I'm also hearing from various
community members as well throughout the state to reject
plans, to waste any more money on gas plants
and also to prioritize,
but like communities for clean energy investment
rather than fossil fuels.
I just want to come in here and mentioned that
we are always on these calls.
I am always on these calls and the reason why people
are so emotional is because
this is dealing with their lives.
And it's quite frustrating that we have to gamble our lives
for the decision that you guys make.
It is really important that you guys
phase off fossils fuels now.
Do not make any more investment in gas
because our communities cannot afford to have that
in our community any longer.
We're also in a climate emergency.
It is terrifying, terrifying.
I am scared to see what is about to happen.
If we don't fight this now.
It is not the time to keep investing
in dirty energy.
We need to go green, not because it's an option,
but because it's an emergency.
And because it is our only option,
it is our only option for the sake of the health
of my family, for the sake of the health of myself,
for my friends, for every community in this state,
This is urgent,
I really hope that you listened to the committee members
because they're giving it all they got,
we're giving it all we have so that you can listen to us
and pass the correct rule.
You know what the right thing to do is you are well aware of
what the right thing to do is.
So I really hope that you do that today.
Thank you.
Operator, next caller, please.
Our next caller is Tomas Waterwatch
Hi, good morning Commissioners.
My name is Tomas Morales Becky,
and I worked for food and water watch in Ventura county.
And yeah, we were part of the west side,
clean air coalition,
along with dozens of other groups and hundreds of local
residents. Many of you've heard from today,
but many could not be on because of the timing and work
for extremely opposed to the SoCalGaseous plan,
to double the size of their compressor station in our
neighborhood.
I live a couple blocks from the facility to,
with my two young children whose lungs are still developing.
So my daughter and son will soon be attending the EAP boss
of the military school right across the street.
So it's extremely personal and issue that affects us daily.
We can frequently smell gas coming from that facility as
mentioned many times before NASA captured as a super emitter
just a few years ago. And in those NASA images,
you can see the toxic plumes surrounding the facility and
leaking into the school playground and nearby homes.
This facility has a long history of other leaks too
documented by our air pollution control district
and many leaks that were never reported
or just people don't know how to report them.
Not only is it across the street from an elementary school,
but also at boys and girls club and thousands of residents,
homes, teachers,
and students who recorded toxic smells going back decades
from this facility, you heard from a teacher date,
two that taught through the '90's and retired.
We already live in a California disadvantaged community,
which has been mentioned over and over for over 70% Latinex.
And many of my neighbors suffer from higher rates of asthma,
heart disease, and cancer
as a result of the pollution we are exposed to.
SoCalGas claims this project was approved
in the 2019 rate case.
So we don't think this project
has been properly approved yet.
The rate case is vague about this project.
Just a couple of paragraphs of description,
no cost for the project were included.
So basically they were given a blank check without showing
any evidence that it's actually needed.
The fact is it was located in a disadvantaged community,
was not mentioned right across from the elementary school
was never mentioned this slips through.
It will be completely contradictory to the PUC,
environmental justice policies.
Your own staff has said that.
SoCalGas has misrepresented the PUC approval of this
project and SoCalGas claims,
which is ridiculous because even a botanical garden in our
area needed an EIR.
So I'm asking you to do what's right with and your power.
Listen to us, do an environmental impact review.
That's a basic bare minimum,
but also this should be shut down and there should be no
more funding for any fossil fuel infrastructure period.
Thank you.
Thank you for your call.
Operator, next caller, please.
Our next caller is Marvin Norman.
You may go ahead.
Hello.
Hello, please go ahead.
Hi. Yes, my name is Marvin Norman.
I am a resident of the San Bernardino.
I mean the inland empire.
And I'm fine to first talk about the gas plant
or a compressor station. I'm here about a Ventura.
This sounds absolutely maddening.
It's ridiculous that we're to be putting this
in the community.
And although I don't live in Ventura,
I know the type of community
because we have the same problem here
in the inland empire on occasion.
So it's stimulus that we were going forward with this
but moving on,
we also need to start working on limiting these emissions.
You know, we hear a lot about that climate time.
The window of opportunity is closing,
but the truth is the window of opportunity really
is already closed.
The fact that people say that we have nine more years
before we have climate catastrophe,
but that's a really a privileged view that we have here in
the Western world, in the other parts of the world,
where they are less fortunate,
they are already in catastrophe
and it's largely due to our actions and,
or rather in this case inaction
and continuation of putting projects like this,
that community.
So we need to get the 10,
at least 10,000 megawatts of viewer emitting sources gone
online. If you diddly, honestly,
that should be a bare minimum and go as high as possible.
We need to not waste a single more cent on gas
infrastructure.
You know, these things have 25,
30 year payback times in many cases.
So even if we're saying that with where we have 10 more
years, that's clearly less time than we.
And then, you know,
the payback time for such an infrastructure would be.
And so there's no reason to waste that money now and leave
those stranded assets out there.
And we need to really prioritize our frontline communities
like Ventura that we're hearing now and your investment in
clean energy sources and to environmental justice that they
deserve to stop this environmental racism against them.
And finally, we need to get a lower GHD target
or it's 38 million metric ton,
but we really need to go by even 25 million
for the next cycle emergency
and we need to act like it.
So thank you for your time
and hope you have the right decisions.
Thank you.
Operator, next caller, please.
Our next caller is Edward.
You may go ahead.
Hello, everyone.
My name is Edward Lassy and I'm in Oxford resident,
but working in Ventura when calling to further bring
attention to the SoCalGas compressor station,
extension immune trend echo,
a lot of things that previous callers have said,
district post expansion is dangerous named Claire,
that you take action for a full environmental impact review
of the extension project.
But I also just want to highlight that,
although you heard many concerns today from many residents,
there are many that you didn't today
that come from non-English speakers.
And I want to make sure that that is brought up many
non-English speakers could enjoy due to the lack of
accessibility of this meeting.
And I want you to know that they care about this issue.
And yeah,
so I just wanna say that I hope that you would take action
again fossil fuels and how the transition away from them.
And I hope you all support their quest that you received
today and not ignore that environmental justice issue.
Thank you and have a great day.
Thank you for the call.
Operator, next caller, please.
President Batjer,
our next speaker is Dan Cortney.
Mr. Courtney, you may proceed.
My name is Dan Courtney
a member of this year club,
utility wildfire provision taskforce,
but I'm speaking today solely as a property owner
in high risk community of Samil mountain in 20 county.
And as a survivor of the rim fire of 2013,
I'd like to ask the Commission to reconsider
as focus on directing PG&E,
to focus on vegetation management and particularly
the proposed removal of all restrict trees,
meaning any tree tall enough to potentially
reach a power line.
We're now seeing the vast majority of utility wildfires
are caused by equipment failure.
This is no surprise given how much a PG&E circuits
in a high fire threat districts
have exceeded their maximum lifespan of 70 years
and feature bare uninsulated, high voltage electrical wires
running through forests.
Even in the case of tree branch bird or blue strikes
fires could be prevented by the installation
of steel core insulated conductor, arc fault interrupters,
frequently conductors and connections that is,
and other 20th century equipment as SCI and STG have done
in their high fire risk districts.
More over scientific research is proving
that clearing trees,
cleaner life trees along power lines is actually increasing
the threat of catastrophic wildfires by creating heat
islands of flaming flammable, dry brush and wind tunnels,
which propelled the flame of brands at a higher velocity.
And these studies have shown the rate of fire spread
was much faster on the power line corridors
in Elisa campfire and SEU complex fires at peace.
As there were less trees to slow a block the wind.
Of course the ultimate safety
is through undergrounding.
And with regards to two agenda item 24,
originally Commissioned to prioritize fire prevention
as a factor in selecting areas to perform under grounding.
The other thing is I would urge them
to try to adopt a rule 20 D such as STG has,
which will accelerate the rate of conversion
to undergrounding in the high fire districts.
Finally, just please recognize it's not the trees,
it's the wires they're sparking the fires.
Thank you.
Thank you
Operator, the next caller, please.
Our next caller is Katelyn Kerrwood.
You may go ahead.
Hi, I'm Karen Kerrwood.
I'm a high school student from Ventura county
and I'm calling to demand the halt
the SoCalGas to a compressor station expansion.
When I was young,
I lived a carefree and enjoyable life.
I will not trade my childhood for anything
and I hope other children can live as I did.
I was able to go out and not be worried
about my health conditions or explosions.
And my life was switched
and I had to constantly worry about the dangers
of health issues in my community.
My life would be stressful.
I would not be able to live my childhood to the full extent
and would wake up to the constant fear every day.
Expanding the SoCalGas compressor will increase
the stress of children while they are at play,
as well as the parents who will be raising their children
in a community that is directly across the street
from a gas compressor.
With this SoCalGas compressors
should not expand and should not be located
across from a community.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you for your call.
Operator, our next caller, please.
Our next call for Ross Brisby.
Hi, my name is Ross Brisby
and I'm speaking here from Riverside county, California.
And I'm calling for the IRP proceeding,
which kind of dovetails into a lot of what we've heard about
the Ventura county substation.
The reality is that we cannot afford to invest any more in
fossil fuel generation.
We need to make sure that
all of our energy portfolio spread out
across renewable clean energy,
and we're not moving fast enough.
You're the decision makers. You're the ones with the power.
