Senate Bill No. 793

Introduced by Senator Wolk

(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Williams)

February 27, 2015

An act to amend Section 2833 of, and to repeal Section 2834 of, the Public Utilities Code, relating to electricity.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 793, as introduced, Wolk. Green Tariff Shared Renewables Program.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility, and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. The Green Tariff Shared Renewables Program requires a participating utility, defined as being an electrical corporation with 100,000 or more customers in California, to file with the commission an application requesting approval of a tariff to implement a program enabling ratepayers to participate in electrical generation facilities that use eligible renewable energy resources, consistent with certain legislative findings and statements of intent. Existing law requires the commission, by July 1, 2014, to issue a decision concerning the participating utility’s application, determining whether to approve or disapprove the application, with or without modifications. Existing law requires the commission, after notice and opportunity for public comment, to approve the application if the commission determines that the proposed program is reasonable and consistent with the legislative findings and statements of intent and requires the commission to require that a participating utility’s green tariff shared renewables program be administered in accordance with specified provisions. Existing law repeals the program on January 1, 2019.

This bill would require the commission to additionally require that a participating utility’s green tariff shared renewables program permit a participating customer to subscribe to the program and receive a predictable bill credit and bill charge for a period of up to 20 years. The bill would delete the repeal of the program.

Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.

Because the bill would require action by the commission to implement its requirements and a violation of those requirements would be a crime, the bill would imposed a state-mandated local program by expanding the definition of a crime.

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:

SECTION 1.  

Section 2833 of the Public Utilities Code is
amended to read:

2833.  

(a) The commission shall require a green tariff shared
renewables program to be administered by a participating utility
in accordance with this section.

(b) Generating facilities participating in a participating utility’s
green tariff shared renewables program shall be eligible renewable
energy resources with a nameplate rated generating capacity not
exceeding 20 megawatts, except for those generating facilities
reserved for location in areas identified by the California
Environmental Protection Agency as the most impacted and
disadvantaged communities pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (d), which shall not exceed one megawatt nameplate
rated generating capacity.

(c) A participating utility shall use commission-approved tools
and mechanisms to procure additional eligible renewable energy
resources for the green tariff shared renewables program from
electrical generation facilities that are in addition to those required
by the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (Article
16 (commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1).
For purposes of this subdivision, “commission-approved tools and
mechanisms” means those procurement methods approved by the
commission for an electrical corporation to procure eligible
renewable energy resources for purposes of meeting the
procurement requirements of the California Renewables Portfolio
Standard Program (Article 16 (commencing with Section 399.11)
of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1).

(d) A participating utility shall permit customers within the
service territory of the utility to purchase electricity pursuant to
the tariff approved by the commission to implement the utility’s
green tariff shared renewables program, until the utility meets its
proportionate share of a statewide limitation of 600 megawatts of
customer participation, measured by nameplate rated generating
capacity. The proportionate share shall be calculated based on the
ratio of each participating utility’s retail sales to total retail sales
of electricity by all participating utilities. The commission may
place other restrictions on purchases under a green tariff shared
renewables program, including restricting participation to a certain
level of capacity each year. The following restrictions shall apply
to the statewide 600 megawatt limitation:

(1) (A) One hundred megawatts shall be reserved for facilities
that are no larger than one megawatt nameplate rated generating
capacity and that are located in areas previously identified by the
California Environmental Protection Agency as the most impacted
and disadvantaged communities. These communities shall be
identified by census tract, and shall be determined to be the most
impacted 20 percent based on results from the best available
cumulative impact screening methodology designed to identify
each of the following:

(i) Areas disproportionately affected by environmental pollution
and other hazards that can lead to negative public health effects,
exposure, or environmental degradation.

(ii) Areas with socioeconomic vulnerability.

(B) (1) For purposes of this paragraph, “previously identified”
means identified prior to commencing construction of the facility.

(2) Not less than 100 megawatts shall be reserved for
participation by residential class customers.

(3) Twenty megawatts shall be reserved for the City of Davis.

(e) To the extent possible, a participating utility shall seek to
procure eligible renewable energy resources that are located in
reasonable proximity to enrolled participants.

(f) A participating utility’s green tariff shared renewables
program shall support diverse procurement and the goals of
commission General Order 156.

(g) A participating utility’s green tariff shared renewables
program shall not allow a customer to subscribe to more than 100
percent of the customer’s electricity demand.

(h) Except as authorized by this subdivision, a participating
utility’s green tariff shared renewables program shall not allow a
customer to subscribe to more than two megawatts of nameplate
generating capacity. This limitation does not apply to a federal,
state, or local government, school or school district, county office
of education, the California Community Colleges, the California
State University, or the University of California.

