BILL NUMBER: SB 542 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 29, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 2, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senators Wiggins and Strickland
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to amend Section 25782 of the Public Resources Code, and to
amend Section 2851 of, and to add Section 2853 to, the Public
Utilities Code, relating to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 542, as amended, Wiggins. Solar energy and energy efficiency
programs.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has
regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical
corporations, as defined. A decision of the PUC adopted the
California Solar Initiative. Existing law requires the PUC to
undertake certain steps in implementing the California Solar
Initiative. Existing law establishes a surcharge on all natural gas
consumed in the state and upon electricity distributed by the state's
three largest electrical corporations, to fund certain low-income
assistance programs, cost-effective energy efficiency and
conservation activities, and public interest research and
development.
This bill would require the PUC, by July 1, 2010, to develop and
implement a strategy to expand the participation of multiunit
residential and commercial rental properties in utility energy
efficiency and solar energy programs and to prepare and submit a
report on the program to the Legislature by that date. The bill would
require the PUC to ensure that the strategy implemented does not
result in any additional ratepayer surcharges, is funded through
existing programs or the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
of 2009 , and is cost effective for utility customers. The bill
would require the PUC to consider, in developing the strategy,
whether synergies exist between its energy efficiency programs and
the solar energy programs of the California Solar Initiative, that,
in the determination of the PUC, can make energy efficiency and solar
investments cost effective for utility customers in multiunit
commercial and residential rental properties. The bill would require
the PUC, in implementing the California Solar Initiative, to ensure
that solar energy system installers are informed that if the solar
energy system is to be installed on a manufactured home, that the
installation is required to comply with certain statutory and
regulatory requirements pertaining to the alteration of manufactured
housing.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission (Energy Commission), in consultation with the
PUC, local publicly owned electric utilities, and interested members
of the public, to establish and thereafter revise eligibility
criteria for solar energy systems and to establish conditions for
ratepayer funded incentives that are applicable to the California
Solar Initiative.
This bill would require the Energy Commission to
additionally establish as a condition for ratepayer funded
incentives, that if the solar energy system is to be installed on
manufactured housing, that it comply with certain statutory and
regulatory requirements pertaining to the alteration of manufactured
housing ensure that solar energy system installers are
informed that, if the solar energy system is to be installed on a
manufactured home, the installation is required to comply with
certain statutory and regulatory requirements pertaining to the
alteration of manufactured housing .
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 25782 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:
25782. (a) The commission shall, by January 1, 2008, in
consultation with the Public Utilities Commission, local publicly
owned electric utilities, and interested members of the public,
establish eligibility criteria for solar energy systems receiving
ratepayer funded incentives that include all of the following:
(1) Design, installation, and electrical output standards or
incentives.
(2) The solar energy system is intended primarily to offset part
or all of the consumer's own electricity demand.
(3) All components in the solar energy system are new and unused,
and have not previously been placed in service in any other location
or for any other application.
(4) The solar energy system has a warranty of not less than 10
years to protect against defects and undue degradation of electrical
generation output.
(5) The solar energy system is located on the same premises of the
end-use consumer where the consumer's own electricity demand is
located.
(6) The solar energy system is connected to the electrical
corporation's electrical distribution system within the state.
(7) The solar energy system has meters or other devices in place
to monitor and measure the system's performance and the quantity of
electricity generated by the system.
(8) The solar energy system is installed in conformance with the
manufacturer's specifications and in compliance with all applicable
electrical and building code standards.
(b) The commission shall establish conditions on ratepayer funded
incentives that require all of the following:
(1) Appropriate siting and high quality installation of the solar
energy system by developing installation guidelines that maximize the
performance of the system and prevent qualified systems from being
inefficiently or inappropriately installed. The conditions
established by the commission shall not impact housing designs or
densities presently authorized by a city, county, or city and county.
The goal of this paragraph is to achieve efficient installation of
solar energy systems to promote the greatest energy production per
ratepayer dollar.
(2) Optimal solar energy system performance during periods of peak
electricity demand.
(3) Appropriate energy efficiency improvements in the new or
existing home or commercial structure where the solar energy system
is installed.
(c) The commission shall additionally require as a
condition on ratepayer-funded incentives, that if the solar energy
system is to be installed on a manufactured home, that the
installation complies with Section 18029 of the Health and Safety
Code and Section 4040 of Title 25 of the California Code of
Regulations. ensure that solar energy system
installers are informed that, if the solar energy system is to be
installed on a manufactured home, the installation is required to
comply with Section 18029 of the Health and Safety Code and Section
4040 of Title 25 of the California Code of Regulations.
(d) The commission shall set rating standards for equipment,
components, and systems to assure ensure
reasonable performance and shall develop standards that provide
for compliance with the minimum ratings.
