Queue Intelligence · Playbook (Beta)
How we run CAISO large-load interconnection in California — the longest median COD in the country, the Cluster Study Process, CPUC authority, SB 100 compliance, and the wildfire risk overlays that no other ISO requires.
The California context
CAISO's 9.2-year median COD is the longest in the US. California's SB 100 is the most aggressive clean electricity target. The CPUC has more rate authority than any other state commission. And California is the only ISO where wildfire risk is part of the standard interconnection diligence. Our playbook reflects all four.
LBNL queue data
CAISO 2025 interconnection report
California Public Utilities Commission
California SB 100
Active deadlines we're tracking
How we run a CAISO filing
CAISO's median time from interconnection request to commercial operation is the longest in the country. The baseline matters because every assumption in the project plan — capex, COD, financing, incentives — has to be modeled against that horizon, not the 2–3 year timelines buyers remember from ERCOT or the Midwest.
We flag CAISO exposure as the single biggest scheduling risk on any project we screen.
CAISO uses a cluster-based approach with annual cycles and strict financial readiness gates under Order 2023 compliance. Your project lands in a cluster with peers; upgrade costs and study costs are allocated across the cluster. We model your cluster exposure per candidate POI.
Shared-cost allocation inside clusters is a specific CAISO mechanic worth studying.
The California Public Utilities Commission has more rate and rate-structure authority than any other state PUC. Every utility rate case, every resource plan, every new tariff affects interconnection economics. We track every CPUC docket that touches large-load projects.
CPUC IRP and rate cases are high-leverage for DC pro formas.
California SB 100 targets 100% clean electricity by 2045. Every large new load is part of the clean electricity math. Deals that can credibly match or exceed clean electricity commitments find easier paths through the regulatory process.
Clean match commitments are negotiable leverage, not just compliance check-boxes.
What matters
CAISO's long interconnection timelines reflect a combination of high demand, constrained transmission, environmental review rigor, and a cluster-study framework that favors caution over speed. Operators planning a CAISO project should budget financial patience, not just capital.
California's clean electricity targets are enforceable through CPUC and CEC authority. Projects that don't credibly match clean electricity face meaningful downstream risk — from intervener protests, from rate treatment, and from insurance.
PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E each have their own large-load conventions inside the CAISO framework. A project in PG&E territory follows different interconnection steps than one in SCE territory, even though both land in the same CAISO cluster cycle.
CAISO is the only ISO where site selection routinely considers PSPS history, fire tier maps, and insurance availability. Our Site Intelligence integration handles the wildfire overlay natively.
Features
Every 230 kV, 500 kV, and DC-tie bus in the CAISO footprint with nightly base case and queue ingestion. Our graph includes the utility-specific POI conventions for PG&E, SCE, SDG&E, and the municipal systems.
Live view of each cluster cycle's readiness gates, study windows, and cost allocations. Your project stays visible against its cluster peers.
Every active CPUC case relevant to data centers, large loads, rate structures, and the IRP framework. We surface filings and rulings the day they land.
For projects triggering California Energy Commission siting authority, we help structure the initial consultation and the downstream approval process.
We model realistic clean electricity match commitments against your load profile — PPAs, RECs, on-site generation, demand response — and produce a compliance memo for use in CPUC filings.
California sites face wildfire risk tiers that affect insurance, power shutoffs, and community acceptance. We overlay wildfire risk maps and PG&E PSPS historical data on every candidate site.
CAISO is in beta because the wildfire overlay and the CPUC docket ingestion are still being tuned. The core queue graph and Cluster Study Process tracking are production-ready. Customers piloting CAISO today help us harden the beta features.
“California’s median wait from interconnection request to commercial operation is now longer than the median lifetime of a GPU model.”
Other playbooks
CAISO playbook
Tell us your load profile, candidate POIs, and target COD. We identify the specific choke points in your path and surface realistic acceleration options.