Energy Policy Initiatives Center

The Energy Policy Initiatives Center (EPIC) and the San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative (SDRCC) worked together to develop and launch the San Diego Regional Energy Academy. This program was developed with the support of core funding partners, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and San Diego Community Power (SDCP).

The San Diego region has made significant progress towards reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions since regional emissions tracking began in 2012, achieving a 35% emissions reduction from 2012 to 2022. Progress in the passenger vehicle and electricity sectors contributed most significantly to this emissions reduction.

The 2026 Eighteenth Annual Lesley K. McAllister Symposium will explore the transition from minimal electric load growth to a period of increased growth due to electrification and the rise of AI data centers. Policymakers, practitioners, academics, and other experts will discuss a range of topics related to this transition, including the drivers and scale of load growth; policy and regulatory solutions to ensure that we can serve growing electric needs while ensuring affordability, reliability, and clean energy goals; and emerging technologies and strategies to manage and mitigate future demand.

Since the late 2000s, EPIC has been supporting development of local climate action plans (CAP) by completing greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories, estimating the GHG reduction potential of policies and programs, and conducting cost analyses to determine the impact to city budgets and residents and businesses. Click below to learn more about how EPIC continues to support local climate action planning.

EPIC worked with the City of San Diego to develop the first-of-its-kind Climate Equity Index. EPIC then assisted the City of Chula to develop its own CEI that included indicators more important to Chula Vista stakeholders. Both indexes reflect the importance of various factors to each stakeholder group within each city, at the time of development of the index.

The Energy Law and Policy Clinic is a unique opportunity for USD Law students to work in partnership with a related government agency to conduct legal research on a topical issue. The Clinic, led by EPIC Staff Attorney Joe Kaatz, conducts legal research for state and other public or local agencies. Over the past decade, the Clinic has completed projects for the California Energy Commission (CEC), California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC, California Air Resources Board (CARB), and the California Department of Water Resources (DWR).

EPIC is supporting the San Diego Association of Government’s regional climate action planning activities as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Grant Program. Work for this project includes quantifying GHG emissions, estimating emission reductions from policies and programs, and supporting stakeholder engagement.