Coalition Dynamics and Stakeholder Co-Design in California’s Demand Flexibility Regulatory Proceedings

• In Event: Coordinating Grid Needs: Demand-Side Innovation Across Institutions, Customers, and Technologies

Abstract

California’s Demand Flexibility Rulemaking (R.22-07-005) represents a leading effort in the U.S. to reimagine demand-side participation through dynamic electricity pricing. By enabling customers to shift electricity use in response to real-time grid and emissions signals, the rulemaking aims to enhance system reliability, reduce emissions and curtailment, lower long-term costs, and expand access to dynamic pricing across residential, commercial, and industrial sectors.

This study investigates how stakeholder co-design has shaped the development of California’s emerging demand flexibility policies. We analyze filings submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission between 2022 and 2025, with a focus on stakeholders’ public comments. Using network analysis and community detection methods, we trace the formation and evolution of stakeholder coalitions across key moments in the regulatory proceedings. We complement this with qualitative analysis of public comments and interviews with a subset of stakeholders to examine the organizational priorities guiding participation in the co-design process.

Our findings illustrate how California’s regulatory process has become a site of institutional experimentation, where utilities, businesses, and advocacy groups actively shape policy design and implementation. This research underscores the value of stakeholder co-design in aligning diverse interests, navigating tensions, and constructing durable governance arrangements for a more flexible and equitable energy system.

Authors

• Calvin Spanbauer, Princeton University
  Presenting Author

• Margaret Taylor, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
  Non-Presenting Co-Author