BILL NUMBER: SB 843 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Wolk
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act to amend Section 2830 of the Public Utilities Code,
relating to electricity.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 843, as introduced, Wolk. Local government renewable energy
self-generation program.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations,
as defined. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates
and charges for every public utility, and requires that those rates
and charges be just and reasonable. The local government renewable
energy self-generation program authorizes a local government, as
defined, to receive a bill credit, as defined, to be applied to a
designated benefiting account for electricity exported to the
electrical grid by an eligible renewable generating facility, as
defined, and requires the commission to adopt a rate tariff for the
benefiting account. The program requires that a benefiting account be
mutually agreed upon by the local government or campus and the
electrical corporation.
This bill would authorize the local government or campus to
designate the benefiting account.
The existing program requires that the benefiting account receives
service under a time-of-use rate schedule and requires that a bill
credit is to be calculated based upon the time-of-use electricity
generation component of the electricity usage charge of the
generating account, multiplied by the quantities of electricity
generated by an eligible renewable generating facility that are
exported to the grid during the corresponding time period.
This bill would delete the requirement that the benefiting account
receive service under a time-of-use rate schedule and require that
the bill credit be calculated based upon the bundled electricity rate
charged the benefiting account, with differing calculations
depending upon whether the benefiting account receives service
pursuant to a time-of-use rate schedule, a single bundled rate, or
fixed rates with different rates charged for different tiers of
usage.
The existing program limits the generating capacity of an eligible
renewable generating facility to no more than one megawatt and
requires that the facility be owned by, operated by, or be located on
property under the control of the local government or campus.
This bill would limit the generating capacity of an eligible
renewable generating facility to no more than 20 megawatts. The bill
would delete the requirement that the eligible renewable generating
facility be owned by, operated by, or be located on, property under
the control of the local government or campus.
The existing program provides that an electrical corporation is
not obligated to provide a bill credit to a benefiting account that
is not designated prior to the point in time that the combined
statewide cumulative rated generating capacity of all eligible
renewable generating facilities within the service territories of the
state's 3 largest electrical corporations reaches 250 megawatts.
This bill would delete this 250 megawatts limitation upon the
obligation of an electrical corporation to provide a bill credit.
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 2830 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
2830. (a) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Benefiting account" means an electricity account, or more
than one account, located within the geographical boundaries of a
local government or, for a campus, within the geographical boundary
of the city, county, or city and county in which the campus is
located, that is mutually agreed upon
designated by the local government or campus and an
electrical corporation .
(2) "Bill credit" means an amount of money credited to a
benefiting account that is calculated based upon the
time-of-use electricity generation component of the electricity usage
charge of the generating account, multiplied by the quantities of
electricity generated by an eligible renewable generating facility
that are exported to the grid during the corresponding time period.
bundled electricity rate charged the benefiting
account by the electrical corporation.
(A) If the benefiting account receives service pursuant to a
time-of-use rate, the amount of the bill credit is to be calculated
by measuring the amount of electricity exported to the electrical
grid by an eligible renewable generating facility multiplied by the
corresponding time-of-use electricity rate of the benefiting account.
(B) If the benefiting account receives service pursuant to a fixed
single rate, the credit shall be calculated by measuring the amount
of electricity exported to the electrical grid by an eligible
renewable generating facility multiplied by that rate.
(C) If the benefiting account receives service pursuant to fixed
rates, with different rates charged for different tiers of usage, the
bill credit will be at the first tier or baseline usage rate for
electricity exported to the electrical grid by an eligible renewable
generating facility, up to the baseline quantity of electricity for
that benefiting account. The bill credit for electricity exported to
the grid by an eligible renewable generating facility that is above
the baseline amount shall be calculated based upon the next lowest
tiered rate, up to that tier of usage, and then upon the next lowest
tiered rate, up to that tier of usage, until the bill credit reaches
100 percent of the bill to the benefiting account.
(D) Electricity is exported to the grid if
it is generated by an eligible renewable generating facility, is not
utilized onsite by the local government or campus , and
the electricity flows through the meter site and on to the electrical
corporation's distribution or transmission infrastructure.
(3) "Campus" means an individual community college campus,
individual California State University campus, or individual
University of California campus.
(4) "Eligible renewable generating facility" means a generation
facility that meets all of the following requirements:
(A) Has a generating capacity of no more than one
megawatt 20 megawatts .
(B) Is an eligible renewable energy resource, as defined in
Article 16 (commencing with Section 399.11) of Part 1.
(C) Is located within the geographical boundary of the local
government or, for a campus, within the geographical boundary of the
city or city and county, if the campus is located in an incorporated
area, or county, if the campus is located in an unincorporated area.
(D) Is owned by, operated by, or on property under the control of,
the local government or campus.
(E)
(D) Is sized to offset all or part of the electrical
load of the benefiting account. For these purposes, premises
that are leased by a local government or campus are under the
control of the local government or campus.
(5) "Generating account" means the time-of-use electric service
account of the local government or campus where the eligible
renewable generating facility is located.
(6) "Local government" means a city, county, whether general law
or chartered, city and county, special district, school district,
political subdivision, or other local public agency, but shall not
mean a joint powers authority, the state or any agency or department
of the state, other than an individual campus of the University of
California or the California State University.
