Effective January 2005, the California Energy Commission (CEC) moved the Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program to the newly created Energy Research and Development division and upgraded the PIER manager position to that of division director. The organizational changes were recommended in a March 2004 report by the PIER Independent Review Panel (IRP) convened by CCST. The changes were announced in October.

"Under the previous structure, PIER had a subordinate administrative position within the CEC not commensurate with its budgetary weight and with the program's potential impact on California's future," said CCST Fellow Carl Weinberg, chair of the review panel.

PIER funds research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) in projects that focus on renewable forms of energy, alternative methods of generating energy, and energy efficiency. It was created following the restructuring of California's electricity industry in 1996, which reduced public interest RD&D activity by the utility companies. PIER has an annual budget of $62.5 million.

The independent review panel was established by the Legislature to evaluate the PIER program's public value and to verify the extent to which the PIER program had complied with the recommendations of previous review panel reports produced in 2000 and 2001. CCST managed the review process for both the current and the original review panels. "The performance of the PIER program significantly improved between the review in 2001 and the review in 2004," said Weinberg. "The principal recommendations of the 2004 interim report concerned PIER's management structure and its ability to function as a flexible, independent R&D organization. The creation of the Energy Research and Development division and the appointment of Dr. Krebs are very positive steps towards addressing those concerns."

Dr. Martha Krebs, a nationally recognized energy expert and administrator, was hired for the newly created position of Deputy Director for the Energy Research and Development Division, which will have the same management authority as other directors in the CEC. Dr. Krebs served as the deputy director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and later held the position of director of Basic Energy Research at the U.S. Department of Energy.

In addition, the CEC reports that PIER program staff vacancies are now being filled and critically needed new positions have been proposed in the latest budget request. The final report of the IRP will be released in June 2005, which will evaluate progress made by the CEC in responding to the interim March 2004 report, as well as provide final recommendations for maximizing the ability of the PIER program to meet its full potential as a world-class R&D organization.