Sarah — Referenced as having previously mentioned that decisions are currently handled on a case-by-case basis.
Cottie Petrie-Norris — Cottie Petrie-Norris opened member questions by framing what is at stake in the hearing, emphasizing the value of the federal tax credits in question and noting that delays in getting projects built do not just affect developers but are ultimately passed through to California ratepayers. She stressed that time is money, that these costs are real and tied to affordability, and then began transitioning into follow-up questions about self-build and the transparency/clarity issues raised by the witnesses.
Cottie Petrie-Norris — The chair is addressed as the meeting transitions to the next panel, which will focus on an implementation update from California energy entities.
Cottie Petrie-Norris — Chair Cottie Petrie-Norris was repeatedly referenced and praised throughout this segment. Speakers cited her earlier remarks about responsibility, oversight, and incentives that could lower project costs, addressed her directly, and thanked her for her leadership on permitting and species-related issues.
Ms. Yang — Asked to confirm the estimated tax-credit value; responded that she wanted to check the numbers before committing.
Ms. McMahon — Ms. McMahon is referenced in a broader discussion about utility cost impacts and self-build issues. One mention notes her explanation that penalties are ultimately passed through to California ratepayers, and the next ties her to related concerns about self-build transparency and clarity, continuing the same policy discussion.
Ms. McMahon — Cited as having acknowledged the value of the working group and collaboration.
Ms. Fitzsimon — Referenced as having raised self-build transparency and clarity concerns.
Ms. Fitzsimon — Cited as having acknowledged the value of the working group and collaboration.
Phillip Chen — The chair repeatedly invites Mr. Chen to respond to questions about self-build requests and the witnesses’ comments. Mr. Chen agrees that business as usual is not acceptable, says utilities should be willing to listen and move faster, notes that systems differ across utilities, and emphasizes that the utility does not benefit from slowing things down. He suggests self-build approaches can be considered if they can be done safely and within standards.
Mizzying — The speaker addresses Mizzying and asks for their assessment of the queue reforms.
Molly Sterkel — Molly Sterkel introduces herself as an Energy Division Director at the California Public Utilities Commission, overseeing the Office of Electricity Planning, Cost, and Rates, and begins her presentation.
SB350 — Identified as the statutory basis for the Integrated Resource Planning proceeding.
SB1174 — Introduced as the second transparency-related transmission data effort.
Rahima Mali — Introduced herself as being with the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development and said she would discuss Go-Biz and TED.
SB846 — Referenced as the quarterly report framework used to summarize information from stakeholder engagement and project updates.
Molly — Referenced as someone developers frequently call about keeping projects moving forward.
Molly — Asked about the number of projects being tracked; response says more than 200 are eligible.
Mr. Circle — The speaker thanked Mr. Circle for reminding the committee of the tremendous progress that has been made.
Ms. Sturkel — Addressed as the person being asked a follow-up question about interconnection letters.
Ms. Molly — Addressed with a final question about moving from problem statement to solutions.
Alex Jackson — Alex Jackson of the American Clean Power Association gave public comment, introducing himself and then testifying that California’s progress in clean power is impressive but that significant deployment barriers remain.
Will Abrams — Testified on behalf of the Utility Wildfire Fire Survivor Coalition about responsibility and oversight for high-risk infrastructure.
Melissa Cortez — Testified on behalf of the California Wind Energy Association about wind's reduction in the PUC draft resource plan.
Mike Monaghan — Thanked the committee and expressed support for capturing renewable projects and tax credits for California.
Keith Dunn — Keith Dunn introduced himself after Mike Monaghan and began testifying on behalf of the District Council of Ironworkers, expressing support for renewables and broader energy needs.
John Kendrick — Testified on behalf of the California Chamber of Commerce about financing and construction timelines for clean energy projects.
Meredith Alexander — Spoke on behalf of the Coalition of Large Energy Users and highlighted ratepayer impacts from lost tax credits and new procurement needs.
Laurie Davies — Likely the member referred to as 'Burr' in the transcript; asked a question about ratepayer impacts.
Lillian Mervis — Lillian Mervis, speaking for the Large-Scale Solar Association, testified about barriers to clean energy development, including how environmental permitting can delay ITC-qualified projects and create deadline challenges.
Vivian Yang — Vivian Yang is introduced as a member of the second panel from the Union of Concerned Scientists, and she then identifies herself as an energy analyst at the organization as she begins her testimony.
Gary Chen — Introduced as a panelist from Southern California Edison.
Gary Chen — Gary Chen, Director of Interconnection and Business Operations at Southern California Edison, testified about SCE’s efforts to speed up interconnection while maintaining reliability and affordability. He said SCE has interconnected roughly 2,000 to 3,000 megawatts annually over the past six years and emphasized that close coordination with project developers is essential to meeting future interconnection needs. He then addressed self-build issues, explaining that approval rules vary by utility and may depend on case-by-case assessments or existing material agreements. He noted that there is a lack of consistent policy and limited clarity around how utility specifications, material contracts, and upgrade requirements affect self-build approvals, suggesting policymakers could help address these gaps and improve coordination.
Rachel McMahon — Introduced as a panelist from EDF Power Solutions.
Rachel McMahon — Rachel McMahon, Director of Regulatory and Legislative Affairs for EDF Power Solutions, described the company’s California renewable energy portfolio and then explained the main barriers to timely project development and interconnection. She said power purchase agreement timelines overlap with permitting, interconnection, and utility network-upgrade work, creating milestone and schedule risk with financial penalties if deadlines are missed. She noted that most project changes are minor, but capacity changes can trigger material modification processes. Her main concerns were permitting delays caused by waiting on utility engineering designs and scopes of work, which can stall CEQA and force project changes; extended network-upgrade timelines driven by supply-chain delays, especially for breakers; and the resulting need to suspend spending, request later in-service dates, and absorb liquidated damages that are ultimately passed through to ratepayers. She added that developers can help reduce delays by assisting utilities with equipment procurement or, where possible, constructing interconnection facilities and network upgrades, though legacy policy and practice limit that role. Finally, she raised the affected-system issue, explaining that new interconnections can require input from non-CAISO, non-CPUC entities such as Metropolitan Water District and LADWP, often without clear timelines, and concluded that energy project and transmission development is highly complex and would benefit from common standards and collaboration.
Sarah — Referenced as having previously mentioned the possibility of developers constructing facilities and upgrades.
Sarah Fitzsimmons — Sarah Fitzsimmons is introduced as the first panelist and policy director with the Independent Energy Producers Association, and then she introduces herself and confirms her role at the association.
Gregg Hart — President Reynolds was referenced as having sent a letter about interconnection delays, specifically requesting information to better understand what might be causing those delays.