(e) Upon establishment of eligibility criteria pursuant to
subdivision (a), no ratepayer funded incentives shall be made for a
solar energy system that does not meet the eligibility criteria.
SEC. 2. Section 2851 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
2851. (a) In implementing the California Solar Initiative, the
commission shall do all of the following:
(1) The commission shall authorize the award of monetary
incentives for up to the first megawatt of alternating current
generated by solar energy systems that meet the eligibility criteria
established by the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission pursuant to Chapter 8.8 (commencing with
Section 25780) of Division 15 of the Public Resources Code. The
commission shall determine the eligibility of a solar energy system,
as defined in Section 25781 of the Public Resources Code, to receive
monetary incentives until the time the State Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Commission establishes eligibility
criteria pursuant to Section 25782. Monetary incentives shall not be
awarded for solar energy systems that do not meet the eligibility
criteria. The incentive level authorized by the commission shall
decline each year following implementation of the California Solar
Initiative, at a rate of no less than an average of 7 percent per
year, and shall be zero as of December 31, 2016. The commission shall
adopt and publish a schedule of declining incentive levels no less
than 30 days in advance of the first decline in incentive levels. The
commission may develop incentives based upon the output of
electricity from the system, provided those incentives are consistent
with the declining incentive levels of this paragraph and the
incentives apply to only the first megawatt of electricity generated
by the system.
(2) The commission shall adopt a performance-based incentive
program so that by January 1, 2008, 100 percent of incentives for
solar energy systems of 100 kilowatts or greater and at least 50
percent of incentives for solar energy systems of 30 kilowatts or
greater are earned based on the actual electrical output of the solar
energy systems. The commission shall encourage, and may require,
performance-based incentives for solar energy systems of less than 30
kilowatts. Performance-based incentives shall decline at a rate of
no less than an average of 7 percent per year. In developing the
performance-based incentives, the commission may:
(A) Apply performance-based incentives only to customer classes
designated by the commission.
(B) Design the performance-based incentives so that customers may
receive a higher level of incentives than under incentives based on
installed electrical capacity.
(C) Develop financing options that help offset the installation
costs of the solar energy system, provided that this financing is
ultimately repaid in full by the consumer or through the application
of the performance-based rebates.
(3) By January 1, 2008, the commission, in consultation with the
State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, shall
require reasonable and cost-effective energy efficiency improvements
in existing buildings as a condition of providing incentives for
eligible solar energy systems, with appropriate exemptions or
limitations to accommodate the limited financial resources of
low-income residential housing.
(4) Notwithstanding subdivision (g) of Section 2827, the
commission may develop a time-variant tariff that creates the maximum
incentive for ratepayers to install solar energy systems so that the
system's peak electricity production coincides with California's
peak electricity demands and that assures
ensures that ratepayers receive due value for their
contribution to the purchase of solar energy systems and customers
with solar energy systems continue to have an incentive to use
electricity efficiently. In developing the time-variant tariff, the
commission may exclude customers participating in the tariff from the
rate cap for residential customers for existing baseline quantities
or usage by those customers of up to 130 percent of existing baseline
quantities, as required by Section 80110 of the Water Code. Nothing
in this paragraph authorizes the commission to require time-variant
pricing for ratepayers without a solar energy system.
(5) Ensure that solar energy system installers are informed that
if the solar energy system is to be installed on a manufactured home,
that the installation is required to comply with Section 18029 of
the Health and Safety Code and Section 4040 of Title 25 of the
California Code of Regulations.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), in implementing the
California Solar Initiative, the commission may authorize the award
of monetary incentives for solar thermal and solar water heating
devices, in a total amount up to one hundred million eight hundred
thousand dollars ($100,800,000).
(c) (1) In implementing the California Solar Initiative, the
commission shall not allocate more than fifty million dollars
($50,000,000) to research, development, and demonstration that
explores solar technologies and other distributed generation
technologies that employ or could employ solar energy for generation
or storage of electricity or to offset natural gas usage. Any program
that allocates additional moneys to research, development, and
demonstration shall be developed in collaboration with the Energy
Commission to ensure there is no duplication of efforts, and adopted
by the commission through a rulemaking or other appropriate public
proceeding. Any grant awarded by the commission for research,
development, and demonstration shall be approved by the full
commission at a public meeting. This subdivision does not prohibit
the commission from continuing to allocate moneys to research,
development, and demonstration pursuant to the self-generation
incentive program for distributed generation resources originally
established pursuant to Chapter 329 of the Statutes of 2000, as
modified pursuant to Section 379.6.
(2) The Legislature finds and declares that a program that
provides a stable source of monetary incentives for eligible solar
energy systems will encourage private investment sufficient to make
solar technologies cost effective.
(3) On or before June 30, 2009, and by June 30th of every year
thereafter, the commission shall submit to the Legislature an
assessment of the success of the California Solar Initiative program.
