Senate BillNo. 723


Introduced by Senators Pavley and Roth

February 27, 2015


An act to add and repeal Section 454.57 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 723, as introduced, Pavley. Energy efficiency: military bases and facilities.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations, as defined. The Public Utilities Act requires the Public Utilities Commission to review and adopt a procurement plan for each electrical corporation in accordance with specified elements, incentive mechanisms, and objectives. The act requires that an electrical corporation’s proposed procurement plan include certain elements, including a showing that the electrical corporation will first meet its unmet needs through all available energy efficiency and demand reduction resources that are cost effective, reliable, and feasible. Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to identify all potentially achievable cost-effective electricity efficiency savings, and to establish efficiency targets for electrical corporations to achieve pursuant to their procurement plan.

The act requires the Public Utilities Commission, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to identify all potentially achievable cost-effective natural gas efficiency savings and to establish efficiency targets for gas corporations to achieve, and requires that a gas corporation first meet its unmet resource needs through all available gas efficiency and demand reduction resources that are cost effective, reliable, and feasible.

This bill would require the Public Utilities Commission to encourage electrical corporations and gas corporations to expedite implementation of energy efficiency measures and enable the achievement of additional energy goals at United States Department of Defense military bases and facilities and United States Coast Guard facilities.

This bill would require the Public Utilities Commission to approve financial incentives for energy efficiency upgrades at military bases and facilities and United States Coast Guard facilities through existing energy efficiency programs administered by electrical corporations and gas corporations. Because a violation of an order or a direction of the commission is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would repeal the above requirements on January 1, 2020.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

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

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

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SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:

3(a) The United States Department of Defense and the United
4States Coast Guard, as the nation’s largest energy users, are
5required to comply with laws enacted by Congress, executive
6orders, and goals established by military leaders, including
7requirements for 3 percent annual reductions in facility energy
8intensity, which is measured by energy used per gross square foot.

9(b) The United States Department of Defense and the United
10States Coast Guard are reducing energy demand through
11conservation and efficiency. The United States Department of
12Defense and the United States Coast Guard are improving the
13efficiency of their existing buildings through retrofitting, including
14the use of advanced lighting, heating, ventilation, and
15air-conditioning technologies.

P3    1(c) The United States Department of Defense and United States
2Coast Guard facilities have leveraged the energy efficiency
3programs of electrical corporations and gas corporations and have
4used turnkey contracts to facilitate energy efficiency upgrades
5while bundling energy and water efficiency, demand response,
6and distributed generation.

7(d) Additional energy efficiency incentives to assist the United
8States Department of Defense and the United States Coast Guard
9to perform energy efficiency projects will help in meeting the
10state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals.

11

SEC. 2.  

Section 454.57 is added to the Public Utilities Code,
12to read:

13

454.57.  

(a) For the purposes of this section, the following
14terms have the following meanings:

15(1) “Military bases and facilities” are those establishments under
16the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Defense that
17are classified in Code 928110 of the North American Industry
18Classification System.

19(2) “United States Coast Guard facilities” are those facilities
20under the jurisdiction of the United States Coast Guard that are
21classified in Code 926120 of the North American Industry
22Classification System.

23(b) Military bases and facilities and United States Coast Guard
24facilities shall be eligible to calculate their energy efficiency
25savings by comparing the facilities’ existing energy usage, as a
26whole, with the facilities’ projected energy usage that would be
27achieved from the implementation of the energy efficiency
28measures.

29(c) Through an existing or new proceeding, the commission, in
30consultation with the Energy Commission, the United States
31Department of Defense, and the United States Coast Guard, shall
32encourage electrical corporations and gas corporations, using
33existing military contracting procedures or new partnerships with
34the federal government, to expedite the implementation of energy
35efficiency measures and shall enable the achievement of additional
36energy goals, for example, microgrids, demand response,
37self-generation, and energy storage, at military bases and facilities
38and United States Coast Guard facilities.

39(d) The commission shall approve financial incentives for energy
40 efficiency upgrades at military bases and facilities and United
P4    1States Coast Guard facilities through existing energy efficiency
2programs administered by electrical corporations and gas
3corporations.

4(e) To the extent that the commission finds that funds in addition
5to funds collected from ratepayers are needed to achieve energy
6efficiency saving goals in military bases and facilities and United
7States Coast Guard facilities, the commission, in consultation with
8the Energy Commission, the United States Department of Defense,
9and the United States Coast Guard, shall identify other potential
10sources of funding to supplement funds collected from ratepayers
11to achieve those savings goals.

12(f)  This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
132020, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
14that is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.

15

SEC. 3.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
16Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
17the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
18district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
19infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
20for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
21the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
22the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
23Constitution.



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