(a) Within 180 days of the effective date of this division, the authority, in consultation with the Energy Commission and the Independent System Operator, shall develop an Energy Resource Investment Plan and submit that plan to the Governor and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the chairs of the policy committees with jurisdiction over energy policy in the State of California.
(b) The Energy Resource Investment Plan shall take into account California’s anticipated energy service needs for both electricity and natural gas over the next decade. The plan shall address issues regarding adequacy of supply, storage, reliability of service, grid congestion, and environmental quality. In developing the investment plan, the authority shall compare the costs of various energy resources, including a comparison of the costs and benefits of demand reduction strategies with the costs and benefits of additional generation supply. The plan shall acknowledge the potential volatility of fossil fuel prices and the value of resources that avoid that price risk.
(c) The plan shall outline a strategy for cost-effective energy resource investments, using the financing powers provided to the authority by this division. The plan may recommend changes to the specific expenditure authority granted in this division in order to carry out the investment strategy contained in the plan.
(d) The plan shall be developed with input from interested parties at scheduled public hearings of the authority. The authority should adopt the plan by majority vote of the board at a public meeting. The authority shall update the plan on a regular basis as determined by the authority.
(e) All investments made by the authority under this division shall be consistent with the strategy outlined in the Energy Resource Investment Plan. Nothing in this section shall preclude the authority from exercising its powers prior to the adoption of the initial Energy Resource Investment Plan.
(f) The authority shall be the agency responsible for ensuring that the investment strategy outlined in the Energy Resource Investment Plan is implemented. To that end, the authority may, on its own or through a partnership with a participating party, make those investments necessary to ensure that the plan is implemented.
(Added by Stats. 2001, 1st Ex. Sess., Ch. 10, Sec. 1. Effective August 13, 2001.)