AB 1008, as introduced, Quirk. Public utilities: sale of hydrogen to public as a motor vehicle fuel.
The Public Utilities Act provides that whenever any common carrier, toll bridge corporation, pipeline corporation, gas corporation, electrical corporation, telephone corporation, telegraph corporation, water corporation, sewer system corporation, or heat corporation that performs a service for, or delivers a commodity to, the public or any portion of the public for which any compensation or payment is received, that entity is a public utility subject to the jurisdiction, control, and regulation of the Public Utilities Commission and the provisions of the act. The act provides that the ownership or operation of a facility that sells compressed natural gas at retail to the public for use only as a motor vehicle fuel, and the selling of compressed natural gas at retail from that facility to the public for use only as a motor vehicle fuel, does not make the corporation or person a public utility solely because of that ownership, operation, or sale.
This bill would additionally provide that the ownership or operation of a facility that sells hydrogen at retail to the public for use only as a motor vehicle fuel, and the selling of hydrogen at retail from that facility to the public for use only as a motor vehicle fuel, does not make the corporation or person a public utility solely because of that ownership, operation, or sale.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 216 of the Public Utilities Code is
2amended to read:
(a) “Public utility” includes every common carrier, toll
4bridge corporation, pipeline corporation, gas corporation, electrical
5corporation, telephone corporation, telegraph corporation, water
6corporation, sewer system corporation, and heat corporation, where
7the service is performed for, or the commodity is delivered to, the
8public or any portion thereof.
9(b) Whenever any common carrier, toll bridge corporation,
10pipeline corporation, gas corporation, electrical corporation,
11telephone corporation, telegraph corporation, water corporation,
12sewer system corporation, or heat corporation performs a service
13for, or delivers a commodity to, the public or any portion thereof
14for which any compensation or payment whatsoever is received,
15that common carrier, toll bridge
corporation, pipeline corporation,
16gas corporation, electrical corporation, telephone corporation,
17telegraph corporation, water corporation, sewer system corporation,
18or heat corporation, is a public utility subject to the jurisdiction,
19control, and regulation of the commission and the provisions of
20this part.
21(c) When any person or corporation performs any service for,
22or delivers any commodity to, any person, private corporation,
23municipality, or other political subdivision of the state, that in turn
24either directly or indirectly, mediately or immediately, performs
25that service for, or delivers that commodity to, the public or any
26portion thereof, that person or corporation is a public utility subject
27to the jurisdiction, control, and regulation of the commission and
28the provisions of this part.
29(d) Ownership or operation of a facility that employs
30cogeneration technology or
produces power from other than a
31conventional power source or the ownership or operation of a
32facility which employs landfill gas technology does not make a
P3 1corporation or person a public utility within the meaning of this
2section solely because of the ownership or operation of that facility.
3(e) Any corporation or person engaged directly or indirectly in
4developing, producing, transmitting, distributing, delivering, or
5selling any form of heat derived from geothermal or solar resources
6or from cogeneration technology to any privately owned or publicly
7owned public utility, or to the public or any portion thereof, is not
8a public utility within the meaning of this section solely by reason
9of engaging in any of those activities.
10(f) The ownership or operation of a facility that sells compressed
11natural gasbegin insert
or hydrogenend insert at retail to the public for use only as a
12motor vehicle fuel, and the selling of compressed natural gasbegin insert
or
13hydrogenend insert at retail from that facility to the public for use only as a
14motor vehicle fuel, does not make the corporation or person a
15public utility within the meaning of this section solely because of
16that ownership, operation, or sale.
17(g) Ownership or operation of a facility that is an exempt
18wholesale generator, as defined in the Public Utility Holding
19Company Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 16451(6)), does not make
20a corporation or person a public utility within the meaning of this
21section, solely due to the ownership or operation of that facility.
22(h) The ownership, control, operation, or management of an
23electric plant used for direct transactions or participation directly
24or indirectly in direct transactions, as permitted by subdivision (b)
25of Section 365, sales into a market established and operated by the
26Independent System Operator or
any other wholesale electricity
27market, or the use or sale as permitted under subdivisions (b) to
28(d), inclusive, of Section 218, shall not make a corporation or
29person a public utility within the meaning of this section solely
30because of that ownership, participation, or sale.
31(i) The ownership, control, operation, or management of a
32facility that supplies electricity to the public only for use to charge
33light duty plug-in electric vehicles does not make the corporation
34or person a public utility within the meaning of this section solely
35because of that ownership, control, operation, or management. For
36purposes of this subdivision, “light duty plug-in electric vehicles”
37includes light duty battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric
P4 1vehicles. This subdivision does not affect the commission’s
2authority under Section 454 or 740.2 or any other applicable statute.
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