Amended in Senate September 4, 2015

Amended in Senate June 22, 2015

Amended in Assembly May 28, 2015

Amended in Assembly May 1, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 20, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 7, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 802

Introduced by Assembly Member Williams

February 26, 2015

An act begin insert to amend Sections 25301 and 25303 of, and to repeal and add Section 25402.10 to, the Public Resources Code, and end insert to amend Section 381.2 begin delete of end delete begin insert of, to amend and renumber Section 384.2 of, and to add Section 913.8 to, end insert the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy efficiency.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 802, as amended, Williams. begin delete Public utilities: energy efficiency savings. end delete begin insert Energy efficiency. end insert

begin insert

(1) Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission), at least every 2 years, to conduct assessments and forecasts of all aspects of energy industry supply, production, transportation, delivery, distribution, demand, and prices. Existing law requires the Energy Commission to use these assessments and forecasts to develop energy policies that conserve resources, protect the environment, ensure energy reliability, enhance the state’s economy, and protect public health and safety. Existing law requires the Energy Commission to prepare an integrated energy policy report every 2 years and requires the report to include an assessment and forecast of system reliability and the need for resource additions, efficiency, and conservation that considers certain criteria.

end insert begin insert

This bill would require the Energy Commission, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission, to make all reasonable adjustments to its energy demand forecasts conducted pursuant to the above-described provisions to account for its findings of market conditions and existing baselines, and in making those adjustments, would authorize the commission to consider the results from specified programs.

end insert begin insert

The bill would require the Energy Commission to use the above-described assessments and forecasts relating to various aspects of the energy industry to develop and evaluate energy policies and programs.

end insert begin insert

(2) Existing law requires electric and gas utilities to maintain records of the energy consumption data of all nonresidential buildings to which they provide service and requires that this data be maintained, in a format compatible for uploading to the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, for at least the most recent 12 months. Existing law also requires, upon the written authorization or secure electronic authorization of a nonresidential building owner or operator, an electric or gas utility to upload all of the energy consumption data for the account specified for a building to the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager in a manner that preserves the confidentiality of the customer. Existing law requires an owner or operator to disclose the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager benchmarking data and rating to a prospective buyer, lessee of the entire building, or lender that would finance the entire building based on a schedule of compliance established by the Energy Commission.

end insert begin insert

This bill would revise and recast these provisions. The bill would require utilities to maintain records of the energy usage data of all buildings to which they provide service for at least the most recent 12 complete months. Beginning no later than January 1, 2017, the bill would require each utility, upon the request and the written authorization or secure electronic authorization of the owner, owner’s agent, or operator of a covered building, as defined, to deliver or provide aggregated energy usage data for a covered building to the owner, owner’s agent, operator, or to the owner’s account in the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, subject to specified requirements. The bill would also authorize the commission to specify additional information to be delivered by utilities for certain purposes. The bill would delete the requirement of an owner or operator of a building to disclose the above-described information to a prospective buyer, lessee of the entire building, or lender that would finance the entire building. The bill would require the Energy Commission to adopt regulations providing for the delivery to the commission and public disclosure of benchmarking results for covered buildings, as prescribed. The bill would authorize the Energy Commission to impose a civil fine, as provided, for a violation of these data submission requirements.

end insert begin delete

Existing

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Existing end insert law requires the begin delete State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) end delete begin insert Energy Commission end insert to develop and implement a comprehensive program to achieve greater energy savings in existing residential and nonresidential building stock. Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to investigate the ability of electrical corporations and gas corporations to provide various energy efficiency financing options to their customers for the purposes of implementing the program developed by the Energy Commission.

