Jerry

Citing its job-creation benefits, California Gov. Jerry Brown Monday asked state regulators to restore programs set to expire at the end of this year because state lawmakers failed to pass bills aimed a extending a public goods charge on private-sector utility customer bills.

California Gov. Jerry Brown is unleashing what may be a major political battle in the waning days of the state legislative session over whether to extend an energy surcharge that provides up to $400 million for research and development (R&D) in energy saving and alternative energy. Brown is trying to make the case that the $1-2 monthly charge on residential utility bills is a job-creating mechanism.

Gov. Jerry Brown has tapped an obscure and unfilled appointee position at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to add a special advisor to the mix of five governor-appointed state regulators to push along some his own pet distributed and solar energy initiatives. Jeanne Clinton, a manager in the CPUC’s Climate Strategies Branch, was appointed special advisor for energy efficiency, renewables and distributed generation. Clinton has worked in high-level energy policymaking positions in the state government since 2001. In addition to working with the five commissioners, Clinton will interface with the CPUC energy division and its office of government affairs, as well as other departments and agencies in state government. The appointment does not require state Senate confirmation as do the five CPUC commissioner positions.

Anthony Eggert was appointed by California Gov. Jerry Brown to the five-member California Energy Commission (CEC), a position he held last year in former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration. An engineer by background who previously worked for the California Fuel Cell Partnership and for Ford Motor Co., Eggert was a senior policy advisor at the California Air Resources Board from 2007 to early 2010. The appointment requires confirmation by the state Senate, but appointees can serve for up to a year without confirmation. Eggert’s appointment fills out the CEC, which had been operating in recent months with only four members.

A goal of having 33% of the state’s electricity come from renewable resources by 2020 was formally codified into California law by Gov. Jerry Brown Tuesday while he helped open a new solar equipment manufacturing site in the East San Francisco Bay area by Sun Power.

California’s ambitious 33%-by-2020 renewable energy goal officially was passed by the legislature and sent to Gov. Jerry Brown last Tuesday, the latest attempt to codify the goal in state law. Backers of the measure (SB 2X), which passed the Assembly by a 59-19 vote, said Brown is expected to sign it into law.

California Gov. Jerry Brown has filled the five-member California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) with his third appointment, Mark Ferron, 52, a senior partner at Silicon Valley Social Ventures, and a former investment banker in London with Deutsche Bank’s global markets division (2001-2009). He also worked as an executive with Salomon Brothers and Bank of America earlier in his financial industry career. Ferron hold a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree in economics from Stanford University. He joins CPUC President Michael Peevey, and Commissioners Timothy Alan Simon, Michael Florio and Catherine Sandoval on the CPUC. The latter two were appointed by Brown earlier this year.

Reflecting new federal mandates following the San Bruno natural gas pipeline explosion in September, new California Gov. Jerry Brown’s stripped-down state budget proposal released Monday included more money for gas pipeline safety efforts. Although the amounts are small, they come in a budget that carries $12.5 billion in spending cuts and a proposed 8-10% pay cut for state employees.

Promising “painful” budget recommendations to come, California Gov. Jerry Brown reaffirmed his commitment to renewable energy and efficiency programs as part of a sobering inaugural speech following his swearing in last Monday in Sacramento as the 39th governor of the state. Missing in his brief remarks was any mention of climate change, environmental issues or traditional fossil fuels.