Announcements

• Critical Operating Constraints Forecasting and Probabilistic Transmission Congestion Forecasting Workshop - November 7, 2007
• Notice of CEC PIER Staff Workshop for Review of TRP Projects for Managing Electric Transmission Uncertainty - August 20, 2007
  • Presentations
  • Announcement
  • Agenda
• Network Power Control Workshop - July 9, 2007
• PIER TRP PAC Meeting Presentations - March 7, 2006
  

Background

The Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program was created by legislation in 1996 in conjunction with California electric utility deregulation, funded by a surcharge on electricity delivered by the California investor owned utilities to their customers, and managed by the California Energy Commission (CEC).  The Transmission Research Program (TRP) was established by the CEC in 2003 to develop technology for improving and enhancing the California transmission system to meet the State’s public policy goals. Currently this includes supporting the Renewable Portfolio Standard and Green House Gas Reduction. Public interest energy research includes the full range of research, development and demonstration activities that advance science and technology and are not adequately addressed by competitive and regulated markets. The TRP Research Portfolio is guided by the vision of “…delivering electric power from any generator to any consumer in affordable, reliable, secure and environmentally-responsible manner.

Transmission Research Areas

System and Infrastructure

• Control power flow and store electricity
• Maintain/recover grid integrity and reliability
• Optimize asset utilization and performance

Real-Time System Operations

• Provide real-time, wide-area situational information
• Quickly assess, predict and alarm, and support or make operational decisions
• Meaningfully depict large amounts of information

Planning Tools and Environment

• Provide transmission planning tools to facilitate & accelerate transmission capacity expansion by providing a technical rationale

Reports and Presentations

• NEW! PIER TRP PAC Meeting Presentations - March 10, 2008 (pdf)
• PIER TRP PAC Meeting Presentations - November 5, 2007 (pdf)
• Strategic Benefits, Approval Processes, and Cost Allocation Methodologies for Transmission Projects: Interim Project Report (pdf)
• PIER TRP PAC Meeting Presentations - March 7, 2006
  • TRP Overview Presentation (pdf)
  • DOE Presentation (pdf)
  • EPRI Presentation (pdf)
  • Dale Bradshaw's Presentation (pdf)

The California Energy Commission, whose responsibility it is to manage the California Public Interest Energy Research Program (PIER), and the California Institute for Energy and Environment, housed in the Office of the President of the University of California, have formed a partnership to administer the   PIER Transmission Research Program under CEC Contract Number 500-99-013.