BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �          1





                SENATE ENERGY, UTILITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
                                 ALEX PADILLA, CHAIR
          

          SB 43 -  Wolk                                     Hearing Date:   
          April 30, 2013             S
          As Amended:         April 1, 2013            FISCAL       B
                                                                        
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                                      DESCRIPTION
           
           Current law  authorizes individual retail, non-residential,  
          end-use customers to acquire electric service from other  
          providers in each electrical corporation's (IOU) distribution  
          service territory, up to the historically highest amount of  
          kilowatt-hours (kWh) of annual sales for each utility.    
          Increases authorized in 2009 require a phase-in period for new  
          customer enrollments of not less than three years and not more  
          than five years.  The program is commonly referred to as "direct  
          access."  (Public Utilities Code 365 et seq.)

           Current law  establishes a general exception to the cap on direct  
          access for community choice aggregation (CCA) undertaken by  
          cities and counties serving their own residents and businesses,  
          with electricity secured from the market or energy producers  
          under contract with the CCA to provide service to IOU customers  
          choosing to enroll.  ."  (Public Utilities Code 366.2)
            
           Current law  requires an electric service provider (ESP) that is  
          a non-utility entity that offers electric service to customers  
          within the service territory of an IOU to register with, and be  
          subject to, the jurisdiction of the CPUC.  The ESP is required  
          to undergo background checks and provide proof of financial  
          viability and technical and operational ability in addition to  
          other fees, bonds, and reporting requirements to the CPUC and to  
          the customer's served.  (Public Utilities Code 394 et seq.)

           Current law  permits local governments who are IOU customers to  
          generate renewable energy from a facility they own or lease and  
          credit excess electricity exported to the grid against the  
          generation charges of that same local government customer's  
          other facilities.  (Public Utilities Code 2830)












           This bill  eliminates that program.

           Current law  authorizes the City of Davis to designate  
          "benefiting accounts" to receive credit for the electricity  
          generated by a particular photovoltaic electricity generation  
          facility. (Public Utilities Code 2826.5)

           This bill  eliminates that program.

           This bill  establishes the Shared Renewable Self Generation  
          Program to allow developers of renewable energy, referred to as  
          providers (aka developers), which are exempted from the  
          definition of a public utility, to sell renewable electricity  
          directly to customers of the state's three largest IOUs.  The  
          total capacity cap of interconnected resources would be 500 MWs,  
          with 100 MWs set aside for residential customers and 100 MWs  
          reserved for 1 MW facilities located in the state's most  
          impacted and disadvantaged communities.

           This bill  permits any customer of any one of the state's three  
          largest IOUs, identified as "participants" (aka customers) to:

                 Pay a provider (developer) directly for the costs of  
               electricity generated by a shared renewable energy  
               facility;
                 Receive a credit on the customer's IOU bill for  
               electricity, at an amount to be calculated by the CPUC,  
               referred to as the facility rate;
                 Acquire an interest of up to 2 MW of capacity of a  
               shared renewable energy facility, except for specified  
               government entities for which there is no cap;
                 Pay the IOU for only transmission and distribution  
               services for the portion of electricity the customer  
               purchases directly from a developer (the net result based  
               on a credit the customer would receive equal to the energy  
               component of the IOU bill); and
                 Provide a disclosure to any potential program customer  
               to which the customer intends to sell his/her facility  
               interest.

           This bill  requires the state's three largest IOUs to:

