BILL NUMBER: AB 531 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 11, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 23, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2009
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 amended, Saldana. Energy consumption data: disclosure.
(1) 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 certain
disclosure prohibitions when the electric or gas utility, upon
written authorization, 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. The
bill would provide this uploading satisfies specified confidentiality
requirements.
(2) Existing
Existing law requires an owner or operator, on and
after January 1, 2010, to disclose the United States Environmental
Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager benchmarking data
and rating to a prospective buyer, lessee of the entire building, or
lender that would finance the entire building.
The bill instead would require the owner or operator to disclose
the benchmarking data and rating to a prospective buyer, lessee of
the entire building, or lender that would finance the entire building
based on a schedule of compliance established by the State Energy
Resources Conservation and Development Commission.
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. Except as provided in subdivision (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 1. 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) (1) On and after January
1, 2009, upon the written authorization or secure electronic
authorization of a nonresidential building owner or
operator, and notwithstanding 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.
(2) Paragraph (1) satisfies the confidentiality requirements of
Section 394.4 of the Public Utilities Code.
(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) (1) Based on a schedule developed by the commission pursuant
to paragraph (2) 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.
(2) The commission shall establish a schedule by which an owner or
operator is required to meet the requirements of this subdivision.
(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 alter
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: 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.