Amended in Assembly April 7, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 802

Introduced by Assembly Member Williams

February 26, 2015

begin delete An act to amend Section 25943 of the Public Resources Code, relating to energy resources. end delete begin insert An act to amend Sections 454.55 and 454.56 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy efficiency. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 802, as amended, Williams. begin delete Residential and nonresidential buildings: energy savings program. end delete begin insert Public utilities: energy efficiency savings. end insert

begin insert

Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission), to identify all potentially achievable cost-effective electricity efficiency savings, and to establish efficiency targets for electrical corporations to achieve pursuant to their procurement plan. Existing law requires the PUC, in consultation with the Energy Commission, to identify all potentially achievable cost-effective natural gas efficiency savings and to establish efficiency targets for gas corporations to achieve, and requires that a gas corporation first meet, its unmet resource needs through all available gas efficiency and demand reduction resources that are cost effective, reliable, and feasible.

end insert begin insert

This bill would require the PUC, in evaluating the cost-effectiveness of those efficiency savings, to consider the total energy savings to be the difference between the energy usage after the installation of the energy efficiency measure funded by ratepayer-funded incentives or rebates and the energy usage without that energy efficiency measure.

end insert begin delete

Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, by March 1, 2010, to establish a regulatory proceeding to develop and implement a comprehensive program to achieve greater energy savings in California’s existing residential and nonresidential building stock, and permits the program to include, but not be limited to, a broad range of energy assessments, building benchmarking, energy rating, cost-effective energy efficiency improvements, public and private sector energy efficiency financing options, public outreach and education efforts, and green workforce training.

end delete begin delete

This bill would delete the requirement that the commission develop and implement the program through a regulatory proceeding.

end delete

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert It is the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation to require electrical and gas corporations to satisfy the
state’s energy requirements with energy efficiency measures when
procuring those measures is less expensive to the corporation than
procuring alternative electric or gas resources. end insert

begin insert

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to
require that all applicable state and federal contractor
qualifications, licensing, certifications, and wages appropriate
for the work to be performed are followed for any energy efficiency
retrofit and installation project funded by ratepayers, and to
require that the Public Utilities Commission not create additional
qualification, license, certification, or wage requirements.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 454.55 of the end insert begin insert Public Utilities Code end insert begin insert is amended
to read: end insert

454.55.  

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert The commission, in consultation with the State
Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission,
shall identify all potentially achievable cost-effective electricity
efficiency savings and establish efficiency targets for an electrical
corporation to achieve pursuant to Section 454.5.

begin insert

(b) In evaluating the cost-effectiveness of electricty efficiency
savings, the commission shall consider the total electricity
efficiency savings to be the difference between the electrical usage
resulting after the installation of the energy efficiency measure
funded by ratepayer-funded incentives or rebates, and the electrical
usage without that energy efficiency measure, without regard to
standards prescribed pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) of Section
25402 of the Public Resources Code.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 454.56 of the end insert begin insert Public Utilities Code end insert begin insert is amended
to read: end insert

454.56.  

(a) The commission, in consultation with the State
Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission,
shall identify all potentially achievable cost-effective natural gas
efficiency savings and establish efficiency targets for the gas
corporation to achieve.

(b) A gas corporation shall first meet its unmet resource needs
through all available natural gas efficiency and demand reduction
resources that are cost effective, reliable, and feasible.

begin insert

(c) In evaluating the cost-effectiveness of natural gas efficiency
savings, the commission shall consider the total natural gas
efficiency savings to be the difference between the natural gas
usage resulting after the installation of the energy efficiency
measure funded by ratepayer-funded incentives or rebates, and
the natural gas usage without that energy efficiency measure,
without regard to standards prescribed pursuant to subdivision
(a) or (b) of Section 25402 of the Public Resources Code.

end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 25943 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

25943.  

(a) (1) The commission shall develop and implement
a comprehensive program to achieve greater energy savings in
California’s existing residential and nonresidential building stock.
This program shall comprise a complementary portfolio of
techniques, applications, and practices that will achieve greater
energy efficiency in existing residential and nonresidential
structures that fall significantly below the current standards in Title
24 of the California Code of Regulations, as determined by the
commission.

(2) The comprehensive program may include, but is not limited
to, a broad range of energy assessments, building benchmarking,
energy rating, cost-effective energy efficiency improvements,
public and private sector energy efficiency financing options,
public outreach and education efforts, and green workforce training.

