Over the next several years, California's power system will undergo major changes. As renewable portfolio standards (RPS) increase, larger quantities of renewable generation resources will be required. Simultaneously, the unplanned retirement of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station ("SONGS") and the required phase out of all "once through cooling" ("OTC") gas-fired generation units on the State's coast will represent a loss of nearly 3.5GW of power in Southern California alone. These shifts could threaten system reliability and increase electric rates. To avoid or limit such consequences, utilities will need to broaden their current approach to renewable resource procurement; a process now underway at the California Public Utilities Commission for investor-owned utilities.
Read the article here.