BILL NUMBER: AB 162 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 16, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ruskin
JANUARY 27, 2009
An act to amend Sections 398.2, 398.4, and 398.5 of the Public
Utilities Code, relating to electrical suppliers.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 162, as amended, Ruskin. Electric service providers:
reporting requirements. Disclosure of sources of
electrical generation.
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities
Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including
electrical corporations.
Existing law establishes a program under which entities
offering electric services in California retail
suppliers of electricity disclose accurate, reliable, and
simple to understand information on the sources of energy that are
used to provide electric services.
This bill would define the term "unspecified sources of power"
for purposes of the above-described disclosure requirements to mean
electricity generated that cannot be matched to a particular
generating facility. is not traceable to specific
generation sources by any auditable contract trail or equivalent that
provides commercial verification that the electricity source claimed
has been sold once, and only once, to a retail consumer. The bill
would additionally define the term "retail supplier." Further
, this bill would change reporting requirements from
quarterly to annually and amend other details regarding disclosures
and eliminate certain reporting requirements.
(2) Under existing law, the governing board of a local publicly
owned electric utility, as defined, is responsible for implementing
and enforcing a renewables portfolio standard for the utility that
recognizes the intent of the Legislature to encourage renewable
resources, while taking into consideration the effect of the standard
on rates, reliability, and financial resources and the goal of
environmental improvement. Existing law requires the governing board
of a local publicly owned electric utility to report certain
information relative to renewable energy resources to its customers.
This bill would provide that compliance by a local publicly owned
electric utility with the program under which retail suppliers of
electricity disclose accurate, reliable, and simple to understand
information on the sources of energy that are used to provide
electric service, is compliance with the renewables portfolio
standard reporting requirements.
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 398.2 of the Public Utilities Code is amended
to read:
398.2. The definitions set forth in this section shall govern the
construction of this article.
(a) "Retail supplier" means an entity that offers an electricity
product for sale to retail consumers in California.
(a)
(b) "System operator" means the Independent System
Operator with responsibility for the efficient use and reliable
operation of the transmission grid, as provided by Section 345, or a
local publicly owned electric utility that does not utilize the
Independent System Operator.
(b)
(c) "Specific purchases" means electricity transactions
which are traceable to specific generation sources by any auditable
contract trail or equivalent, such as a tradable commodity system,
that provides commercial verification that the electricity source
claimed has been sold once and only once to a retail consumer. Retail
suppliers may rely on annual data to meet this requirement, rather
than hour-by-hour matching of loads and resources.
(c) "Net system power" means the mix of electricity fuel source
types established by the Energy Commission representing the sources
of electricity consumed in California that are not disclosed as
specific purchases pursuant to Section 398.4.
(d) "Unspecified sources of electricity"
power" means electricity that cannot be matched to a
particular generating facility. is not traceable to
specific generation sources by any auditable contract trail or
equivalent, including a tradable commodity system, that provides
commercial verification that the electricity source claimed has been
sold once, and only once, to a retail consumer.
SEC. 2. Section 398.4 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
398.4. (a) Every retail seller, as defined in Section
399.12, supplier that makes an offering to sell
electricity that is consumed in California shall disclose its
electricity sources for the previous calendar year. A retail
supplier that does not make any claims that identify its electricity
sources as different than net system power may disclose net system
power. Every retail supplier that makes an offering to sell
electricity that is consumed in California and makes any claims that
identify any of its electricity sources as different than net system
power shall disclose these sources as specific purchases.
(b) The disclosures required by this section shall be made to
potential end-use consumers in all product-specific written
promotional materials that are distributed to consumers by either
printed or electronic means, except that advertisements and notices
in general circulation media shall not be subject to this
requirement.
(c) The disclosures required by this section shall be made
annually to end-use consumers of the offered electricity. The annual
disclosure shall be made by the end of the first complete billing
cycle for the third quarter of the year, and shall be consistent with
information provided to the Energy Commission pursuant to Section
398.5.
(d) The disclosures required by this section shall be made
separately for each offering made by the retail supplier.
(e) On or before January 1, 1998, the Energy Commission shall
specify guidelines for the format and means for disclosure required
by Section 398.3 and this section, based on the requirements of this
article and subject to public hearing.
(f) The costs of making the disclosures required by this section
shall be considered to be generation related.
(g) The disclosures required by this section shall comply with the
following:
(1) A retail seller's supplier's
disclosure of its electricity sources shall be expressed as a
percentage of annual sales derived from each of the following
categories, unless no specific purchases are disclosed, in
which only the first category shall be disclosed.
(A) Net system
electricity or unspecified categories:
(A) Unspecified
sources of electricity.
(B) Specific purchases.
(2) A retail seller's supplier's
disclosure of its electricity sources shall also separately identify
total California system electricity, which is the sum of all in-state
generation and net electricity imports by fuel type.
(h) Each of the categories specified in subdivision (g) shall be
additionally identified as a percentage of annual sales that is
derived from each fuel type of the categories specified as follows:
(1) Coal.
(2) Large hydroelectric (greater than 30 megawatts).
(3) Natural gas.
(4) Nuclear.
(5) Other categories as determined by the Energy Commission.
(6) Eligible renewable energy resource technologies as
defined in Section 399.12. resources pursuant to the
California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (Article 16
(commencing with Section 399.11)).
(i) All electricity sources disclosed as specific purchases shall
meet the requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 398.2.
(j) Specific purchases identified pursuant to this section shall
be from sources connected to the Western Electricity Coordinating
Council interconnected grid.
(k) Unspecified sources of electricity and total California system
electricity shall be disclosed for the most recent calendar year
available.
() Compliance
(k) Compliance with this section
by a local publicly owned electric utility shall constitute
compliance with paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 387.
(m)
(l) The provisions of this section shall not apply to
generators providing electric service onsite, under an over-the-fence
transaction as described in Section 218, or to an affiliate or
affiliates, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 372.
SEC. 3. Section 398.5 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
398.5. (a) Retail sellers, as defined in Section 399.12,
suppliers that disclose specific purchases
pursuant to Section 398.4 shall report on June 1, 2009, and annually
thereafter, to the Energy Commission, for each electricity offering,
for the previous calendar year each of the following:
(1) The kilowatthours purchased, by generator and fuel type during
the previous calendar year, consistent with the meter data,
including losses, reported to the system operator.
(2) For each electricity offering the kilowatthours sold at
retail.
(3) For each electricity offering the disclosures made to
consumers pursuant to Section 398.4.
(b) Information submitted to the Energy Commission pursuant to
this section that is a trade secret as defined in subdivision (d) of
Section 3426.1 of the Civil Code shall not be released except in an
aggregated form such that trade secrets cannot be discerned.
(c) On or before January 1, 1998, the Energy Commission shall
specify guidelines and standard formats, based on the requirements of
this article and subject to public hearing, for the submittal of
information pursuant to this article.
(d) In developing the rules and procedures specified in this
section, the Energy Commission shall seek to minimize the reporting
burden and cost of reporting that it imposes on retail
sellers suppliers .
(e) The Energy Commission shall issue an annual report by July 31
of each year calculating net system electricity. The Energy
Commission will establish the generation mix for net generation
imports delivered at interface points and metered by the system
operators.
(f)
(e) The provisions of this section shall not apply to
generators providing electric service onsite, under an over-the-fence
transaction as described in Section 218, or to an affiliate or
affiliates, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 372.
(g)
(f) The Energy Commission may verify the veracity of
environmental claims made by retail sellers
suppliers .