CPUC Releases RCPPP Staff Proposal

On Tuesday April 29, 2025, the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) released the long-awaited Staff Proposal for the Reliable and Clean Power Procurement Program (“RCPPP”). Efforts to develop a programmatic approach to electricity procurement at the CPUC have a long history dating back to November 2020.

Currently, there is no programmatic approach for how procurement may be ordered or authorized. Instead, the CPUC has maintained reliability and reduced GHG emissions for the past two decades through a variety of long-term procurement and Integrated Resource Planning (“IRP”) decisions on an “order-by-order” basis.

The goal of the RCPPP is to give load-serving entities (“LSEs”) a more predictable regulatory framework to procure their share of the resources needed to meet electric system reliability and GHG emission reduction goals at least cost. Accordingly, RCPPP would be an evolution from the current approach to procurement towards a more programmatic approach.

The CPUC indicated that the RCPPP could support affordability for ratepayers in both the reliability and GHG reduction portions of the framework by providing greater market predictability and opportunities for increased supply, which in turn would reduce costs. The CPUC believes the RCPPP would be consistent with foreseeable statewide planning needs and be consistent with statutory requirements, including Assembly Bill 1373 (Garcia, 2023). AB 1373 requires the CPUC to rely on zero-carbon emitting resources to the maximum extent reasonable and support achievement of the state’s 100 percent clean energy and GHG goals.

The Staff Proposal has both a reliability component and a GHG reduction purpose, each intended to align with the existing Resource Adequacy program and Renewables Portfolio Standard programs. There is also a section of the Staff Proposal that discusses the proposed relationship to centralized procurement of long lead-time resources.

The RCPPP will impact all CPUC-jurisdictional LSEs – investor-owned utilities (“IOUs”), Community Choice Aggregators, and Electric Service Providers – in the California Independent System Operator (“CAISO”) region, but not small and multi-jurisdictional IOUs outside the CAISO, nor will it impact Publicly Owned Utilities.

The 2026-2027 RCPPP Cycle would begin in February 2026 with a needs determination, aligning with the IRP Cycle in 2026. Any procurement ordered during the 2026-2027 RCPPP cycle could affect 2028 and beyond.

Comments in response to the Staff Proposal are due June 5, 2025, with reply comments due June 26, 2025. Questions for Stakeholders begin at Section 5 of Appendix A (Staff Paper).

Contact: Brian Biering