Inventory of the Records of the Electricity Oversight Board

California State Archives

1020 "O" Street

Sacramento, California 95814

Phone: (916) 653-2246

Fax: (916) 653-7363

Email: ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov

URL: http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/

Inventory of the Records of the Electricity Oversight Board

Collection number:R400

California State Archives

Office of the Secretary of State

Sacramento, California

Processed by:: Kaitlyn Crain
Date Completed:: April 2014
Encoded by:: Lisa C. Prince

Descriptive Summary

Title: Inventory of the Records of the Electricity Oversight Board

Dates: 1996-2007

Collection number: R400

Creator: Electricity Oversight Board

Collection Size: 18.5 cubic feet

Repository: California State Archives

Sacramento, California

Abstract: The Electricity Oversight Board was created by Chapter 854, Statutes of 1996, as part of the Legislature's restructuring of California's electricity industry. The records consist of twelve series (1996-2007)which document the Board's efforts to ensure a reliable electricity system and reasonable wholesale electricity prices.

Physical location: California State Archives

Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

Administrative Information

Access

While the majority of the records are open for research, any access restrictions are noted in the record series descriptions.

Publication Rights

For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the California State Archives. Permission for reproduction or publication is given on behalf of the California State Archives as the owner of the physical items. The researcher assumes all responsibility for possible infringement which may arise from reproduction or publication of materials from the California State Archives collections.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Electricity Oversight Board Records, R400.[series number], [box and folder number], California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, California.

Agency History

As part of the Legislature's restructuring of California's electricity industry, the Electricity Oversight Board (EOB) was created (Chapter 854, Statues of 1996) with the goal of ensuring a reliable electricity system and reasonable wholesale electricity prices. The Board was comprised of five members, with three voting seats. The voting members were appointed by the Governor for fixed terms and were subject to confirmation by the Senate. The two non-voting members were appointed by the Senate Rules Committee and the Assembly Speaker.

The EOB was originally tasked with overseeing the activities of the California Independent System Operator (ISO), which is a non-profit organization that manages the electricity transmission system owned by Pacific Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas and Electric. The EOB also oversaw the activities between the ISO and Power Exchange (PX), which was the marketplace in which all electricity in the State was bought and sold. Additionally, the Board was responsible for representing California before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which has jurisdiction over some aspects of California's electricity market.

In March 2001, during the energy crisis, PX declared bankruptcy and in turn, the EOB was in need of restructuring. New legislation altered the EOB's primary duties and tasked them with acting as market monitor while also communicating ISO rule changes to FERC (Chapter 1X, Statues of 2001). Furthermore, the Board was given broad powers to investigate and initiate proceedings at FERC in response to market manipulation by electricity market participants (Chapter 766, Statues of 2001).

After 2001, other entities began to take on the major responsibilities that the Board had originally been tasked with. For example, the ISO developed new, extensive procedures for market oversight and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) began to deal directly with FERC in pursuit of refunds due to overcharges. Therefore, under Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Reorganization Plan (GPR 3), the responsibilities of the EOB were transferred to the new Office of Energy Market Oversight. The EOB ceased operations on April 1, 2008.

Scope and Content

The Electricity Oversight Board (EOB) records consist of 18.5 cubic feet of textual records that reflect the EOB's role within California's electricity market. The records are organized into the following record series: (1) Bill Files, 2003-2004; (2) Chronological Correspondence, 1999-2003; (3) Governor's Clean Energy Green Team Files, 1996-2001; (4) EOB Meeting Transcripts, 1996-2001; (5) EOB Meeting Files, 2000-2002; (6) Independent Service Operator Board of Governors and Committee Meeting Files, 1998-2006; (7) Independent Service Operator Market Surveillance Committee Meeting Files, 1998-2006; (8) Power Exchange Corporate Meeting Files, 1998-2000; (9) Docket Files, 1997-2000; (10) Subject Files, 1997-2007; and (11) Attorney Files, 1998-1999; and (12) Artifacts, 1997-2008.

