AB 217, as introduced, Bradford. Electricity: solar electricity: low-income households.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Decisions of the PUC adopted the California Solar Initiative. Existing law requires the PUC to ensure that not less than 10% of the funds for the California Solar Initiative are utilized for the installation of solar energy systems, as defined, on low-income residential housing, as defined. Pursuant to this requirement, the PUC adopted decisions that established the Single-Family Affordable Solar Homes Program (SASH) and the Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing Program (MASH), which provide monetary incentives for the installation of solar energy systems on low-income residential housing. The SASH and MASH programs will operate until December 31, 2015, or until budgeted funds are exhausted, whichever occurs sooner.
This bill would require the PUC to adopt a program, pursuant to prescribed requirements, to provide monetary incentives for the installation of solar energy systems on low-income residential housing commencing January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2021, inclusive. This bill would require the program to be funded by charges collected from customers of specified investor-owned utilities, subject to prescribed limitations. This bill would prohibit the total cost of the program from exceeding $108,000,000. This bill would establish the Low Income Solar Energy Fund, would require the moneys collected to be deposited therein, and to be made available to the commission for the purposes of this bill upon appropriation by the Legislature.
This bill would require that all moneys set aside for the purpose of funding the installation of solar energy systems on low-income residential housing, that are unexpended and unencumbered on January 1, 2022, be utilized to augment existing cost-effective energy efficiency measures in low-income residential housing that benefit ratepayers.
By imposing a charge on customers to fund the Solar Energy Program for Low-Income Residential Housing, the bill would constitute a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 2⁄3 of the membership of each house of the Legislature.
Vote: 2⁄3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 2855) is
2added to Chapter 9 of Part 2 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities
3Code, to read:
4
The Legislature finds and declares that it is the goal of
9the state to establish a program to install solar energy systems that
10have a generating capacity equivalent of 50 megawatts on
11low-income residential housing during the period from January 1,
122016, to December 31, 2021, inclusive.
As used in this article, the following terms have the
14following meanings:
15(a) “Low-income residential housing” has the same meaning as
16that term is defined in Section 2852.
17(b) “Solar energy system” has the same meaning as that term
18is defined in Section 2852.
Commencing January 1, 2015, until December 31, 2021,
2the commission shall adopt a program to provide monetary
3incentives for the installation of solar energy systems on
4low-income residential housing receiving service from San Diego
5Gas and Electric Company, Southern California Edison Company,
6and Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
The program adopted by the commission, pursuant to
8this article, shall do all of the following:
9(a) Be a cost-effective investment by ratepayers in peak
10electricity generation capacity where ratepayers recoup the cost
11of their investment through lower rates as a result of avoiding
12purchases of electricity at peak rates, with additional system
13reliability and pollution reduction benefits.
14(b) Require reasonable and cost-effective energy efficiency
15improvements in existing buildings as a condition of providing
16incentives for eligible solar energy systems, with appropriate
17exemptions or limitations to accommodate the limited financial
18resources of low-income residential housing.
19(c) Require participants who receive monetary incentives to
20enroll in the Energy Savings Assistance Program established
21pursuant to Section 382, if eligible.
22(d) Provide job training and employment opportunities in the
23solar energy and energy efficiency sectors of the economy.
24(e) Prohibit participants in the program from receiving monetary
25incentives in those locations where incentives are available
26pursuant to Section 2852.
(a) The program shall be funded by charges collected
28from customers of San Diego Gas and Electric Company, Southern
29California Edison Company, and Pacific Gas and Electric
30Company. The total cost over the duration of the program shall
31not exceed one hundred eight million dollars ($108,000,000).
32(b) In establishing the program, moneys shall not be diverted
33from any existing programs for low-income ratepayers, or from
34cost-effective energy efficiency or demand response programs.
35(c) (1) The commission shall not impose any charge upon the
36consumption of natural gas, or upon natural gas ratepayers, to fund
37the program.
38(2) Notwithstanding any other law, any charge imposed to fund
39the program adopted and implemented pursuant to this article shall
40be imposed upon all customers not participating in the California
P4 1Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) or family electric rate
2assistance (FERA) programs, including those residential customers
3subject to the rate cap required by Section 80110 of the Water
4Code for existing baseline quantities or usage up to 130 percent
5of existing baseline quantities of electricity.
6(3) The costs of the program adopted and implemented pursuant
7to this section shall not be recovered from customers participating
8in the CARE program established pursuant to Section 739.1, except
9to the extent that program costs are recovered out of the
10nonbypassable system benefits charge authorized pursuant to
11Section 399.8.
12(d) All
moneys set aside for the purpose of funding the
13installation of solar energy systems on low-income residential
14housing that are unexpended and unencumbered on January 1,
152022, except to the extent those moneys are encumbered pursuant
16to this article, shall be utilized to augment existing cost-effective
17energy efficiency measures in low-income residential housing that
18benefit ratepayers.
19(e) The Low Income Solar Energy Fund is hereby established
20in the State Treasury. Moneys collected pursuant to this article
21shall be deposited into the fund and made available to the
22commission for the purposes of this article upon appropriation by
23the Legislature.
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