BILL NUMBER: AB 793 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 9, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Quirk
FEBRUARY 25, 2015
An act to amend Section 2790 of, and to add Section 8365 to, the
Public Utilities Code, relating to public utilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 793, as amended, Quirk. Energy efficiency.
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has
regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical
corporations and gas corporations, as defined. Existing law requires
the commission to require an electrical or gas corporation to perform
home weatherization services for low-income customers if the
commission determines that a significant need for those services
exists in the corporation's service territory. For these purposes,
existing law authorizes weatherization, where feasible, to include
certain measures for a dwelling unit. Existing law also authorizes
weatherization, for these purposes, to include other measures
determined by the commission to be feasible, taking into
consideration the cost-effectiveness of the measures as a whole and
the policy of reducing energy-related hardships facing low-income
households.
This bill would require weatherization, for the above-specified
purposes, to include energy management technology, as defined,
determined by the commission to be feasible, taking into
consideration the above-described factors.
(2) Existing law requires the commission, by July 1, 2010, and in
consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission, the Independent System Operator, and other
key stakeholders, to determine the requirements for a smart grid
deployment plan consistent with specified policies and federal law.
Existing law requires each electrical corporation, by July 1, 2011,
to develop and submit a smart grid deployment plan to the commission
for approval.
This bill would require the commission to require each
electrical corporation an energy efficiency program
administrator to develop and implement a plan to educate
its residential and business customers to better
understand and control their use of electricity or gas, as
provided . The bill would require the commission to require
each electrical corporation an energy
efficiency program administrator to develop an incentive
program to provide incentives to a residential or small or
medium business customer who acquires energy management
technology for use in the customer's home or place of business. The
bill would require the commission to require each electrical
corporation the energy efficiency program
administrator to annually report to the commission on actual
customer savings resulting from the education plan and the incentive
program.
The bill would require the commission to authorize an energy
efficiency program administrator to count all energy savings achieved
pursuant to the education plan and incentive program described above
toward overall energy efficiency goals or targets established by the
commission. The bill would require the commission, every 3 years, to
evaluate the effectiveness of the education plan and the incentive
program to determine whether they should continue.
(3) Because a violation of any part of any order, decision, rule,
direction, demand, or requirement of the Public Utilities Commission
is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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. Section 2790 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
2790. (a) The commission shall require an electrical or gas
corporation to perform home weatherization services for low-income
customers, as determined by the commission under Section 739, if the
commission determines that a significant need for those services
exists in the corporation's service territory, taking into
consideration both the cost-effectiveness of the services and the
policy of reducing the hardships facing low-income households.
(b) (1) For purposes of this section, "weatherization" may
include, where feasible, any of the following measures for any
dwelling unit:
(A) Attic insulation.
(B) Caulking.
(C) Weatherstripping.
(D) Low flow showerhead.
(E) Waterheater blanket.
(F) Door and building envelope repairs that reduce air
infiltration.
(2) The commission shall direct any electrical or gas corporation
to provide as many of these measures as are feasible for each
eligible low-income dwelling unit.
(c) "Weatherization" may also include other building conservation
measures, energy management technology, energy-efficient appliances,
and energy education programs determined by the commission to be
feasible, taking into consideration for all measures both the
cost-effectiveness of the measures as a whole and the policy of
reducing energy-related hardships facing low-income households.
(d) Weatherization programs shall use the needs assessment
pursuant to Section 382.1 to maximize efficiency of delivery.
(e) For purposes of this section, "energy management technology"
is may include a product, service, or
software, software that allows a
customer to better understand and manage energy use in the customer's
home.
SEC. 2. Section 8365 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
8365. (a) The commission shall require each electrical
corporation to do an energy efficiency program
administrator, as part of an existing statewide education and
outreach program, to do the following:
(1) Develop and implement a plan by June 30, 2016, to educate
its residential customers and business customers
to better understand and control their use of electricity or gas
. The plan shall include , where applicable,
notification of the incentive program developed pursuant to paragraph
(2). The plan shall identify the role of energy efficiency
program administrators and the statewide marketing administrator,
demonstrate how efforts will be coordinated, demonstrate how
duplicative costs and redundancies will be avoided, and consider
existing educational and outreach efforts. The statewide marketing
administrator shall be responsible for coordinating these efforts.
(2) Develop a program no later than June 30, 2016
January 1, 2017, within the energy efficiency program
administrators demand-side management programs authorized by the
commission , to provide incentives to a residential or
small or medium business customer who acquires energy
management technology for use in the customer's home or place of
business. The electrical corporation energy
efficiency program administrator shall allow third parties or
local governments to apply for incentives on behalf of customers. The
electrical corporation energy efficiency
program administrator shall work with third parties, local
governments, and other interested parties in developing the program.
The electrical corporation shall establish incentive amounts
at a level necessary to encourage adoption of energy management
technologies that allow a customer to achieve progressively higher
savings. The energy efficiency program administrator
shall establish incentive amounts based on all estimated or, where
available, actual energy savings and energy usage reductions from
installation or implementation of energy management technologies,
taking into consideration the overall reduction in normalized metered
energy consumption as a measure of energy savings.
(3) Annually report to the commission on actual customer savings
resulting from the education plan and the incentive program
established pursuant to this section. The commission shall
authorize an energy efficiency program administrator to count all
energy savings achieved pursuant to the education plan and incentive
program toward overall energy efficiency goals or targets established
by the commission. Every three years, the commission
shall evaluate the effectiveness of the education plan and the
incentive program to determine whether they should continue.
(b) For purposes of this section, "energy management technology"
is may include a product, service, or
software that allows a customer to better understand and manage
electricity use in the customer's home or place of business.
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.