This bill would require the PUC, by begin delete July end delete begin insert September end insert 1, 2016, to authorize electrical corporations and gas corporations to begin delete recover in rates the reasonable costs of programs providing end delete begin insert provide end insert incentives, rebates, technical assistance, and support to their customers to increase the energy efficiency of existing buildings, as begin delete specified. end delete begin insert specified, and would authorize electrical corporations and gas corporations to recover the reasonable costs of those programs in rates. end insert The bill would require the PUC to authorize electrical corporations and gas corporations to count all energy savings achieved begin insert through the authorized programs, unless determined otherwise, end insert toward overall energy efficiency goals or targets established by the PUC. The bill would authorize the PUC to adjust the energy efficiency goals or targets of electrical corporations and gas corporations to reflect the begin insert estimated end insert begin insert change in end insert energy begin delete savings achieved in meeting or exceeding energy efficiency requirements in existing buildings. end delete begin insert savings resulting from the program. end insert

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 It is the intent of the Legislature to support
strategies that enhance energy efficiency. Building owners should
have access to their buildings end insert begin insert ’ energy usage information, which
enables understanding of a building’s energy usage for improved
building management and investment decisions. It is the intent of
the Legislature that the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission create a benchmarking and disclosure
program through which building owners of commercial and
multifamily buildings above 50,000 square feet gross floor area
will better understand their energy consumption through
standardized energy use metrics. end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 25301 of the end insert begin insert Public Resources Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

25301.  

(a) At least every two years, the commission shall
conduct assessments and forecasts of all aspects of energy industry
supply, production, transportation, delivery and distribution,
demand, and prices. The commission shall use these assessments
and forecasts to develop begin insert and evaluate end insert energy policies begin insert and
programs end insert that conserve resources, protect the environment, ensure
energy reliability, enhance the state’s economy, and protect public
health and safety. To perform these assessments and forecasts, the
commission may require submission of demand forecasts, resource
plans, market assessments, begin delete and end delete related begin delete outlooks end delete begin insert outlooks, individual
customer historic electric or gas service usage, or both, and
individual customer historic billing data, in a format and level of
granularity specified by the commission end insert from electric and natural
gas utilities, transportation fuel and technology suppliers, and other
market participants. These assessments and forecasts shall be done
in consultation with the appropriate state and federal agencies
including, but not limited to, the Public Utilities Commission, the
Office of Ratepayer Advocates, the Air Resources Board, the
Electricity Oversight Board, the Independent System Operator,
the Department of Water Resources, the California Consumer
Power and Conservation Financing Authority, the Department of
Transportation, and the Department of Motor Vehicles. begin insert end insert begin insert The end insert
begin insert commission shall maintain reasonable policies and procedures to
protect customer information from unauthorized disclosure. end insert

(b) In developing the assessments and forecasts prepared
pursuant to subdivision (a), the commission shall do all of the
following:

(1) Provide information about the performance of energy
industries.

(2) Develop and maintain the analytical capability sufficient to
answer inquiries about energy issues from government, market
participants, and the public.

(3)  begin delete Analyze and develop end delete begin insert Analyze, develop, and evaluate end insert energy
begin delete policies. end delete begin insert policies and programs. end insert

(4) Provide an analytical foundation for regulatory and policy
decisionmaking.

(5) Facilitate efficient and reliable energy markets.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 25303 of the end insert begin insert Public Resources Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

25303.  

(a) The commission shall conduct electricity and natural
gas forecasting and assessment activities to meet the requirements
of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 25302, including,
but not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Assessment of trends in electricity and natural gas supply
and demand, and the outlook for wholesale and retail prices for
commodity electricity and natural gas under current market
structures and expected market conditions.

(2) Forecasts of statewide and regional electricity and natural
gas demand including annual, seasonal, and peak demand, and the
factors leading to projected demand growth, including, but not
limited to, projected population growth, urban development,
industrial expansion and energy intensity of industries, energy
demand for different building types, energy efficiency, and other
factors influencing demand for electricity. With respect to
long-range forecasts of the demand for natural gas, the report shall
include an evaluation of average conditions, as well as best and
worst case scenarios, and an evaluation of the impact of the
increasing use of renewable resources on natural gas demand.

