Amended in Assembly June 19, 2013

Amended in Senate May 8, 2013

Amended in Senate April 4, 2013

Senate Bill No. 699

Introduced by Senator Hill

February 22, 2013

An act to add Section begin delete 586 end delete begin insert 353.17 end insert to the Public Utilities Code, relating to electricity.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 699, as amended, Hill. Electricity: electrical corporations: begin delete reporting. end delete begin insert Clean distributed energy resources. end insert

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. The Public Utilities Act requires begin delete each public utility to furnish such reports to the commission at such time and in such form as the commission may require and in those reports the utility is required to specifically answer all questions propounded by the commission. The act authorizes the commission to require any public utility to file periodic reports concerning any matter about which the commission is authorized by any law to inquire or to keep itself informed, or which it is required to enforce end delete begin insert each electrical corporation, as a part of its distribution planning process, to consider specified nonutility owned distributed energy resources as an alternative to investments in its distribution system to ensure reliable electric services at the lowest possible costs end insert .

This bill would require begin delete an electrical corporation to annually report to the commission capital expenditures included in the distribution category of the electrical corporation’s ratebase for each project. The bill would require an electrical corporation to report all interconnection costs charged to the customer for each interconnection agreement to interconnect distributed energy resources. end delete begin insert the Public Utilities Commission, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to direct an electrical corporation to, among other things, determine the location on the distribution grid where clean distributed energy resources, as defined, will provide optimal benefits and to procure clean distributed energy resources to meet distribution grid needs as a part of the electrical corporation’s transmission and distribution grid infrastructure investments. end insert

Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the Public Utilities Commission is a crime.

Because the provisions of this bill are within the act and require action by the Public Utilities Commission to implement its requirements, a violation of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime.

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.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a)  begin delete Distributed end delete begin insert Clean distributed end insert energy resources, including
distributed generation, can reduce emissions of greenhouse gases,
reduce criteria air pollution, reduce water consumption, increase
grid reliability, localize power generation, and decrease reliance
on large, polluting generation facilities.

(b) The Legislature has established programs and policies to
support the commercialization and growth of begin insert clean end insert distributed
generation technologies, including the California Solar Initiative,
combined heat and power feed-in tariffs pursuant to the Waste
Heat and Carbon Emissions Reduction Act, the self-generation
incentive program, and the renewable market adjusting tariff.

(c) A central impediment to increased proliferation of distributed
energy resources is a lack of transparency in current utility
infrastructure investments in the distribution grid and in the costs
and process associated with interconnection to the utility grid,
costs that are ultimately begin delete born end delete begin insert borne end insert by ratepayers.

(d) Transparency on what distribution grid investments have
been made will allow policymakers and stakeholders to better
understand and evaluate what types of begin insert clean end insert distributed energy
resources may be more cost effective and better serve the grid and
ratepayers for future investments.

begin delete

SEC. 2.  

Section 586 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:

586.  

(a) For capital expenditures included in the distribution
category of the electrical corporation’s ratebase, the electrical
corporation shall annually report expenditures for each project,
including all of the following:

(1) The total dollar amount.

(2) The type of equipment installed.

(3) The purpose of the expenditure.

(4) Whether or not the installations affect the interconnection
and management of distributed energy resources.

(b) For each interconnection agreement executed with customers
that interconnect distributed energy resources, the electrical
corporation shall report all interconnection costs charged to the
customer.

end delete

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 353.17 is added to the end insert begin insert Public Utilities Code end insert begin insert ,
to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 353.17. end insert   

(a) The commission, in consultation with the Energy
Commission, shall direct each electrical corporation to do all of
the following:

(1) Determine the location on the distribution grid where clean
distributed energy resources will provide optimal benefits.

(2) Quantify the benefits of those resources.

(3) Report to the commission the costs and locations of current
investments in the distribution grid, including relevance to the
interconnection and management of clean distributed energy
resources.

(4) Procure clean distributed energy resources to meet
distribution grid needs as a part of the electrical corporation’s
transmission and distribution grid infrastructure investments.

(b) For the purposes of this section, “clean distributed energy
resources” means an electric generation technology that meets
both of the following requirements:

(1) Reduces greenhouse gas emissions as determined by the
State Air Resources Board greenhouse gas emissions factor
pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006
(Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health
and Safety Code).

(2) Complies with emission standards and guidance adopted
by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Sections 41514.9
and 41514.10 of the Health and Safety Code.

(3) Is interconnected to the electrical corporation’s distribution
grid.

end insert

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.