Welcome to the California Energy Commission

Welcome to the website of the California Energy Commission!

 
 
 

The California Energy Commission is the state's primary energy policy and planning agency. Created by the Legislature in 1974 and located in Sacramento, the Commission has five major responsibilities:

  1. Forecasting future energy needs and keeping historical energy data.
  2. Licensing thermal power plants 50 megawatts or larger.
  3. Promoting energy efficiency through appliance and building standards.
  4. Developing energy technologies and supporting renewable energy.
  5. Planning for and directing state response to energy emergency.

With the signing of the Electric Industry Deregulation Law in 1998 (Assembly Bill 1890), the Commission's role includes overseeing funding programs that support public interest energy research; advance energy science and technology through research, development and demonstration; and provide market support to existing, new and emerging renewable technologies.

With energy challenges facing the state, the Commission and its dedicated staff of state employees stand ready to turn challenges into opportunities and help Californians continue to have energy choices that are affordable, reliable, diverse, safe and environmentally acceptable.

Energy Commission and Climate Change

The most important development in California energy policy in the past two years, if not the past several decades, is the arrival at consensus that California must act to mitigate its greenhouse gas emissions, in order to reduce the impact of climate change. In 2006, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed two landmark pieces of legislation with far-reaching implications for energy policy.

The most comprehensive is Assembly Bill 32 (PDF file), the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Núñez, Statutes of 2006, Chapter 488), which sets an economy-wide cap on California greenhouse gas emissions at 1990 levels by no later than 2020. This is an aggressive goal that represents approximately an 11 percent reduction from current emissions levels and nearly a 30 percent reduction from projected business-as-usual levels in 2020. Twenty-five percent of the state's greenhouse gas emissions is attributable to electricity generation while 38 percent is attributed to the transportation sector.

Meeting this goal requires the cooperation and teamwork of multiple sectors of the California economy, including the electricity, natural gas, and transportation sectors. The Energy Commission is working with its sister agencies setting California's climate change policies and regulations.

Commission Address & Contacts

Address:
California Energy Commission
1516 Ninth Street
Sacramento, CA 95814

Contacts:
Please visit the "Contact Us Page"

Phone List:
Please see our Phone List