Bill > AB1258

This bill directs the California Energy Commission (CEC), in collaboration with various state and federal agencies and utilities, to conduct a technical analysis of how existing hydroelectric and pumped storage facilities can be better utilized to provide operational flexibility for the state's electrical grid, thereby helping to integrate renewable energy resources. This analysis will explore ways to optimize the operation of these facilities to meet California's environmental and energy goals, potentially lowering costs for consumers and reducing environmental impacts, and specifically includes an examination of the Helms, Balsam Meadow, Oroville, Castaic, and San Luis pumped storage facilities. The CEC is required to complete this analysis and include it in an energy policy review by November 1, 2014, and this new section of law will be repealed on January 1, 2017, unless extended by a later statute. The bill also removes language from existing law that previously mandated a similar analysis of these pumped storage facilities and set procurement targets for energy storage systems.