Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Our inaugural call for Premium and Premium+ Members! Stay up to date on important decarbonization proceedings, legislation and local government activities.
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​Zoom Recording
Presentation

​February 17, 2020: Gas Planning Advocacy Plan with Common Spark Consulting
BDC Long-Term Gas Proceeding Advocacy Plan
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In 2020, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) opened a proceeding to Establish Policies, Processes, and Rules to Ensure Safe and Reliable Gas Systems in California and perform Long-Term Gas System Planning (R.20.01.007). The two-track rulemaking covers the future of gas use in the State, with Track 1, which started in July 2020, focused on updating gas system reliability standards and facilitating coordination between gas utilities and gas-fired electric generators. Track 2, which will start in Mid-October 2021, will develop and implement a long-term planning strategy for California’s transition away from gas and will cover potential demand scenarios and regulatory changes needed.

Over the course of October to December, the BDC hosted seven webinars to cover the major themes, issues, and arguments related to the Gas Proceeding. The goal of the webinar series was to educate BDC members and stakeholders about the issues, get to know key parties and their positions and arguments, and identify resources for their own advocacy. Following the webinars, the BDC team spent December and January compiling the lessons from those sessions, additional existing research, and feedback from partners to inform the creation of a Gas Planning Advocacy Plan for BDC Members. You can find the recorded webinars as well as a summary report of the Proceeding and draft BDC recommendations on the BDC Gas Proceeding webpage. 

Today, we hosted a members-only webinar to present the Draft Advocacy Plan, welcome any feedback, and discuss how BDC plans to support members engaging in the proceeding. After the webinar, we will take the additional input, revise the draft, and hold additional meetings in the Spring to finalize the document and support members that want to intervene, as well as give regular updates to members.

Webinar Recording

February 11, 2020: The State of Building Electrification with Scott Blunk from the Sacramento Municipal Utility District

Where are we on building decarbonization as a movement? What have early building decarbonization program efforts taught us and where we need to go next? What can leadership utilities and other institutions do to help the movement overcome some of its stickiest barriers? For the answers to these questions, we need to go to the leaders of the industry. So we asked Scott Blunk to come talk with us.

Scott heads the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD)'s long range planning for electrification and energy efficiency and has years of experience designing, developing and building green and energy efficient solutions for residential, multifamily and commercial properties. Hear his insights on the state of Building Electrification and how SMUD, a community-owned not-for-profit electric utility, is leading the nation in building decarbonization.
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Webinar Recording
Presentation