                 Contract with any shared renewable energy facility that  










               intends to sell electricity directly to the IOU's customers  
               if the facility is:
                  o         A new eligible renewable resource;
                  o         The 2 MW PVUSA facility in the City of Davis;
                  o         Less than 20 MW in size; and
                  o         Located in the service territory of the IOU  
                    and its customer; 
                 Credit a customer's bill for the energy component of the  
               customer's applicable electric rate should the customer  
               choose to purchase electricity from a shared renewable  
               energy facility;
                 Credit a customer's bill, on a kilowatt hour basis, at  
               an amount to be calculated by the CPUC, equal to the volume  
               of electricity that the customer purchases directly from a  
               shared renewable energy facility, referred to as the  
               facility rate;
                 Purchase excess generation from a developer, for which  
               they were unable to secure subscribers, at a rate to be  
               determined by the CPUC equal to the day-ahead price for  
               electricity.  The IOU would receive the renewable energy  
               credit; and
                 Provide to the CPUC maps indicating locations where the  
               addition of capacity would reduce lines loss, lower  
               transmission-capacity constraints, and defer or avoid  
               transmission and distribution network upgrades and  
               construction.

           This bill  requires the CPUC to:

                 Establish a facility rate for each shared renewable  
               energy facility under the program to be used to provide a  
               credit on the customer's IOU bill so that a customer can  
               continue to receive distribution and transmission service  
               from the IOU, but purchase their electricity directly from   
               a developer;
                 Base the initial facility rate on the CPUC's cumulative  
               weighted average time-of-delivery adjusted cost of  
               electricity reported annually to the Legislature.  After a  
               comprehensive analysis of the costs and benefits associated  
               with shared renewable energy generation, establish a new  
               facility rate based on the full value that the renewable  
               generation provides to non-participating customers;
                 Revise the facility rate methodology at any time it  
               concludes that the rate does not provide program  










               participating with the fair value of electricity and other  
               benefits produced by the facility or overvalues the  
               benefits to nonparticipating customers;
                 Expand the program beyond the 500 MW cap after an  
               evaluation and revise the program if goals are not being  
               met;
                 Develop and enforce disclosures required to subscribers  
               of a shared renewable energy facility and other rules to  
               ensure consumer protection.  The CPUC would be strictly  
               prohibited from regulating the prices paid by customers to  
               the shared renewable energy facility; and
                 Determine whether direct access customers should  
               participate in the program.

           This bill  prohibits:

                 Charging any participating customer standby or departing  
               load charges;
                 The CPUC from regulating the prices paid by a customer  
               to a developer of a shared renewable energy facility; and
                 A shared renewable energy facility from being sited on  
               lands that have been designated, in the last five years, as  
               prime farmland by the Department of Conservation.

           This bill  expresses the intent of the Legislature to minimize  
          the rate impact the Shared Renewable Energy Self-Generation  
          Program has on nonbeneficiaries, with a goal of ratepayer  
          indifference but also calls for incremental rate increases as a  
          result of the program, to be appropriated in a way to allocate  
          costs, which may include equitable allocation of costs to all  
          customers on a nonbypassable basis.

                                      BACKGROUND
           
          Deregulation - California's experiment with deregulation was  
          launched in 1996 when the Legislature passed AB 1890 (Brulte,  
          1996), to restructure the electric industry. One of the key  
          features of electrical restructuring was the authorization of  
          retail competition within IOU service areas. AB 1890 ended the  
          service monopoly of utilities and authorized retail customers to  
          purchase energy directly from suppliers. These transactions are  
          known as "direct access." Community aggregation is a form of  
          direct access where, for example, a city may act as a purchasing  
          agent on behalf of its residents. 











          Before the energy crisis in 2001, non-IOU providers (direct  
          access providers) had enrolled customers but then failed to  
          provide the power ordered.  The customers returned to the IOUs  
          for service but the utilities did not have the electric  
          generation resources to serve those customers because they had  
          left IOU service.  In response a comprehensive framework has  
          been developed by the Legislature and the CPUC to ensure that,  
          in the case of direct transactions between energy suppliers and  
          utility customers, sufficient electric resources are maintained  
          to serve all customers, that IOU customers not served by  
          independent suppliers are held indifferent as to the cost  
          impacts of those transactions, and that the grid is reliable.

