BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 719
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 719 (Roger Hernández)
As Amended August 22, 2013
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |53-18|(May 16, 2013) |SENATE: |26-12|(September 6, |
| | | | | |2013) |
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Original Committee Reference: U. & C.
SUMMARY : Requires an electrical corporation to file a tariff
with the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) that a
local government may use to fund installation of high-efficiency
lighting in street light poles that the electrical corporation
owns. Specifically, this bill :
a)Requires the PUC, on or before March 1, 2014, to order
investor-owned utilities (IOUs) to submit a tariff that a
local government may use to fund energy efficiency
improvements in street light poles owned by the utility in
order to reduce energy bills, but with no cost shifts to
nonparticipating ratepayers.
b)Provides that a local government financing an improvement
through such a tariff shall be eligible to use any energy
efficiency rebate or incentive available for that improvement.
The Senate amendments are technical in nature. The bill is
substantially similar to the version passed by the Assembly.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, onetime costs of approximately $130,000 from the
Public Utilities Reimbursement Account (special) to develop the
necessary rulemaking.
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement . According to the author, "Our street
lights are neglected public facilities that are operating on
outdated energy technology with cities footing the higher
energy costs associated with this old technology. Corporate
utilities that stand by without making energy efficiency
retrofits, profit from the status quo when more energy is
AB 719
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consumed by their customers, at the expense of the tax payers
and the environment. Something has to be done to provide
relief to our cities and counties, particularly when they are
making strides and efforts of their own in addressing the
matter."
2)Who Owns the Street Lights ? Street light poles can be owned
by local governments, Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs),
homeowner associations, or private parties. According to data
provided by PUC, local government and IOUs own the following
number of street light poles:
------------------------------------------
|Utility | IOU owned | Local |
| | | Government |
| | | Owned |
|----------------+-----------+-------------|
|PG&E | 175,585 | 554,000 |
|----------------+-----------+-------------|
|SCE | 653,209 | 115,460 |
|----------------+-----------+-------------|
|SDG&E | 27,981 |119,469 |
| | | |
------------------------------------------
3)Who's Motivated to Convert Street Lights ? Generally it is the
entity paying the energy bill that has a motivation to reduce
energy consumption. In this situation, the pole is owned by
the utility and the local government pays the energy bill. As
a result, local governments are motivated to find ways to
reduce energy usage and save money.
Currently, local governments are eligible for ratepayer-funded
rebates to help reduce street light conversion costs. PUC has
not allowed utilities to be eligible for ratepayer-funded
rebates for this purpose.
PG&E is proposing to replace up to 160,000 non-decorative
utility-owned streetlights in its 2014 General Rate Case.
PG&E is proposing that the costs for the program through an
adjustment in the facility charge for customers who elect to
participate in and benefit from the program. PG&E estimates
replacing High Pressure Sodium Vapor (HPSV) with Light
Emitting Diodes (LEDs) will save 52.8 million kilowatt-hours
annually, reduce customer energy bills (which includes the
cost of the facility charge), and improve reliability through
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fewer streetlight burnouts.
4)New Technologies May or May Not Meet the Service Requirements
for Street Lights . HPSV lights are the predominant type of
street light technology. Energy efficiency opportunities for
improving street lights can be accomplished via induction
lights or LED lights. Depending on models and usage,
induction lights can reduce energy consumption by 10% to 50%
and last up to four times longer than HPSV lights. LED lights
can reduce energy consumption by up to 50% and last twice as
long as HSPV lights.
LED lighting systems do not have established standards
therefore there may be financial risks with purchasing
currently-available technology that does not deliver the type
and level of lighting necessary to provide similar level of
lighting services that were provided by the HSPV technology.
According to a 2011 report by the Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute's Lighting Research Center which tested various
streetlight technologies against design criteria specified by
the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the tested
LED streetlights required from 3% to 92% more poles per mile
than the base case to meet the ANSI standard. Pole
configuration (staggered vs. single sided). The study found
that with the additional poles necessary to achieve equivalent
lighting the net energy consumption would increase an average
of 51% to 41% more per mile. Rensselaer estimated that an
incentive range of $250 to $1,550 per streetlight in addition
to a volume discount for an LED with a life of 25,000 hours or
longer or an induction streetlight would be needed to achieve
a lower life-cycle cost per mile than the study's base case.
As lighting technologies improve, it is likely these issues
will be addressed.
Analysis Prepared by : Susan Kateley / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083
FN: 0002316