BILL ANALYSIS Ó 1
SENATE ENERGY, UTILITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
ALEX PADILLA, CHAIR
AB 2227 - Bradford Hearing Date:
July 3, 2012 A
As Amended: June 12, 2012 Non-FISCAL
B
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2
2
7
DESCRIPTION
Current law requires local publicly-owned electric utilities
(POUs) to periodically report to the California Energy
Commission (CEC) and its customers on energy goals, expenses,
and progress including the procurement of renewable energy
resources, the California Solar Initiative (CSI), energy
efficiency and demand reduction programs, energy storage system
procurement targets and policies, and the quantity and source of
electricity generated to serve customers.
This bill recasts and revises the reporting requirements of the
POUs for the above energy programs which are intended to result
in a streamlining and consolidation of reporting requirements.
Current law requires POUs to acquire all available energy
efficiency and demand reduction resources that are cost
effective, reliable, and feasible. Every third year, each POU
is required to identify all potentially achievable
cost-effective electricity efficiency savings and establish
annual targets for the next 10-year period to be followed within
60 days with a report to the CEC.
This bill extends the reporting requirement to every four years.
Current law requires POUs to annually report to the CEC and its
customers, its investments in energy efficiency and demand
reduction programs, a description of programs, expenditures,
cost-effectiveness and expected and actual energy efficiency
savings and demand reduction results.
This bill extends those reporting requirement to once every two
years.
This bill requires POUs to post on an Internet Web site, its
investments in energy efficiency programs and the CSI.
BACKGROUND
The CEC is responsible for monitoring the compliance of the POUs
for several statutory programs including the Renewables
Portfolio Standard (RPS) and the CSI and energy efficiency and
energy storage mandates. Associated with these programs are
periodic reports to the CEC. The disclosure and reports
required of the POUs to the CEC have different deadlines and
formats. Some are required annually, but at different dates;
some on demand.
A significant focus of the CEC is also the preparation and
publication of its biennial Integrated Energy Policy Report
(IEPR) for which the primary focus is to "conduct assessments
and forecasts of all aspects of energy industry supply,
production, transportation, delivery and distribution, demand,
and prices" and to "use these assessments and forecasts to
develop energy policies that conserve resources, protect the
environment, ensure energy reliability, enhance the state's
economy, and protect public health and safety." In its
preparation of the IEPR, the CEC relies heavily on the state's
electric and gas utilities to provide the data which forms the
basis of its reports and the utilities must comply with data
requests on a regular and timely basis.
COMMENTS
1. Author's Purpose . According to the author the purpose
of this bill is to streamline and synchronize the reporting
requirements of the POUs to coincide with state energy
policy reports. His intent is also to create a public and
transparent reporting requirement on energy efficiency and
renewable energy expenditures so that public utility
ratepayers can be informed on the status and results of
these expenditures. The bill will place all current public
power reporting requirements in one section of the Public
Utilities Code. Present mandates for reporting energy
efficiency, renewable resources, greenhouse gas emissions,
distributed generation, resource adequacy, and energy
storage activities, among others are found in various
sections of the Public Utilities Code and the Public
Resources Code.
2. Relaxing Reporting Requirements . In the reorganization
of energy efficiency reporting requirements, two
substantive reports have been extended thereby reducing the
policy development and reporting requirements of POUs for
energy efficiency. First, the POUs are required, every
three years, to identify all potentially achievable
cost-effective electricity efficiency savings and establish
annual targets for energy efficiency and demand reduction
for the next 10-year period. Within two months of this
analysis, the POUs are required to report the new targets
to the CEC and the basis for establishing those targets.
This bill extends the establishment of targets and related
reporting requirements from every three years to every four
years.
The POUs are also required to report to the CEC each year
on the programs developed, investments made, and progress
achieved as a result of its energy efficiency and demand
reduction programs. This bill extends those reports to
every other year.
There are more than 40 POUs in the state. If all had
stellar energy efficiency and demand reduction programs,
then the extension of their progress reports might be
appropriate. However, many POUs have been less than
diligent in their development of these programs which calls
into question the appropriateness of relaxing their
reporting requirements. Opponents to the bill argue that
it "decreases the transparency of energy efficiency program
accomplishments and plans for future accomplishments." To
address this issue, the author reports that he will amend
the bill to reinstate the requirement that the POUs make
annual reports on energy efficiency investments and
progress but also strike the proposed requirement that POUs
make quarterly website disclosures concerning the status of
energy efficiency programs.
3. Technical Amendments . The following technical
amendments are necessary to ensure clarity of the reporting
obligations and to also strike unnecessary provisions.
a. Page 2, line 12, strike "(e)";
b. Page 11, line 34, strike suppliers, insert
sellers;
c. Page 14, line 25, strike suppliers, insert
sellers;
d. Page 18, line 22, after "following" insert:
"to end-use customers";
e. Page 18, line 23, strike "to end-use
customers"; and
f. Page 21, strike lines 4-6.
ASSEMBLY VOTES
Assembly Floor (77-0)
Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee
(13-0)
POSITIONS
Sponsor:
Northern California Power Agency
Support:
California Municipal Utilities Association
Oppose, unless amended:
Clean Power Campaign
Natural Resources Defense Council
Sierra Club California
Kellie Smith
AB 2227 Analysis
Hearing Date: July 3, 2012