(b) To develop and implement the program specified in
subdivision (a), the commission shall do both of the following:

(1) Coordinate with the Public Utilities Commission and consult
with representatives from the Bureau of Real Estate, the
Department of Housing and Community Development,
investor-owned and publicly owned utilities, local governments,
real estate licensees, commercial and homebuilders, commercial
property owners, small businesses, mortgage lenders, financial
institutions, home appraisers, inspectors, energy rating
organizations, consumer groups, environmental and environmental
justice groups, and other entities the commission deems
appropriate.

(2) Hold at least three public hearings in geographically diverse
locations throughout the state.

(c) In developing the requirements for the program specified in
subdivision (a), the commission shall consider all of the following:

(1) The amount of annual and peak energy savings, greenhouse
gas emission reductions, and projected customer utility bill savings
that will accrue from the program.

(2) The most cost-effective means and reasonable timeframes
to achieve the goals of the program.

(3) The various climatic zones within the state.

(4) An appropriate method to inform and educate the public
about the need for, benefits of, and environmental impacts of, the
comprehensive energy efficiency program.

(5) The most effective way to report the energy assessment
results and the corresponding energy efficiency improvements to
the owner of the residential or nonresidential building, including,
among other things, the following:

(A) Prioritizing the identified energy efficiency improvements.

(B) The payback period or cost-effectiveness of each
improvement identified.

(C) The various incentives, loans, grants, and rebates offered
to finance the improvements.

(D) Available financing options including all of the following:

(i) Mortgages or sales agreement components.

(ii) On-bill financing.

(iii) Contractual property tax assessments.

(iv) Home warranties.

(6) Existing statutory and regulatory requirements to achieve
energy efficiency savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions.

(7) A broad range of implementation approaches, including both
utility and nonutility administration of energy efficiency programs.

(8) Any other considerations deemed appropriate by the
commission.

(d) The program developed pursuant to this section shall do all
of the following:

(1) Minimize the overall costs of establishing and implementing
the comprehensive energy efficiency program requirements.

(2) Ensure, for residential buildings, that the energy efficiency
assessments, ratings, or improvements do not unreasonably or
unnecessarily affect the home purchasing process or the ability of
individuals to rent housing. A transfer of property subject to the
program implemented pursuant to this section shall not be
invalidated solely because of the failure of a person to comply
with a provision of the program.

(3) Ensure, for nonresidential buildings, that the energy
improvements do not have an undue economic impact on California
businesses.

(4) Determine, for residential buildings, the appropriateness of
the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) program to support the
goals of this section and whether there are a sufficient number of
HERS-certified raters available to meet the program requirements.

(5) Determine, for nonresidential structures, the availability of
an appropriate cost-effective energy efficiency assessment system
and whether there are a sufficient number of certified raters or
auditors available to meet the program requirements.

(6) Coordinate with the California Workforce Investment Board,
the Employment Training Panel, the California Community
Colleges, and other entities to ensure a qualified, well-trained
workforce is available to implement the program requirements.

(7) Coordinate with, and avoid duplication of, existing
proceedings of the Public Utilities Commission and programs
administered by utilities.

(e) A home energy rating or energy assessment service does not
meet the requirements of this section unless the service has been
certified by the commission to be in compliance with the program
criteria developed pursuant to this section and is in conformity
with other applicable elements of the program.

(f) The commission shall periodically update the criteria and
adopt any revision that, in its judgment, is necessary to improve
or refine program requirements after receiving public input.

(g) Before implementing an element of the program developed
pursuant to subdivision (a) that requires the expansion of statutory
authority of the commission or the Public Utilities Commission,
the commission and the Public Utilities Commission shall obtain
legislative approval for the expansion of their authorities.

(h) The commission shall report on the status of the program in
the integrated energy policy report pursuant to Section 25302.

(i) The commission shall fund activities undertaken pursuant
to this section from the Federal Trust Fund consistent with the
federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public
Law 111-5) or other sources of nonstate funds available to the
commission for the purposes of this section.

(j) For purposes of this section, “energy assessment” means a
determination of an energy user’s energy consumption level,
relative efficiency compared to other users, and opportunities to
achieve greater efficiency or improve energy resource utilization.

end delete