BILL NUMBER: AB 1031	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 1, 2009
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 5, 2009
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 22, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Blumenfield

                        FEBRUARY 27, 2009

    An act to add and repeal Section 14965 of the Government
Code, and   An act  to amend Section 2830 of the
Public Utilities Code, relating to energy.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1031, as amended, Blumenfield. Renewable energy resources.
   Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations,
as defined. Existing law authorizes a local government, as defined,
to receive a bill credit, as defined, to a designated benefiting
account 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. The
existing definition of a local government excludes a joint powers
authority, the state, and any agency or department of the state.
   This bill would clarify the existing definition of a local
government by including a community college district and would revise
the definition of a local government to include an individual campus
of the University of California or the California State University
and a joint powers authority or agency. The bill would provide that a
local government electing to take service pursuant to the rate
tariff is eligible to receive ratepayer funded incentives pursuant to
the California Solar Initiative, as defined, for facilities that are
sized to meet the on-site load and the load of the designated
benefiting account. 
   Existing law provides that there is in the Department of General
Services a State Architect who has general charge, under the
Department of General Services, of the erection of all state
buildings.  
   This bill would require the State Architect, on or before July 1,
2010, to prepare a report, on the barriers to schools to installing
solar or other renewable energy systems, that contains
recommendations for removing those barriers. The bill would also
require that, in preparing the report, the State Architect consult
with the Public Utilities Commission regarding barriers to school
participation in the California Solar Initiative and recommendations
for removal of those barriers. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  yes
  no  . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
   
  SECTION 1.    Section 14965 is added to the
Government Code, to read:
   14965.  (a) On or before July 1, 2010, the State Architect shall
prepare a report on the barriers to schools to installing solar or
other renewable energy systems. The report shall contain
recommendations for removing those barriers. In preparing the report,
the State Architect shall consult with the Public Utilities
Commission regarding barriers to school participation in the
California Solar Initiative and recommendations for removal of those
barriers.
   (b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2011, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is chaptered before January 1, 2011, deletes or extends
that date. 
   SEC. 2.  SECTION 1.   Section 2830 of
the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:
   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 as defined in Section
399.12, 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,
community college district, political subdivision, or other local
public agency, a joint powers authority or agency created pursuant to
Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 6500) of Division 7 of Title 1 of
the Government Code, if authorized by law to generate electricity,
or an individual campus of the University of California or the
California State University, but shall not mean the state or any
agency or department of the state, other than a campus of the
University of California or the California State University.
   (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.
   (i) A local government electing to take service pursuant to
subdivision (b) is eligible to receive ratepayer funded incentives
pursuant to the California Solar Initiative for facilities that are
sized to meet the on-site load and the load of the designated
benefiting account. For purposes of this subdivision, "California
Solar Initiative" means the program providing ratepayer funded
incentives for eligible solar energy systems adopted by the Public
Utilities Commission in Decision 06-01-024, as modified by Chapter
8.8 (commencing with Section 25780) of Division 15 of the Public
Resources Code and Article 1 (commencing with Section 2851) of
Chapter 9.