California regulators have decided to review the potential fordistributed power generation as part of a series of three”roundtable workshops” on offshoots of the state’s electricindustry restructuring. The first roundtable will be held Aug. 3,1-4:30 p.m. at the California Public Utilities Commission’s SanFrancisco headquarters. Utility, trade association and consumerrepresentatives will participate.

Follow-up discussions on related topics related to the electricrestructuring will be held Aug. 25 and Sept. 22. CPUC PresidentRichard Bilas will participate and Commissioner Josiah Neeper willmoderate the first session. The first meeting “will seek toidentify for discussion short-term and perhaps urgent issues withregard to distributed generation,” a CPUC announcement said lastweek. Topics will include potential state actions that would removemarket barriers, the role of distributed (or decentralized) powergeneration within the changing electric industry, the potentialimpact that market penetration by distributed power would have onthe existing distribution infrastructures (presumably both electricand gas distribution systems) and the market effects in theadoption of distributed generation.

The unexpected move by the regulators came July 23 followingpressure from 22 individuals and organizations described as”representing various facets of the electric industry, includingconsumer advocacy groups who felt that the implementation ofelectric restructuring does not yet provide an adequate role oropportunity for distributed generation.”

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