The revisions to the Proposed Decision ("PD") limit the incremental Market Access program funds to SDG&E, PG&E, SCE, and MCE. Other CCAs that receive EE funding through the ETA process are not eligible to apply for access to the MAP funds. A Commission vote on the revised PD is scheduled for Dec. 2.
In the revised PD, the Commission specifies that the MAP funding will only be available to the IOUs and MCE (which submitted an Application to Administer, and not an Elect to Administer Advice Letter). Importantly, the Commission clarifies that CCAs that elect o administer funds are not considered program administrators under the current rules. At this time, other CCAs, regardless of ETA status, will not be eligible to apply for MAP funds.
As a preliminary matter, CCAs who elect to administer energy efficiency funds are not energy efficiency program administrators, under our current rules and general energy efficiency regulatory oversight. Access to funds for these CCAs comes from statutory authorization, and they are subject to minimal program oversight from the Commission. This is qualitatively different from CCAs, such as MCE, which are program administrators in their own right after having their proposals go through a full application process and with experience in implementation going back several years, with associated regulatory and reporting responsibilities
The Commission justified the limitation by clarifying that the IOUs and MCE had their proposals vetted through the full application process and have several years of experience in implementation.
The Commission further clarified that it will not authorize MCE to administer the program on behalf of other CCAs but indicated that it may be open to this arrangement, as proposed by CalChoice, in the future.