That assessment shall include the number of residential and
commercial sites that have installed solar thermal devices for which
an award was made pursuant to subdivision (b) and the dollar value of
the award, the number of residential and commercial sites that have
installed solar energy systems, the electrical generating capacity of
the installed solar energy systems, the cost of the program, total
electrical system benefits, including the effect on electrical
service rates, environmental benefits, how the program affects the
operation and reliability of the electrical grid, how the program has
affected peak demand for electricity, the progress made toward
reaching the goals of the program, whether the program is on schedule
to meet the program goals, and recommendations for improving the
program to meet its goals. If the commission allocates additional
moneys to research, development, and demonstration that explores
solar technologies and other distributed generation technologies
pursuant to paragraph (1), the commission shall include in the
assessment submitted to the Legislature, a description of the
program, a summary of each award made or project funded pursuant to
the program, including the intended purposes to be achieved by the
particular award or project, and the results of each award or
project.
(d) (1) The commission shall not impose any charge upon the
consumption of natural gas, or upon natural gas ratepayers, to fund
the California Solar Initiative.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any charge imposed
to fund the program adopted and implemented pursuant to this section
shall be imposed upon all customers not participating in the
California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) or family electric rate
assistance (FERA) programs as provided in paragraph (2), including
those residential customers subject to the rate cap required by
Section 80110 of the Water Code for existing baseline quantities or
usage up to 130 percent of existing baseline quantities of
electricity.
(3) The costs of the program adopted and implemented pursuant to
this section may not be recovered from customers participating in the
California Alternate Rates for Energy or CARE program established
pursuant to Section 739.1, except to the extent that program costs
are recovered out of the nonbypassable system benefits charge
authorized pursuant to Section 399.8.
(e) In implementing the California Solar Initiative, the
commission shall ensure that the total cost over the duration of the
program does not exceed three billion three hundred fifty million
eight hundred thousand dollars ($3,350,800,000). The financial
components of the California Solar Initiative shall consist of the
following:
(1) Programs under the supervision of the commission funded by
charges collected from customers of San Diego Gas and Electric
Company, Southern California Edison Company, and Pacific Gas and
Electric Company. The total cost over the duration of these programs
shall not exceed two billion one hundred sixty-six million eight
hundred thousand dollars ($2,166,800,000) and includes moneys
collected directly into a tracking account for support of the
California Solar Initiative and moneys collected into other accounts
that are used to further the goals of the California Solar
Initiative.
(2) Programs adopted, implemented, and financed in the amount of
seven hundred eighty-four million dollars ($784,000,000), by charges
collected by local publicly owned electric utilities pursuant to
Section 387.5. Nothing in this subdivision shall give the commission
power and jurisdiction with respect to a local publicly owned
electric utility or its customers.
(3) Programs for the installation of solar energy systems on new
construction, administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation
and Development Commission pursuant to Chapter 8.6 (commencing with
Section 25740) of Division 15 of the Public Resources Code, and
funded by nonbypassable charges in the amount of four hundred million
dollars ($400,000,000), collected from customers of San Diego Gas
and Electric Company, Southern California Edison Company, and Pacific
Gas and Electric Company pursuant to Article 15 (commencing with
Section 399).
SEC. 3. Section 2853 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
2853. (a) The Legislature finds and declares both of the
following:
(1) Owners of multiunit residential or commercial rental property
that are individually metered or master-metered have little financial
incentive to implement reasonable and cost-effective energy
efficiency improvements and solar energy projects.
(2) Forty-three percent of this state's residential housing units
are rented, indicating that many housing units and many Californians
are unable to benefit from this state's programs to support energy
efficiency and the use of solar energy.
(b) By July 1, 2010, the commission shall do both of the
following:
(1) Develop and implement a strategy to expand the participation
rates of multiunit residential and commercial rental properties in
utility energy efficiency and solar energy programs.
(2) Prepare and submit a report to the Legislature on the program
developed pursuant to paragraph (1).
(c) The commission shall ensure that the strategy developed and
implemented pursuant to subdivision (b) does not result in any
additional ratepayer surcharges and is funded through
existing utility energy efficiency programs and the California Solar
Initiative, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 2852.
one or more of the following:
(1) Existing utility energy efficiency programs.
(2) The California Solar Initiative, as defined in subdivision (a)
of Section 2852.
(3) Funds made available through the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
(d) The commission shall ensure that the strategy developed and
implemented pursuant to subdivision (b) is cost effective for utility
customers.
(e) The commission shall consider, in developing the strategy
pursuant to subdivision (b), whether synergies exist between its
energy efficiency programs and the solar energy programs of the
California Solar Initiative, including the low-income provisions of
the California Solar Initiative, that, in the determination of the
commission, can make energy efficiency and solar investments cost
effective for utility customers in multiunit residential or
commercial rental properties.