BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 836 Page 1 Date of Hearing: August 17, 2011 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair SB 836 (Padilla) - As Amended: July 13, 2011 Policy Committee: UtilitiesVote:12-0 (Consent) Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to provide to the Legislature the costs of electricity procurement contracts and approved utility-owned generation to meet the state's renewable portfolio standard (RPS) goals. Specifically, this bill: 1)Requires the PUC by February 1, 2012 to release the costs since January 2003 of all procurement contracts and utility-owned generation eligible under the RPS. 2)Requires the PUC commencing February 1, 2013 and annually thereafter, to release the same information for the prior calendar year, unless there were few than three contracts approved in that year. 3)Specifies the information to be provided regarding: a) Power purchase contracts, and stipulates that the information shall be aggregated to the extent required to ensure confidentiality of individual contract costs. b) Each utility-owned renewable generation project. FISCAL EFFECT Minor absorbable costs for the PUC to provide to compile and release the required information. COMMENTS SB 836 Page 2 Purpose . SB 836 is intended to ensure that the public and the Legislature are aware of the costs of the RPS program by requiring the PUC to release those costs, in the aggregate, on a regular basis. SB X1 2 (Simitian), which was signed by the governor on April 12, 2011, increases the state's RPS requirement for 20% of state energy to be generated from eligible renewable resources by 2010 to 33% by 2020. This legislation will take effect 90 days after the adjournment of the first extraordinary session, which has not yet occurred. Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081