          Post Deregulation - Two programs remain available for electric  
          customers to secure power from an entity other than an IOU -  
          Direct Access and Community Choice Aggregation.  It is critical  
          to note that under these programs the utility is ultimately and  
          always responsible for providing electricity to every customer  
          in its service territory if the customer changes his/her mind or  
          the alternative avenue of purchase used by the customer  
          terminates or fails to provide service.  Consequently both the  
          CCA and DA programs have been subject to years of painstaking  
          review, analysis, and litigation at the CPUC to try to provide a  
          framework under which these alternative mechanisms can operate  
          and the remaining ratepayers of the IOU are held indifferent as  
          to the financial impacts of the departing load. 

          As a result all customers participating in CCAs pay a customer  
          reliability surcharge; all direct access customers pay a power  
          charge indifference amount.

          IOU "Green Options" - In response to the increasing attention of  
          the Legislature to institute enhanced renewable purchase options  
          for electric ratepayers, the three largest IOUs have programs at  
          varying stages of development to provide customers with greater  
          access to renewable electricity or renewable energy credits.   
          San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and Pacific Gas & Electric  
          (PG&E) have each have filed applications with the CPUC.  Edison  
          plans to do so later this year.

                PG&E  - In April 2012 PG&E requested authority from the CPUC  
               to establish "Green Option" available to all bundled  
               electricity customers under which customers could  










               voluntarily choose to pay a rate to purchase Green-e Energy  
               certified renewable energy credits ("RECs") for a premium  
               on their utility bill.  A heavy amount of criticism was  
               levied against the program.  There was no evidence that the  
               REC purchases would result in any additional renewable  
               generation since they would be purchased from existing  
               in-state solar generators and from wind projects located  
               elsewhere in the west.  It was argued that the plan would  
               not stimulate new development, or that these purchases  
               would cause any existing project to generate renewable  
               electricity that would not have otherwise been produced  
               and, in short, make no difference.  Customers who  
               subscribed based on the belief that they would cause a net  
               increase in renewable power production would, in fact, be  
               misinformed. 

               The parties in the proceeding (including TURN and the  
               Sierra Club) negotiated a settlement agreement with PG&E  
               which was filed in early April to allow PG&E's residential  
               and commercial customers to voluntarily elect to purchase  
               renewable power to satisfy up to 100% of their electrical  
               demand. Under the program, PG&E will execute contracts for  
               new renewable generation from facilities to be built within  
               the PG&E service territory sufficient to serve the  
               electrical demand of customers participating in the  
               program. The amount paid by participating PG&E customers  
               will be based on the actual cost of procuring new renewable  
               generation, thereby providing them with a fair price and a  
               long-term hedge against rising conventional supply costs.  
               Non-participating customers will pay no portion of the  
               costs of the program.  The agreement is pending review by  
               the CPUC.

                SDG&E  - In January 2012, SDG&E requested authority from the  
               CPUC to launch a pilot program with two elements designed  
               to gauge the level of interest among customers for whom  
               rooftop solar may not be a viable option.  Its Share the  
               Sun?  proposal would make up to 10 megawatts (MW) of solar  
               power available from projects owned by solar developers.   
               Customers could acquire a portion of the power produced by  
               a solar-energy system in SDG&E's service area to cover all  
               or part of their electricity use and receive a bill credit  
               for the value of the solar power their portion generates.   
               The "green attributes" of the solar power would belong to  










               the customer and would not be applied toward SDG&E's  
               renewable portfolio goals.  However, SDG&E would take  
               delivery of all the energy from these projects, and any  
               unsubscribed energy will be added to SDG&E's renewable  
               portfolio, but will be over and above what is procured to  
               meet the 33 percent renewables target.  The second phase of  
               the program would initiate the "SunRate" in which customers  
               could have their energy supplied from local solar projects  
               already under contract to SDG&E.  As much as 10 MW would be  
               available under this "green" rate.  Customers would buy the  
               solar energy from SDG&E to cover 50 percent, 75 percent, or  
               all of their energy use.  The price will be based on the  
               cost of the solar energy from the local solar projects. 

