BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 217
Author: Bradford (D), et al.
Amended: 9/6/13 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ENERGY, UTILITIES & COMMUNICATIONS COMM : 8-2, 7/2/13
AYES: Padilla, Corbett, De Le�n, DeSaulnier, Hill, Pavley,
Wolk, Wright
NOES: Fuller, Knight
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cannella
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 8/30/13
AYES: De Le�n, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Gaines
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 54-23, 5/30/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Electricity: solar electricity: low-income
households
SOURCE : GRID Alternatives
DIGEST : This bill extends the low-income programs of the
California Solar Initiative (CSI) from 2016 until 2021,
authorizes the collection of an additional $108 million for
these programs, and adds additional standards to the program, as
specified.
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/6/13 add language to address
chaptering out issues with AB 102 (Assembly Budget Committee)
CONTINUED
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and the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee's SB 72, SB
84, and SB 96.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Creates CSI with a goal to install solar energy systems with a
generation capacity of 3,000 megawatts, to make solar energy
systems a viable mainstream option for both homes and
businesses in 10 years, and to place solar energy systems on
50% of new homes in 13 years.
2.Specifies no less than 10% of the overall CSI funding is to be
directed toward programs assisting low-income households in
obtaining the benefits of solar technology.
3.Establishes a $217 million budget within CSI program to fund
the low-income solar rebate program.
4.Permits the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to adopt
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.
5.States SASH and MASH programs will operate until December 31,
2015, or until budgeted funds are exhausted, whichever occurs
sooner.
This bill:
1.Extends the low-income programs of the CSI from 2016 until
2021, and makes legislative findings and declarations that it
is the goal of the state to install solar energy systems that
have a generating capacity equivalent to 50 megawatts for
low-income residential housing.
2.Funds the program up to $108 million collected from customers
of investor-owned utilities, as specified.
3.Requires eligible participants to enroll in the utility Energy
Savings Assistance Program.
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4.Requires the PUC to determine program elements to maximize
overall benefit to ratepayers.
5.Sunsets the program December 31, 2021.
6.Makes a number of declarations and legislative findings.
7.Adds language to address chaptering out issues with AB 102
(Assembly Budget Committee) and the Senate Budget and Fiscal
Review Committee's SB 72, SB 84, and SB 96.
Background
The California Solar Initiative . 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 publicly-owned utilities,
and through the New Solar Homes Partnership. 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, or SASH and MASH programs.
The SASH and MASH programs were originally established by the
PUC with a total budget of $217 million, and subsidize solar
photovoltaic systems for low-income single- and multi-family
homes, respectively. The PUC 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
provide access to solar energy systems to decrease electricity
bills without increasing household expenses.
GRID Alternatives is a non-profit solar installer and manages
the SASH and MASH programs on behalf of the IOUs and the PUC.
GRID Alternatives works with volunteers and workforce training
programs to install solar generation systems and simultaneously
educate students. Over 60 community job training programs
statewide have utilized SASH solar installations for hands on
training experience. GRID Alternatives reports that combined,
the SASH and MASH programs have served 2,765 single-family
households and 322 multi-site developments throughout California
and provided $125 million in incentives.
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The PUC reports that at the end of 2012 under the SASH program,
2,487 photovoltaic systems had been installed and
interconnected, 301 projects had been reserved, and 351
applications were under review. Over 26 megawatts of power
capacity have been or are reserved to be installed by the SASH
and MASH programs. GRID Alternatives conducts an energy audit
for every SASH applicant before installing solar photovoltaic
systems. Some participants enroll in the Energy Savings
Assistance Program, a utility-operated program that provides
no-cost weatherization services to low-income households.
Cost-effectiveness . The SASH and MASH programs are evaluated
every two years. The PUC contracted Navigant Consulting to
perform this evaluation for the 2009-2010 years of the programs.
Navigant Consulting determined that the SASH program was
cost-effective from the perspective of the participants, but not
from the societal, program administrator, ratepayer, or total
resource perspectives. The SASH and MASH programs should have an
additional review covering the 2011-12 years, but this review is
not yet available.
Comments
The author proposes to extend the SASH and MASH programs beyond
their current sunset in order to support low-income residents
who have high energy demands. By subsidizing their energy needs,
the cost of electricity for participants freeing up much needed
family income for other essentials. The author proposes to use
remaining funding from the CSI program after it expires in 2016
to fund the continued SASH and MASH programs through 2021. In
addition to the leftover funds, the bill authorizes raising
funds from ratepayers and capping the combined total to $108
million. The author argues that GRID Alternatives has
successfully implemented SASH and MASH by installing rooftop
solar energy systems for low-income residents, and by providing
students and at-risk youth with hands-on workforce training. For
these reasons, the author argues the programs should be
extended.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
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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.
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/9/13)
GRID Alternatives (source)
American Solar Power
Avalon Gardens Community Organization
Bright Sky Solar Holdings, LLC
California Center for Sustainable Energy
Capital City Solar
Central Valley Opportunity Center
Century Housing
ChangeFire
Cities of Beaumont, Palmdale, Rancho Cucamonga, and Richmond
Community Development Block Grant Division - City of Inglewood
Delta Solar Electric Inc.
Division of Ratepayer Advocates
Enterprise Community Partners
Environmental Defense Fund
Fresno County Economic Opportunities Commission
Friends and Neighbors Community Club
Garfield Elementary School
GigaWatt
Green Education Inc.
Habitat for Humanity of Orange County Inc.
HelioPower Inc.
Imani Energy, Inc
In Solar
Kathleen J. DeRosa, Cathedral City Mayor
La Jolla Band of LuiseDo Indians
Lifestyle Solar Inc.
Los Angeles Conservation Corps.
Los Angeles Trade Technical College
Marti Emerald, San Diego 9th District Councilmember
Mendocino Solar Service
Metro United Methodist Urban Ministry
NRG Energy
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OC Sunny
Pinoleville Pomo Nation
Proteus Inc.
ProVoltz Inc.
Rebuilding Together Oakland
Renewable Energy Education Solutions
Robinson Rancheria of Pomo Indians
San Francisco Department of the Environment
San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity
Save a Lot Solar
Self-Help Enterprises
Shasta-Tehama-Trinity Joint Community College District
Sierra Club California
Solar Energy Exchange Inc.
Solar Energy Industries Association
Solar Sonoma County
SolarReserve
SOLEX
Strategic Energy Innovations
Sullivan Solar Power
SUTECH School of Vocational and Technical Training
Venice Community Housing
Venice YouthBuild
Verengo Inc.
Veterans Green Jobs
Westside Baptist Church
YouthPower Community Solutions
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 54-23, 05/30/13
AYES: Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bloom, Blumenfield, Bocanegra,
Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Chesbro, Cooley, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong,
Fox, Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Hall, Roger Hern�ndez, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lowenthal,
Medina, Mitchell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Pan, Perea, V.
Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner,
Stone, Ting, Weber, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A.
P�rez
NOES: Achadjian, Allen, Bigelow, Ch�vez, Conway, Dahle,
Donnelly, Beth Gaines, Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Jones, Linder,
Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor, Melendez, Morrell, Nestande,
Olsen, Patterson, Wagner, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Holden, Waldron, Vacancy
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JG:nl 9/9/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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