(3) Evaluation of the adequacy of electricity and natural gas
supplies to meet forecasted demand growth. Assessment of the
availability, reliability, and efficiency of the electricity and natural
gas infrastructure and systems, including, but not limited to, natural
gas production capability both in and out of state, natural gas
interstate and intrastate pipeline capacity, storage and use, and
western regional and California electricity and transmission system
capacity and use.

(4) Evaluation of potential impacts of electricity and natural gas
supply, demand, and infrastructure and resource additions on the
electricity and natural gas systems, public health and safety, the
economy, resources, and the environment.

(5) Evaluation of the potential impacts of electricity and natural
gas load management efforts, including end-user response to
market price signals, as a means to ensure reliable operation of
electricity and natural gas systems.

(6) Evaluation of whether electricity and natural gas markets
are adequately meeting public interest objectives including the
provision of all of the following: economic benefits; competitive,
low-cost reliable services; customer information and protection;
and environmentally sensitive electricity and natural gas supplies.
This evaluation may consider the extent to which California is an
element within western energy markets, the existence of appropriate
incentives for market participants to provide supplies and for
consumers to respond to energy prices, appropriate identification
of responsibilities of various market participants, and an assessment
of long-term versus short-term market performance. To the extent
this evaluation identifies market shortcomings, the commission
shall propose market structure changes to improve performance.

(7) Identification of impending or potential problems or
uncertainties in the electricity and natural gas markets, potential
options and solutions, and recommendations.

(8) (A) Compilation and assessment of existing scientific studies
that have been performed by persons or entities with expertise and
qualifications in the subject of the studies to determine the potential
vulnerability to a major disruption due to aging or a major seismic
event of large baseload generation facilities, of 1,700 megawatts
or greater.

(B) The assessment specified in subparagraph (A) shall include
an analysis of the impact of a major disruption on system reliability,
public safety, and the economy.

(C) The commission may work with other public entities and
public agencies, including, but not limited to, the California
Independent System Operator, the Public Utilities Commission,
the Department of Conservation, and the Seismic Safety
Commission as necessary, to gather and analyze the information
required by this paragraph.

(D) Upon completion and publication of the initial review of
the information required pursuant to this paragraph, the commission
shall perform subsequent updates as new data or new understanding
of potential seismic hazards emerge.

(b) Commencing November 1, 2003, and every two years
thereafter, to be included in the integrated energy policy report
prepared pursuant to Section 25302, the commission shall assess
the current status of the following:

(1) The environmental performance of the electric generation
facilities of the state, to include all of the following:

(A) Generation facility efficiency.

(B) Air emission control technologies in use in operating plants.

(C) The extent to which recent resource additions have, and
expected resource additions are likely to, displace or reduce the
operation of existing facilities, including the environmental
consequences of these changes.

(2) The geographic distribution of statewide environmental,
efficiency, and socioeconomic benefits and drawbacks of existing
generation facilities, including, but not limited to, the impacts on
natural resources including wildlife habitat, air quality, and water
resources, and the relationship to demographic factors. The
assessment shall describe the socioeconomic and demographic
factors that existed when the facilities were constructed and the
current status of these factors. In addition, the report shall include
how expected or recent resource additions could change the
assessment through displaced or reduced operation of existing
facilities.

(c) In the absence of a long-term nuclear waste storage facility,
the commission shall assess the potential state and local costs and
impacts associated with accumulating waste at California’s nuclear
powerplants. The commission shall further assess other key policy
and planning issues that will affect the future role of nuclear
powerplants in the state. The commission’s assessment shall be
adopted on or before November 1, 2008, and included in the 2008
energy policy review adopted pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section
25302.

begin insert

(d) The commission, in consultation with the Public Utilities
Commission, shall make all reasonable adjustments to its energy
demand forecasts conducted pursuant to Sections 25301 and 25302
to account for its findings of market conditions and existing
baselines, and, in making those adjustments, may consider the
results from subdivisions (b) and (d) of Section 381.2 of the Public
Utilities Code.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 25402.10 of the end insert begin insert Public Resources Code end insert begin insert is
repealed. end insert

begin delete

25402.10.  