Our environmental justice communities like Ventura county,
like Riverside county,
like our neighboring San Bernardino county.
They've been for too long burdened
by a dirty dangerous system.
And the emissions from these they're not spread out evenly.
The reality is that when we invest in these fossil fuel
generation and these fossil fuel systems,
the risk is not spread out evenly across society.
And it doesn't matter if even if it was it's not okay,
but the reality is it's not
it adversely impacts disadvantaged communities,
black and brown communities.
And this is exactly what we talk about.
When we talk about environmental racism.
We need to make sure that as we move forward,
as the climate crisis becomes even bigger,
and even ahead of us is occurring now
that we take bold steps to make sure that
we have a renewable system Thank you.
Thank you.
Operator, next caller, please.
Our next caller is Jerry.
Let me get this. You may go ahead
All right. Stand standby, hold on.
Hi. Yeah, forgive me.
Sorry. I was in the middle of class and then started a class
council meeting. I,
I just wanted to make a note that
is this a modernization project or an expansion project.
And I don't think that SaCalGas even knows
during the city of Ventura council meeting a month back
representatives from the SoCalGas site stated that
this would not be an expansion,
it would simply be modernization,
but when pressed by our council members,
it came clear that there would be additional horsepower
coming from this site.
Now I'm trying to be rational here and assume that maybe
a modern modernized pump.
Maybe it's going to have cleaner emissions or something
along those lines,
but I think it's clear today and it's clear to everyone else
or to all of you as Commissioners,
that I'm not sure that that can be trusted
and history shows that in fact,
it probably won't be.
Do due to closure of pumping sites
north of us in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo counties,
it was stated by dusk Foley,
the planning construction manager, SoCalGas,
that there would be additional horsepower pumping in our
facility and coupled with everything else we heard today,
I have a hard time believing that that is a good thing.
That that is a recipe for the health of the local community,
who, as we heard countless times again,
had been marginalized. And what stood out to me most
toward educators are heard at a local meetings
leading up to this who recounted tales
of the brushing kids indoors from playgrounds
due to leaks a variety of harmful carcinogenic chemicals.
So I just want to remind you all of that,
remind you all that risk is there
and that no one deserves to live with that.
And I think we heard also trends
as to where our economy is going
with regard to electricity over gas
for certain necessities in terms of utilities.
So I think with all of that in mind,
I think there's a clear answer today as to where the
Commission should be moving forward with this project.
And I hope you all make the right choice.
Thank you for hearing out.
Operator, the next caller, please.
Sorry guys. That was my next call.
Again Kendall(radio interference)
Hi, this is Kendall.
Sorry about that.
I'm just so blown away by all the beautiful
and passionate comments.
And I don't think I can say any of that any better.
What I can speak to is that I live on the west side of town
off the avenue,
very close to the compressor site and my children attend
Ventura charter school,
which is down the road from EAP foster in the back of data,
which is a middle school.
So there are a lot of children here.
I am disgusted and heartbroken that this is even an issue.
The station should be shut down, cleaned up,
and there shouldn't even be a question of expanding it or
the joke of saying that it's modernization.
I don't believe that.
And I personally want it cleaned up. My children are here,
my children,
and all of the children are not acceptable losses.
I live on this side of town and be proud of it.
My family has lived here for 17 years,
which is not even close to the amount of time
that most of the people have lived here.
And then also want to say something that I think is related.
When the Thomas fire burned,
we watched the fire come down our hill
and almost hit our house.
The only reason for it because my husband's a firefighter
and he had to save the five or six houses that were right
here on the hill.
Nobody came over here to help us.
When that when the house above us burned,
we called it was smoldering and could have still caught our
health and fire. Nobody came here,
everybody was in Ohio
and they were on the other side of town.
It's a big houses.
This is happening because it's a majority BiPAP community
that is low income.
I am so sad and I am so scared that this is happening here,
that it could happen here.
The right thing to do is shut this down.
I appreciate you.
Operated, the next caller, please.
Our next caller is Burger Height.
You may go ahead.
I Don't think they're on the line
Burger Height your line is open.
Can you hear me now.
Okay. Yes, please go ahead.
Oh, Yes.
There's a problem with radioactive pipe scale and
natural gas pipe.
And I believe in compressors too.
Like Polonius, harmful levels.
Also, we got another problem coming up.
It's that the radioactive mud,
they're having a problem in Pennsylvania with radioactive
mud, from various types of unconventional oil extraction.
And they're throwing in the dumps and wherever this is the
hazardous waste dump is still V-shape.
And the lead shapes that are leaking this treatment ponds
that condense it to really high,
unsafe radioactivity levels.
And then the liners leak and all that mess.
That'd be like expensive cleaning up the mess
they made in Pennsylvania.
And that might happen over here in California fact that the
DTSC has not even have any oversight over the radioactive
mud and where it's going.
And there's going to be a big mess to clean up very soon.
Try going to the regular dumps.
And that's why there's all these families stay and the cows
and the families,
one family member after another dying below the dumps,
and there'll be blowing around like radioactive PMT $0.50.
Alright, thank you very much.
Thank you.
Operator, next caller, please.
Next caller is Rosa Resa.
Thanks so much for your time.
I am executive director of one step.
I love it.
And I would like to raise up what Eduardo from C prov
mentioned around the lack of language justice,
and the fact that people of colour have been asking you all
to take their health into consideration,
and that we shouldn't have to beg for our lives for our
children, for our lungs,
for the right to breathe and exist
and dream in our communities.
We ask you to start taking our lives into consideration.
Please shut it down.
Now we don't need this SoCal modernization and just make
sure that you are actually taking into consideration
the health of the people of this county,
because that should be your number one priority.
Okay. Thank you.
Operator, next caller, please.
President Batjer,
On the line.
Sorry, Holly.
I can't hear you, you're in and out.
You have no more public comment
on telephones line.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you, Holly.
All Right.
There are no more callers on the line at this time.
So the public comment period is now officially closed.
We will take a 15 minute break.
And so let's be back here at 1235,
1235.
Thank you all.
(upbeat music)
President Batjer. You may proceed.
Thank you operator.
We're now moving into the agenda changes
for our agenda today.
These are the changes.
Item number six will be held.
And this is an assignment
I think you may want to re-establish quorum.
Oh, yes, I do.
I'm so sorry. Thank you Ann.
And can we please establish quorum by calling the roll.
Commissioner Houck. Here.
Commissioner Shiroma. Present.
Commissioner Rechtschaffen. Present.
Commissioner Guzman Aceves. Present.
President Batjer. Here.
Thank you. Quorum has been established.
All right. Now I will announce the agenda changes for today.
Item number six will be held until June 24th, 2021 meeting
item 32 will be taken up with the Consent Agenda today.
Item 33 will be held until the Commission meeting on
June 24th, 2021.
All right, we will now take up the consent items.
Is there a motion?
Will move.
Any second
Okay, thank you.
Could you please call the roll.
Commissioner Houck Yes.
Commissioner Shiroma Aye.
Commissioner Rechtschaffen Yes.
Commissioner Guzman Yes
President Batjer. Yes.
The Consent Agenda passes unanimously.
I believe that Commissioner Guzman Aceves
and Commissioner Rechtschaffen wish to speak on items three
and then Commissioner Rechtschaffen
would also like to speak on item number 16,
Commissioner Guzman Aceves
Thank you, President Batjer.
That's her decision,
which we adopted more streamlined process under rule 21
for interconnection.
And particularly I wanted to highlight that there is a new
pilot that we're also rising for a notification only of
both the solar and solar plus storage
that is in non export system.
And we hope this will facilitate a greater expansion
by just requiring a notification only approach
and not having to have the more elaborate collaboration
with the utilities on getting the interconnection.
This I did want to just acknowledge that
of course the solar and storage industry would like to
broaden that pilot and to include systems
these are not just not exporting,
but I think this is a very good first step
and just wanted to acknowledge
and reflect on the fact that we share the goal
of wanting to have a more streamlined process
for all systems moving forward.
But I hope this will give us some lessons learned in order
to figure out how we do that best for all systems.
And finally,
I just want to thank all the teams and all the stakeholders
that have really been working together on this process.
Most notably the team that is under Justin Rainier,
including Jose Anna Carol as well some of
your staff, Mcbrown over at Commissioner Houck's office
and Brian corporate, who is in your office,
President Batjer.
Many folks have worked on this proceeding for many years.
And of course our judge, judge Hines,
who is always able to put a very common understanding
to what we're doing into her PDs.
So thank you for letting me share that exciting pilot
and hopefully it's just the beginning.
Great. Thank you.
Commissioner Rechtschaffen that I believe you wish to speak on
item three as well.
Yes. Thank you.
I agree with what Commissioner Guzman has articulated.
And I wanted to just offer a couple of comments or thoughts
really on the notification only process that Commissioner
Guzman have just highlighted.
There's two issues specifically about
how this is going to be implemented.
The decision has a 10 project per developer limit for,
for line segment in the,
the information about a customer's blind segment
is not public.
It's not in the integration capacity analysis maps.
So I think in,
as this is implemented through our advicory process,
we need to ensure that the IOUs are required to disclose
this information to customers and developers upon request.
This is something, this is a limit that the IOUs requested.
So we want to make sure that the solution they've come up
with is workable.
So that's the first suggestion.
And then the second relates to the question about
what systems are eligible for this
notification only process.
