BILL NUMBER: AB 531 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Saldana
FEBRUARY 25, 2009
An act to amend Section 6254.16 of the Government Code, to amend
Section 25402.10 of the Public Resources Code, and to amend Section
394.4 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 531, as introduced, Saldana. Energy consumption data:
disclosure.
Existing law requires electric and gas utilities to maintain
records of the energy consumption data of all nonresidential
buildings to which they provide service. Existing law requires an
electric or gas utility, upon the written authorization or secure
electronic authorization of a nonresidential building owner or
operator, to upload all of the energy consumption data for the
account specified for a building to the United States Environmental
Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager in a manner that
preserves the confidentiality of the customer.
Existing law, including the California Public Records Act,
prohibits the disclosure of a utility customer's personal
information, except under specified circumstances.
This bill would exempt an electric or gas utility from these
disclosure prohibitions when the electric or gas utility is uploading
the energy consumption data for the account specified for a building
to the United States Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR
Portfolio Manager.
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 6254.16 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
6254.16. Nothing Except as provided in
subdivisi on (b) of Section 25402.10 of the Public
Resources Code, nothing in this chapter shall be construed to
require the disclosure of the name, credit history, utility usage
data, home address, or telephone number of utility customers of local
agencies, except that disclosure of name, utility usage data, and
the home address of utility customers of local agencies shall be made
available upon request as follows:
(a) To an agent or authorized family member of the person to whom
the information pertains.
(b) To an officer or employee of another governmental agency when
necessary for the performance of its official duties.
(c) Upon court order or the request of a law enforcement agency
relative to an ongoing investigation.
(d) Upon determination by the local agency that the utility
customer who is the subject of the request has used utility services
in a manner inconsistent with applicable local utility usage
policies.
(e) Upon determination by the local agency that the utility
customer who is the subject of the request is an elected or appointed
official with authority to determine the utility usage policies of
the local agency, provided that the home address of an appointed
official shall not be disclosed without his or her consent.
(f) Upon determination by the local agency that the public
interest in disclosure of the information clearly outweighs the
public interest in nondisclosure.
SEC. 2. Section 25402.10 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:
25402.10. (a) On and after January 1, 2009, electric and gas
utilities shall maintain records of the energy consumption data of
all nonresidential buildings to which they provide service. This data
shall be maintained, in a format compatible for uploading to the
United States Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR Portfolio
Manager, for at least the most recent 12 months.
(b) On and after January 1, 2009, upon the written authorization
or secure electronic authorization of a nonresidential building owner
or operator , and notwithstanding Section 394.4 of the Public
Utilities Code and Section 6254.16 of the Government Code , an
electric or gas utility shall upload all of the energy consumption
data for the account specified for a building to the United States
Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager in a
manner that preserves the confidentiality of the customer.
(c) In carrying out this section, an electric or gas utility may
use any method for providing the specified data in order to maximize
efficiency and minimize overall program cost, and is encouraged to
work with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and
customers in developing reasonable reporting options.
(d) On and after January 1, 2010, an owner or operator of a
nonresidential building shall disclose the United States
Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager
benchmarking data and ratings for the most recent 12-month period to
a prospective buyer, lessee of the entire building, or lender that
would finance the entire building. If the data is delivered to a
prospective buyer, lessee, or lender, a property owner, operator, or
his or her agent is not required to provide additional information,
and the information shall be deemed to be adequate to inform the
prospective buyer, lessee, or lender regarding the United States
Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager
benchmarking data and ratings for the most recent 12-month period for
the building that is being sold, leased, financed, or refinanced.
(e) Notwithstanding subdivision (d), this section does not
increase or decrease the duties, if any, of a property owner,
operator, or his or her broker or agent under this chapter or alters
the duty of a seller, agent, or broker to disclose the existence of a
material fact affecting the real property.
SEC. 3. Section 394.4 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
394.4. Rules that implement the following minimum standards shall
be adopted by the commission for electric service providers offering
electrical services to residential and small commercial customers
and the governing body of a public agency offering electrical
services to residential and small commercial customers within its
jurisdiction:
(a) Confidentiality: Customer Except as
provided in subdivision (b) of Section 25402.10 of the Public
Resources Code, customer information shall be confidential
unless the customer consents in writing. This shall encompass
confidentiality of customer specific billing, credit, or usage
information. This requirement shall not extend to disclosure of
generic information regarding the usage, load shape, or other general
characteristics of a group or rate classification, unless the
release of that information would reveal customer specific
information because of the size of the group, rate classification, or
nature of the information.
(b) Physical disconnects and reconnects: Only an electrical
corporation, or a publicly owned electric utility, that provides
physical delivery service to the affected customer shall have the
authority to physically disconnect or reconnect a customer from the
transmission or distribution grid. Physical disconnection by
electrical corporations subject to the commission's jurisdiction
shall occur only in accordance with protocols established by the
commission. Physical disconnection by publicly owned electric
utilities shall occur only in accordance with protocols established
by the governing board of the local publicly owned electric utility.
(c) Change in providers: Upon adequate notice supplied by a
electric service provider to the electric corporation or local
publicly owned electric utility providing physical delivery service,
customers who are eligible for direct access may change their energy
supplier. Energy suppliers may charge for this change, provided that
any fee or penalty charged by the supplier associated with early
termination of service, shall be disclosed in that contract or
applicable tariff.
(d) Written notices: Notices describing the terms and conditions
of service as described in Section 394.5, service agreements, notices
of late payment, notices of discontinuance of service, and
disconnection notices addressed to residential and small commercial
customers shall be easily understandable, and shall be provided in
the language in which the electric service provider offered the
services.
(e) Billing: All bills shall have a standard bill format, as
determined by the commission or the governing body, and shall contain
sufficient detail for the customer to recalculate the bill for
accuracy. Any late fees shall be separately stated. Each electric
service provider shall provide on all customer bills a phone number
by which customers may contact the electric service provider to
report and resolve billing inquiries and complaints. An electric
service provider contacted by a customer regarding a billing dispute
shall advise the customer at the time of the initial contact that the
customer may file a complaint with the commission if its dispute is
not satisfactorily resolved by the electric service provider.
(f) Meter integrity: An electric customer shall have a reasonable
opportunity to have its meter tested to ensure the reasonable
accuracy of the meter. The commission or governing body shall
determine who is responsible for the cost of that testing.
(g) Customer deposits: Electric service providers may require
customer deposits before commencing service, but in no event shall
the deposit be more than the estimated bill for the customer for a
three-month period.
(h) Additional protections: The commission or the governing body
may adopt additional residential and small commercial consumer
protection standards that are in the public interest.