(a) On and after January 1, 2009, electric and gas
utilities shall maintain records of the energy consumption data of
all nonresidential buildings to which they provide service. This
data shall be maintained, in a format compatible for uploading to
the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY
STAR Portfolio Manager, for at least the most recent 12 months.

(b) On and after January 1, 2009, upon the written authorization
or secure electronic authorization of a nonresidential building
owner or operator, an electric or gas utility shall upload all of the
energy consumption data for the account specified for a building
to the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY
STAR Portfolio Manager in a manner that preserves the
confidentiality of the customer.

(c) In carrying out this section, an electric or gas utility may use
any method for providing the specified data in order to maximize
efficiency and minimize overall program cost, and is encouraged
to work with the United States Environmental Protection Agency
and customers in developing reasonable reporting options.

(d) (1) Based on a schedule developed by the commission
pursuant to paragraph (2), an owner or operator of a nonresidential
building shall disclose the United States Environmental Protection
Agency’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager benchmarking data
and ratings for the most recent 12-month period to a prospective
buyer, lessee of the entire building, or lender that would finance
the entire building. If the data is delivered to a prospective buyer,
lessee, or lender, a property owner, operator, or his or her agent is
not required to provide additional information, and the information
shall be deemed to be adequate to inform the prospective buyer,
lessee, or lender regarding the United States Environmental
Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager
benchmarking data and ratings for the most recent 12-month period
for the building that is being sold, leased, financed, or refinanced.

(2) The commission shall establish a schedule by which an
owner or operator is required to meet the requirements of this
subdivision.

(e) Notwithstanding subdivision (d), this section does not
increase or decrease the duties, if any, of a property owner,
operator, or his or her broker or agent under this chapter or alter
the duty of a seller, agent, or broker to disclose the existence of a
material fact affecting the real property.

end delete

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 5. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 25402.10 is added to the end insert begin insert Public Resources
Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 25402.10. end insert   

(a) For the purposes of this section, the following
terms have the following meanings:

(1) “Benchmark” means to obtain information on the energy
use in an entire building for a specific period to enable that usage
to be tracked or compared against other buildings.

(2) “Covered building” for purposes of this section means either
or both of the following:

(A) Any building with no residential utility accounts.

(B) Any building with five or more active utility accounts,
residential or nonresidential.

(3) “Energy” means electricity, natural gas, steam, or fuel oil
sold by a utility to a customer for end uses addressed by the
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager system.

(4) “ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager” means the tool
developed and maintained by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency to track and assess the energy performance of
buildings.

(b) On and after January 1, 2016, each utility shall maintain
records of the energy usage data of all buildings to which they
provide service for at least the most recent 12 complete calendar
months.

(c) (1) Subject to the requirements of paragraph (2), beginning
no later than January 1, 2017, each utility shall, upon the request
and written authorization or secure electronic authorization of
the owner, owner’s agent, or operator of a covered building,
deliver or otherwise provide aggregated energy usage data for a
covered building to the owner, owner’s agent, building operator,
or to the owner’s account in the ENERGY STAR Portfolio
Manager. The commission may specify additional information to
be delivered by utilities to enable building owners to complete
benchmarking of the energy use in their buildings and in other
systems or formats for information delivery and automation.

(2) The delivery of information by utilities pursuant to this
section shall be subject to the following requirements:

(A) For covered buildings with three or more active utility
accounts, each utility shall deliver information showing the
aggregated energy usage of all utility customers in the same
building for each of the 12 prior months. Notwithstanding any
other law, energy usage data aggregated in this manner shall not
be deemed customer utility usage information or confidential
information by the utility for purposes of delivery to the owner,
owner’s agent, or operator of a building. The building owner and
utility shall not have any liability for any use or disclosure of
aggregated usage information delivered as required by this section.