And the first revision allowed is for new non-expert storage
at a site with existing Nam customers,
the final revision doesn't doesn't allow this.
So that's the majority of customers already have.
And then, them interconnection agreement that allows
for exports. I understand.
what does the decision does
and that the second revision doesn't allow
for the existing systems
if they existing NEM systems.
But I do want to offer a comment about how they implemented
this based on understanding is that my staff has had with
the energy division.
And that is that the existing them customers
will be able to use this notification only process
to add non export storage.
If they convert their existing Nam care up to a non-expert
tariff.
So they should be able to switch to a non-expert generation
tariff through this notification only process
when they apply to add not export solar,
I think we should give IOUs direction to allow this switch
through the notification process only again,
to ensure that the intent of what we're trying to do here
is realized.
So that's, those are two comments
about how to implement this in a way
that furthers our intend to have this more streamlined
process really work.
okay.
Are there any other comments?
Yeah.
I have a comment.
I don't know if Commissioners would monitor this once they
respond or, I'll just say briefly that I,
I share those and I think I committed to working on those
and seeing that happened through advice letter,
those clarification and the transparency,
all those line drops.
Thank you very much. And thanks for your work
on the decision in item 16,
we approved appointments to the disadvantaged community
advisory group.
This group was established in 2017 pursuant to SB 350
to advise both us and the California energy Commission
on how to make our clean energy programs more accessible
to disadvantaged communities.
And the group is comprised of representatives of various
communities and community based organizations
from around California.
Very exciting. We appointed three new members today,
Jose Hernandez, Elaina Krieger, and Curtis silvers.
These candidates are all extremely well qualified,
a lot of relevant experience.
I was happy to say we had a very very large group
of very talented and very well qualified
applicants VYing for these positions.
These new appointees bring diverse perspectives
from a variety of communities.
Again, very well-qualified
and we look forward to continuing to
work with the disadvantaged community, the advisory group,
and benefiting from their input and the new members input on
our programs and initiatives. Thank you.
Great.
Thank you, Commissioner Rechtschaffen
and Commissioner Guzman Aceves.
We will now move into the regular agenda items.
The first agenda item is item 24
and I will be introducing it.
This proposed decision makes important reforms
to the electric rule 20, which enables cities,
unincorporated counties and private applicants to request
that their electric utility underground overhead our lines
The rule 20 program is divided into four sub programs
that provide very low levels of rate pair contributions
to the project.
project.
The proposed decision largely focuses on this.
I should say this proposed decision largely focuses on the
rule 28 sub program it's allows undergrounding projects that
percent rate payer funded for the current rule 20 A
public interest criteria are focused on aesthetics.
We initiated this rulemaking in May,
and I dare say you all,
some of you all initiated this rulemaking in May, 2017
to address longstanding issues with the rule 20 program,
address longstanding issues with the rule 20 program,
particularly rule 28.
knees rule 28 program,
and a staff proposal issued in this proceeding in February
the PG&E audit report detailed how PG&E had not
prudently managed its rule 28 program,
and the fraud risks raised
by its poor document retention processes.
processes.
The audit report also asserted the PG&E systematic
which increased project costs.
The staff proposal for the illuminates ongoing issues with
the staff proposal for the illuminates ongoing issues with
rural 28, including a large balance of unused fronts.
Over 1.5, 6 billion with a B Statewide.
It is also described,
it also describes the unequal use of 20 rule 28 funds as
projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars
paid for by the rate payers.
the rate payers.
On the other hand,
since 2005.
To improve transparency of the rule 20 programs,
this proposed decision requires that the utilities develop
This proposed decision requires that the utilities develop
consistent rule 20 guide books,
that detail program rules and processes establish one way
balancing accounts and annually submit detailed program data
to the CPUC.
This PD also makes modest changes to rule 28 public interest
criteria that the first consideration of more extensive
More importantly,
this PD discontinues approval of new work credits
for the rule 28 program after December 31st, 2000, I mean,
rule 28 program after December 31st, 2000, I mean,
excuse me, 2022.
It is abundantly clear that the work credit system lacks
So our first step is to halt further allocation
of the right payer funds.
We do not however, since that rule 28,
We do not. However, since that rule 28,
as there is no end date for using existing work credits,
we know that many communities are concerned about stranded
rule 28 projects addressing active projects will be a
priority in phase two of the ruling.
In addition,
this proposed decision does not modify to existing pathways
First local governments may contribute funds
to their rule 28 projects.
28 projects.
Second electric utilities can continue to reallocate unused
work credits to active rule 28 projects in accordance with
In summary,
this proposed decision makes important for steps to fix the
rule 28 sub program.
In phase two, we will address the rule 28 projects,
eligibility criteria more broadly,
and examine how we can modify rule 28 to support projects
located in underserved communities.
To complete phase two,
this decision extends a statutory deadline for this
proceeding by 12 months from today, with that,
I would like to thank administrative law,
judge Stephanie Wang and the energy division staff,
Molly circle, putz Petland, and former ed err,
and Tim for their hard work on this complex proceeding.
I would also like to thank my adviser, Nora Hopkins,
and my former advisor, Dave Beck.
I asked myself Commissioners for your support on item 24,
Is there any comments or questions?
Okay.
Oh yes. There is a Commissioner Houck briefly.
Thank you for your leadership on this President Batjer
and for judge Wong for all of her work and energy division.
I appreciate the revisions that were made in the decision
that clarify that there will still be a funding pathway
for existing projects.
And I look forward to following phase two's consideration
of the alternative funding mechanisms
to the current work process
and expanding the underground program criteria
to possibly include wildfire safety.
So thank you for your work and I will be supporting this.
Thank you very much Commissioner.
Did you have your hand up Martha?
No, but I, I would just echo that.
I'm more excited about the next phase here,
and I know we did have at least one public comments
or reference San Diego gas and electric rule 20 D
and particularly as Commissioner health said in
relation to these high hazard areas.
So I think it's really exciting to finally get
to focus on that issue.
Yeah. Yep, absolutely.
I agree.
This was in great need of reform, so okay.
With that say no more questions.
We'll the agenda court, please call the roll for item 24.
Commissioner Houck. Yes.
Commissioner Shiroma Aye
Commissioner Rechtschaffen Yes.
Commissioner Guzman Aceves.
Aye.
President Batjer. Yes.
Item 24 passes unanimously.
Moving on now to item 25,
I will also be introducing this item.
This proposed and decision finds that PG& E and
SCE and SDGNA failed to comply
with numerous Commission guidelines
and rules in their execution of the 2019
public safety power shutoff PSP.
Yes events.
We initiated this investigation in November of 2019
to examine the utility's poor execution PSPS events
of that fall.
As part of the investigation,
we directed the CQC safety and enforcement division
to evaluate utilities actions prior to, during
and after the 2019 PSPS events.
Today's proposed decision is built upon the findings from
and parties comments on that evaluation.
I want to emphasize that this proceeding and the proposed
decision is only focused on utilities 2019 PSDS.
It does not cover any of the 2020 PSPS events.
In terms of outcomes,
this proposed decision adopts a number of important
corrective actions that will compel the utilities to improve
their implementation of PSPS events
and increase our transparency
and do utility PSPS performance.
This includes requiring the utilities
to file annual PSPS reports,
share PSPS best practices and support
our safety and enforcement division
in developing a standardized template.
The utilities 10 days post event PSPS reports.
In addition to these important corrective actions,
if PD adopt a rate making remedy to create ongoing
incentives for utilities to improve their conduct
leading up to initiating future PSPS events.
Under this new rate,
making remedy do utilities will be barred from recovering
from customers,
any money for electricity that the utility doesn't provide
when they shut off their customers power.
Since the 2019 PSPS events,
we have taken numerous actions on a number of fronts
to drive the utilities,
to continue to reduce the scope and the duration of PSPS
events and prioritize customer safety
directly coming out of the 2019 events
where he required PG&E to implement a series of,
to press efficiencies in it's 2019 PSPS events
and mate with our leadership weekly throughout 2020
to report on their progress.
In May, 2020,
we adopted the phase two PSPS guidelines that refined
and improve the existing PSPS guidelines
in advance of the 2020 wildfire season.
And also in the PSPS events of fall 2020.
We held public meetings for the utilities to report on
lessons learned and to hear from the impacted communities
and access and functional needs communities.
We also specifically required FCE Edison to implement
a series of actions to correct deficiency in its PSPS
execution of that year 2020.
I also want to highlight ongoing actions
we are taking to continue to improve PSPS performance
and hold utilities accountable for poor performance.
First, less than two weeks ago,
I issued a proposed decision with additional improvements
to PSPS guidelines based on lessons learned
from the last wildfire season to be placed, to excuse me,
to be in place prior to the 2021 wildfire season.
Second, a presiding officer's decision just issued
in the order to show cause on the PG&E October,
November, 2019 PSPS events.
The presiding officer's decision would impose penalties
on the PG on PGD for its flawed and implementation
of its 2019 PSPS events.
With that,
I would like to thank the wonderful Administrative Law Judge
who works so diligently on these proceedings,
Regina DeAngelis.
These were extensive and long proceedings.
I also want to thank Shelby chased to Nishan and Tony Knoll
in the safety and enforcement division.
Julia Endy, David says more and Franz Shin
in the energy division,
Matt Vitch in legal and Marianne Davina,
Becky Fon, Julie Lang Gabby Rez in our ALJ unit
for their support as well.
