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Policy Work

CESA has made grid-connected storage a leading focus area for California and beyond. California policymakers now understand the tremendous role energy storage can play to optimize the electric power system.

capitol-lawn

CESA policy work is steeped in the following principles:

  1. CESA supports and advances all forms of energy storage​
  2. CESA supports and actively helps promote a competitive and transparent marketplace​
  3. CESA supports and actively practices collaborative, constructive engagement with all stakeholders, and in particular, key energy storage champions

CESA Delivers Top-Tier Stakeholder Engagement

To execute our mission, CESA ensures that member interests are represented 
and appropriately considered in the key forums shaping California’s electric grid:

CESA Policy and Regulatory Activity

CESA engages across California’s major regulatory forums to advance safe, reliable, and market-enabling pathways for energy storage. Explore our latest filings—organized by key topic areas—to see how CESA is shaping policy and supporting California’s clean energy transition.

  Filings are organized into four core areas that reflect CESA’s ongoing regulatory engagement: CAISO market design and operations, Resource Adequacy, Integrated Resource Planning, and Distributed Energy Resources.

 

California ISO (CAISO)

Resource Adequacy (RA)

Integrated Resource Planning (IRP)

Distributed Energy Resources (DER)

 

Advocacy That Yields Results

Grow

CESA secured a 2 GW long-duration energy storage (LDES) procurement order from the CPUC, facilitating the Department of Water Resources’ central procurement. The CPUC also authorized investor-owned utilities to procure their share of the 3.8 GW of LDES needed by 2035.

CESA organized a webinar for LDES members, attracting 240 attendees from the California Community Choice Association and California Municipal Utilities Association, showcasing industry collaboration and innovation.

Work

CESA has established grid-connected storage as a primary focus for policy development in California and beyond. Through continuous engagement with policymakers, CESA ensures that the critical role of energy storage in optimizing the electric power system is widely recognized and understood.

Advocate

CESA successfully advocated for the removal of the $1K bid cap on energy storage resources at CAISO, allowing bidding up to the market cap of $2K.

The CPUC also removed the artificial “deficiency” for resource adequacy resources achieving COD after the 45-day filing window, enhancing operational efficiency for energy storage.

Shape

CESA promotes improvements to market participation and modeling of energy storage resources within CAISO’s Energy Storage Enhancements (ESE) initiative, advocating for efficient pricing and optimization of storage assets.

In addition, CESA represents the industry to resist local moratoriums and restrictions on Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) development, fostering a supportive regulatory environment.