BILL NUMBER: SB 418 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 1, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Senator Jackson
( Principal coauthor: Senator
Block )
( Principal coauthor: Assembly Member
Atkins )
FEBRUARY 20, 2013
An act to amend Section 382 of add Section
1091.5 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 418, as amended, Jackson. Energy: low-income energy
efficiency programs. nuclear fission powerplants.
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission, commonly
known as the PUC, has regulatory authority over public utilities,
including electrical corporations, as defined. The Public Utilities
Act prohibits any electrical corporation from beginning the
construction of, among other things, a line, plant, or system, or of
any extension thereof, without having first obtained from the PUC a
certificate that the present or future public convenience and
necessity require or will require that construction. A violation of
the act, or an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or
requirement of the PUC is a crime.
Existing federal law requires an operator of a nuclear fission
thermal powerplant to obtain from the federal Nuclear Regulatory
Commission a license for the operation of the powerplant.
This bill would enact the Nuclear Energy Planning and
Responsibility Act and would require the PUC to require an applicant
electrical corporation applying for ratepayer funding, or reopening
an existing application for ratepayer funding, for the relicensing of
a nuclear fission thermal powerplant with a generation capacity of
50 megawatts or greater by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
to submit a detailed study of the project needs and costs in order
to assess the cost-effectiveness of the continued operation of the
nuclear fission thermal powerplant. The bill would require the PUC to
review the study to assess the cost-effectiveness of the continued
operation of the nuclear fission thermal powerplant. Because a
violation of this provision is a crime, this bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
(2) 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.
Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission to establish
a program of assistance to low-income electric and gas customers,
referred to as the California Alternate Rates for Energy or CARE
program. Existing law requires programs provided to low-income
electricity customers to be funded at not less than 1996 authorized
levels based on an assessment of customer need.
This bill instead would require programs provided to low-income
electricity customers to be funded at not less than 2000 authorized
levels based on an assessment of customer need.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known, and may be
cited, as the Nuclear Energy Planning and Responsibility Act.
SEC. 2. Section 1091.5 is added to the
Public Utilities Code , to read:
1091.5. (a) Upon application to the commission for ratepayer
funding, or reopening of an existing application for ratepayer
funding, for the relicensing of a nuclear fission thermal powerplant
with a generation capacity of 50 megawatts or greater by the federal
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the commission shall require the
applicant electrical corporation operating the nuclear fission
thermal powerplant to submit a detailed study of the project needs
and costs in order to assess the cost-effectiveness of the continued
operation of the nuclear fission thermal powerplant.
(b) The study shall include, but is not limited to, all of the
following areas of concern:
(1) The effect of the nuclear fission thermal powerplant on system
reliability and the affordable supply of electricity, including
planned provisions for emergency operations and unplanned shutdowns
as well as the costs of replacement power.
(2) The costs attributable to major disruptions in electrical
generation due to aging or major seismic events that may require
repair, replacement, or retrofit in excess of fifty million dollars
($50,000,000) at the nuclear fission thermal powerplant.
(3) The costs of responding to, or mitigating for, any new federal
requirements that have arisen or are anticipated to become
enforceable during the period of the license extension.
(4) Potential state and local costs and impacts associated with
current and accumulating high-level radioactive waste and its ongoing
storage at the nuclear fission thermal powerplant.
(5) Potential state and local costs associated with mitigation or
alternatives to the use of once-through cooling at the nuclear
fission thermal powerplant as required by state or federal law.
(6) Potential state and local costs associated with expanding and
maintaining emergency planning zones.
(7) Costs associated with achieving compliance with requirements
for a federal consistency certification granted by the California
Coastal Commission to the electrical corporation, required for the
relicensing of the nuclear fission thermal powerplant by the federal
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
(c) The commission shall independently review the study to assess
the cost-effectiveness of the continued operation of the nuclear
fission thermal powerplant.
SEC. 3. 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.
SECTION 1. Section 382 of the Public Utilities
Code is amended to read:
382. (a) Programs provided to low-income electricity customers,
including, but not limited to, targeted energy efficiency services
and the California Alternate Rates for Energy program, shall be
funded at not less than 2000 authorized levels based on an assessment
of customer need.
(b) In order to meet legitimate needs of electric and gas
customers who are unable to pay their electric and gas bills and who
satisfy eligibility criteria for assistance, recognizing that
electricity is a basic necessity, and that all residents of the state
should be able to afford essential electricity and gas supplies, the
commission shall ensure that low-income ratepayers are not
jeopardized or overburdened by monthly energy expenditures. Energy
expenditure may be reduced through the establishment of different
rates for low-income ratepayers, different levels of rate assistance,
and energy efficiency programs.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit
electric and gas providers from offering any special rate or program
for low-income ratepayers that is not specifically required in this
section.
(d) Beginning in 2002, an assessment of the needs of low-income
electricity and gas ratepayers shall be conducted periodically by the
commission with the assistance of the Low-Income Oversight Board.
The assessment shall evaluate low-income program implementation and
the effectiveness of weatherization services and energy efficiency
measures in low-income households. The assessment shall consider
whether existing programs adequately address low-income electricity
and gas customers' energy expenditures, hardship, language needs, and
economic burdens.
(e) The commission shall, by not later than December 31, 2020,
ensure that all eligible low-income electricity and gas customers are
given the opportunity to participate in low-income energy efficiency
programs, including customers occupying apartments or similar
multiunit residential structures. The commission and electrical
corporations and gas corporations shall make all reasonable efforts
to coordinate ratepayer-funded programs with other energy
conservation and efficiency programs and to obtain additional federal
funding to support actions undertaken pursuant to this subdivision.
These programs shall be designed to provide long-term reductions in
energy consumption at the dwelling unit based on an audit or
assessment of the dwelling unit, and may include improved insulation,
energy efficient appliances, measures that utilize solar energy, and
other improvements to the physical structure.
(f) The commission shall allocate funds necessary to meet the
low-income objectives in this section.