                Edison  - Is running different models and expects to file an  
               application for a green option with the CPUC later this  
               year.  

          Competitive Procurement v. Fixed Price - Since the restructuring  
          of the electricity industry in California in the 1990s, the CPUC  
          has relied on a "competitive market first" approach for the  
          procurement of electricity.  The IOUs develop an annual  
          procurement plan under which the IOUs solicit bids for  
          electricity deliveries.  The underlying premise of wholesale  
          competitive procurement is that ratepayers benefit as a result  
          of lower cost electricity deliveries.  Competitive procurement  
          also underlies the RPS program which requires IOUs to establish  
          a competitive process to select renewable contracts based on  
          least cost and best fit.  Competitive markets are generally  
          thought to benefit ratepayers by using competitive pressures to  
          lower total costs.

          Federal Generation Pricing Restriction - The Federal Power Act  
          grants the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission jurisdiction  
          over wholesale electric sales in interstate commerce, including  
          sales made entirely intrastate and sales delivered locally to a  
          distribution system.  The CPUC can set rates but the rate at  
          which a utility must purchase power from a facility must be:

                 "Just and reasonable" to consumers;
                 In the public interest; 
                 Not discriminate against the facility; and
                 Not exceed the purchaser's incremental avoided cost.
           










          The commission has litigated the issue of generation pricing at  
          the FERC and based on that proceeding has determined that it can  
          differentiate renewable pricing for particular sources of energy  
          (e.g. based-load, peaking) but cannot, under federal law,  
          establish technology-specific pricing.


                                       COMMENTS
           
              1.   Author's Purpose  .  California offers self-generation of  
               clean energy through a variety of programs, in order to  
               allow individuals and companies to exceed the base quantity  
               of renewable energy in their energy mix.  However,  
               participation in any of these programs requires space to  
               install self-generation and access to the renewable  
               resource - which three-quarters of individuals in the state  
               do not have.  Without allowing access to shared renewable  
               systems, significant numbers of Californians, primarily low  
               income renters, will remain unable to contribute to  
               greening our grid or take advantage of the benefit of  
               renewable generation.  We need such a program for  
               environmental and equity reasons.  The existing state  
               programs are not sufficient.  

              2.   Author's Amendments  .  The author proposes the following  
               amendments to address outstanding issues:

                           Reinstate the Renewable Energy Self-Generation  
                    Bill Credit Transfer program inadvertently repealed by  
                    this bill (PUC 2830);
                           Reinstate statutory authorization for the  
                    PVUSA solar pilot project to continue in the City of  
                    Davis which was inadvertently repealed by this bill  
                    (2826.5); and
                           Require the CPUC to review progress toward  
                    meeting the program goals for the most impacted and  
                    disadvantaged communities, and authorize adjustment of  
                    the facility rates and rules for those projects.
                           Page 25, strike lines 15-17, which strikes the  
                    ability of POU customers that received distribution  
                    service from an IOU to participate.

              1.   Summary of Program  .  This bill will allow any ratepayer  
               in the territories of the three largest IOUs to have their  










               utility provide two credits on their monthly electric bill  
               to facilitate the purchase of the customer's electricity  
               directly from a renewable generator. The first credit would  
               deduct the cost of generation provided by the IOU.  The  
               second credit would be for kilowatt hours the customer  
               purchases from a third party but the credit would be based  
               on a facility rate determined by the CPUC for each facility  
               enrolled in the program based on the full value that the  
               renewable generation provides to non-participating  
               customers.  With those two bill credits, the customer can  
               go to any renewable developer that has enrolled in the IOU  
               program and buy their electricity from that third party.   
               The IOUs must contract with any renewable facility within  
               its territory of less than 20 MW in size to facilitate the  
               customer's direct purchase of electricity from that  
               facility (up to an initial statewide cap of 500 MW).  As a  
               result the customer would in essence be paid by the IOU to  
               contract and pay for renewable electricity directly with  
               renewable facility.  The committee is not aware of any  
               other utility program that pays the customer to take their  
               business elsewhere. 

