The Project Power Planning Branch is responsible for the activities necessary to develop the Department’s power and transmission resources to meet State Water Project needs. Planning must be consistent with Department policies; federal, State, and local regulations; and the obligations of an interconnected electric utility within the Western Electricity Coordinating Council system. These responsibilities include:

• Assessing the long-term electric power needs of the SWP and assisting with the acquisition of the capacity and transmission resources required to ensure that the cost of power necessary to deliver water is reasonable;

 
• Evaluating California Independent System Operator power issues and developing and recommending strategies and responses to protect SWP interests;

 
• Evaluating and preparing feasibility studies, environmental documentation, and cost analyses; coordinating planning; preparing licensing documents; and developing programs necessary to advance SWP on-aqueduct power projects from a conceptual stage through construction;

 
• Monitoring and developing responses to actions of investor-owned utilities and proposed regulations of the California ISO and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission;

 
• Coordinating activities and system data with the WECC and reporting as required by federal and State regulatory agencies;

 
• Monitoring and evaluating policies and regulations of federal and State regulatory agencies to protect SWP interests and participating, as needed, in regulatory proceedings; and

 
• Providing technical support to power contract negotiators.

For additional information about the Project Power Planning Branch's activities, please contact our Branch Chief, Michael Werner.