California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 1094


Introduced by Assembly Member Williams

(Coauthors: Senators Pavley and Wolk)

February 27, 2015


An act to add Section 25327 to the Public Resources Code, relating to energy.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1094, as introduced, Williams. Energy usage: plug-in equipment.

Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission), on a biennial basis, to conduct assessments and forecasts of all aspects of energy industry supply, production, transportation, delivery, and distribution. Existing law requires the Energy Commission, beginning November 1, 2003, and biennially thereafter, to adopt an integrated energy policy report containing an overview of major energy trends and issues facing the state.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory jurisdiction over the public utilities, including electrical corporations.

This bill would require the Energy Commission, in collaboration with the Public Utilities Commission, to conduct an analysis of plug-in equipment electricity consumption, as specified, and set statewide targets for the greenhouse gases emitted by the generation of the electricity consumed by plug-in equipment. The bill would require the Energy Commission, in collaboration with the Public Utilities Commission, to develop, track the progress of, revise, and update an implementation plan to achieve, and work with stakeholders to address challenges to the achievement of, those statewide targets, as specified.

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

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

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

(a)  The Legislature finds and declares all of
2the following:

3(1) Residential and commercial buildings and the systems and
4equipment within them were responsible for 69 percent of all
5electricity consumption in California in 2013, the equivalent output
6of 70 500-megawatt powerplants. Under the 2000-2013 historical
7growth trends, this is projected to increase to the equivalent of 79
8powerplants by 2030. The electric power sector is the second
9largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in California after
10transportation, comprising 21 percent of the state’s total emissions.

11(2) Plug-in equipment is responsible for the majority of
12 electricity consumption in residential buildings, a large portion of
13which is in office buildings. This electricity consumption is
14increasing rapidly, indicating that current plug-in equipment
15efficiency policy efforts are outpaced by the growth in the number
16of electronic devices and their electricity consumption, jeopardizing
17California’s ability to meet its energy and climate goals.

18(3) Cost-effective technologies such as those used in mobile
19electronic devices already exist to significantly reduce the
20electricity consumption of plug-in equipment, but are not used in
21the majority of plug-in electronic devices.

22(4) California has set ambitious goals for renewable energy and
23energy efficiency in the envelope, major systems, and lighting of
24buildings, but does not have quantified goals for a category that
25now represents the majority of the electricity consumption in the
26state’s residential buildings and a significant share of the electricity
27consumption in commercial buildings.

28(5) Market barriers, such as a lack of consumer awareness and
29information on product lifetime energy costs, and split incentives
30between manufacturers who make product design decisions and
31consumers who pay the electricity bill, give efficiency programs
32and standards a critical role in realizing the economic potential for
33energy efficiency in plug-in equipment.

34(6) Challenges with the evaluation and the attribution of program
35savings to utilities and program implementers, as well as the focus
P3    1on short-term savings, are limiting the effective use of these
2 programs to capture energy-saving opportunities that require
3upfront investment to yield large future savings through market
4transformation.

5(7) The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
6Commission and the Public Utilities Commission have set a goal
7to achieve zero net energy for all new residential buildings by 2020
8and for all new, and a substantial proportion of existing,
9commercial buildings by 2030.

10(8) The Legislature supports the zero net energy goals of the
11State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
12Commission and the Public Utilities Commission as a key strategy
13to decarbonize the California economy.

14(9) Plug-in equipment electricity consumption may not be fully
15accounted for in zero net energy models, leading to buildings
16designed and certified as zero net energy not necessarily achieving
17zero net energy in real-world operation when occupants bring in
18typical plug-in equipment.

19(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that, in support
20 of the state’s climate and energy goals, plug-in equipment energy
21consumption is reduced where technologically feasible and cost
22effective.

23

SEC. 2.  

Section 25327 is added to the Public Resources Code,
24to read:

25

25327.  

(a) (1) For purposes of this subdivision “HVAC”
26means heating, ventilation, and air conditioning.

27(2) For the purposes of this section, except as provided in
28paragraph (3), “plug-in equipment” means an electrical device that
29plugs into a power outlet, including, but not limited to, household
30appliances, electronic products, miscellaneous electrical loads,
31portable and other plug-in HVAC equipment, and commercial
32plug-in appliances.

33(3) “Plug-in equipment” does not include the following:

34(A) Non-plug-in HVAC, including split, packaged, or built-up
35HVAC equipment that is typically installed by an HVAC
36contractor.

37(B) Lighting, whether built in or portable.

38(C) Infrastructure loads wired directly to the building electrical
39system, such as ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) breakers
P4    1and outlets, wired smoke or carbon monoxide detectors, and
2lighting switches.

3(D) Electric vehicles.

4(4) For purposes of this subdivision, power outlets include line
5outlets, such as 110-volt alternating current (AC) and other
6emerging power delivery mechanisms, including Universal Serial
7Bus (USB), Power over Ethernet (PoE), and 24-volt direct current
8(VDC).

9(b) The commission shall, in collaboration with the Public
10Utilities Commission, do all of the following:

11(1) Conduct an analysis of plug-in equipment electricity
12consumption, including appliances, electronics, and miscellaneous
13electric loads, to assess current use and trends. The commission
14shall draw on existing studies and data where appropriate to limit
15costs and reduce the time required to complete the analysis.

16(2) Before January 1, 2018, set statewide targets for the
17greenhouse gases emitted by the generation of the electricity
18consumed by plug-in equipment, in support of Executive Order
19S-3-05 to reduce greenhouse gases to 80 percent below 1990 levels
20 by 2050. The commission may also set intermediate 2030 and
212040 targets.

22(3) Develop an implementation plan, in consultation with
23stakeholders, including equipment manufacturers and retailers, to
24achieve the targets set forth in paragraph (2). The implementation
25plan shall meet all of the following requirements:

26(A) Be comprised of a complementary portfolio of techniques,
27applications, and practices that may include, but need not be limited
28to: revising existing, and setting new, appliance efficiency
29standards; working with federal government agencies to revise
30existing, and implement new, federal standards; implementing
31incentive programs, appliance early replacement rebate programs
32that link purchase and disposal rebates, and upstream market
33transformation programs; expanding research and development;
34and public outreach and education efforts.

35(B) Consider costs and ratepayer protections, consistent with
36Section 25000.1.

37(C) Use an accurate cost-effectiveness methodology for
38assessing the long-term value of efficiency savings and ensure that
39benefits outweigh costs to ratepayers.

P5    1(4) Work with stakeholders to address challenges that may limit
2or inhibit the achievement of the reduction targets set forth in
3paragraph (2), including, but not limited to, the evaluation and
4attribution of energy savings and the enabling of market
5transformation programs.

6(5) Track the progress of the implementation plan in meeting
7the reduction targets annually through the Electricity Supply
8Analysis Division of the commission and the Energy Division of
9the Public Utilities Commission.

10(6) Revise the implementation plan and priorities in consultation
11with stakeholders.

12(7) Update the implementation plan, as a part of the integrated
13energy policy report required pursuant to Section 25302, with a
14report on the progress toward meeting the reduction targets through
15the tracking required pursuant to paragraph (5).



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