I want to also thank my Begley teen partner on this
proceeding and his steadfast help always to me,
Commissioner Rechtschaffen and his wonderful chief of staff,
John Simon for their collaboration and great insights.
And finally, I would like to thank my advisor,
Nora Hopkins for all of her,
very hard work on this proceeding and my former advisor,
Dave Peck.
And of course the magnificent chief of staff that I have
Shannon Erog for her incredible and incomparable work.
I asked my fellow Commissioners to support item 25.
Are there any questions or thoughts
Commissioner Rechtschaffen
I don't know what the better
you have a magnificent chief of staff
and I have a wonderful chief of staff,
and I agree with you a hundred percent on both of them.
And I do think those compliments are earned and they worked
very hard on this decision as well as so many others.
So I endorse everything you just said about
President Batjer.
I want to just comment very briefly.
This obviously remains an extremely challenging pressing
issue for us as we enter another tough season of
wildfire possibilities made worse by the drought.
The risk of PSPS adds to the overall risk from wildfire
outages and the hardship that so many residents face.
As President Batjer outlined this decision
and the review is part of one part of many, many efforts,
extensive iterative efforts that we've been pursuing to
develop the best possible guidelines for safely executing
PSPS events for holding the utilities accountable for
meeting those guidelines for meeting with the public and
otherwise minimizing the use of PSPS is the decision from
the PSPS is,
are available to the IOUs as a last resort needed to avoid
catastrophic wildfires, but it is part of the over the very,
very important oversight that
we're exercising over how utilities carry out these events.
I want to particularly acknowledge the strong collaboration
with our sister agencies, Cal fire and Calloway.
Yes, that's been orchestrated by President Batjer.
We also relied on an extensive public process
to bring more transparency and accountability to this issue.
As President Batjer mentioned,
the decision makes important improvements
to reporting requirements.
We want to make sure the information is more accessible
and useful for stakeholders, policymakers
and utilities is also create a very important
financial disincentive for calling PSPS is so that utilities
minimize the scope and duration of these events.
This rate making treatment is quite appropriate.
It's critical that the utilities never lose sight of the
impacts of these events on customers and communities.
I want to echo President Batjer's thanks to everyone who
worked on this, particularly judge the Angeles in the very,
very dedicated multi-disciplinary staff team,
a special appreciation to the STD staff that prepared the
report that informed this decision and to President Batjer
and all our advisors or chief of staff, Shannon,
a rock Rourke Nor Houckins saints tech.
They really have a very, very deep commitment
to this issue that shows with this
and many, many other decisions that grapple
with an extremely difficult set of issues.
And also my wonderful chief of staff, Shawn Simon,
who helped me a great deaL
and everyone on this decision.
With that, I'll be supporting the decision.
Thank you so much for those comments.
And thank you for also recognizing with enthusiasm,
the SCV staff.
So any other questions or thoughts or comments on items 25?
Okay. Seeing none then we'll the agenda clerk.
Please call the roll.
Well, it looks like Commissioner Shiroma
Oh, I'm sorry.
I'm supporting this, so it's okay.
Let's go for the next.
Okay. Thank you.
The agenda clerk, please call the roll on item 25.
Commissioner Houck. Yes
Commissioner Shiroma Aye.
Commissioner Rechtschaffen Yes.
Commissioner Guzman Aceves.
President Batjer Yes.
Item 25 passes unanimously. Thank you all.
Now, moving on to item 26, which is assigned to it,
Commissioner Shiroma.
Yes. Thank you. President Batjer.
26 is a proposed decision that
transformed three main California, low income programs.
This is the hardship of income qualified Californias and the
communities with the greatest need to lower their energy
bills come back climate change and to have health,
comfort and safety.
What I understand the first time in history that,
this proceeding and this PD examines all aspects of
administrating the three Mulligan programs across all four
investor owned utilities to address equity issues,
to reduce barriers to participation
and deliver deeper energy savings,
especially equity issues is key.
So the PD is over 500 pages pages.
It authorizes the large investor on utility,
a total of $11 billion through 2020 fifth to administer
a California alternate rates for energy share the family
electric rate assistance for shell and the energy savings
assistance program ISA.
This TV also introduces program design changes to
alleviate administrative burden with program enrollments
and advances the objectives
from the California public utility Commission, environmental
and social justice action plan.
Starting with care,
the state senior assistance program I'll briefly highlight
the modifications and trends adopted the post-production to
this proposed decision.
So established in 1989 here in a low-income as a rate
assistance program that my income qualified customers
with a 20% discount on their gas bills,
30% discount on their electric bills from the large investor
on the PD authorizes a total 8.5 billion three I'll
use and maintain care annual goal of at least 90% of all
eligible customers for the 2021 to 2025 cycles.
The total eligible care population in California is
calculated in annually on independent economic assaulted
IOU forecast more than 4.5 million income qualify
customers enrolled in care annually from 2021 to 2026.
To decrease various participation,
the PD for the direct CIU simplify.
Did you have occasion of verification rules for income
qualified customers who have payer energy burdens
and economic hardships
and are likely to have frequent changes in income
To reach program enrollment goals,
the PD directs the IOUs to implement cheered marketing
outreach strategies, targeting disadvantaged communities,
rural community and tribal community,
and spend partnerships with the community
and faith based organizations.
The PDA increasing demand first met rate paid to community
organizations and care partners assisting within moments for
them that form of $20 use for the past five years to up to
$30 per enrollment now to Sarah, Sarah and her family,
and like a great assistance.
Vera was established in 2004, some of the care,
and that is a Louis Angie, right?
This is for them,
but here I provide up to 18% discount for electric bills for
low income households that don't qualify for care.
This is a program offered by the electricity providers
During the pandemic
the enrollment averages has the average about 27% up to the
pre pandemic levels ranging from 10 to 20% enrollment.
The PD authorizes 394 million.
It's only two I'll use 2021,
2026 cycles establishes is 50% and won't go 23.
And it's 70% goal by 2026 for the IOUs.
By 2023, we are happy.
I doubled their Britain moments doubled again,
a pandemic we saw about 27% enrollment of those qualified
overall there as an estimate of 300 topics customers
Statewide qualified to set up a fair program,
also quizzed the killers, marketing and outreach programs,
respect and goals, as for marking pilots,
understand barriers to participation.
We also aligned changes to enrollment,
eligibility and verification rules with what would you mean
for care
and added a similar program to reimburse community based
organizations,
assistant muster enrollment for up to $3 per enrollment.
Now on the ether and it just savings assistance at no cost
to customers who received Easter treatments,
either provides weatherization services,
energy efficiency measures, and energy education to income,
qualified households, those decisions, a lot of rise,
2.2 billion in funding,
new measures and new annual home treatment set of goals.
I don't lose the poetry over 1 million homes by the end of
2026 to achieve deeper savings,
the tedious task over the requires issue to be coordinated
across multiple things.
As you progress and shift the focus at ISA towards a
customer centered prioritization model,
treat households based on need and customer profile,
introduce us to
her savings and treating homes located in wildfire.
So for California's ambitious,
greenhouse gas should actually provide measurable benefits
to the customers that PD provides or proposes choose new
building onto vacation pilots and new multifamily,
whole building programs delivered,
and also really committed as location PD extends M C E
multifamily buildings pilot until is rolled out
anticipated in 2024.
The PT approved the ILU supposedly provide workforce
education and training opportunities and just hire people
living in disadvantaged communities.
The PDs further direct the IMU to coordinate with other job
training programs and community colleges to implement new
reporting metrics, to track performance areas.
It also requires the IMU sure,
additional workforce development opportunities hiring within
local communities. Again,
the disadvantage to me via the partnership with the
California workforce development for energy and climate
change, chronic jobs initiative,
and also the community colleges.
Similar to care and Vera,
he also directs the material marketing and outreach efforts,
retreat research targets, disadvantaged communities,
tribal communities, and cooperate with local state,
federal agencies,
water and communications agencies and other programs.
Overall, these programs will continue to direct benefits.
Did you directly benefit into by customers by reducing their
energy bills and increasing the comfort and safety of home,
and also in that fashion contribute to research advocacy and
a lower carbon footprint.
So in closing, I want to thank the Lord,
my oversight board for keen participation and
recommendations to improve the program.
We heard some chair this morning in public comment session.
he mentioned two things.
First of all,
let me just say that the Lowe's oversight board a big thanks
because they did a panel on tribal consultation.
And I think that really helped inform the revisions that we
made to our tribal land traffic, healthy,
the consultation requirements,
and that that was very important.
Also they follow on with a letter that
referred to, and for the first time,
our issue that letter as a ruling,
going to comment from parties,
I to have the investor on utilities,
advocates to that letter and out of that,
but he did talk about how the ISA working groups should
include the low income oversight boards. In fact,
in his decision wheeling,
we've added 70 to 70 nations representatives from
contractors, CDOs, hella advocates and consumer protection.
And we have LA members who are qualified for those.
But beyond that, we actually also say,
and are number 48 divisions of wall that utilities should
form working members continue to coordinate with the LLP
facilitate feedback and monitor program.
I think that provides a good frame assuring that we do have
LIOB versus patients on the ISA working group.
