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Public Utilities Commission Faces 'Backlog' of IT Projects

The California Public Utilities Commission is proposing to add two dozen more personnel to its Information Technology Services Branch to keep up with an increasing workload that includes several new technology projects in the pipeline.

The California Public Utilities Commission is proposing to add two dozen more personnel to its Information Technology Services Branch to keep up with an increasing workload that includes several new technology projects in the pipeline.

Eleven projects at CPUC have been approved through the first stage — the business analysis — of the Department of Technology's project approval process, according to a Q1 2016 update. They include a new Program Claims Management System, e-filing for transportation carriers, electronic submission of "advice letters," a position control system for human resources, a system to accept online payments of user fees, and others.

Most of these new projects can only begin if more staff are added, CPUC said.

"At current IT staffing levels, the PUC cannot keep pace with its growing operational workload. The PUC lacks the IT resources to appropriately support its mission-critical programs and information security, provide public transparency, and inform decision-makers, according a Spring Finance Letter requesting the 24 new positions.

The IT Services branch is currently authorized to carry 45 staff positions, a number that has remained largely static the past five years.

In addition, CPUC says it's in "drastic need" of a dedicated security team (there isn't one today), is dealing with a growing amount of data stored on its network (400 terabytes), can't provide mobility support to its staff, and will need to modernize its portfolio of applications.

"Much of the PUC's critical business data is stored and managed in 49 Oracle database applications, 21 of which are more than 10 years old," CPUC says in the staffing proposal, signed March 29 by CIO Reza Yazdi.

If funded, CPUC plans to add 15 software specialists, two data processing managers, two staff information systems analysts, four associate information systems analysts and one office technician.

CPUC did not immediately return Techwire's request on Tuesday for more information about the proposal.

On a related note, the California Public Utilities Commission is getting ready to launch a new enterprise e-filing project. The California Department of Technology approved the project, called eFAST — eFiling Administration Support — in January. The $5.7 million effort will build a common platform for the CPUC's five business divisions to receive and manage filings electronically. Most of CPUC's filing processes currently are manual, according to the bid documents.

Matt Williams was Managing Editor of Techwire from June 2014 through May 2017.