              2.   Facility Rate  .  What distinguishes this customer  
               renewable access program from other proposals and those  
               around the country is that the CPUC would set a "facility  
               rate" for each facility enrolled in the program to reflect  
               "the value of that the renewable generation provides to  
               non-participating customers" but that rate would only be  
               used as a bill credit to the customer's IOU account.  The  
               utility would not pay the developer; the IOU customer would  
               contract and pay the developer directly for the cost of  
               renewable energy they purchase.  The developer would report  
               the purchase in the form of kilowatt hours to the IOU which  
               would then credit the customer's IOU bill for those  
               kilowatt hours at the "facility rate" previously determined  
               by the CPUC in addition to the customer bill credit for  
               generation.

               The author's background refers to the facility rate as the  
               avoided cost of electricity but the bill requires the CPUC  
               to "undertake a comprehensive analysis of the costs and  
               benefits associated with shared renewable energy generation  
               to determine a facility rate for all facilities  
               participating in the program that shall be based on the  










               full value that the shared renewable energy generation  
               provides."  This suggests a rate beyond the avoided cost  
               and one that would result in a shift of the participating  
               customer's bill credits to other non-participating  
               customers.  Additionally, this bill requires that 20% (100  
               MWs) of program capacity be set aside for construction in  
               locations designated as impacted and disadvantaged  
               communities by the California Environmental Protection  
               Agency.  If projects do not develop in those locations the  
               CPUC could increase the rates for any projects in those  
               areas to ensure that the program goal of development  
               occurs.  Another calculation unrelated to the avoided cost  
               of generation.

               The sponsor of this bill argues that because the developer  
               is never paid the "facility rate" and that it is nothing  
               more than a bill credit, the CPUC would not be setting  
               prices for generation which is against federal law.   
               Although the facility rate is not a contract price it is  
               nevertheless an administratively set price for power.

               Setting aside the potential violation of federal law, it is  
               difficult if not impossible to administratively set the  
               right price for a generation contract and would be a  
               laborious task for the CPUC with no apparent benefit to  
               non-participating ratepayers but a great shift of costs as  
               a result of non-participating customers subsidizing the  
               subscriptions of participating customers. 

              3.   Stranded Costs/Ratepayer Indifference  .  Although this  
               bill expresses legislative intent that there be no cost  
               shift, the fundamental elements of the bill would result in  
               non-participating ratepayers, who continue to rely on the  
                                  IOU for their electric service, subsidizing the departing  
               customer's renewable purchases as a result of the bill  
               credits.  Comparable programs (community choice aggregation  
               and direct access programs) require that the remaining  
               customers of the IOUs be indifferent as to the costs  
               associated with the departing load of the CCA or DA  
               customers.  This bill does not meet that standard and  
               exacerbates the cost-shift by also specifically prohibiting  
               departing load and standby charges.

              4.   Consumer Protection  .  This bill expands the scope of  










               authority over renewable generators that participate in the  
               program by requiring them to regulate the relationship  
               between customers and third party renewable developers  
               except for the price paid for the renewable generation.  As  
               evidenced by recent hearings of the Senate and Assembly  
               budget subcommittees, the CPUC is not meeting its current  
               responsibilities.  The addition of new regulatory  
               responsibilities, particularly those unrelated to consumer  
               safety do not seem appropriate at this time.

              5.   Prime Farm Land  .  This bill restricts the siting of  
               shared renewable generation facilities on any land  
               designated as primary farmland by the Department of  
               Conservation's Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program  
               within the last five years "except when the designation has  
               been reclassified to one congruent to the use of the site  
               for the purposes of this chapter by either the Farmland  
               Mapping and Monitoring Program, or via a public process  
               conducted by the relevant local land use management  
               planning authority."  The California Farm Bureau Federation  
               writes in opposition to this bill that the restriction does  
               not go far enough and that the capacity size of projects  
               should be restricted to those under 3 MW to provide for  
               more "manageable impacts to important farmland."  The land  
               use restriction proposed by this bill may or may not be  
               appropriate but it is deserving of consideration in a  
               separate bill to ensure public notice and review and to  
               provide the opportunity for review by the appropriate  
               policy committees of the Legislature.

