BILL NUMBER: AB 2466 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 540
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 28, 2008
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 28, 2008
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 14, 2008
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 18, 2008
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 12, 2008
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 4, 2008
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 12, 2008
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 23, 2008
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2008
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Laird and Huffman
FEBRUARY 21, 2008
An act to add Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 2830) to Part 2
of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2466, Laird. Local government renewable energy self-generation
program.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission is vested with
regulatory authority over public utilities. Existing law permits a
private energy producer to generate electricity not generated from
conventional sources, as defined, solely for its own use or the use
of its tenants, or to or for any electrical corporation, state
agency, city, county, district, or an association thereof, but not
the public, without becoming a public utility subject to the general
jurisdiction of the commission. Existing law requires the commission
to review the charges paid by electrical corporations to private
energy producers for electricity not generated from conventional
power sources and to review standby and transmission charges made by
electrical corporations to private energy producers and, after the
review, to adjust those charges to encourage the generation of
electricity from other than conventional power sources. Existing law
authorizes the City of Davis to receive a bill credit, as defined, to
a benefiting account, as defined, for electricity supplied to the
electrical grid by a photovoltaic facility located within and
partially owned by the city and requires the commission to adopt a
rate tariff for the benefiting account.
This bill would authorize a local government, as defined, to
receive a bill credit, as defined, to a designated benefiting
account, as defined, for electricity exported to the electrical grid
by an eligible renewable generating facility, as defined, and
requires the commission to adopt a rate tariff for the benefiting
account.
Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or an
order or direction of the commission is a crime. Because the
provisions of this bill would require an order or other action of the
commission to implement and a violation of that order or action
would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local
program by creating a new crime.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 2830) is added to
Part 2 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code, to read:
CHAPTER 7.5. LOCAL GOVERNMENT RENEWABLE ENERGY
SELF-GENERATION PROGRAM
2830. (a) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Benefiting account" means an electricity account, or more
than one account, located within the geographical boundaries of a
local government, that is mutually agreed upon by the local
government and an electrical corporation.
(2) "Bill credit" means an amount of money credited to a
benefiting account that is calculated based upon the time-of-use
electricity generation component of the electricity usage charge of
the generating account, multiplied by the quantities of electricity
generated by an eligible renewable generating facility that are
exported to the grid during the corresponding time period.
Electricity is exported to the grid if it is generated by an eligible
renewable generating facility, is not utilized onsite by the local
government, and the electricity flows through the meter site and on
to the electrical corporation's distribution or transmission
infrastructure.
(3) "Eligible renewable generating facility" means a generation
facility that has a generating capacity of no more than one megawatt,
is an eligible renewable energy resource pursuant to the California
Renewables Portfolio Standard Program, is located within the
geographical boundary of, and is owned, operated, or on property
under the control of, the local government, and is sized to offset
all or part of the electrical load of the benefiting account. For
these purposes, premises that are leased by a local government are
under the control of the local government.
(4) "Generating account" means the time-of-use electric service
account of the local government where the eligible renewable
generating facility is located.
(5) "Local government" means a city, county, whether general law
or chartered, city and county, special district, school district,
political subdivision, or other local public agency, if authorized by
law to generate electricity, but shall not mean the state, any
agency or department of the state, or joint powers authority.
(b) Subject to the limitation in subdivision (h), a local
government may elect to receive electric service pursuant to this
section, if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The local government designates one or more benefiting
accounts to receive a bill credit.
(2) A benefiting account receives service under a time-of-use rate
schedule.
(3) The benefiting account is the responsibility of, and serves
property that is owned, operated, or on property under the control of
the same local government that owns, operates, or controls the
eligible renewable generating facility.
(4) The electrical output of the eligible renewable generating
facility is metered for time of use to allow calculation of the bill
credit based upon when the electricity is exported to the grid.
(5) All costs associated with the metering requirements of
paragraphs (2) and (4) are the responsibility of the local
government.
(6) All costs associated with interconnection are the
responsibility of the local government. For purposes of this
paragraph, "interconnection" has the same meaning as defined in
Section 2803, except that it applies to the interconnection of an
eligible renewable generating facility rather than the energy source
of a private energy producer.