And then on the topic of the tribal outreach,
there's reference to a mate in the program
and you talked about meeting their benchmarks
and the advocates commentary on this and all,
all and very important. And so again,
I think we have a good framework for that because we do say
on page 456 of the PD, that
the IOUs are to determined a specific outreach,
including the benchmark, the squad
that's all outlined in the PDs and that the appropriate
funding levels can be provided to align with those already
proposed in the educational asparagus and the fashion.
And so, you know, anticipate that to that effort,
the dialogue too,
wasn't what's the criteria are sensitize world clear have to
find for these grants and qualifying for these rent.
That's why we didn't want to say, well,
you spend at the rock and said, long walk when it sure.
Folks know what the path is for that.
So I guess there's just the ILD and I hope this becomes the
norm in terms of the way that we work with them.
It's common early.
We had to vet them and he just told us into a PD.
Now I want to recognize the leadership of administrative law
judge in the trends and the edge of division team compliance
appeal Kokanee, Jason Simmons, Jillian lever, harsh
Allison Labonte then tells us and middle divisions,
Christopher child.
Also, my dad became partner Commissioner.
What shopping in your wonderful chief and staff,
Tom Flaman's your,
I was getting advisor Sandy Goldberg for your contribution
Commissioner Rechtschaffen
with the pivotal time Commissioner for this program
and the short shopping you laid the groundwork for
us to get to this point.
I don't want to say my former advisor had brown who worked
on these proceedings before transferring to Commissioner,
Jackie hatboxes lashes out on that,
unless you want to thank my team, my office,
my energy advisors Shaw Ween chief of staff legal advisor,
mom, that I respectfully ask you for your ayes.
Thank you.
Okay. Thank you.
Any questions? Yes.
Commissioner Rechtschaffen
Thank you very much.
Thank you, Commissioners Shiroma.
I'm very pleased to support this decision.
I'm very, very happy that it ended up
in such capable hands.
When you took over the decision and membership on the LR,
LIOB this decision as Commissioner Shiroma articulate has
several important new programs and approaches,
very supportive of the efforts to enhance and simplify care
enrollment,
promote Farrah enrollment at a much higher level.
It's exciting to see the building deep,
the building electrification pilots.
I'm also pleased to see the whole building program that you
mentioned.
That was something that I had hoped to see
in this next decision.
It's also very gratifying to hear the lab contribution
and I fully support their inclusion going forward
on east of working groups.
And otherwise I thought that their insights were very,
very helpful in informing my thinking about this program.
And I want to echo your thanks, enthusiastic,
thanks to judge Tran,
the energy division team and your advisors, Cheryl Ween
and while I'm testified.
As Commissioner Shiroma noted that the
decision directs the utilities to develop plans that
encourage hiring employees from disadvantaged communities.
And as she also noted,
it requires the utilities to report various metrics
regarding the workforce in the ISA program
over the next few years.
This decision does not adopt a living wage
for workers as some parties had proposed.
And as we've done in at least one or their program
here at the PUC,
and it does not order wage reporting by contractors
and reporting of wages or contractors pay
the decision does know however that
the energy division can collect data about the
wages provided by energy contractors through data requests.
So in my view, all these are good steps going forward.
I'd like to see the PUC do more to ensure that rate payer
funds in the ISA program go to create high road jobs that
pay a living wage and offer career advancement
opportunities.
Governor Newsome has made a cornerstone of the state's
economic recovery,
the advancement of these high road job policies.
And these are policies and programs that promote high-wage
good quality jobs with opportunities for career advancement.
EAs outlined this in executive order and 79 20 last year.
And there was a lot of discussion of this in his current
budget, including the may revise.
Commissioner Shiroma noted the requirement
in the PD for consultation with the California workforce
development board.
We have MOU with the board to incorporate hydro job creation
into our programs.
We also have a goal in our environmental and social justice
action plan to promote economic and workforce development
opportunities in environmental justice communities.
I think a first step that we can take is gathering
information about what the wages are that are currently
provided by ISA contracts towards noting that we
Commissioned studies last decade,
that found evidence of low wages paid by some contractors
in the energy efficiency field.
And beyond that beyond the gathering of information,
when we consider how and whether and what,
in terms of adopting wage for these programs,
we can work with the workforce board.
It has great expertise in this area.
It can supplement a record.
It can help us work through challenging issues such as
how to address geographic wage differences and so forth.
So at bottom we're directing the investment of
hundreds of millions of dollars,
billions of dollars as Commissioner Shiroma explained
into the state's economy each year through the ISA program,
through our other clean energy programs.
Since we're doing that,
I think we should take steps to make sure that our programs
are providing workers with high quality high wage jobs
so that they can fully share the state's economic growth
and prosperity.
With that,
I'll be enthusiastically supporting this decision.
Thank you. Any other comments?
You guys are killing me today?
Okay, Martha Gozmann Zedek.
Well thank you very much. And I,
I realized that last out our last voting meeting,
I was speaking to this decision around, obviously.
So I won't repeat myself about how excited I am about this
kind of transition and really customer focus that the
program is taking now and even greater focus.
I did want to highlight just one dynamic that we're
continuing to work with this excellent energy division team
on, and it relates to some of the collaborations
and partnerships this utilities have
with some of the community-based organizations,
some of which do receive a cafe, the cafeteria.
I always forget the word there,
but the funding for kind of the peace rate for signing
people up for care and Farrah.
And that is an important piece of work.
However, as we learned with the disconnections proceeding,
and certainly as we prepare for June 15th and later on the
lifting of the moratorium and the transition back,
or many of our customers is the importance of knowing about
all programs available to them,
including urge management plans, et cetera.
And so there is a real need to have a more robust
relationship with these community-based organizations.
It's a question we had in their COVID transition plans that
is not fully answered. And so we're going to,
we are continuing to ask that question,
as you may have seen already in the PD that is out in the
disconnections proceeding that overlaps greatly with this
ISA care proceeding,
because it is the same potential organizations that are
looking on a capitation.
There you go, that word,
and already in touch with these customers.
I think the changes model that is also incorporated here in
this PD is a great model that potentially could serve as a
model that we need to expand or replicate.
Because of course, the focus on limited English,
the population that changes has the team changes is really
a great focus,
but we know who the disconnections work that
we've been doing.
And certainly with COVID that the need will be greater
and it is greater.
So I look forward to working with the team on that
and again, the leadership of the LIOB,
they did send us a letter with the COVID transition plans,
really highlighting this need for on the ground capacity
to help customers.
So thank you very much.
And I look forward to that next little bit of work
that we'll be working on together.
Looks like you're muted President Batjer
Well, I keep hitting it, but it wasn't unmuting.
I think Commissioner Houck you wanted to make
some comments as well.
Yes, just briefly.
I wanted to thank Commissioner Shiroma and her office
for their leadership on this matter,
judge Tran, Alison Labonte, and her team
for the thoughtful work to strategically design
the next six years for the care ISA thera programs,
the decision adopts a large number of improvements to the
program. I'm not going to go into detail.
I think Commissioner Shiroma,
Commissioner Rechtschaffen provided the details for the
program. And so I just wanted to say that
I support this decision and also want to thank my advisor,
Mary, Claire brown,
for helping to bring me up to speed on all of the details
and this important decision. Okay.
Thank you.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank all of you.
Any other comments or thoughts?
Okay. Seeing non will the,
will the clerk please call the roll
Commissioner Houck Yes.
Commissioner Shiroma. Aye.
Commissioner Rechtschaffen Yes.
Commissioner Guzman Aceves.
President Batjer Yes.
Item number 26 passes unanimously.
Moving on now to item 27
And that is Commissioner Houck.
Thank you.
I will, Let me just make sure I've got the right one.
I think I've got another extension on, so thank you,
President Batjer.
I'm asking for your support Commissioners for this order.
Extending the statutory deadline for application 1806008
The Metro gold line Foothill extension construction
authority is application to construct two light rail tracks
and to alter to commuter in the city of Claremont Los
Angeles.
This proceeding became delayed after the applicant asked the
Commission to process its higher priority applications
outside the order in which all the applications were filed,
this application was deemed a lower priority for the
applicant.
Therefore, I'm asking for your support
to extend this proceeding to December 31st, 2021.
However, because the assigned administrative law
judge is working on the proposed decision.
Now we anticipate that it will be ready for your
consideration before that time. And with that,
I request you support this extension. Thank you.
Thank you.
Are there any questions of Commissioner Houck or comments?
Okay. Seeing none.
We'll the agenda court, please call the roll.
Commissioner Houck Yes.
Commissioner Shiroma. Aye
Commissioner Houck. Yes.
Commissioner Guzman Aceves Aye
President Batjer Yes.
Thank you all
Item number 27 passes unanimously.
We are not going to take up item 28 cause it is related to
an item number 15, that was on our consent calendar.
So we'll move on to item 29,
which is also a Commissioner Houck.
Thank you, President Batjer.
So I am asking for support today for this order,
which extends the statutory deadline for nine,
1202 San Jose and water company's application regarding cost
recovery for its advanced metering infrastructure
projects to December six, 2021.
I understand that the parties are currently engaged in
settlement discussions.
Extending this deadline will provide parties,
an opportunity to complete these discussions and still allow
time for the other parties to weigh in on the potential
proposals and hold hearings, if necessary.
So with that,
I'm asking that you support this request for an extension to
December six, 2021.
Sorry we have it's on mute again.
Any questions or comments?
Okay. Seeing none.
Will the agenda clerk please call the roll
Commissioner Houck Yes.
