The ISO or RTO for California is known as CAISO.
The Golden State
CA Utilities
IOU, Municipal, Cooperative, Retail Energy Suppliers, Wholesale
California Consumer Choice: Consumer Deregulation
Utility: Consumers in California may choose their electric and natural gas supplier.
California Electric Choice: Yes. Consumers in parts of California may choose their electric retail energy provider through a limited lottery program known as Direct Access. Buyers who reduce bills and fix overhead costs by choosing an alternate supplier still receive a bill from their local distribution company ( LDC ).
California Gas Choice: Yes. Natural gas is deregulated in California for industrial and commercial consumers through a program called Core Aggregation; verification is required.
Deregulated Gas Year Electric Year
California Yes 1995 Yes* N/A *California’s electric choice program is known as DirectAcccess.
STATE NERC INTERCONNECTION ISO/RTO
Region: West Coast
California Population: 39,512,223 People/ Land Mile: 241
Square Miles: 163,707 Land Miles: 155,973 Water Miles: 7,734
Yearly Values:
Net Generation 195,265,408 MWH Retail Sales 255,224,272 MWH Gas 2,208 trillion Btu
Counties CA Zip Codes CA Utility Zip Codes
NERC Authority: WECC
FERC Authority: West Natural Gas Region
Electric Retail Average: 16.58 cents/kWh (Ave)
California Power Mix
U.S. Commodity Sources 2019:
• Coal: 0.1%
• Natural gas: 42.4%
• Nuclear: 7.9%
• Hydro: 19.5%
• Geothermal: 5.6%
• Solar PV: 14%
• Biomass: 3.2%
• Wind: 7.3%
2013 U.S. Commodity Sources:
• Coal: 1%
• Natural gas: 59%
• Nuclear: 9%
• Hydro: 12%
• Other Renewables: 18%
CA Solar: Net Metering, Tax Credits, Solar Rebates
State Rebates:
State Contacts:
State Links:
State Authorities:
California Public Utilities Commission
California Division of Ratepayer Advocates
REP Contacts:
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