BILL NUMBER: AB 94 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Levine
DECEMBER 20, 2006
An act to amend Section 25740 of the Public Resources Code, and to
amend Sections 399.11 and 399.15 of the Public Utilities Code,
relating to renewable energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 94, as introduced, Levine. Renewable energy.
(1) Existing law expresses the intent of the Legislature, in
establishing the Renewable Energy Resources Program, to increase the
amount of electricity generated per year from eligible renewable
energy resources is increased to an amount that equals at least 20%
of the total electricity sold to retail customers in California per
year by December 31, 2010.
This bill would revise the intent language so that the amount of
electricity generated per year from eligible renewable energy
resources is increased to an amount that equals at least 33% of the
total electricity sold to retail customers in California per year by
December 31, 2020.
(2) The Public Utilities Act imposes various duties and
responsibilities on the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)
with respect to the purchase of electricity and requires the CPUC to
review and adopt a procurement plan and a renewable energy
procurement plan for each electrical corporation pursuant to the
California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program. The program
requires that a retail seller, as defined, of electricity, purchase a
specified minimum percentage of electricity generated by eligible
renewable energy resources, as defined, in any given year as a
specified percentage of total kilowatthours sold to retail end-use
customers each calendar year (renewables portfolio standard). The
renewables portfolio standard requires each retail seller to increase
its total procurement of eligible renewable energy resources by at
least an additional 1% of retail sales per year so that 20% of its
retail sales are procured from eligible renewable energy resources no
later than December 31, 2010.
This bill would instead require that each retail seller increase
its total procurement of eligible renewable energy resources by at
least an additional 1% of retail sales per year so that 33% of its
retail sales are procured from eligible renewable energy resources no
later than December 31, 2020.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 25740 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:
25740. It is the intent of the Legislature in establishing this
program, to increase the amount of electricity generated from
eligible renewable energy resources per year, so that it equals at
least 20 33 percent of total retail
sales of electricity in California per year by December 31,
2010 2020 .
SEC. 2. Section 399.11 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
399.11. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) In order to attain a target of generating 20
33 percent of total retail sales of electricity
in California from eligible renewable energy resources by December
31, 2010 2020 , and for the purposes of
increasing the diversity, reliability, public health and
environmental benefits of the energy mix, it is the intent of the
Legislature that the commission and the State Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Commission implement the California
Renewables Portfolio Standard Program described in this article.
(b) Increasing California's reliance on eligible renewable energy
resources may promote stable electricity prices, protect public
health, improve environmental quality, stimulate sustainable economic
development, create new employment opportunities, and reduce
reliance on imported fuels.
(c) The development of eligible renewable energy resources and the
delivery of the electricity generated by those resources to
customers in California may ameliorate air quality problems
throughout the state and improve public health by reducing the
burning of fossil fuels and the associated environmental impacts and
by reducing in-state fossil fuel consumption.
(d) The California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program is
intended to complement the Renewable Energy Resources Program
administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission and established pursuant to Chapter 8.6
(commencing with Section 25740) of Division 15 of the Public
Resources Code.
(e) New and modified electric transmission facilities may be
necessary to facilitate the state achieving its renewables portfolio
standard targets.
SEC. 3. Section 399.15 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
399.15. (a) In order to fulfill unmet long-term resource needs,
the commission shall establish a renewables portfolio standard
requiring all electrical corporations to procure a minimum quantity
of electricity generated by eligible renewable energy resources as a
specified percentage of total kilowatthours sold to their retail
end-use customers each calendar year, if sufficient funds are made
available pursuant to Section 399.6 and Chapter 8.6 (commencing with
Section 25740) of Division 15 of the Public Resources Code, to cover
the above-market costs of eligible renewable energy resources.
(b) The commission shall implement annual procurement targets for
each retail seller as follows:
(1) Each retail seller shall, pursuant to subdivision (a),
increase its total procurement of eligible renewable energy resources
by at least an additional 1 percent of retail sales per year so that
20 33 percent of its retail sales are
procured from eligible renewable energy resources no later than
December 31, 2010 2020 . A retail
seller with 20 33 percent of retail
sales procured from eligible renewable energy resources in any year
shall not be required to increase its procurement of renewable energy
resources in the following year.
(2) For purposes of setting annual procurement targets, the
commission shall establish an initial baseline for each retail seller
based on the actual percentage of retail sales procured from
eligible renewable energy resources in 2001, and to the extent
applicable, adjusted going forward pursuant to Section 399.12.
(3) Only for purposes of establishing these targets, the
commission shall include all electricity sold to retail customers by
the Department of Water Resources pursuant to Section 80100 of the
Water Code in the calculation of retail sales by an electrical
corporation.
(4) In the event that a retail seller fails to procure sufficient
eligible renewable energy resources in a given year to meet any
annual target established pursuant to this subdivision, the retail
seller shall procure additional eligible renewable energy resources
in subsequent years to compensate for the shortfall if sufficient
funds are made available pursuant to Section 399.6 and Chapter 8.6
(commencing with Section 25740) of Division 15 of the Public
Resources Code, to cover any above-market costs of eligible renewable
energy resources.
(5) If supplemental energy payments from the Energy Commission, in
combination with the market prices approved by the commission, are
insufficient to cover any above-market costs of electricity procured
from eligible renewable energy resources through an electricity
purchase agreement of at least 10 years' duration, the commission
shall allow a retail seller to limit its annual procurement
obligation to the quantity of eligible renewable energy resources
that can be procured with available supplemental energy payments. A
retail seller shall not be required to enter into long-term contracts
with operators of eligible renewable energy resources that exceed
the market prices established pursuant to subdivision (c).
(c) The commission shall establish a methodology to determine the
market price of electricity for terms corresponding to the length of
contracts with eligible renewable energy resources, in consideration
of the following:
(1) The long-term market price of electricity for fixed price
contracts, determined pursuant to an electrical corporation's general
procurement activities as authorized by the commission.
(2) The long-term ownership, operating, and fixed-price fuel costs
associated with fixed-price electricity from new generating
facilities.
(3) The value of different products including baseload, peaking,
and as-available electricity.
(d) The Energy Commission shall provide supplemental energy
payments from funds in the New Renewable Resources Account of the
Renewable Resource Trust Fund to eligible renewable energy resources
pursuant to Chapter 8.6 (commencing with Section 25740) of Division
15 of the Public Resources Code, consistent with this article, for
any above-market costs. Indirect costs associated with the purchase
of eligible renewable energy resources by an electrical corporation,
including imbalance energy charges, sale of excess energy, decreased
generation from existing resources, or transmission upgrades, shall
not be eligible for supplemental energy payments, but are recoverable
in rates, as authorized by the commission. The Energy Commission
shall not award supplemental energy payments to service load that is
not subject to the renewable energy public goods charge.
(e) The establishment of a renewables portfolio standard shall not
constitute implementation by the commission of the federal Public
Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-617).
(f) The commission shall consult with the Energy Commission in
calculating market prices under subdivision (c) and establishing
other renewables portfolio standard policies.