Commissioner Shiroma. Aye.
Commissioner Rechtschaffen Yes.
Commissioner Guzman Aceves
Aye.
President Batjer Yes.
Thank you. Item number 29 passes unanimously.
Moving on now to item number 30.
This is assigned to me.
This order extending deadline is for the 2018 nuclear
deCommissioning cost triennial proceeding for Edison
and SDGE also known as the San Onofre nuclear generating
station or song's proceeding an extension of statutory
deadline from June, 1920 21 to October 20 2021
is necessary in order to allow time for the judge to
issue a proposed decision and to allow the Commission enough
time to deliberate and issue its final decision.
We expect a proposed decision to issue this summer and this
extension will allow time for the decision to be thoroughly
considered. I request your support on items 30,
any questions or thoughts?
Okay. Seeing none.
We'll be agenda clerk. Please call the roll Commissioner.
Commissioner Houck Yes.
Commissioner Shiroma. Aye.
Commissioner Rechtschaffen Yes.
Commissioner Guzman Aceves.
President Batjer Yes.
Thank you.
Item 30 passes unanimously. Now moving on to item 31,
which is Commissioner Houcks to proceed.
This is an extension order for a complaint case
C 1904005 five filed by the developer,
Mr. Fred against San Jose water company regarding
the cost involved in repositioning,
a portion of San Jose water companies,
water main understands hella drive
and the town of Los Gatos.
I was assigned to this proceeding on March 8th, 2021.
And this request for an extension would have the statutory
deadline goes through October 8th, 2021. At this time,
the record has been submitted and the only remaining
procedural steps are to issue a proposed decision for party
comments and a Commission vote.
We anticipate that this will be resolved before the October
eight, 2021 deadline.
And I asked for your support on this item. Okay.
Okay. Any comments or questions?
All right. Thank you.
Will the agenda clerk please call the roll on item 31.
Commissioner Houck Yes.
Commissioner Shiroma. Aye.
Commissioner Rechtschaffen Yes.
Commissioner Guzman Aceves.
President Batjer Yes.
Item 31 passes unanimously.
Thank you. Moving now onto item 34.
And this will be a presented.
I understand by the legal division and I believe Helen is
going to be presenting this item is Helen on
not seeing her here.
Okay. There we go.
Oh, good.
I'm in the dark. And I apologize for that.
It's just the lighting here.
Yeah.
Never in the dark pill.
I never you're too kind.
So I this item was assigned to an attorney who works in
my group, carry a shepherd.
Well, before this item was scheduled to be on this agenda,
she had planned a trip home to take her daughter to visit
her parents for the first time in a very long time.
And so I am filling in for her.
I am not as familiar with this as she is.
And so I have a staff person carceral from CDE who can
answer any substance of questions you might have.
This is a request from the FCC for comments.
The FCC issued a report, an order
and a further notice of proposed rule making in May
and its docket in the matter
of rates for interstate inmate calling services.
And the FCC has unlike us,
they keep belting dockets for years.
And so this doc has been open for awhile and they've sought
comment before.
And we have submitted comments before in this renewed
request for comments or speaking, we,
our staff is proposing to address three particular issues.
One is the FCC is proposing to adopt a permanent cap for
interstate and international inmate calling services.
And we found when we have, we have an open docket here,
as well as I think you all know,
and on the same general subject and in our docket,
we held public participation hearings where we heard from
participants that incarcerated persons rely on
interstate and international communication services
to maintain contact with their families
as well as in the country,
as well as those out of the country.
So this is what we would inform the FCC about that.
We found that this is important in California through this
taking of information. And we would also recommend,
that the Commission should continue ongoing data
collection efforts and adopt a rate cap,
and then annually revive that rate cap based on its ongoing
data collection. That's one issue.
Another one is revising ancillary service, charge rules,
ancillary charges are for services like credit card
transactions or speaking with a live agent.
And the FCC is looking at adopting rules
that would bring those charges
in line with what other folks pay instead of having
extra high charges for incarcerated persons.
The FCC should clarify that the application of these charges
will not allow, sorry, I'm let me back up.
The object here is to ensure that these charges are
appropriately imposed and properly assessed rather than
being all over the map, which is how they are now.
So I apologize for the confusion there.
And then the last item is to ensure that international
calls are allowed.
The only the FCC has authority to regulate international
calling. So we can't get involved in this at all.
It's their job.
And we can inform the FCC about this was the information
again that we collected from our public participation
hearings, where we heard from members of the public,
that some incarcerated individuals are unable to make
international calls from facilities in California.
And we want to support the FCC making that mandatory across
the board. So those are the proposals that staff has made.
And that is what we were asking for you for authority to
make this, make these comments, sorry,
prepare these comments and submit them to the FCC.
Oh, and one other thing,
if the Commission would like to do so you can delegate the
final review of these comments to Commissioner Shioma,
who has a particular interest in this topic, but you know,
that's up to you.
Okay. Thank you, Helen.
Are there any questions or further comments on item 34
Present Batjer. Yes. Mr. Gusman Asavis
Thank you. I thank you, Helen,
for that update and providing more detail on the elements
that we would advocate for under the FCC.
First of all,
want to acknowledge the FCC for their leadership on this,
and actually finally taking this on.
I think it's,
as we've learned very deeply in our public participation
hearings, the real life impact on every aspect,
particularly on the ability for rehabilitation
and connectivity with family.
So I thank the FCC for actually taking the action
and to take action from that week.
I just wanted to make sure we are being the best advocates
for California in California and with family members who are
incarcerated in particular. And so wanted to really urge us.
We have a strong position with CSCC.
I'm very happy to hear that one of the three elements will
be on the international calling, as Helen mentioned,
that was a real barrier or a folk heard some really sad
stories on that.
So I'm hoping that it gets resolved by the FCC and our staff
has done a tremendous amount of research.
I know Carol is on here on the auxiliary charges that are
really atrocious,
probably the most atrocious of all of these Emmanuel's here.
And we've heard many cases of that during our public
participation hearings,
that to folks were charged without even making actual
connections.
So that is a really key element that I hope we can use all
the testimony that we gather to make it as a prohibited
and limited as possible.
And finally, on the rate cap itself,
I'm happy that we'll be proposing kind of an ongoing review.
And mostly because we have seen such a dramatic drop in the
rates here in California, and most notably,
one of the things we learned about was the CDCR contract
that was recently signed last month,
California department of corrections and rehabilitation.
They signed a contract with a 2.50 cent rate,
which is astronomically lower than with what the sec had
considered previously.
So it is a real important that we pushed that here we are
already seeing the market to meet and meet the regulation to
stay adopted in that regard and that we should at minimum be
pushing what is that current trajectory lower?
So of course we did hear many folks from public that each
may be provided, you know,
different people propose different amounts of time,
but could be provided a free weekly call allotment because
even though we, we would reduce the rates,
it's still prohibited for people.
So I don't know if we'll get that far,
but I do certainly hope that at minimum we advocate for the
lowest rate that we know of at this point,
the lowest rate that I am aware of is that CDCR contracts,
which of course is a large part of the prison population
here in California.
So, and I would say
I'm asked a hundred percent supportive of delegating,
a final sign off to Commissioner ShIroma.
Thank you, Commissioner Guzman Aceeves.
I want to ask Ann a question,
do we need to take two votes vote on item 34 and then vote
on delegating the final review to Commissioner
Sherma? Could I be advised on that?
President Batjer,.
If someone makes a motion that has both those elements
you can vote on at once.
Okay. Appreciate that very much.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Are there any other comments to be made on this item?
I've seen none.
I'm up for a motion as was just advised by our
chief ALJ council.
I move to adopt the recommendation of the legal
division has delegated authority for final review of the
comments to Commissioner Shiroma.
And I second that
it's been first and seconded to adopt the
recommendation by legal. And I want to thank again,
Helen from present presenting and also to delegating
to Mr. Shiroma final review of comments.
Will the agenda court please call the roll a number item 34
Commissioner Houck Yes.
Commissioner Shiroma. Aye.
Commissioner Rechtschaffen Yes.
Commissioner Guzman Aceves
Aye.
President Batjer Yes.
Thank you all item 34 is passed unanimously.
So thank you all again.
We will move from the regular agenda to management reports
and there is no report for item 35,
which is the report and discussion on recent consumer
protection and safety activities.
I'm going to ask for a very brief 10 minute break
before we take up items 36, because we, you know,
have a presentation by the safety and enforcement division
oversight of actions resulting from the Pacific gas electric
company,
2020 locate and mark settlement and executive director.
Rachel Peterson will be introducing the presenters,
but if we can just first,
before we do that presentation and I apologize,
I did not ask Rachel if she were okay with this,
but a 10 minute break. It is one 50.
Let's all be back at two. Okay.
Thank you all.
So well, let's get back underway.
I'm ready to go.
Robert and the Operator.
Yes, ma'am.
We're ready to go.
Okay.
Operator there.
Yes. Your line is open.
Okay. Thank you very much.
We're now back in session,
we are in the management report section of our agenda today,
and I need the agenda clerk to please call the roll so we
can establish quorum.
Commissioner Houck Here.
Commissioner Shiroma. Present.
Commissioner Rechtschaffen Here
Commissioner Guzman Aceves
Here
President Batjer Here.
We do have a quorum.
We will now move on to item 36, which is before the break.
