BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1295
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 8, 2012

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

               AB 1295 (Roger Hernandez) - As Amended:  April 23, 2013 

          Policy Committee:                              Utilities and  
          Commerce     Vote:                            14-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires an electrical corporation to participate in a  
          community renewable option program that allows customers to  
          purchase a portion of electricity from a renewable facility.
          Specifically, this bill: 

          1)Provides an option for existing and new renewable energy  
            developments to be designated as community renewable  
            facilities.

          2) Requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to authorize  
            the tariff by July 2014 and evaluate the demand for the  
            community renewables option after July 2016.

          3)Establishes a bill payment mechanism where participants will  
            receive a credit on their monthly utility bill if they elect  
            to participate in the program.

          4)Requires this program option in areas served by investor-owned  
            utilities, except for direct access customers.

          5)Allows but does not require this program in areas served by  
            publicly-owned utilities.

           FISCAL EFFECT  
          
          Increased costs to the PUC of approximately $200,000 (special  
          fund) to authorize and evaluate the program.
          
           COMMENTS









                                                                 AB 1295
                                                                  Page  2

          1)Purpose.   This bill is intended to allow electricity customers  
            to serve their energy needs with a greater proportion of  
            renewable energy by creating an option to receive a portion of  
            their electrical usage from participating independent  
            renewable facilities.  The customer would receive a credit on  
            their bill for the electricity received from a renewable  
            facility.

           2)Background.   Under the California Renewable Portfolio Standard  
            (RPS) all investor-owned and publicly-owned electricity  
            service providers are required to increase purchases of  
            renewable energy to at least 33% of retail sales by 2020.  
           
           3)Publicly-Owned Utilities.   This bill allows local  
            publicly-owned utilities to offer a comparable community  
            renewables option.  However, local utilities contend they are  
            not comparable to investor-owned utilities in size or scope.   
            The committee may wish to consider an amendment that allows  
            local utilities who opt-in to design a renewables program to  
            meet the unique needs of the communities served.  
                
             
                
           
           
           Analysis Prepared by  :    Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081