In our very first “ETB Ask an Expert” interview series we explored the topic of SGIP, the Self Generation Incentive Program in California, which is the longest-running and most lucrative behind-the-meter energy storage incentive program in the country. The SGIP program was recently re-upped with $675 million dollars of additional funding and has undergone numerous changes so there was a lot to discuss.
Our guest expert is Scott Murtishaw, the Sr. Advisor of Regulatory Affairs at CALSSA (California Solar & Storage Association). Scott is indisputably one of the biggest SGIP policy experts in the state, having worked on SGIP program rules going back over 10 years from his days at the CPUC (California Public Utilities Commission).
In our interview with Scott, we focus mostly on current day SGIP issues, including a few controversial topics. We discuss: how Senate Bill 700 legislation got done, how SGIP reservation activity has looked since the window re-opened this year, how many projects are currently stuck on an SGIP waitlist and if those projects will ever get funded, how the Equity Resiliency budget got such a huge carveout from the CPUC, and what CALSSA thinks about shifting around program funds to meet the demand for shovel ready projects.
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Jump ahead to this topic:
- 1:45 – What Scott worked on for 11+ years during his time at the CPUC
- 6:37 – SB 700 history: how the bill evolved and ultimately got signed into law
- 8:51 – SB 700 implementation: all the SGIP rulemaking work that happened throughout 2019
- 13:00 – $613 million Equity Resiliency budget: how it got such a huge carveout
- 16:54 – 1st round of SB 700 funds became available on July 20th, 2020
- 19:40 – Non-residential Equity budget: huge $300 million waitlist of shovel ready projects
- 20:44 – Equity Resiliency: ~$200m in reservation, ~$400m currently left in that budget
- 21:29 – CESA’s (California Energy Storage Alliance) made a motion to reallocate funds. What was their proposal? What was CALSSA’s take on it? When is the CPUC expected to rule on that?
- 29:38 – Residential Equity: where do things stand with reservations and the waitlist today?
- 31:57 – Residential (general market): What territories still have funding available and what does “the soft cap” mean?
- 37:15 – C&I SGIP reservations, why Scott thinks the segment has lagged other categories
- 38:45 – Resiliency adder ($150/kWh), who qualifies and when do funds become available
- 40:03 – A summary of the changes CALSSA got adopted via their recent Petition for Modification
- 43:50 – What remaining SGIP policy issues are we waiting for the CPUC to rule on?
- 46:00 – Is Scott tired of working on SGIP!?
- 47:16 – CALSSA plug: become a member, pay your dues, support all the awesome work they do!
- 48:05 – SGIP Dash web tool, available to CALSSA members