I announced it is a presentation by our C oversight
and actions by SED regarding oversight and actions resulting
from the PG&E 2020 locate and mark settlement,
executive director Peterson. Are you on?
I am. Thank you, President Batjer.
Super. Okay.
Take it away.
All right. Good afternoon President Badjer
and Commissioners.
Today, you're going to hear
the second of two presentations
by our safety and enforcement division
about our oversight as safety at Pacific gas and electric.
At the last meeting,
we presented to you an update on our oversight of the
penalties and remedies that this Commission imposed on PG&E
following the tragic Northern California wildfires of 2017
and 2018.
In that case,
our oversight work is focusing on PG&E operation of
its electric infrastructure and reducing the risk of utility
ignited wildfire.
Today, Terrence Ang from the gas,
safety and reliability branch of safety and enforcement
division will brief you on our investigation,
which commenced in 2016 and launched as a formal order
instituting investigation in 2018 of problems
with PG&E capability and honesty in managing
one of its core safety programs
related to underground natural gas facilities.
This Commission you,
the Commissioners imposed a set of remedies and penalties in
your February, 2020 decision.
And Mr. Ann emphasis will be on our oversight
in the last 16 months of PG$E
implementation of the penalties and remedies.
The case revolves around the locate and mark information
management system,
which underlies the safety of anyone excavating
and potentially digging into PG&E underground
natural gas facilities.
It also revolves around an inaccurate ticketing system
and a failure of management to respond to reported issues.
The themes here are accuracy of PG needs databases
and record keeping systems intentional or
unintentional falsification,
and the culture within the utility that at the time of our
investigation did not encourage people at all levels to
speak up about a safety issue and did not hold management
accountable to respond.
The system enhancement initiatives that Terrance will
present about are intended to address those issues.
But as you well know,
these are areas that we continue to focus on with respect to
PG&E. Upon your vote earlier this year,
we've placed PG&E in step one of our enhanced oversight
and enforcement process.
The utility is in step one because we are concerned about
whether another one of their internal safety systems in this
case, a risk model is accurately identifying risk.
And just as important,
whether it's being acted upon at all levels of the company
for enhanced vegetation management,
that will reduce the risks that PG&E equipment will ignite a
wildfire because of vegetation context.
On June 17th,
I'm leading a workshop at which PG&E will present its
corrective action plan on that issue.
And as you heard from Ms,
gently from STD at the last voting meeting,
and we'll hear from Mr. Ang today,
we're actively overseeing PG needs progress on safety issues
across several lines of business.
Thank you for the opportunity to present today.
And now I'll turn it over to Taryn.
Thank you. Executive director Peterson, good afternoon.
President Batjer, Commissioners, fellow Commission staff,
and members of the general public.
As executive director Peterson mentioned
I am Terrance ING.
I am the program manager of the gas safety and reliability
branch of the safety and enforcement division.
Today I'll briefly cover STDs oversight actions resulting
from the 2020 PG&E locate and mark sediments.
Next slide, please.
To give an overview of my presentation today,
I'll answer a few questions.
What is a Locate and Mark program?
What is a late Locate and Mark ticket?
Then I'll be talking about the OII timeline a little bit.
I'll try to speak a little louder to findings of facts,
the OII decision and settlement.
I'll talk about PG&E's implementation of the required system
enhancement initiatives,
which were required as part of the settlement.
And finally,
I'll talk about STDs oversight of PG&Es implementation
of those initiatives.
Next slide.
Okay. What is a Locate and Mark program?
Okay.
And mark program activities are required under the federal
gas safety regulations
as well as California government code,
which is required of all operators
who operate subsurface installations.
So we're thinking gas, electric, water communications,
et cetera.
Some of the objectives of the program include responding to
requests to Locate and Mark's subsurface installation,
educating the public about the existence
of the 811 program.
So that's the program where you call 811 before you dig.
And that notifies the operators to mark their facilities.
The third objective is to protect the public from excavation
related damages.
Next slide.
What is a late Locate and Mark tickets
when an excavator needs facilities marked say, for example,
they're replacing their water line.
They want to know if there are electric facilities or gas
facilities nearby so that when I dig in to install that
water line,
I want to make sure I can locate the other facilities so
that I don't hit them.
But as the water company, I'll call 811
and an operator, they, for example,
gas and electric will have to locate and field mark their
facilities within that delineated area.
Within two working days.
If they can't do that,
they have other options. They can provide information.
The excavator where the active and inactive subsurface
installations are located.
They can also tell the excavator that there are no
subsurface installations within that area.
The operator failed.
Just a question for you. There is that timeline,
ProPublica will just for the 48 hours,
is that applied for residential digs as well.
And is that just for commercial or business?
This applies to every USA ticket. So yes, it would not
discriminate against residential or commercial.
It'll be two working days across the board.
Okay. Well, I'm sorry to say.
I didn't make that mark.
When my called date one month live PG&E, I did have,
I did some work here on my property and water company came
out and marked within that timeframe.
Sewer came out and marked within that timeframe,
but PG&E did come out eventually,
but it took them a little longer.
So I just wondered about that, but sorry, I just,
sorry to cut you off there.
Keep going.
Oh right.
That's interesting to hear.
So if the operator fails to mark within two working days
or mutually agreed upon time later,
that would constitute a late ticket.
Next slide.
I'll be talking about the OII timeline.
In 2016 Faenza,
which is the Federal Pipeline Safety Authority
notified SED that PG&E had possibly falsified
many of its Locate and Mark records.
As a result, SED conducted an investigation,
conducted interviews and data requests
to learn more about this situation.
In 2018, PG&E sent a letter to SED,
attaching an investigation report by a consultant,
and that report included some facts and conclusions about
the extent of inaccuracies in PG&E Located and Mark program.
Based on SEDs investigation,
SED believed that PG&E falsified several of its Locate
and Mark tickets so that they would not appear late.
And finally, the Commission opened an OII
in December of 2018.
Next slide.
Here are some of the OII findings of fact,
the Commission found that PG&E undercounted numerous late
Located and Mark tickets over a period of years,
they reported a number of inaccurate late Locate
and Mark Tickets to the Commission
and PG&E failed to provide adequate
qualified electrical worker support
for some of its Locate and Mark activities.
Next slide.
The OII decision and settlement.
In February of 2020,
the Commission approved the settlement
based on the violations that I just mentioned.
Some of the federal in parties include PG&E,
the Coalition of California Utility Employees and SED.
Next slide.
As part of the settlement, PG&E was required to pay
110 million of which 66 million
would be shareholder funded
and would go towards gas and electric
System Enhancement Initiatives,
which I will talk about later in this presentation.
PG&E was also ordered to pay 44 million
to the General Fund.
The compliance audit period
for some of the required audits that PG&E consultants will
be spearheading will take place over a period of four years.
Next slide, please.
I'll be talking about PG&E implementation of the system
enhancement initiatives.
These are required as part of the settlement.
The first...actually let me back up.
There were nine Locate and Mark focus proposals.
And as of April of this year,
PG&E has implemented five of those nine.
PG&E, I'm sorry.
SED has selected one call concept as a third-party
consultant to spearhead the ticket timeliness audit.
This is to make sure that PG&E is reporting its tickets
accurately and keeping adequate records.
SED also selected another consultant ICQ Professionals
who will lead the Locate and Mark field compliance audits.
That is to make sure that PG&E is conducting
its field activities,
following field procedures and actually marketing
its facilities on time.
PG&E has also increased its staffing or Locate and Mark
staff as required by the settlement.
PG&E has submitted written requests for information
to Dig Alert in USA North as required.
And PG&E has reached out to new vendors,
some of them who are accredited in terms of Locate and Mark.
Next slide, please.
PG&E was also required-- Yes.
Sorry.
What is the augmentation of the look versus at 319?
The alimentation or is that the total?
Let's go back one slide.
I think I know what you're talking about.
So the total required as part of the settlement
was that PG&E increase its staffing to a minimum of 319,
or it's Locate and Mark staff.
And so including...
they've increased their staffing.
So they've gone 293 full-time employees,
plus the 35 contractors,
which will put them over the 319 threshold.
Do you know where they were at and what the actual
augmentation was?
Were they at 250 and they needed to get to 319?
I'm just wondering if the Delta is all the contractors,
if they've actually hired any additional in house.
Oh, I see.
Yes, the...
I don't remember the full time off the top of my head,
but I do remember it was less than 293.
I would, if I were to ballpark, I think it was like 230,
240, but I'd probably have to check up on that.
Okay. Thank you.
Sure.
Okay, next slide.
PG&E was also required to work on five qualified electric
worker focused proposals.
As of April, they completed two of those five.
PG&E updated its training and delivered those materials
to SED to review PG&E developed and deployed additional
training regarding electric locating.
The two of the five have been implemented,
and three of the five are still pending.
Next slide.
PG&E was also required to implement seven
enterprise-wide proposals.
All seven to date have been implemented.
The first was to collect and assess
and review information regarding
its Reach Every Employee program.
This is a program that encourages their employees
to speak up if they see or experience any safety issues,
any cultural issues or a flag any ethics issues.
PG&E also updated its website.
They call it the Speak Up Now website and app.
So they've completed that.
PG&E employees have also participated in numerous surveys
that is to learn about the safety and the cultural issues
that are going on at PG&E.
