Amended in Assembly April 29, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 6, 2015

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 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 setbegin delete statewideend deletebegin insert statewide, long-term energy efficiencyend insert targets forbegin delete the greenhouse gases emitted by the generation ofend delete 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 thosebegin delete statewideend delete targets, as specified. 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 thosebegin delete statewideend delete targets.

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 2000-13 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 two-thirds of electricity
12consumption in residential buildings and a significant share of
13electricity consumption in office buildings. This electricity
14consumption is increasing rapidly, indicating that current plug-in
15equipment efficiency policy efforts are outpaced by the growth in
16the number of electronic devices and their electricity consumption,
17jeopardizing California’s ability to meet its energy and climate
18goals.

19(3) Cost-effective technologies such as those used in mobile
20electronic devices already exist to significantly reduce the
21electricity consumption of plug-in equipment, but are not used in
22the majority of plug-in electronic devices.

23(4) California has set ambitious goals for renewable energy and
24energy efficiency in the envelope, major systems, and lighting of
25buildings, but does not have quantified goals for a category that
26now represents two-thirds of the electricity consumption in the
27state’s residential buildings and a significant share of the electricity
28consumption in commercial buildings.

P3    1(5) Market barriers, such as a lack of consumer awareness and
2information on product lifetime energy costs, and split incentives
3between manufacturers who make product design decisions and
4consumers who pay the electricity bill, give efficiency programs
5and standards a critical role in realizing the economic potential for
6energy efficiency in plug-in equipment.

7(6) Challenges with the evaluation and the attribution of program
8savings to utilities and program implementers, as well as the focus
9on short-term savings, are limiting the effective use of these
10programs to capture energy-saving opportunities that require
11upfront investment to yield large future savings through market
12transformation.

13(7) The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
14Commission and the Public Utilities Commission have set a goal
15to achieve zero net energy for all new residential buildings by 2020
16and for all new, and a substantial proportion of existing,
17commercial buildings by 2030.

18(8) The Legislature supports the zero net energy goals of the
19State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
20Commission and the Public Utilities Commission as a key strategy
21to decarbonize the California economy.

22(9) Plug-in equipment electricity consumption may not be fully
23accounted for in zero net energy models, leading to buildings
24designed and certified as zero net energy not necessarily achieving
25zero net energy in real-world operation when occupants bring in
26typical plug-in equipment.

27(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that, in support
28 of the state’s climate and energy goals, plug-in equipment energy
29consumption is reduced where technologically feasible and cost
30effective.

31

SEC. 2.  

Section 25327 is added to the Public Resources Code,
32to read:

33

25327.  

(a) (1) For purposes of this subdivision “HVAC”
34means heating, ventilation, and air conditioning.

35(2) For the purposes of this section, except as provided in
36paragraph (3), “plug-in equipment” means an electrical device that
37plugs into a power outlet, including, but not limited to, household
38appliances, electronic products, miscellaneous electrical loads,
39portable and other plug-in HVAC equipment, and commercial
40plug-in appliances.

P4    1(3) “Plug-in equipment” does not include the following:

2(A) Non-plug-in HVAC, including split, packaged, or built-up
3HVAC equipment that is typically installed by an HVAC
4contractor.

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

6(C) Infrastructure loads wired directly to the building electrical
7system, such as ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) breakers
8and outlets, wired smoke or carbon monoxide detectors, and
9lighting switches.

10(D) Electric vehicles.

11(4) For purposes of this subdivision, power outlets include line
12outlets, such as 110-volt alternating current (AC) and other
13emerging power delivery mechanisms, including Universal Serial
14Bus (USB), Power over Ethernet (PoE), and 24-volt direct current
15(VDC).

16(b) The commission shall, in collaboration with the Public
17Utilities Commission, do all of the following:

18(1) Conduct an analysis of plug-in equipment electricity
19consumption, including appliances, electronics, and miscellaneous
20electric loads, to assess current use and trends. The commission
21shall draw on existingbegin insert data and already-fundedend insert studiesbegin delete and dataend delete
22 where appropriate to limit costs and reduce the time required to
23complete the analysis. The analysis shall focus on the top 80
24percent of plug-in equipment average annual electricity
25consumption.

26(2) Before January 1, 2018, setbegin delete statewideend deletebegin insert statewide, long-term
27energy efficiencyend insert
targets forbegin delete the greenhouse gases emitted by the
28generation ofend delete
the electricity consumed by plug-inbegin delete equipment, in
29support of Executive Order S-3-05 to reduce greenhouse gases to
3080 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. The commission may also
31set intermediate 2030 and 2040 targets.end delete
begin insert equipment.end insert

32(3) Develop an implementation plan, in consultation with
33stakeholders, including equipment manufacturers and retailers, to
34achieve the targets set forth in paragraph (2). The implementation
35plan shall meet all of the following requirements:

36(A) Be comprised of a complementary portfolio of techniques,
37applications, and practices that may include, but need not be limited
38to: revising existing, and setting new, appliance efficiency
39standards; working with federal government agencies to revise
40existing, and implement new, federal standards; implementing
P5    1incentive programs, appliance early replacement rebate programs
2that link purchase and disposal rebates, and upstream market
3transformation programs; expanding research and development;
4and public outreach and education efforts.

5(B) Consider costs and ratepayer protections, consistent with
6Section 25000.1.

7(C) Use an accurate cost-effectiveness methodology for
8assessing the long-term value of efficiency savings and ensure that
9benefits outweigh costs to ratepayers.

10(4) Track the progress of the implementation plan in meeting
11thebegin delete reductionend delete targets annually through the Electricity Supply
12Analysis Division of the commission and the Energy Division of
13the Public Utilities Commission.

14(5) Revise the implementation plan and priorities in consultation
15with stakeholders.

16(6) Update the implementation plan, as a part of the integrated
17energy policy report required pursuant to Section 25302, with a
18report on the progress toward meeting thebegin delete reductionend delete targets through
19the tracking required pursuant to paragraph (4).

20(c) The Public Utilities Commission shall, in collaboration with
21the commission, work with stakeholders, including equipment
22manufacturers, equipment retailers, and electric utilities, to address
23challenges that may limit or inhibit the achievement of the
24begin delete reductionend delete targets set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b),
25including, but not limited to, the evaluation and attribution of
26energy savings and the enabling of market transformation
27programs.



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