              6.   Publicly Owned Utilities  .  The program proposed by this  
               bill only applies to customers in the territories of the  
               state's three largest IOUs.  As a result only about  
               two-thirds of California's ratepayers would have the  
               opportunity to purchase 100% renewable generation.  In the  
               interest of equity for utility mandates and customer access  
               to renewables, should the POUs be called upon to institute  
               comparable programs?

              7.   Alternative Program Structure  .  The author's primary  
               goal is to allow IOU customers who cannot have rooftop  
               solar or other renewable generation to have a path to  
               "being green."  There are other program models that can  
               achieve this objective without cost-shifting to  










               non-participating customers, bogging-down the CPUC in  
               administering a very complex program, and avoiding the  
               likelihood of lengthy program challenges to the Federal  
               Energy Regulatory Commission as a result of the  
               administrative setting of the facility rate.

               The CPUC has program before it in the form of a settlement  
               agreement between PG&E, TURN, the Sierra Club and other  
               parties (CPUC A.12-04-020).  That program would allow:

                    PG&E's residential and commercial customers to  
                    voluntarily elect to purchase renewable power to  
                    satisfy up to 100% of their electrical demand.  Under  
                    the program, PG&E will execute contracts for new  
                    renewable generation from facilities to be built  
                    within the PG&E service territory sufficient to serve  
                    the electrical demand of customers participating in  
                    the program. The amount paid by participating PG&E  
                    customers will be based on the actual cost of  
                    procuring new renewable generation, thereby providing  
                    them with a fair price and a long-term hedge against  
                    rising conventional supply costs. Non-participating  
                    customers will pay no portion of the costs of the  
                    program. Under the program, PG&E customers such as  
                    tenants who are unable to install rooftop solar will  
                    have the opportunity to participate in a program that  
                    will directly procure additional renewable generation  
                    from resources located within the PG&E service  
                    territory.

               The author and committee may wish to consider striking the  
               content of the bill and amending the bill as indicated in  
               Attachment A to reflect the model in the above settlement  
               agreement.  This program would provide customers with the  
               opportunity to purchase up to 100% renewable generation  
               without shifting the costs of the program to  
               non-participating ratepayers.  This program structure would  
               have the customer subscribe to the program directly with  
               the IOU and pay the full cost of the renewable generation  
               to the utility.  The significant difference between the  
               program structure proposed in this bill and that proposed  
               in the attached amendments is that the renewable developer  
               would have no direct relationship with the customer and  
               would bid in to the IOU's existing renewable procurement  










               programs for generation under 20 MWs.  The generation would  
               not count toward the IOU's RPS requirements unless the  
               program had surplus generation for which there were no  
               subscribers.  These amendments are also being considered by  
               the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee at its April  
               29th hearing of AB 1014 (Williams).

               The proposed amendments also have an outreach/marketing  
               requirement of the IOUs to customers in economically  
               disadvantaged communities to encourage program  
               participation.  This outreach is in lieu of set-asides for  
               construction because the existing renewable procurement  
               programs (Re-MAT and RAM) which would be utilized to meet  
               the need of program subscribers do not have construction  
               set-asides and also rely on competitive procurement which  
               makes it difficult to target generation.

               The attached amendments also exclude the siting  
               restrictions for renewable generation on prime farmland.  

              8.   Double Referral  . Should this bill be approved by the  
               committee, it will be re-referred to the Senate Committee  
               on Rules for its consideration. 

              9.   Related Legislation  .  

               AB 1014 (Williams) Status:  Set for hearing in the Assembly  
               Utilities & Commerce Committee, April 29, 2013.

