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The regulations, which were passed unanimously by the commission, are scheduled to go into effect in 2011, with even tighter restrictions kicking in two years later. CEA and other industry groups have strongly opposed the measures since they were first proposed earlier this year.
"We're extremely disappointed in the decision by the California Energy Commission today," CEA legislative affairs chief Jason Oxman said on a conference call called by CEA after the decision.
Oxman noted that the CEC approved the same rules that were proposed before the comment period began. He added that the regulations were based "almost in their entirety on an inaccurate study submitted by Pacific Gas and Electric," a utility that CEA believes would benefit from the new rules.
The CEC had delayed its decision by two weeks on Nov. 2, after receiving a 91-page comment e-mail from CEA at the last minute, before ultimately voting on Wednesday.
CEA did not commit to a strategy for dealing with the proposed rules. The group's Senior Director of Technology Policy, Doug Johnson, noted that CEA "will be watching carefully" to see if the regulations proceed.
Johnson also said that regulations must go through an approval process through the state's Office of Administrative Law, while the state's legislature is "concerned" about the CEC's actions.
Johnson added that it must take direction from its member companies, as well as analyze the full decision themselves, before committing to a course of action.
"We'll have to see how the process works out," Johnson said.
Companies Mentioned:
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