(B) For covered buildings not subject to subparagraph (A),
each utility shall deliver the information showing the aggregated
energy usage of all utility customers in the same building for each
of the prior 12 months if the accountholder provides written or
electronic consent for the delivery of the accountholder’s energy
usage data to the owner, owner’s agent, operator, or utility.

(C) Each utility shall deliver, upload, or otherwise provide
aggregated energy usage data within four weeks of receiving a
request from an owner, owner’s agent, or operator of a covered
building.

(D) Each utility shall make available the covered building usage
data aggregated at a monthly level unless otherwise specified by
the commission.

(E) The building owner and utility shall not have any liability
for any use or disclosure by others of usage information delivered
as required by this section.

(d) The commission shall adopt regulations providing for the
delivery to the commission and public disclosure of benchmarking
results for covered buildings, as follows:

(1) This subdivision shall not require the owner of a building
with 16 or fewer residential utility accounts to collect or deliver
usage information to the commission for public disclosure.

(2) The commission may do, but is not limited to doing, all of
the following in regulations adopted pursuant to this subdivision:

(A) Identify and provide for the collection of the energy usage
data for the calculation of benchmarking results.

(B) Identify and provide for the collection of the covered
building characteristic information deemed necessary by the
commission for the calculation of benchmarking results.

(C) Specify the manner in which certain benchmarking results
shall be publicly disclosed.

(D) Determine which covered buildings, in addition to those
described in paragraph (1), are not subject to the public disclosure
requirement.

(E) Set a schedule to implement the requirements for public
disclosure adopted by the commission.

(F) Determine if compliance with a local or county
benchmarking program fulfills the commission’s requirements
adopted pursuant to this subdivision.

(G) Identify categories of information it receives pursuant to
this section that are protected from release under either the
California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code) or
the Information Practices Act of 1977 (Chapter 1 (commencing
with Section 1798) of Title 1.8 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil
Code).

(3) The commission shall determine who will deliver the energy
usage data and related information for any covered building to
the commission.

(e) The commission may ensure timely and accurate compliance
with the data submission requirements of this section by using the
enforcement measures identified in Section 25321. An owner of a
covered building, or its agents or operators, shall not be liable
for any noncompliance due to the failure of a utility to provide the
information required for compliance.

(f) For buildings that are not covered buildings, and for
customer information that is not aggregated pursuant to
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c), the
commission may adopt regulations prescribing how utilities shall
either obtain the customer’s permission or determine that a
building owner has obtained the customer’s permission, for the
owner to receive aggregated customer information or, where
applicable, individual customer usage information, including by
use of electronic authorization and in a lease agreement between
the owner and the customer.

(g) The reasonable costs of an electrical or gas corporation in
delivering electrical or gas usage data pursuant to this section or
other information as required under state or federal law or by an
order of the commission shall be recoverable in rates evaluated
and approved by the Public Utilities Commission.

(h) The reasonable costs of local publicly owned electric utilities
in disclosing electrical usage data pursuant to this section may be
considered “cost-effective demand-side management services to
promote energy efficiency and energy conservation” and thereby
reimbursable by their general fund.

(i) Nothing in this section shall prevent a city or county from
establishing its own benchmarking program requiring collection,
delivery, and disclosure of building information.

end insert

begin delete SECTION 1. end delete
begin insert SEC. 6. end insert   

Section 381.2 of the Public Utilities Code is amended
to read:

381.2.  

(a) The commission shall investigate the ability of
electrical corporations and gas corporations to provide various
energy efficiency financing options to their customers for the
purposes of implementing the program developed pursuant to
Section 25943 of the Public Resources Code.