               AB 1295 (Hernandez) Status:  Pending hearing in the  
               Assembly Appropriations Committee

              10.  Prior Legislation  .

               SB 383 (Wolk) Status:  Held in Senate Appropriations  
               Committee, May, 2011 (bill later amended to address an  
               unrelated issue).

               SB 843 (Wolk) Status: Failed passage in the Assembly  
               Utilities & Commerce Committee August 30, 2012.


                                           














                                      POSITIONS
           
           Sponsor:
           
          City of Davis

           Support:
           
          AEE Solar, Inc.
          American Lung Association
          Asian Pacific Environmental Network
          California Environmental Justice Alliance
          California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
          Clean Power Group
          CleanTECH
          Coalition for Adequate School Housing
          Ecoplexus
          El Peco Energy LLC
          Everybody Solar, Inc.
          Mainstream Energy Corp.
          Octus Energy
          REC Solar, Inc.
          Redwood Coast Energy Authority
          Solar Gardens Institute (Washington State)
          Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
          Sullivan Solar Power
          The Vote Solar Initiative
          Western Center on Law & Poverty

           Support, with amendments:
           
          Department of Defense, Region 9 Regional Environmental  
          Coordinator
          Solar Energy Industries Association

           Concerns:
           
          Large-Scale Solar Association

           Oppose:
           










          California Farm Bureau Federation, unless amended
          Coalition of California Utility Employees
          Pacific Gas and Electric Company
          San Diego Gas & Electric Company
          Southern California Edison
          The Utility Reform Network, unless amended

          Kellie Smith 
          SB 43 Analysis
          Hearing Date:  April 30, 2013













































                                    SB 43 (WOLK)


                                    ATTACHMENT A


                                SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS


          


          2832.  (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 Shared Renewable  
          Generation 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 12,000 megawatts localized  
          electricity generation 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. 


          (d) Public institutions will benefit from a green tariff shared  










          renewable program's enhanced flexibility to participate in  
          shared renewable energy facilities.  

           (e) Renewable generation creates jobs, reduces emissions of  
          greenhouse gases, and promotes energy independence.

          (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.

          (g) It is the intent of the Legislature that a green tariff  
          shared renewable program be implemented in such a manner as to  
          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 non-participating ratepayers.

          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 Shared  
          Renewable Generation Program that it 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 Shared Renewable Generation Program, determining  
          whether to approve or disprove 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 Shared Renewable Generation  
          Program if the commission determines that the program is  
          reasonable and consistent with the findings specified in Section  
          2832.

          (d) This section does not apply to applications by electrical  
          corporations for a Green Tariff Shared Renewable Generation  
          Program that are 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.
          
          The Green Tariff Shared Renewable Generation Program is created  
          with the following program elements:

                 Existing procurement mechanisms including the Re-MAT and  
               RAM be utilized for facilities less than 20 megawatts  
               capacity;

                 Allocate 600 megawatts, divided proportionally among the  
               IOUs and allocated in equal increments over a five year  
               period in addition to current RPS requirements;

                 Any single participant is limited to no more than 2  
               megawatts, except for public entities such as schools,  
               colleges, universities, local governments, and the  
               military.  Single entity participation cap of 20 percent of  
               any single calendar year's total capacity;

                 Participating customers receive bill credits for avoided  
               generation costs and administrative costs of procuring  
               renewable resources and charges to fully cover the cost of  
               the program;

                 Require that the IOU actively market to low income  
               customers and minority communities and customers;

                 In the event of participant attrition, the utility will  
               apply any additional resources procured for this program to  
               the IOUs renewable portfolio standard obligation or banked  
               for future compliance;

                 Any renewable energy credits associated with this  
               program are retired on behalf of the participant so that it  
               cannot be used to count toward an IOU's renewable portfolio  
               standard compliance goal; specify the disposition of the  
               REC in the event of attrition, and specify the treatment of  
               the procurement for purposes of RPS procurement; and

                 Sunset this tariff in January 1, 2019 unless  
               reauthorized by the Legislature.