(7) The local government does not sell electricity exported to the
electrical grid to a third party.
(8) All electricity exported to the grid by the local government
that is generated by the eligible renewable generating facility
becomes the property of the electrical corporation to which the
facility is interconnected, but shall not be counted toward the
electrical corporation's total retail sales for purposes of Article
16 (commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1.
Ownership of the renewable energy credits, as defined in Section
399.12, shall be the same as the ownership of the renewable energy
credits associated with electricity that is net metered pursuant to
Section 2827.
(c) (1) A benefiting account shall be billed for all electricity
usage, and for each bill component, at the rate schedule applicable
to the benefiting account, including any cost-responsibility
surcharge or other cost recovery mechanism, as determined by the
commission, to reimburse the Department of Water Resources for
purchases of electricity, pursuant to Division 27 (commencing with
Section 80000) of the Water Code.
(2) The bill shall then subtract the bill credit applicable to the
benefiting account. The generation component credited to the
benefiting account may not include the cost-responsibility surcharge
or other cost recovery mechanism, as determined by the commission, to
reimburse the Department of Water Resources for purchases of
electricity, pursuant to Division 27 (commencing with Section 80000)
of the Water Code. The electrical corporation shall ensure that the
local government receives the full bill credit.
(3) If, during the billing cycle, the generation component of the
electricity usage charges exceeds the bill credit, the benefiting
account shall be billed for the difference.
(4) If, during the billing cycle, the bill credit applied pursuant
to paragraph (2) exceeds the generation component of the electricity
usage charges, the difference shall be carried forward as a
financial credit to the next billing cycle.
(5) After the electricity usage charge pursuant to paragraph (1)
and the credit pursuant to paragraph (2) are determined for the last
billing cycle of a 12-month period, any remaining credit resulting
from the application of this section shall be reset to zero.
(d) The commission shall ensure that the transfer of a bill credit
to a benefiting account does not result in a shifting of costs to
bundled service subscribers. The costs associated with the transfer
of a bill credit shall include all billing-related expenses.
(e) Not more frequently than once per year, and upon providing the
electrical corporation with a minimum of 60 days' notice, the local
government may elect to change a benefiting account. Any credit
resulting from the application of this section earned prior to the
change in a benefiting account that has not been used as of the date
of the change in the benefiting account, shall be applied, and may
only be applied, to a benefiting account as changed.
(f) A local government shall provide the electrical corporation to
which the eligible renewable generating facility will be
interconnected with not less than 60 days' notice prior to the
eligible renewable generating facility becoming operational. The
electrical corporation shall file an advice letter with the
commission, that complies with this section, not later than 30 days
after receipt of the notice, proposing a rate tariff for a benefiting
account. The commission, within 30 days of the date of filing, shall
approve the proposed tariff, or specify conforming changes to be
made by the electrical corporation to be filed in a new advice
letter.
(g) The local government may terminate its election pursuant to
subdivision (b), upon providing the electrical corporation with a
minimum of 60 days' notice. Should the local government sell its
interest in the eligible renewable generating facility, or sell the
electricity generated by the eligible renewable generating facility,
in a manner other than required by this section, upon the date of
either event, and the earliest date if both events occur, no further
bill credit pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) may be
earned. Only credit earned prior to that date shall be made to a
benefiting account.
(h) An electrical corporation is not obligated to provide a bill
credit to a benefiting account that is not designated by a local
government prior to the point in time that the combined statewide
cumulative rated generating capacity of all eligible renewable
generating facilities within the service territories of the state's
three largest electrical corporations reaches 250 megawatts. Only
those eligible renewable generating facilities that are providing
bill credits to benefiting accounts pursuant to this section shall
count toward reaching this 250-megawatt limitation. Each electrical
corporation shall only be required to offer service or contracts
under this section until that electrical corporation reaches its
proportionate share of the 250-megawatt limitation based on the ratio
of its peak demand to the total statewide peak demand of all
electrical corporations.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.