Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on or before March 7, 2001, the commission, in consultation with the Independent System Operator, shall take all of the following actions, and shall include the reasonable costs involved in taking those actions in the distribution revenue requirements of utilities regulated by the commission, as appropriate:
(a)
(1)Identify and undertake those actions necessary to reduce or remove constraints on the state’s existing electrical transmission and distribution system, including, but not limited to, reconductoring of transmission lines, the addition of capacitors to increase voltage, the reinforcement of existing transmission capacity, and the installation of new transformer banks. The commission shall, in consultation with the Independent System Operator, give first priority to those geographical regions where congestion reduces or impedes electrical transmission and supply.
(2)
Consistent with the existing statutory authority of the commission, afford electrical corporations a reasonable opportunity to fully recover costs it determines are reasonable and prudent to plan, finance, construct, operate, and maintain any facilities under its jurisdiction required by this section.
(b)
In consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, adopt energy conservation demand-side management and other initiatives in order to reduce demand for electricity and reduce load during peak demand periods. Those initiatives shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1)
Expansion and acceleration of residential and commercial weatherization programs.
(2)
Expansion and acceleration of programs to inspect and improve the operating efficiency of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning equipment in new and existing buildings, to ensure that these systems achieve the maximum feasible cost-effective energy efficiency.
(3)
Expansion and acceleration of programs to improve energy efficiency in new buildings, in order to achieve the maximum feasible reductions in uneconomic energy and peak electricity consumption.
(4)
Incentives to equip commercial buildings with the capacity to automatically shut down or dim nonessential lighting and incrementally raise thermostats during a peak electricity demand period.
(5)
Evaluation of installing local infrastructure to link temperature setback thermostats to real-time price signals.
(6)
Incentives for load control and distributed generation to be paid for enhancing reliability.
(7)
Differential incentives for renewable or super clean distributed generation resources pursuant to Section 379.6.
(8)
Reevaluation of all efficiency cost-effectiveness tests in light of increases in wholesale electricity costs and of natural gas costs to explicitly include the system value of reduced load on reducing market clearing prices and volatility.
(c)
In consultation with the Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, adopt and implement a residential, commercial, and industrial peak reduction program that encourages electric customers to reduce electricity consumption during peak power periods.