BILL NUMBER: AB 1014 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 24, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 9, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 21, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Williams
(Coauthor: Senator Wolk)
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to add and repeal Chapter 7.6 (commencing with
Section 2832) to Part 2 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code,
relating to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1014, as amended, Williams. Energy: electrical corporations:
Green Tariff and Shared Renewable Generation Program.
green tariff shared renewable program.
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has
regulatory jurisdiction over public utilities, including electrical
corporations, as defined. Existing law authorizes the commission to
fix the rates and charges for every public utility, and requires that
those rates and charges be just and reasonable. Under existing law,
the local government renewable energy self-generation program
authorizes a local government, as defined, to receive a bill credit,
as defined, to be applied to a designated benefiting account for
electricity exported to the electrical grid by an eligible renewable
generating facility, as defined, and requires the commission to adopt
a rate tariff for the benefiting account.
This bill would require specified electrical corporations to file
with the commission, by March 1, 2014, an advice letter requesting
the approval of a Green Tariff and Shared Renewable
Generation Program green tariff shared renewable
program . The bill would require the commission, by July 1,
2014, after notice and opportunity for public comment, to approve the
advice letter if the commission finds that the proposed program is
reasonable and consistent with specified findings. This bill
would require the commission to require that a green tariff shared
renewable program be administered in accordance with specified
provisions. This bill would repeal these provisions on January 1,
2019.
(2) Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or
any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the
commission is a crime.
Because the provisions of the bill would require action by the
commission to implement its requirements, a violation of these
provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding
the definition of a crime.
(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 7.6 (commencing with Section 2832) is added to
Part 2 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code, to read:
CHAPTER 7.6. GREEN TARIFF AND SHARED
RENEWABLE GENERATION PROGRAM
2832. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The creation of renewable energy within California provides
significant financial, health, environmental, and workforce benefits
to the State of California.
(b) The California Solar Initiative has been extremely successful,
resulting in over 140,000 residential and commercial onsite
installations of solar energy systems. However, it cannot reach all
residents and businesses that want to participate and is limited to
solar. The Green Tariff and Shared Renewable Generation
Program A green tariff shared renewable program
seeks to build on this success by expanding access to renewable
energy resources to all ratepayers who are currently unable to access
the benefits of onsite generation.
(c) The Governor has proposed the Clean Energy Jobs Plan calling
for the development of 20,000 12,000
megawatts of localized electricity generation
from renewable energy resources by 2020. There is
widespread interest from many large institutional customers,
including schools, colleges, universities, local governments,
businesses, and the military, for development of renewable generation
facilities to serve more than 33 percent of their energy needs.
For these reasons, the Legislature agrees that the Governor'
s Clean Energy Jobs Plan represents a desired policy direction for
the state. It is the intent of the Legislature that renewable
generation that comes online as part of the Green Tariff and Shared
Renewable Generation Program is counted toward an electrical
corporation's efforts to implement the Governor's Clean Energy Jobs
Plan.
(d) Properly designed, shared renewable energy programs can
provide access and long-term cost savings to underserved communities,
such as low- to moderate-income residents, and residential and
commercial renters, while not shifting costs to nonbeneficiaries.
(e) While municipal utilities already have the authority to create
their own shared renewable energy programs, only an act of the
Legislature can empower the vast majority of California residents to
be able to enjoy the significant benefits of shared renewable energy
systems while the state benefits from avoided transmission and
distribution upgrades, avoided line loss, and cleaner air and water.
(f)
( d) Public institutions will benefit from
the Green Tariff and Shared Renewable Generation Program's
a green tariff shared renewable program's
enhanced flexibility to participate in shared renewable energy
facilities. Electricity usage is one of the most significant
cost pressures facing public institutions at a time when they have
been forced to cut essential programs, increase classroom sizes, and
lay off teachers. Schools may use the long-term savings for restoring
funds for salaries, facility maintenance, and other budgetary needs.
(g)
( e) Renewable generation creates jobs,
reduces emissions of greenhouse gases, and promotes energy
independence.
(h)
( f) Many large energy users in California
have pursued onsite renewable energy generation, but cannot achieve
their goals due to rooftop or land space limitations, or size limits
on net metering. The enactment of this chapter will create a
mechanism whereby institutional customers such as military
installations, universities, and local governments, as well as
commercial customers and groups of individuals, can efficiently
invest in generating electricity from renewable generation.
(i)
( g) It is the intent of the Legislature
that the Green Tariff and Shared Renewable Generation
Program a green tariff shared renewable program
be implemented in such a manner as to create
facilitate a large, sustainable market for the purchase of an
interest in offsite renewable generation, while fairly compensating
electrical corporations for the services they provide , without
affecting nonparticipating ratepayers .
(j)
( h) It is the further intent of the
Legislature to preserve a thriving, sustainable agricultural
industry, and to ensure that the development of renewable energy does
not remove prime farmland from productive use without a
comprehensive public review process.