(b) Subject to the limitation in subdivision (h), a local
government may elect to receive electric service pursuant to this
section, if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The local government designates one or more benefiting
accounts to receive a bill credit.
(2) A benefiting account receives service under a time-of-use rate
schedule.
(3)
(2) The benefiting account is the responsibility of,
and serves property that is owned, operated, or on property under the
control of the same local government that owns, operates,
or controls the eligible renewable generating facility
the local government or campus .
(4)
(3) The electrical output of the eligible renewable
generating facility is metered for time of use to allow calculation
of the bill credit based upon when the electricity is exported to the
grid.
(5)
(4) All costs associated with the metering requirements
of paragraphs (2) and (4) are the responsibility of the local
government.
(6)
(5) All costs associated with interconnection are the
responsibility of the local government holder
of the benefiting account . For purposes of this paragraph,
"interconnection" has the same meaning as defined in Section 2803,
except that it applies to the interconnection of an eligible
renewable generating facility rather than the energy source of a
private energy producer.
(7)
(6) The local government owner
of the eligible renewable generating facility does not sell
electricity exported to the electrical grid to a third party.
(8)
(7) All electricity exported to the grid by the
local government that is generated by the eligible
renewable generating facility becomes the property of the electrical
corporation to which the facility is interconnected, but shall not
be counted toward the electrical corporation's total retail sales for
purposes of Article 16 (commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter
2.3 of Part 1. Ownership of the renewable energy credits, as defined
in Section 399.12, shall be the same as the ownership of the
renewable energy credits associated with electricity that is net
metered pursuant to Section 2827.
(c) (1) A benefiting account shall be billed for all electricity
usage, and for each bill component, at the rate schedule applicable
to the benefiting account, including any cost-responsibility
surcharge or other cost recovery mechanism, as determined by the
commission, to reimburse the Department of Water Resources for
purchases of electricity, pursuant to Division 27 (commencing with
Section 80000) of the Water Code.
(2) The bill shall then subtract the bill credit
applicable to the benefiting account credit the
designated benefiting account by the amount of the bill credit
. The generation component credited to the benefiting account may
not include the cost-responsibility surcharge or other cost recovery
mechanism, as determined by the commission, to reimburse the
Department of Water Resources for purchases of electricity, pursuant
to Division 27 (commencing with Section 80000) of the Water Code. The
electrical corporation shall ensure that the local government
receives the full bill credit.
(3) If, during the billing cycle, the generation
component of the electricity usage charges exceeds the bill
credit, the benefiting account shall be billed for the difference.
(4) If, during the billing cycle, the bill credit applied pursuant
to paragraph (2) exceeds the generation component of the
electricity usage charges, the difference shall be carried
forward as a financial credit to the next billing cycle.
(5) After the electricity usage charge pursuant to paragraph (1)
and the credit pursuant to paragraph (2) are determined for the last
billing cycle of a 12-month period, any remaining bill
credit resulting from the application of this section shall be reset
to zero , and the owner of the eligible renewable generating
facility may elect to receive compensation pursuant to Section
399.20, for any electricity exported to the electrical grid that is
not credited to a benefiting account .
(d) The commission shall ensure that the transfer of a bill credit
to a benefiting account does not result in a shifting of costs to
bundled service subscribers. The costs associated with the transfer
of a bill credit shall include all billing-related expenses.
(e) Not more frequently than once per year, and upon providing the
electrical corporation with a minimum of 60 days' notice, the local
government or campus may elect to change a benefiting
account. Any credit resulting from the application of this section
earned prior to the change in a benefiting account that has not been
used as of the date of the change in the benefiting account, shall be
applied, and may only be applied, to a benefiting account as
changed.
(f) A local government or campus shall provide the
electrical corporation to which the eligible renewable generating
facility will be interconnected with not less than 60 days' notice
prior to the eligible renewable generating facility becoming
operational. The electrical corporation shall file an advice letter
with the commission, that complies with this section, not later than
30 days after receipt of the notice, proposing a rate tariff for a
benefiting account. The commission, within 30 days of the date of
filing, shall approve the proposed tariff, or specify conforming
changes to be made by the electrical corporation to be filed in a new
advice letter.
(g) The local government or campus may terminate its
election pursuant to subdivision (b), upon providing the electrical
corporation with a minimum of 60 days' notice. Should the
local government sell its interest in the eligible renewable
generating facility, or sell the electricity generated by the
eligible renewable generating facility, in a manner other than
required by this section, upon the date of either event, and the
earliest date if both events occur electricity
generated by the eligible renewable generating facility be
sold to a third party , no further bill credit pursuant to
paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) may be earned. Only credit earned
prior to that date shall be made to a benefiting account.
(h) An electrical corporation is not obligated to provide a bill
credit to a benefiting account that is not designated by a local
government prior to the point in time that the combined statewide
cumulative rated generating capacity of all eligible renewable
generating facilities within the service territories of the state's
three largest electrical corporations reaches 250 megawatts. Only
those eligible renewable generating facilities that are providing
bill credits to benefiting accounts pursuant to this section shall
count toward reaching this 250-megawatt limitation. Each electrical
corporation shall only be required to offer service or contracts
under this section until that electrical corporation reaches its
proportionate share of the 250-megawatt limitation based on the ratio
of its peak demand to the total statewide peak demand of all
electrical corporations.