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Effective vision and organizational mission statements cannot be forced upon the masses. Rather, they must be set in motion by means of persuasion. The people must accept and implement them wholeheartedly and without reservation. When this is achieved, it is always done with enthusiasm, commitment, and pride. Moreover, truly accepted visions tend to foster innovation, risk-taking, empowerment, and delegation. If the working troops understand what is expected of them, what the organization is trying to accomplish, then it becomes possible to make important decisions on lower levels, thereby creating a climate in which results and progress continually occur.
Lincoln on Leadership,
Executive Strategies for Tough Times
Donald T. Phillips
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The OPEC oil embargo had caused gasoline shortages and long lines at service stations. Electricity demand was growing at seven percent per year, and utilities were proposing to build several large coal fired plants and 20 to 40 nuclear plants on the California coast to meet the rapid demand growth. In response to these challenges, the Legislature and Governor Ronald Reagan created the Energy Commission to find ways to reduce the state's vulnerability to the price shocks from imported energy and to find environmentally preferable alternatives to nuclear power plants. To fulfill these responsibilities, the Energy Commission was given broad mandates to:
Energy for businesses and citizens is a vital part of California's infrastructure and has a huge impact on the state's environment. The energy problems of avoiding the hazards of nuclear power and the threats of explosive energy price increases have given way to different problems, including ensuring California obtains the benefits of well-functioning energy markets. In addition, global energy issues such as the rapid growth in energy use in Asia threaten to create instabilities in the long-term energy future. To help solve these problems, the Energy Commission must commit to a smarter and less intrusive role. This new role is highlighted by the fundamental change in the electricity industry as certain segments move from price-regulated monopolies to competitive markets. These changes were codified, in part, in AB 1890, which also addresses many of the public policy issues associated with the shift to competitive markets.
This Strategic Plan describes the Energy Commission's mission and roles in the new energy environment. It is essential that the Energy Commission initiate an ongoing process of change in order to meet the challenges brought by new energy technologies, evolving markets and environmental concerns.
Although the 1974 energy crisis has ended, the state faces different, but equally difficult, challenges such as:
In an earlier era, energy problems were addressed with regulatory muscle and political will. Many of today's problems will require the Energy Commission to employ tactics that are less intrusive, such as education and tailored efforts to facilitate well-functioning markets to meet the public's interest in affordable, safe and environmentally sound energy. For example, many solutions can be achieved by "transforming" markets so that consumers have more energy service choices and better information to make energy investment and consumption decisions. In this way, competition can be introduced in a variety of energy products and services above and beyond the generation commodity called for in AB 1890.
Finding smarter solutions will be an even greater challenge to the Energy Commission and its staff than those faced in the past. To achieve its goals, the Energy Commission must recruit, nurture and retain the highest quality staff. The Energy Commission believes these new challenges will be met, and it will succeed in partnership with other to serve the energy needs of California.
The Energy Commission has developed this report using its current legal mandates as a foundation. It is critical, however, that as each state agency creates its own plan for the future, it does so in recognition of overall state policy and organization. Thus, in implementing this plan, the Energy Commission shall initiate discussions with other governmental agencies to develop a cohesive energy program to serve our citizens. To the extent that modification of mandates may be in order, the Energy Commission will develop and offer recommendations to the Legislature for its consideration.
The Energy Commission must prepare for a 21st Century in which it can be expected that:
Strategy I (1)
Continuously evaluate California's energy systems, including electricity, natural gas and transportation, and recommend changes to improve all aspects of these systems.
Strategy I (2)
Develop policy recommendations based on relevant public and private costs and benefits.
Strategy I (3)
Retain the 10- to 20-year focus for evaluating the state's long-term energy outlook. An important role of the Energy Commission is to look beyond the short-run market horizon and assess the general trends in energy use, the degree to which energy efficiency is used, the source and security of supply, the potential for price instability, and the environmental implications of the projected level of energy use.
Strategy I (4)
Maintain the state's Energy Shortage Contingency Plan.
Strategy II (1)
Meet energy information needs for informed government actions and to facilitate well-functioning markets.
Strategy II (2)
Revise data collection regulations to protect the confidentiality of proprietary information in the newly competitive energy markets while maintaining appropriate access to information.
Strategy II (3)
Develop and apply methods, analytical tools, expertise and data to evaluate entire energy systems for all forms of energy, and make the results available to policy makers and market participants.
Strategy II (4)
Project future electrical load growth and, with knowledge of existing and future supply and trans-mission system resources and constraints, help determine whether system reliability goals are likely to be met, and recommend options to correct or improve the system before problems develop.
Strategy II (5)
Provide timely and accurate information on the effect of disruptions, whether natural or man-made, to our energy supply systems.
Strategy II (6)
Change the time-frame of market-sensitive analyses from a long-term focus to a two- to six-year time-frame to increase its utility and value to market participants.
Strategy III (1)
Examine end-use energy markets and address the information, product, service, or infrastructure barriers that are current impediments to achieving well-functioning markets.
Strategy III (2)
Work closely with the Public Utility Commission's Energy Efficiency Board to implement programs that will facilitate a well-functioning end-use energy market.
Strategy III (3)
Participate and help develop new financing instruments and tools to facilitate increased demand for energy efficiency in existing buildings.
