BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                            Senator Kevin de León, Chair


          AB 719 (R. Hernandez) - Energy: energy efficiency: street light  
          pole.
          
          Amended: August 12, 2013        Policy Vote: EU&C 6-2
          Urgency: No                     Mandate: Yes (see staff  
          comments)
          Hearing Date: August 12, 2013                     Consultant:  
          Marie Liu     
          
          This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the  
          Suspense File.
          
          
          Bill Summary: AB 719 would require the California Public  
          Utilities Commission (CPUC) to require investor-owned utilities  
          (IOUs) to offer a tariff for local governments to use to fund  
          energy efficiency improvements in street light poles owned by  
          the utility.

          Fiscal Impact: Onetime costs of approximately $130,000 from the  
          Public Utilities Reimbursement Account (special) to develop the  
          necessary rulemaking.

          Background: Each local agency pays the energy bill for the  
          street lights in its jurisdiction, although many agencies do not  
          own the street light poles and fixtures. Local agencies that own  
          the poles can convert those to more efficient street lights,  
          thereby reducing their energy use and monthly bills. However  
          utilities have little incentives to make energy efficiency  
          retrofits to street lights they own, although when they do, the  
          entire retrofit costs can be recovered through rates paid by  
          ratepayers. According to the Senate Energy, Utilities, and  
          Communications Committee, very few utility-owned poles have been  
          converted to more efficient lighting.

          Proposed Law: This bill would require the CPUC to mandate that  
          IOUs offer a tariff to fund energy efficiency improvements in  
          street light poles owned by the IOU in order to reduce energy  
          consumption. Participation in the tariff would be at the  
          discretion of the local governments who are streetlight  
          customers.









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          The tariff must be designed to allow local governments to remit  
          the cost of the improvement over time without shifting costs to  
          nonparticipating ratepayers. The cost of the improvement must be  
          identified separately on the electrical bill.

          The street light improvement would be made eligible for any  
          rebate or incentives made available through rate-payer funded  
          energy efficiency programs. 

          Staff Comments: The CPUC will need to open a proceeding to  
          direct the utilities to propose a new tariff to pay for energy  
          efficiency improvements on utility-owned street lights at a cost  
          of approximately $130,000. 

          This bill does not result in a state-reimbursable mandate as the  
          mandate only involves the definition of a crime or the penalty  
          for conviction of a crime.