Comments to California Public Utilities Commission on the Investor Owned Utilities’ Energy Savings Assistance Program Applications
Introduction
The Donald Vial Center on Employment in the Green Economy (The Vial Center) respectfully submits this response to the utilities’ 20012-2014 Energy Savings Assistance (ESA) Program applications pursuant to Rule 2.6 of the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC or Commission) Rules of Practice and Procedure. The Vial Center’s response follows the Investor Owned Utility (IOU) applications for approval of their 2012-2014 Energy Savings Assistance and California Alternate Rates for Energy Programs and Budgets (IOU Applications), filed on May 16, 2011 with comments due by June 19, 2011.
The Vial Center carries out research on the emerging green economy and climate change policy in California, as these relate to the labor market, to workforce development, and to workforce policy. In March 2011 the Vial Center released the California Workforce Education and Training Needs Assessment for Energy Efficiency, Distributed Generation, and Demand Response (The Statewide WE&T Needs Assessment). The study was mandated in the California Long Term Energy Efficiency Strategic plan to provide recommendations to the CPUC and other agencies on the workforce strategies needed to achieve the state’s ambitious energy efficiency goals.
The Vial Center’s response provides general comments intended for all of the IOU Applications. The following discussion covers the following three topics:
- Strategies for improving energy savings in ESA programs.
- Support for targeted efforts on multi-family housing.
- Capture of the co-benefits of supporting good jobs for low-income people.