Strategy III (4)
In partnership with public and private stakeholders, take appropriate actions to help reduce market barriers and capture opportunities to facilitate market transformation of advanced electricity, fuel and transportation technologies that provide public benefits.
Strategy III (5)
Use market based mechanisms to implement the Renewables Program created by AB 1890 and other legislative directives to foster renewable technologies which provide public benefits and facilitate their transition to a competitive market.
Strategy III (6)
Promote energy technology export opportunities by facilitating business between California-based energy technology companies and foreign buyers or partners, and through government-to-government relationships.
Strategy IV (1)
Plan and design, in collaboration with private and public stakeholders, programs to conduct public interest RD&D that show a reasonable probability of yielding public benefits in view of the risks, time-frames and costs.
Strategy IV (2)
Efficiently implement and administer the public interest energy RD&D programs in electricity, fuel and transportation energy needs and conduct periodic reviews to ensure ongoing, effective
stewardship of funds.
Strategy IV (3)
Establish a program to transfer knowledge and technologies developed from the public interest RD&D program to the marketplace.
Strategy V(1) (1)
Anticipate and seek to resolve potential energy facility licensing issues to avoid delays, reduce conflicts and increase consistency during licensing.
Strategy V(1) (2)
Manage the energy facility siting process so it is efficient and consistent for all projects, allows open public participation, and results in timely and legally defensible decisions.
Strategy V(1) (3)
Monitor approved facilities to ensure they are designed, constructed, modified, operated, and decommissioned in a manner that protects the public's health and safety, environmental quality, and general welfare, contributes to an efficient and reliable energy system, and does not impose
unreasonable burdens on project developers.
Strategy V(2) (1)
Improve the clarity of the standards and the durability and cost-effectiveness of their energy savings.
Strategy V(2) (2)
Encourage the development of cost-effective and reliable national standards and adopt, where possible, those provisions applicable to California.
Strategy V(2) (3)
Improve compliance with the standards by working with stakeholders to solve problems and improve compliance tools, by providing education and training, and by offering timely
interpretation and assistance.
Strategy V(2) (4)
Integrate building standards with market programs resulting in a marketplace that values high- quality, energy efficient buildings.
Strategy VI(1) (1)
Make information available to users through the most effective means possible, including electronic distribution.
Strategy VI(1) (2)
Implement an annual planning and review process for making decisions on information technology investments.
Strategy VI(1) (3)
Establish an inter-divisional, cooperative process for coordination and resolution of information technology issues.
Strategy VI(1) (4)
Provide, implement and maintain a comprehensive information technology security policy.
Strategy VI(1) (5)
Upgrade the Energy Commission's docket functions to provide for more efficient receipt, protection, maintenance, and retrieval of official records of all proceedings.
Strategy VI(2) (1)
Systematically review the Energy Commission's organization, operations, staffing and committee structure; make recommendations for changes to accommodate new functions; and identify
financial resource issues that impact program delivery.
Strategy VI(2) (2)
Increase and maintain open communications, participation in decision making processes and teamwork at all levels.
Strategy VI(2) (3)
Create opportunities for external input and feedback on all programs and activities and build relationships with outside organizations as partners for effectively implementing energy policies.
Strategy VI(2) (4)
Routinely and systematically examine all administrative processes to identify opportunities for improvements in programs and services.
Strategy VI(3) (1)
Explore innovative ways to recruit, hire and retain a talented workforce, and reward exemplary performance.
Strategy VI(3) (2)
Develop and implement a comprehensive training policy and plan that includes allocation of sufficient funds for staff training.
Strategy VI(3) (3)
Consolidate, update and improve the Energy Commission's Employee Health and Safety Program.
Strategy VI(4) (1)
The Energy Commission will recommend needed changes to the Legislature that will ensure statutory mandates are current and relevant.
Strategy VI(4) (2)
Work with other energy and environmental regulatory entities, such as the California Air Resources Board, California Public Utilities Commission, Oversight Board, and governing boards for the Independent System Operator and Power Exchange, to clarify respective roles and responsibilities.
Strategy VI(5) (1)
Develop an implementation plan, outcomes and workplans to implement the Strategic Plan.
Strategy VI(5) (2)
Monitor, evaluate progress and take appropriate action as the Strategic Plan is implemented and develop specific performance measures to assess progress in meeting goals. Update the plan as necessary.
Strategy VI(5) (3)
Give program and funding priority to those efforts and activities that most effectively further the goals of the Strategic Plan.
An important component of the implementation and management of the Strategic Plan is the monitoring and reporting of progress in achieving the Energy Commission's strategic goals. One part of monitoring and reporting will be simple reporting of workplan milestone achievements and the equally simple, but critically important, act of listening carefully to the Energy Commission's clients. The latter reflects a commitment to continue and expand dialogue with stakeholders and users of the Energy Commission's products and services.
The measures of outcome are the most valuable, yet are often challenging to define. As the Department of Finance Strategic Planning Guidelines states: "Outcome measures are indicators of the actual impact or effect upon a stated condition or problem. Although outcome measures are generally preferable to efficiency or output measures, since they are most relevant to whether intended public policy goals are met, they sometimes suffer from a lack of proximate linkage to the responsibilities of the administering department."
The Guidelines recommend one to four measures per goal. The following approaches represent a step toward finding an appropriate linkage between measures of change in the state's energy systems and the accomplishment of the Energy Commission's goals.