As the overseer of actions and activities of the California Independent Service Operator, a representative from the EOB was present at ISO Board of Governors and Committee meetings. Additionally, prior to PX declaring bankruptcy, the EOB also oversaw the activities between the ISO and PX. As such, board of governors and committee meeting files of the EOB, ISO, and PX make up a significant portion of the EOB records. These series document the proceeding and actions of each board meeting and special hearing held by these entities. Further, these series provide insight to the EOB's role within California's electricity market and highlight how the Board ensured a reliable electricity system and reasonable wholesale electricity prices.

The Governor's Clean Energy Green Team Files and Docket Files are also important series within the EOB records. The Green Team was established with the adoption of AB 970 under Section 12078 to the Government Code and consisted of a chairperson and 15 members, including the Chair of the EOB. The Green Team files document the activities of the body that advised the governor on power plant development, energy-efficiency investments, and renewable energy funding. With regards to Docket Files, the series is comprised of various documents received or created by the EOB. This series documents the EOB's relationship to the ISO, PX, and FERC through its correspondence, reports, memos, court hearings, and other materials.

The remainder of the EOB records includes Bill Files, Chronological Correspondence, Subject Files, and Attorney Files. Each of these series, in addition to those already listed, illustrate how California's electricity market has changed and developed in the time prior to and after the 2000-2001 Energy Crisis.

Accruals

No further accruals are expected.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Electricity

Renewable energy sources-California

Energy policy-California

R400.001, Box 1, folders 1-9

Series 1 Bill Files 2003-2004

Physical Description: 9 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged numerically by bill number

Scope and Content Note

This series contains legislative bill files which had the potential to affect the bylaws, functions, or operations of the Electricity Oversight Board (EOB). The files may include bill analyses, bill summaries, amendments, EOB opinions, and correspondence.

The Reliable Electric Service Act of 2004 (AB2006) and the Repeal of Deregulation Act of 2003 (SB888) are two notable bill files found in the series. The Reliable Electric Service Act was meant to create a framework for the CPUC and would have ensured adequate resources for electric service providers. AB2006, which was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger, would have allowed investor-owned utilities to build their own power plants and sign long-term contracts with private companies for electricity. The Repeal of Deregulation Act, also vetoed by the Governor, would have repealed the provisions of AB1890 (Chapter 854, Statues 1996), which was widely blamed for the shortages the caused price spikes and rolling blackouts in 2000 and 2001.

2003-2004: AB151-AB2954 (4ff) Box 1/1-4

2003-2004: SB72-SB1859, SCR30 (5ff) Box 1/5-9

R400.002, Box 1, folder 10 - Box 3, folder 10

Series 2 Chronological Correspondence. 1999-2003

Physical Description: 41 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by correspondence date.

Scope and Content Note

The Chronological Correspondence series represents a sampling of the EOB's communication amongst its Board members, the ISO, PX, and FERC. Correspondence covers a range of topics such as electricity price caps, FERC filings, EOB funding, and appointments to the EOB, ISO Board, and PX Board.

R400.003, Box 3, folder 11 - Box 4, folder 10

Series 3 Governor's Clean Energy Green Team Files 1996-2001

Physical Description: 32 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by subject heading.

Scope and Content Note

Files of the Governor's Green Team include such materials as reports, correspondence, and issue papers. The Green Team was established with the adoption of AB 970 under Section 12078 to the Government Code and consisted of a chairperson and 15 members, including the Chair of the EOB. These files document how the Green Team compiled guidance documents and information on the environmental effects associated with power plants proposed to be certified for operation in California. Additionally, this series includes subject files created by the Green Team that focused on low or zero interest financing programs and renewable energy resources.

See Appendix A in Master Finding Aid on the California State Archives website for a complete subject list

R400.004, Box 4, folder 11-Box 5, folder 9

Series 4 Electricity Oversight Board Meeting Transcripts 1997-1998 2000-2003

Physical Description: 31 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by meeting date.

Scope and Content Note

This series contains verbatim transcripts of meetings and special hearings conducted by the EOB. Topics covered during EOB meetings include issues relating to market clearing prices, discussions regarding location marginal pricing, and EOB management. Early transcripts from 1997 include the appointment of initial members to the governing boards of the ISO and PX, discussions about the possible incorporation of the ISO and PX as separate nonprofit corporations, and the determination of the composition and terms of service for the ISO and PX governing boards. There are no transcripts from 1999.

