A Day (Two Actually) at the California PUC
Edward Randolph was named Energy Division Director of the CPUC in November 2011. He joined the CPUC in March 2010 as Director of Governmental Affairs and Senior Policy Advisor.
PUF's Steve Mitnick: What does the energy division director do on a typical day?
Edward Randolph: I direct a staff of about a hundred and fifty people. We provide analytical support to the Commissioners and the Administrative Law Judges (ALJs). Also, some decision making is directly delegated to us from the commissioners. We are the staff experts on our general rate cases, so ratemaking is an important aspect of all our work.
The state has developed a number of clean energy policies that historically include energy efficiency, renewables, and demand response. So, we help develop the policies around those programs plus new programs such as storage and electric vehicles.
On the clean energy side, the policy development for the commission is coming from my staff, with lots of input from the public. My staff provides a lot of the front-end analysis, the drafting on a lot of the language behind these policy developments.
My role is helping folks be innovative and think through the policies as they're developing them. Making sure that things we are proposing are feasible. Feasible from an economic standpoint, a political standpoint and a physics/engineering standpoint. Politically feasible can sometimes be the biggest challenge. I need to have an eye for, "Yeah, that's a great idea, but it will never fly."