BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                            Senator Kevin de León, Chair


          AB 217 (Bradford) - Electricity: solar electricity: low-income  
          households.
          
          Amended: July 10, 2013          Policy Vote: EU&C 8-2
          Urgency: No                     Mandate: Yes (see staff comment)
          Hearing Date: August 30, 2013                     Consultant:  
          Marie Liu     
          
          SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
          
          
          Bill Summary: AB 217 would extend the low-income programs of the  
          California Solar Initiative (CSI) from 2016 until 2021,  
          authorize the collection of an additional $108 million for these  
          programs, and add additional standards to the program. 

          Fiscal Impact (as proposed to be amended): 
              Annual costs of $50,000 from the Public Utilities  
              Reimbursement Account through 2021 for the administration of  
              the low-income programs of the CSI.
              Annual costs of approximately $260,000 from General Fund  
              and various special funds for CSI surcharges paid by the  
              state as an IOU customer.

          Background: The CSI was established in 2007 to fund multiple  
          programs to increase customer use of solar power throughout  
          California, including through the investor-owned utilities  
          (IOUs), the publically-owned utilities (POUs), and through the  
          New Solar Homes Partnerships. The IOUs were approved for 10  
          years of funding with a $2.167 billion budget overall and a goal  
          of installing 1,940 MW of new solar generation capacity through  
          a general market program, the CSI thermal program, the  
          Single-family Affordable Solar Home (SASH), and Multi-family  
          Affordable Solar Housing (MASH) program. 

          The SASH and MASH programs were originally established by the  
          CPUC with a total budget of $217 million, and subsidized solar  
          photovoltaic systems for low-income single- and multi-family  
          homes, respectively. The CPUC adopted an incentive structure  
          that provides a fully-subsidized 1 kilowatt photovoltaic solar  
          energy system to "very-low income" households and a partial  
          subsidy for qualified "low-income" households. The goal is to  








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          provide access to solar energy systems to decrease electricity  
          bills without increasing household expenses.

          All parts of the CSI program are set to sunset in 2016.

          Section 382 of the Public Utilities Code requires that the CPUC  
          ensure that eligible low-income electricity and gas customers  
          are given the opportunity to participate in low-income energy  
          efficiency programs. Pursuant to this section, the CPUC runs the  
          Energy Savings Assistance Program, which provides no cost  
          weatherization services to low-income households who meet income  
          guidelines.

          Proposed Law: This bill would allow the CPUC to collect an  
          additional $108 million from ratepayers served by San Diego Gas  
          and Electric Company, Southern California Edison Company, and  
          Pacific Gas and Electric Company to fund the SASH and MASH  
          programs until December 31, 2021. Any unused general market  
          portion of the CSI at the end of 2016 may also be used.

          The CPUC would be required to ensure that the low-income  
          programs be cost-effective investment by ratepayers, require  
          participants to enrolled in the Energy Savings Assistance  
          Program, and provide job training and employment opportunities  
          in solar energy and energy efficiency sectors of the economy.

          Staff Comments: This bill, by extending a portion of the CSI  
          program also extends a portion of the CPUC's administrative  
          costs to administer this program. The CPUC estimates that their  
          current administrative costs for the SASH and MASH program are  
          approximately $50,000 annually for a 0.5 PY. 

          State agencies, as electricity consumers, will share in the  
          ratepayer costs imposed by the bill. State agencies make up  
          about 1.2 percent of total electricity use in the IOU  
          territories. Therefore, the cost to state agencies over the next  
          several years will be about $260,000 annually.

          This bill does not create a reimbursable state mandate as the  
          bill only changes the definition of a crime.

          Proposed Author Amendments: Amend to specify that the additional  
          collection shall not occur until existing funds available for  
          low-income residential housing programs are exhausted in that  








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          IOU's territory. Amend to require that the CPUC shall ensure  
          that the program is designed to maximize the overall benefit to  
          taxpayers instead of ensuring that the program is a  
          cost-effective investment for ratepayers.