2833. (a) On or before March 1, 2014, an electrical corporation
with at least 100,000 customers shall file with the commission an
advice letter requesting approval of a Green Tariff and
Shared Renewable Generation Program green tariff
shared renewable program that it the
electrical corporation determines is consistent with the
findings specified in Section 2832.
(b) On or before July 1, 2014, the commission shall issue a
resolution on the electrical corporation's advice letter for a
Green Tariff and Shared Renewable Generation Program
green tariff shared renewable program ,
determining whether to approve or disprove
disapprove it, with or without modifications.
(c) After notice and an opportunity for public comment, the
commission shall approve an advice letter by an electrical
corporation for a Green Tariff and Shared Renewable
Generation Program green tariff shared renewable
program if the commission determines that the program is
reasonable and consistent with the findings specified in Section
2832.
(d) This section does chapter shall
not apply to applications by electrical corporations for a
Green Tariff and Shared Renewable Generation Program that are
green tariff shared renewable program filed at
the commission prior to May 1, 2013, and does not change the
existing authority of the commission to approve those applications
in accordance with its existing authority under the Public Utilities
Code or to the approval of those applications by the
commission .
2834. In implementing this chapter, the commission shall require
a green tariff shared renewable program to be administered in
accordance with this section.
(a) Electrical corporations shall use existing commission-approved
tools and mechanisms to procure additional renewable energy
resources from incremental, additional renewable generation
facilities, primarily sized 20 megawatts and below.
(b) The megawatts to be procured under this section are limited to
an allocation of up to 600 megawatts to this program, divided
proportionally among the electrical corporations required to file the
tariff and allocated in equal increments over a five-year period.
(c) To the extent possible, electrical corporations shall seek to
procure renewable energy supplies that are located within a
reasonable proximity to enrolled participants.
(d) Electrical corporations shall ensure that the program complies
with diverse procurement and General Order 156 goals.
(e) Electrical corporations shall not subscribe a participant to
more than two megawatts of generating capacity or the equivalent
amount. This limitation does not apply to a federal, state, or local
government, school, school district, county office of education, the
California Community Colleges, the California State University, or
the University of California. Electrical corporations shall ensure
that no single entity or its affiliates or subsidiaries is awarded
more than 20 percent of any single calendar year's total cumulative
rated generating capacity made available pursuant to this program.
(f) To the extent possible, the electrical corporation shall
actively market the program to low-income and minority communities
and customers.
(g) Participating customers are to receive bill credits for the
generation using the class average retail generation rate as
established in the electrical corporation's approved tariff for the
class to which the subscribed belongs plus a renewable adjustment
value representing the difference between the time of day profile of
the renewable resource used to serve the subscribed and the class
average time of day profile and the resource adequacy value, if any,
of the resource contained in this program.
(h) Participating customers shall pay the administrative costs of
the electrical corporation and pay charges to fully cover the cost of
procuring a green tariff shared renewable program's resources to
serve their needs, consistent with other existing similar voluntary
optional rate schedules. Electrical corporations may provide support
for enhanced community renewable programs to facilitate development
of additional renewable projects closer to load.
(i) The commission shall ensure that the charges and credits
associated with this program shall be structured to ensure
nonparticipant ratepayer indifference for the remaining, bundled
service, direct access, and community choice aggregation customers
and that no costs are shifted from participating customers to
nonparticipating ratepayers.
(j) Electrical corporations shall track and account for all
revenues and costs to ensure that the electrical corporation recovers
the actual costs of the program and that all costs and revenues are
fully transparent and auditable.
(k) Any renewable energy credits associated with an interest shall
be retired by either the provider or electrical corporation, as they
may agree on behalf of the participant or transferred to the Western
Renewable Energy Generation Information System account of that
participant, for the purpose of demonstrating the purchase of
renewable energy. Those renewable energy credits shall not be further
sold, transferred, or otherwise monetized by a party for any
purpose. Any renewable energy credits associated with electricity
paid for by the electrical corporation shall be counted toward
meeting that electrical corporation's renewables portfolio standard.
For the purposes of this subdivision, the terms "renewable energy
credit" and "renewables portfolio standard" have the same meanings as
defined in Section 399.12.
(l) An electrical corporation shall, in the event of participant
attrition or related factors, apply the additional resources procured
through this program to the electrical corporation's renewable
portfolio standard procurement obligations or banked for future use
to benefit all customers in accordance with renewable portfolio
standard banking and procurement rules.
(m) In calculating its procurement requirements to meet the
requirements of the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program
(Article 16 (commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part
1), an electrical corporation may exclude from total retail sales the
kilowatthours generated by a shared renewable energy facility
commencing with the point in time at which the facility achieves
commercial operation.
(n) This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2019, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.