Background

Reliability of electrical service is a critical issue for the Greater Fresno Area. The California Energy Commission (CEC) and the California Independent System Operator have raised reliability concerns under certain adverse conditions for this area within the next several years.

Key elements of the energy conditions affecting the Greater Fresno Area include:

Insufficient Generation Capacity

  • Development of new energy supplies in the state and in the central San Joaquin Valley is not keeping pace with increasing demand. The CEC’s 2005 Integrated Energy Policy Report brings attention to the gap between the resources planned and what we will need, as soon as 2009.
  • Recent additions to local generation have been limited to gas-fired peaking capacity. The last base-load generation plant brought online in the valley was the Helms Pumped Storage Plant in 1984.
  • The valley’s power generation capacity is dependent on the water year and hydroelectric generation.
  • Traditional generation project developers lack the financial equity to secure financing for new projects. Without long-term commitments to sell generation plant output to a secure buyer, additional generation capacity cannot be constructed.

Transmission Bottlenecks

  • Due to the lack of local generation capacity, this region has to import power from time to time, relying upon transmission capacity to deliver power from other areas of the state to meet customers’ energy needs.
  • The valley’s hydroelectric facilities are supported by a vintage 230-kilovolt transmission system.
  • While the Path 15 Upgrade helps with transmission between Northern and Southern California, it doesn't solve the transmission problems in our region.

Aging Distribution System

  • Resources allocated to the existing distribution system in this area are lacking compared to other parts of the state.
  • Existing infrastructure will not be sufficient to support the projected load growth over the next 10 years.

Outlook

These limitations affect everyone in this region. Much of agriculture relies on electricity for groundwater pumping and processing farm products. Urban residents, businesses and industry likewise depend on a reliable and affordable energy supply.

Electrical service reliability and cost to the Greater Fresno Area is highly dependent upon the ability of the investor-owned utilities (PG&E and SCE) and traditional developers to finance and construct additional generation, transmission and distribution system improvements.

Businesses, communities and local public agencies can provide a key role in supporting these needed improvements through distributed generation and Community Choice programs, dependent upon policies set forth by the governor, the legislature and the California Public Utilities Commission.