Amended in Assembly April 6, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 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 amended, 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 begin delete achieve, and work with stakeholders to address challenges to the achievement of, end delete begin insert achieve end insert those statewide targets, as specified. begin insert The bill would require the Public Utilities Commission, in collaboration with the Energy Commission, to work with stakeholders to address challenges to the achievement of those statewide targets. 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:

SECTION 1.  

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

(1) Residential and commercial buildings and the systems and
equipment within them were responsible for 69 percent of all
electricity consumption in California in 2013, the equivalent output
of 70 500-megawatt powerplants. Under the begin delete 2000-2013 end delete begin insert 2000- end insert begin insert 13 end insert
historical growth trends, this is projected to increase to the
equivalent of 79 powerplants by 2030. The electric power sector
is the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in
California after transportation, comprising 21 percent of the state’s
total emissions.

(2) Plug-in equipment is responsible for begin delete the majority end delete begin insert two-thirds end insert
of electricity consumption in residential begin delete buildings, a large portion
of which is end delete begin insert buildings and a significant share of electricity
consumption end insert in office buildings. This electricity consumption is
increasing rapidly, indicating that current plug-in equipment
efficiency policy efforts are outpaced by the growth in the number
of electronic devices and their electricity consumption, jeopardizing
California’s ability to meet its energy and climate goals.

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

(4) California has set ambitious goals for renewable energy and
energy efficiency in the envelope, major systems, and lighting of
buildings, but does not have quantified goals for a category that
now represents begin delete the majority end delete begin insert two-thirds end insert of the electricity
consumption in the state’s residential buildings and a significant
share of the electricity consumption in commercial buildings.

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

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

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

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

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

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

SEC. 2.  

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

25327.  

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

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

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

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

(B) Lighting, whether built in or portable.

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

(D) Electric vehicles.

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

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

(1) Conduct an analysis of plug-in equipment electricity
consumption, including appliances, electronics, and miscellaneous
electric loads, to assess current use and trends. The commission
shall draw on existing studies and data where appropriate to limit
costs and reduce the time required to complete the analysis. begin insert The
analysis shall focus on the top 80 percent of plug-in equipment
average annual electricity consumption. end insert

(2) Before January 1, 2018, set statewide targets for the
greenhouse gases emitted by the generation of the electricity
consumed by plug-in equipment, in support of Executive Order
S-3-05 to reduce greenhouse gases to 80 percent below 1990 levels
by 2050. The commission may also set intermediate 2030 and
2040 targets.

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

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

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

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

begin delete

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

end delete begin delete

(5)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert 4) end insert  Track the progress of the implementation plan in meeting
the reduction targets annually through the Electricity Supply
Analysis Division of the commission and the Energy Division of
the Public Utilities Commission.

begin delete

(6)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert 5) end insert  Revise the implementation plan and priorities in consultation
with stakeholders.

begin delete

(7)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert 6) end insert  Update the implementation plan, as a part of the integrated
energy policy report required pursuant to Section 25302, with a
report on the progress toward meeting the reduction targets through
the tracking required pursuant to paragraph begin delete (5). end delete begin insert (4). end insert

begin insert

(c) The Public Utilities Commission shall, in collaboration with
the commission, work with stakeholders, including equipment
manufacturers, equipment retailers, and electric utilities, to address
challenges that may limit or inhibit the achievement of the
reduction targets set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b),
including, but not limited to, the evaluation and attribution of
energy savings and the enabling of market transformation
programs.

end insert