R400.005, Box 5, folders 10-25

Series 5 Electricity Oversight Board Meeting Files. 2000-2002

Physical Description: 16 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by meeting date.

Scope and Content Note

This series contains materials that were pertinent to EOB meeting agenda items, including but not limited to, reports from the California ISO and PX, memorandums, presentation printouts, graphs, charts, and committee reports. The majority of the meeting files date to 2000. The years 2001 and 2002 each have only one meeting file (1/23/2001 and 11/23/2002).

R400.006, Box 6, folder 1- Box 12, folder 17

Series 6 California Independent Service Operator Board of Governors and Committee Meeting Files 1998-2006

Physical Description: 125 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by meeting date.

Scope and Content Note

The California Independent Service Operator Board of Governors and Committee Meeting Files include materials that were pertinent to agenda topics and meeting discussions. Reports from ISO committees including Finance, Governance, Audit, Grid Reliability/Operations, Legislative, and Market Issues, make up a large portion of the items found within the series. Agendas, meeting minutes, notes, statements from the EOB to the ISO, and resolutions made by the EOB which affected the ISO, can also be found throughout the series.

R400.007, Box 12, folder 18 - Box 13, folder 14

Series 7 CA ISO Market Surveillance Committee Meeting Files. 1998-2006

Physical Description: 36 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by meeting date.

Scope and Content Note

The ISO Market Surveillance Committee Meeting Files contains committee meeting agendas, graphs, charts, and weekly market watch reports. Meetings covered a range of topics such as the ISO compliance project, an implementation plan for the market surveillance unit, the impact of the Regulation Energy Price Adjustment (REPA), and discussions on the competitive characteristic of PX and ISO markets.

R400.008, Box 13, folder 15 - Box 14, folder 9

Series 8 Power Exchange Corporate Meeting Files 1998-2000

Physical Description: 19 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by meeting date.

Scope and Content Note

The Power Exchange Corporate Meeting Files contain meeting minutes, agendas, California energy market reports, and committee reports. Topics covered at the meetings include pending legislation, FERC updates, and changes to the CA ISO market which had the potential to affect the PX.

R400.009, Box 14, folder 10 - Box 17, folder 20

Series 9 Docket Files. 1997-2000

Physical Description: 72 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by docket date, then by docket number.

Scope and Content Note

The EOB maintained a docket filing system in which all outgoing and incoming documents, such as reports, correspondence, hearing files, and memorandums were filed under the appropriate docket number. Docket numbers were assigned to documents based on the date and the creator.

See Appendix B in Master Finding Aid on the California State Archives website for a full list of docket numbers. Please also note that the first folder of each docket file contains a master log that lists each document that can be found within that particular docket number.

R400.010, Box 18, folder 1 - Box 19, folder 14

Series 10 Subject Files 1997-2007

Physical Description: 47 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by subject heading.

Scope and Content Note

Subject Files document the operation and actions of the EOB and also includes reports, handbooks, and bylaws created by the PX, the California Energy Commission, and the ISO. Furthermore, documents and reports pertaining to the general state of California's energy market can be found within the series.

See Appendix C in Master Finding Aid on the California State Archives website for a complete subject list.

R400.011, Box 19, folders 15-20

Series 11 Attorney Files 1998-1999

Physical Description: 5 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by document date.

Access Information

This series is RESTRICTED under the California Public Records Act, Government Code sections 7927.705 , 7927.205, and 7930.110 (formerly Gov. Code sections 6254(k), 6254.25, and 6276.04 Attorney-Client Privilege).

Scope and Content Note

This series includes attorney notes, court dockets, correspondence, reports, and expert witness statements which were used to determine the settlement of Reliability Must-Run (RMR) contracts.

R400.012

Series 12 Artifacts. 1997-2008

Physical Description: 3 items

Arrangement

Arranged by item type.

Access Information

Curatoral restriction. See State Archives reference archivist for access.

Scope and Content Note

This series contains three artifacts, including a large sign from the EOB office and two decorative plates, which were a gift from a delegation from China.