(b)  begin delete (1) end delete begin delete   end delete begin delete By July 1, 2016, end delete begin insert Recognizing the already underway
2015 commission work to adopt efficiency potential and goals, the end insert
begin insert Energy Commission work on its 2015 energy demand forecast,
and the need to determine how to incorporate meter-based
performance into determinations of goals, portfolio
cost-effectiveness, and authorized budgets, end insert begin insert end insert the commission, in a
separate or existing proceeding, begin delete shall end delete begin insert shall, by September 1, 2016, end insert
authorize electrical corporations or gas corporations to begin delete recover in
rates the reasonable costs of programs that end delete provide financial
incentives, rebates, technical assistance, and support to their
customers to increase the energy efficiency of existing buildings
based on all estimated energy savings and energy usage reductions,
taking into consideration the overall reduction in normalized
metered energy consumption as a measure of energy savings. Those
programs shall include energy usage reductions resulting from the
adoption of a measure or installation of equipment required for
modifications to existing buildings to bring them into conformity
with, or exceed, the requirements of Title 24 of the California Code
of Regulations, as well as operational, behavioral, and
retrocommissioning begin delete activities. end delete begin insert activities reasonably expected to
produce multi end insert begin insert year savings. end insert begin insert Electrical corporations and gas
corporations shall be permitted to recover in rates the reasonable
costs of these programs. end insert The commission shall authorize an
electrical corporation and gas corporation to count all energy
savings achieved begin insert through the authorized programs created by this
subdivision, unless determined otherwise, end insert toward overall energy
efficiency goals or targets established by the commission. The
commission may adjust the energy efficiency goals or targets of
an electrical corporation and gas corporation to reflect begin delete the energy
efficiency savings achieved in meeting or exceeding the
requirements of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations in
existing buildings. end delete begin insert this change in savings estimation consistent
with this subdivision and subdivision (d). end insert

begin insert

(c) Effective January 1, 2016, electrical corporations and gas
corporations are authorized to implement the provisions of
subdivision (b) for high opportunity projects or programs. The
commission shall provide expedited authorization of high
opportunity projects and programs to apply the savings baseline
provisions in subdivision (b).

end insert begin insert

(d) In furtherance of subdivision (b), the commission, in
consultation with the Energy Commission, shall consider all of
the following:

end insert begin insert

(1) The results of any interagency baseline assessment.

end insert begin insert

(2) Any available results from investor-owned utility baseline
pilot studies ordered in D.14-10-046.

end insert begin insert

(3) Information necessary to ensure consistency with the energy
forecast and planning functions of the Energy Commission and
the Independent System Operator.

end insert begin insert

(e) The commission may direct electrical corporations and gas
corporations to make filings that are necessary to ensure
coordination with the energy forecast and planning functions of
the Energy Commission and the Independent System Operator.

end insert begin delete

(2)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert f) end insert  The commission shall prioritize energy efficiency activities
consistent with Sections 454.55 and 454.56.

begin delete

(c) In the report prepared pursuant to Section 384.2, the
commission shall include an assessment of each electrical
corporation’s and each gas corporation’s implementation of the
program developed pursuant to Section 25943 of the Public
Resources Code.

(d) This section does not require the commission to increase
funding for energy efficiency programs of electric corporations or
gas corporations that are recoverable in rates.

end delete

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 7. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 384.2 of the end insert begin insert Public Utilities Code end insert begin insert is amended
and renumbered to read: end insert

begin delete 384.2. end delete
begin insert 913.7. end insert   

The commission shall submit a report to the Legislature
by July 15, 2009, and triennially thereafter, on the energy efficiency
and conservation programs it oversees. The report shall include
information regarding authorized utility budgets and expenditures
and projected and actual energy savings over the program cycle.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 8. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 913.8 is added to the end insert begin insert Public Resources Code end insert begin insert ,
to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 913.8. end insert   

In the report prepared pursuant Section 913.7, the
commission shall include an assessment of each electrical
corporation’s and each gas corporation’s implementation of the
program developed pursuant to Section 25943 of the Public
Resources Code.

end insert