Sorry, PGME as a compliance and ethics group
and they've been reviewing the code of conduct violations
that have been recorded at PG&E.
And of course holding those in violation accountable.
Next slide.
PG&E is updating its code of conduct training and has also
delivered those materials to SED to review.
PG&E has provided safe raising safety concern training
to its management team.
And it has provided those materials to SED.
SED selected Conger & Elsea to lead the compliance
and ethics audits of PG&E.
And that process has begun.
Next slide.
PG&E was ordered to implement seven transparency
and visibility measures;
two of which have been implemented.
PG&E will cooperate with SEDs requests or any root cause
analysis for any information requests of that nature,
and SED...
I'm sorry, the Commission asked PG&E to provide SED
some training materials,
which PG&E developed and provided those materials to SED.
Next slide, please.
Just a quick timeline of SEDs oversight.
In August of 2020,
SED selected Conger & Elsea as I mentioned,
they will lead the Compliance and Ethics audit of PG&E
that is to learn more about PG&Es Compliance and Ethics
program and offer recommendations.
In October of 2020,
SED selected One Call Concept to lead
the Locate and Marks compliance audits,
that is to make sure that PG&E
is documenting and recording
its Locate and Mark ticket information accurately.
SED also selected ICQ professionals
to locate the field audit.
And that is to make sure PG&E follows their field procedures
and actually marks or facilities accurately
and on time.
In January,
we reviewed the proposed methodologies and we approved them.
In February, PG&E made a request.
One of their consultants wanted to reach out to exponent,
to help with developing some of their sampling
methodologies, SED reviewed it,
and we approved that request.
Next slide, please.
In April of this year, about a month and a half ago,
SED received PG&E first Locate and Mark annual report.
As part of the decision, PG&E is to provide us this
report annually to update us on their progress with
implementing these System Enhancement Initiatives.
So we received their first annual report in April.
We reviewed that report and we crosschecked
PG&E's compliance with all of those ordered initiatives,
which I just mentioned in my previous slides.
Next slide, please.
So we will, in SED, we will continue to review PG&E's
annual report as we receive them,
they will also be submitting us semi-annual reports.
So twice a year on some of those required audits that we're
going to be led by those third party consultants that were
selected by SED to make sure our PG&E is doing exactly what
they're supposed to do, which is following the required
Locate and Mark procedures,
and recording their Locate and Mark
ticket documentation accurately.
So with that, I'll open it up for any questions.
Yes, Commissioner Houck.
I just wanted to thank you very much for the presentation.
It was very informative.
I have to leave at 2:30,
so I just wanted the record to note that,
but also to thank you for the presentation
before I leave the meeting.
Okay, great.
Thank you, Commissioner.
Yeah.
(crosstalk)
John, I have a question for you that may bear on the seven
enterprise wide initiatives that you talked about.
This may have been incorporated in what you said,
although I couldn't really tell what are the problems that
the Locate and Mark investigation uncovered
was that there was
a lot of pressure on PG&E staff to inaccurately close
requests or falsify data because there was pressure from
upper management to not report late tickets.
So as a result,
employees did inappropriate and illegal things in order to
ensure that they didn't report any late tickets.
What among these measures is getting at that this behavior?
Thank you, Commissioner.
That's a great question.
I think one of the measures to combat that is to increase
staffing, that way you have the required amount of staff
that can actually handle the workload instead of people just
rushing and falsifying records.
Another thing is the third-party consultants who will look
into PG&E Compliance and Ethics program to see how PG&E
encourages people to speak up
when they see somebody doing something non ethical,
such as falsifying records or marking things as complete
when they're really not complete.
So those are two of the things that the Commission
has required PG&E to work on.
And one of the consultants is also working on an audit
to ensure that PG&E is not falsifying those records.
So they will be reviewing a large sample of those records
from cradle to grave to see
that they're not being falsified.
Thank you.
I have a question, (indistinct).
And not sure whether you're able to sort of answer
this right now, but are you...
Are we getting periodic reports from some of the folks that
are auditing?
Is there any updates that we get on a regular basis that
shows us that they are making improvements?
Or we won't know that until the audits are complete.
Is there any kind of periodic update that we get?
Yes.
So the consultants and PG&E are required to give us
semi-annual updates.
So these are twice a year updates for the three different
audits, they will be providing those twice a year.
So once we get those,
we will review them and make sure that PG&E is on track with
meeting its initiatives.
Okay, nothing except for those, of course,
those will be our check-ins with how things are going.
You don't have to wait on the end.
Okay.
That's correct.
Okay, thank you.
And thanks for your what to do.
(crosstalk)
I just wanted to thank Karen.
Thank you, Jess for the overview,
the excellent PowerPoint is five and it shows the overall
effort, very little plus biggest effort,
including the art sets in the back,
just spoke up and your August 24, 2020s
unless it's late February efforts to really make sure that
there are some third party efforts to
help keep track.
PG&E keep truck of its truck.
And it's so important because of course the consequences of
not marking properly are horrendous.
Okay. Thank you very much for all the answers.
Thank you, Commissioner Shiroma.
Thanks.
Do you have have a sensor or any of these items.
Maybe not these guys, are there any efforts to look
at the proportionality,
particularly like on the workforce issue that PG&E has
in relation to SoCalGas and their timeliness
and accountability on Locate and Mark.
Have you looked at them kind of how they relate
to each other to see if there is really fast discrepancies
or?
Thanks, Commissioner.
That's a great question.
I don't believe we conducted an analysis like that.
The OHI,
the focus of this OII was PG&E and their short staff
and their shortcomings,
but that is definitely a great question and something that
we should definitely look into.
Okay. Yeah.
It's helpful.
Even just for the perspective, you know,
we had a totally separate gas issue actually with the gas
companies, SoCalGas and they were taking,
I don't know if you guys remember for a really long time
to reconnect folks who live in disconnected,
even after they paid,
they were taking like two weeks and it was really helpful
to look at PG&Es practice in that regard
'cause PG&E was like reconnecting people
in like 24 hours.
And so it got, you know, and interestingly enough,
when we looked at the proportional labor,
it didn't seem to be that much of a difference.
So sometimes else was a little low on it, but,
it wasn't necessarily the driver, it was more of the,
you know, little prioritization, but anyhow,
I just have mean be,
get to just have that relativity to know how we're doing
Statewide anyway.
Anyway, thank you for the option.
Yeah, it's very good to see some progress here.
And of course,
as everyone has mentioned already the need for continuing
monitoring and my little anecdote concern that (laughs)
fortunately I wasn't in any sort of urgency, but it was,
I did call them and they will responsive after that,
about a week and a half or something,
but that's just one anecdote.
So I think the audit will be more important than for sure.
Thanks, Commissioner.
Okay.
If you have any other questions in the future,
feel free to shoot me an email.
Yes?
I just wanted to say thank you again for your presentation
and all your hard work.
That's really appreciate it was my pleasure.
Thank you for having me.
Thank you.
Okay. And thank you also, Rachel, if you're still online.
I'm still here, thanks for the chance to present today.
Okay, great.
Thank you so much.
So moving on back into our agenda,
there is no report for item 37,
which is a management report on administrative activities.
So we will now move to the Commissioner's report.
And as I always do, who would like to go first?
Any hands up?
Yes, Commissioner Guzman (indistinct)
Thank you, President Batjer.
I just have two small things.
One is to share that as you may recall,
from last August when Governor Newsome issued his executive
order on broadband, we were directed to do a few things.
And one of those items was to optimize
the electric utility infrastructure.
We're really getting, you know,
those middle and last mile service to Californians that are
still lacking them.
And we will be having a workshop that utilities will be
hosting a workshop June 30th.
So I do invite you all to participate in that where they
have been ordered to present proposals for this,
for meeting this executive mandate.
And secondly, in that same proceeding,
one of the other elements that we charged to look at was
really everything we could do to get
all Californians served.
I did just issue a ruling last Friday,
publishing and requesting comments on a series of studies
from USC, Communication Workers, Red Lining, excuse me,
Greenlining on the issue of red lining and what has resulted
unfortunately, in areas of disinvestment
across the state and the demographics are very unfortunate.
So, that is also also comment.
And of course the question is what can we do about it?
And then, finally I wanted to share that and think my intern
that I had this spring semester from the Goldman school of
public policy, it's a master's programs here in Berkeley.
Her name is Anna Nicona.
Anna has been a huge help in our office.
I think got involved in anything COVID related that had
anticipated in terms of helping folks with the broadband
needs, helping troubleshoot many new suits.
And how I hope to actually meet her physically in person
for the first time next week.
So I'm very excited about that.
She completed her project analysis was on closing
the digital divide to equity and inclusion,
achieving broad down for all California.
I will be posting that on my Commissioner website for you.
It's a great read.
And she incorporated many of the case studies that she got
to work on.
As you all know,
we all get calls on these cases and what she did so
eloquently with tying it to the policy solution.
And so invite you all to read that and everyone to read it.
She was anyhow, she's a tremendous asset.
I wish we could hire her here and hope that she considered
working at the PEC.
And she's a native from Arizona.
And if not here, maybe over in Arizona,
but thank you so much Anna for your service.
And I wish you the best of luck.
Thank you.
And who would like to speak next,
if there are any other reports?
Okay.
I do not have a report today either.
So I think we are finished with the management reports,
excuse me, the Commissioners reports.
So with no further reports,
this public meeting is now adjourned.