BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 836|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 836
Author: Padilla (D)
Amended: 7/13/11
Vote: 21
SENATE ENERGY, UTIL. & COMM. COMMITTEE : 10-0, 5/3/11
AYES: Padilla, Fuller, Berryhill, Corbett, DeSaulnier,
Pavley, Rubio, Simitian, Strickland, Wright
NO VOTE RECORDED: De León
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 39-0, 5/31/11
AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Blakeslee, Calderon, Cannella,
Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Dutton, Emmerson,
Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Harman, Hernandez, Huff,
Kehoe, La Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete
McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio, Runner, Simitian,
Steinberg, Strickland, Vargas, Walters, Wolk, Wright,
Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 8/25/11 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Renewable energy resources: cost reporting
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the California Public
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Utilities Commission (PUC) to release the costs of all
contracts, in aggregate form, submitted by investor-owned
utilities to meet the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard
goal, which are approved by the PUC. The first data
release would be required by no later than February 1,
2012, and annually thereafter.
Assembly Amendments (1) add to the legislative findings,
that in 2011, the Legislature extended the California
Renewables Portfolio Standard Program target set for 2010
to a 33 percent standard by December 31, 2020, (2) make
minor technical changes, and (3) change date by which the
PUC releases its cost from January 1, 2012 to February 1,
2012 and annually thereafter and specifies information to
be provided.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1. Requires investor-owned utilities (IOUs), publicly
owned utilities (POUs), community choice aggregators,
and energy service providers to increase purchases of
renewable energy such that at least 33 percent of retail
sales are procured from renewable energy resources by
December 31, 2020. In the interim each entity would be
required to procure an average of 20 percent of
renewable energy for the period of January 1, 2011
through December 31, 2013; 25 percent by December 31,
2016, and 33 percent by 2020. This is known as the
Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). Current law is
effective upon the adjournment of the first
extraordinary session.
2. Requires the PUC to adopt procedures to ensure the
confidentiality of any market sensitive information
submitted in an IOU's proposed procurement plan or
resulting contracts for generation.
3. Prohibits the release of information provided to the
PUC by an IOU except those matters specifically required
to be open to public inspection under law.
This bill:
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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.
Background
To meet the goals of the state's RPS program, the IOUs have
entered into hundreds of contracts with independent
producers of eligible renewable energy resources and also
built utility-owned generation. The costs of those
contracts and utility-owned generation have been submitted
to the PUC for review and approval but are not made public
for several years after they are approved.
Reports have been made by the PUC and the Division of
Ratepayers Advocates which analyze the cost impacts of the
RPS. One specific report noted billions of dollars in
costs and opined that RPS contract prices are 15 percent
higher than those for natural gas plants. Reports of
individual contracts are periodically specified in media
reports. A February, 2011 article reported that in recent
contract filings by Southern California Edison the cost of
solar photovoltaics was less than the "market price
referent" (a measure of the cost of new natural gas fired
generation).
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/25/11)
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California Large Energy Consumers Association
California Public Utilities Commission
California State Pipe Trades Council
Coalition of California Utility Employees
Division of Ratepayer Advocates
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Western States Council of Sheet Metal Workers
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/25/11)
Large-scale Solar Association (unless amended)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
in order to ensure that the public and the Legislature are
aware of the costs of the RPS program, the intent of this
measure is that the PUC release those costs, in the
aggregate, to the Legislature on a regular basis. Under
current PUC practices there is no data available to the
Legislature on the actual costs of approved contracts under
the RPS program. There are conflicting studies and media
reports on those costs as well. Yet those costs are
directly passed through to the ratepayers of IOUs and the
Legislature is expected to analyze the effectiveness of the
program without any real cost data.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 8/25/11 (Consent)
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley,
Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter,
Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove,
Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger
Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones,
Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor,
Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande,
Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez,
Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. Pérez
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NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonilla, Gorell
RM:kc 8/26/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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