BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 793
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
793 (Quirk) - As Amended April 16, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires electrical corporations to develop and
implement educational plans and incentive programs for customers
to control their electricity use and acquire energy management
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technology. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to require
electrical corporations to:
a) Develop an incentive program, by June 30, 2016, for
customers to acquire energy management technology for use
in their homes or businesses. Incentives must be
established at a level necessary to encourage adoption of
technologies that allow a customer to achieve progressively
higher savings.
b) Develop and implement a plan, by June 30, 2016, to
educate customers to better understand and control their
electricity use and notify them of the incentive program.
c) Annually report on actual customer savings resulting
from the education plan and incentive program.
1)Requires the PUC to require electrical and gas corporations to
include home energy management technology in weatherization
programs for low-income customers.
2)Defines home energy management technology as a product,
service, or software that allows a customer to better
understand and manage energy use in the customer's home or
place of business, as appropriate.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Minor, absorbable costs for the PUC to oversee electrical and
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gas corporation's energy efficiency rebate and
marketing/outreach programs and analyze and evaluate new
weatherization measures.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, this bill will help to
increase the deployment of energy management technologies,
which will provide customers with a better understanding of
their energy usage so that they may make informed decisions
about how to optimize their energy consumption and reduce
their energy bills.
The author states, "While millions of smart meters have been
installed throughout California, the deployment and use of
energy management technologies has not kept pace. This bill
will incentivize the adoption of these technologies by
requiring the IOUs to implement an outreach plan to educate
their residential and small business customers."
2)Background. Electrical corporations are investor-owned
utilities (IOUs) regulated by the PUC. Electrical
corporations are required to meet unmet resource needs by
first employing all available energy efficiency and demand
reduction strategies that are cost-effective, reliable and
feasible. The PUC establishes energy efficiency targets for electrical
and gas corporations.
SB 17(Padilla), Chapter 327, Statutes of 2009, established the
smart grid policy of the state and required the PUC to
determine the requirements for a smart grid deployment plan,
and each electrical corporation to develop and submit a
smart grid deployment plan to PUC for approval by July 1,
2011.
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The term smart grid refers to a distribution system that
allows for the flow of information from a customer's meter in
two directions and modernizes the electric distribution and
transmission grid. In order for a customer to take full
advantage of their smart meter's capabilities, the customer
must acquire energy management technologies so they may
monitor their energy consumption in real time and respond to
local control signals.
3)Weatherization. Electric and gas corporations are required to
provide weatherization assistance for low-income customers.
Weatherization typically means attic insulation, caulking,
weatherstriping etc. Weatherization also may include other
building conservation measures, energy-efficient appliances,
and energy education programs. This bill expressly includes
home energy management technology as part of weatherization
incentive and assistance programs.
4)Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
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