BILL NUMBER: AB 2514	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 25, 2012
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 1, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Bradford

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2012

   An act to  amend Section 2827.8 of, and to  add and
repeal Section 2827.1 of  ,  the Public Utilities Code,
relating to electricity.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2514, as amended, Bradford. Net energy metering.
   Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations.
Existing law, relative to private energy producers, requires every
electric utility, as defined, to make available to an eligible
customer-generator, as defined, a standard contract or tariff for net
energy metering on a first-come-first-served basis until the time
that the total rated generating capacity of renewable electrical
generation facilities, as defined, used by eligible
customer-generators exceeds 5% of the electric utility's aggregate
customer peak demand.  The existing definition of an eligible
customer-generator requires that the generating facility use a solar
or wind turbine, or a hybrid system of both, and have a generating
capacity of not more than one   megawatt.  Electrical
corporations are an electric utility for these purposes.
   This bill would require the commission to complete a study by June
30, 2013, to determine the extent to which each class of ratepayers
and each region of the state receiving service under the net energy
metering tariff is paying the full cost of the services provided to
them by electrical corporations, the extent to which those customers
pay their share of the costs of public purpose programs, and the
benefits of net energy metering. The bill would require the
commission to report the results of the study to the Legislature
within 30 days of its completion. 
   Existing law establishes separate requirements for wind energy
co-metering that provides a credit against the generation component
of an electricity bill of an electric utility for those
customer-generators utilizing a wind energy project greater than 50
kilowatts, but not exceeding one megawatt. The wind energy
co-metering provisions include a requirement that the eligible
customer-generator utilize a meter, or multiple meters, capable of
separately measuring electricity flow in both directions.  
   This bill would state that nothing in the wind energy co-metering
provisions precludes the use of advanced metering infrastructure
devices. 
   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 2827.1 is added to the Public Utilities Code,
to read:
   2827.1.  (a) By June 30, 2013, the commission shall complete a
study to determine the extent to which each class of ratepayers and
each region of the state receiving service under the net energy
metering tariff authorized pursuant to Section 2827 is paying the
full cost of the services provided to them by electrical
corporations, the extent to which those customers pay their share of
the costs of public purpose programs, and the benefits of net energy
metering. In evaluating program costs and benefits for purposes of
the study, the commission shall  consider all electricity
generated by renewable electric generating systems, including the
electricity used onsite to reduce customers   consumption of
electricity that otherwise would be supplied through the electrical
grid, as well as the electrical output that is being fed back to the
electrical grid for which the customer receives credit or net surplus
electricity compensation under net energy metering. The commission
shall  use the peak demand reported by those electric utilities
filing a Form No. 1 with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to
determine aggregate customer peak demand, and shall use the Energy
Commission's alternating current ratings to determine the total
generating capacity of eligible customer-generators, for purposes of
calculating the 5-percent limitation in paragraphs (1) and (4) of
subdivision (c) of Section 2827.
   (b) (1) The commission shall report the results of the study to
the Legislature within 30 days of its completion.
   (2) The report shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795
of the Government Code.
   (3) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this
section is repealed on July 1, 2017.
   SEC. 2.    Section 2827.8 of the   Public
Utilities Code   is amended to read: 
   2827.8.  Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, the
following provisions apply to an eligible customer-generator
utilizing wind energy co-metering with a capacity of more than 50
kilowatts, but not exceeding one megawatt, unless approved by the
electric service provider.
   (a) The eligible customer-generator shall be required to utilize a
meter, or multiple meters, capable of separately measuring
electricity flow in both directions.  Nothing in this section
precludes the use of advanced metering infrastructure devices. 
All meters shall provide "time-of-use" measurements of electricity
flow, and the customer shall take service on a time-of-use rate
schedule. If the existing meter of the eligible customer-generator is
not a time-of-use meter or is not capable of measuring total flow of
energy in both directions, the eligible customer-generator is
responsible for all expenses involved in purchasing and installing a
meter that is both time-of-use and able to measure total electricity
flow in both directions. This subdivision shall not restrict the
ability of an eligible customer-generator to utilize any economic
incentives provided by a government agency or the electric service
provider to reduce its costs for purchasing and installing a
time-of-use meter.
   (b) The consumption of electricity from the electric service
provider for wind energy co-metering by an eligible
customer-generator shall be priced in accordance with the standard
rate charged to the eligible customer-generator in accordance with
the rate structure to which the customer would be assigned if the
customer did not use an eligible wind electrical generating facility.
The generation of electricity provided to the electric service
provider shall result in a credit to the eligible customer-generator
and shall be priced in accordance with the generation component,
excluding surcharges to cover the purchase of power by the Department
of Water Resources, established under the applicable structure to
which the customer would be assigned if the customer did not use an
eligible wind electrical generating facility.