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 Page 2 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 Page 3 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