California’s Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC)

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) established the Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) to provide funding for technology evaluation from 2012-2020. In August 2020, the CPUC approved the renewal of EPIC for 10 years through December 31, 2030. Southern California Edison (SCE), Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and the California Energy Commission (CEC) administer the EPIC Program. The EPIC is divided into three areas: applied research and development; technology development and demonstration; and market facilitation of clean energy resources. The CEC administers all three areas of EPIC, while the Utilities are limited to only technology development and demonstrations. The CPUC allocated 80% of the budget to the CEC and the Utilities share the remaining 20% of the budget. The CPUC uses the following allocation for the Utilities EPIC budgets:

• SCE (41.1%)
• PG&E (50.1%)
• SDG&E (8.8%)

The annual budget has historically been $162 million. To account for the consumer price index (inflation), the annual EPIC III budget is $185 million. SCE's 2018-2020 EPIC III budget is $40.8 million (annually approximately $13.6 million). The CPUC has approved the EPIC III budgets and is currently reviewing the Investment Plans.