BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 415
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 29, 2013

                    ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
                               Steven Bradford, Chair
                    AB 415 (Garcia) - As Amended:  April 24, 2013
           
          SUBJECT  :   Solar Water Heating and Efficiency Act of 2007

           SUMMARY  :   This bill broadens the test protocols and accredited  
          listing agencies that eligible equipment can use to be eligible  
          for solar water heating incentives.  Specifically,  this bill  :  

          a)Allows ISO 9806 and ASHRAE 93 testing protocols to be used in  
            addition to the testing protocols used by the Solar Rating and  
            Certification Corporation (SRCC) for eligibility.
          b)Allow product certifications issued by the International  
            Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO), a  
            certification body accredited by the American National  
            Standards Institute (ANSI) to be used for eligibility.
          c)Would establish that the California Public Utilities  
            Commission (PUC) may adopt standards written by accredited  
            standards developers in place of developing ad-hoc standards  
            for the solar water heating incentives authorized by this  
            program.

           EXISTING LAW  

          1)Establishes an incentive program to support installation of  
            200,000 solar water heaters by 2017. (Public Utilities Code  
            2863)

          2)Requires equipment eligible for incentives to be certified by  
            SRCC. (Public Utilities Code 2864)

          3)Technical amendments to update reference to test standards.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   Unknown

           COMMENTS  :   

           1)Author's Statement.  "In 2007 when the Governor signed AB 1470  
            into law, the Solar Rating & Certification Corporation (SRCC)  
            was the only solar system certification then in existence. Now  
            there are several accredited listing agencies that have the  
            ability to review and issues certification for solar  








                                                                  AB 415
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            collectors used in systems for multifamily residential,  
            commercial, government, nonprofit, educational, or industrial  
            water heating. In order to address the issues raised by SRCC's  
            recent actions to make itself a sole source for certification  
            in accordance with OG-300, it is necessary to amend that  
            section of existing California code which has the effect of  
            conferring this monopoly control of certification."

           2)Background.   In 2010, the PUC authorized the California Solar  
            Initiative (CSI) Thermal program, which pays incentives to  
            solar water heating (SWH) systems that displace gas water  
            heating and electric water heating. The CSI Thermal program  
            was established pursuant to Assembly Bill (AB) 1470 (Huffman,  
            Chapter 536, Statutes of 2007), which contains direction to  
            the PUC in regards to the program budget, design, and  
            eligibility criteria. AB 1470 required that to be eligible for  
            an incentive a residential SWH system must be certified by  
            SRCC. AB 1470 also required that to be eligible for a  
            non-residential incentive the solar collectors must be  
            certified by SRCC.

           3)Alternative Rating Systems  . In October 2011, the PUC approved  
            a D1111004 finding that IAPMO is qualified to certify solar  
            water heating systems to Solar Rating and Certification  
            Corporation (SRCC) standards. The CSI Thermal Program  
            Administrators were directed to accept SRCC certifications  
            rendered by IAPMO. Additionally, the PUC decision established  
            a process for considering requests for acceptance of SRCC  
            certification performed by entities that are ANSI accredited  
            listing agencies.

            Part of the basis of the PUC's decision was a letter from the  
            author of AB 1470, former Assemblymember Huffman, stating  
            that: "It's also important to note that regardless of the  
            entity certifying a solar water heating unit, all  
            certification entities should produce the same test results  
            when testing a solar water heater for eligibility against the  
            SRCC OG-300 or OG-100 standard."

            The PUC also noted that there should not be much difference  
            between the SRCC and other entities' test results.

           4)If there's no difference, why is this important?  As written  
            the current statute creates a monopoly for one listing entity.  
             If AB 415 is enacted manufacturers could choose among testing  








                                                                  AB 415
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            agencies based on a variety of factors, such as timeliness of  
            testing, cost, or proximity to the test facility. 

            This concept is not new. For example, in electric equipment  
            safety testing, Underwriters' Laboratory (UL) develops test  
            protocols. UL also provides equipment testing. However, other  
            accredited testing organizations, such as Intertek, may also  
            provide equipment testing.

            According to the sponsors, AB 415 will provide an open,  
            competitive market for certification services.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          California Solar Energy Industries Association (Sponsor)

           Opposition 
           
          None on file
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Susan Kateley / U. & C. / (916)  
          319-2083