(i) A participating utility’s green tariff shared renewables
program shall not allow any single entity or its affiliates or
subsidiaries to subscribe to more than 20 percent of any single
calendar year’s total cumulative rated generating capacity.

(j) To the extent possible, a participating utility shall actively
market the utility’s green tariff shared renewables program to
low-income and minority communities and customers.

(k) Participating customers shall receive bill credits for the
generation of a participating eligible renewable energy resource
using the class average retail generation cost as established in the
participating utility’s approved tariff for the class to which the
participating customer belongs, plus a renewables adjustment value
representing the difference between the time-of-delivery profile
of the eligible renewable energy resource used to serve the
participating customer and the class average time-of-delivery
profile and the resource adequacy value, if any, of the resource
contained in the utility’s green tariff shared renewables program.
The renewables adjustment value applicable to a time-of-delivery
profile of an eligible renewable energy resource shall be determined
according to rules adopted by the commission. For these purposes,
“time-of-delivery profile” refers to the daily generating pattern of
a participating eligible renewable energy resource over time, the
value of which is determined by comparing the generating pattern
of that participating eligible renewable energy resource to the
demand for electricity over time and other generating resources
available to serve that demand.

(l) Participating customers shall pay a renewable generation
rate established by the commission, the administrative costs of the
participating utility, and any other charges the commission
determines are just and reasonable to fully cover the cost of
procuring a green tariff shared renewables program’s resources to
serve a participating customer’s needs.

(m) A participating customer’s rates shall be debited or credited
with any other commission-approved costs or values applicable
to the eligible renewable energy resources contained in a
participating utility’s green tariff shared renewables program’s
portfolio. These additional costs or values shall be applied to new
customers when they initially subscribe after the cost or value has
been approved by the commission.

(n) Participating customers shall pay all otherwise applicable
charges without modification.

begin insert

(o) A participating utility shall permit a participating customer
to subscribe to the program and receive a predictable bill credit
and bill charge for a period of up to 20 years.

end insert begin delete

(o)

end delete

begin insert (p) end insert  A participating utility shall provide support for enhanced
community renewables programs to facilitate development of
eligible renewable energy resource projects located close to the
source of demand.

begin delete

(p)

end delete

begin insert (q) end insert  The commission shall ensure that charges and credits
associated with a participating utility’s green tariff shared
renewables program are set in a manner that ensures nonparticipant
ratepayer indifference for the remaining bundled service, direct
access, and community choice aggregation customers and ensures
that no costs are shifted from participating customers to
nonparticipating ratepayers.

begin delete

(q)

end delete

begin insert (r) end insert  A participating utility shall track and account for all revenues
and costs to ensure that the utility recovers the actual costs of the
utility’s green tariff shared renewables program and that all costs
and revenues are fully transparent and auditable.

begin delete

(r)

end delete

begin insert (s) end insert  Any renewable energy credits associated with electricity
procured by a participating utility for the utility’s green tariff shared
renewables program and utilized by a participating customer shall
be retired by the participating utility on behalf of the participating
customer. Those renewable energy credits shall not be further sold,
transferred, or otherwise monetized for any purpose. Any
renewable energy credits associated with electricity procured by
a participating utility for the shared renewable energy
self-generation program, but not utilized by a participating
customer, shall be counted toward meeting that participating
utility’s renewables portfolio standard.

begin delete

(s)

end delete

begin insert (t) end insert  A participating utility shall, in the event of participant
customer attrition or other causes that reduce customer participation
or electrical demand below generation levels, apply the excess
generation from the eligible renewable energy resources procured
through the utility’s green tariff shared renewables program to the
utility’s renewable portfolio standard procurement obligations or
bank the excess generation for future use to benefit all customers
in accordance with the renewables portfolio standard banking and
procurement rules approved by the commission.

begin delete

(t)

end delete

begin insert (u) end insert  In calculating its procurement requirements to meet the
requirements of the California Renewables Portfolio Standard
Program (Article 16 (commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter
2.3 of Part 1), a participating utility may exclude from total retail
sales the kilowatthours generated by an eligible renewable energy
resource that is credited to a participating customer pursuant to
the utility’s green tariff shared renewables program, commencing
with the point in time at which the generating facility achieves
commercial operation.

begin delete

(u)

end delete

begin insert (v) end insert  All renewable energy resources procured on behalf of
participating customers in the participating utility’s green tariff
shared renewables program shall comply with the State Air
Resources Board’s Voluntary Renewable Electricity Program.
California-eligible greenhouse gas allowances associated with
these purchases shall be retired on behalf of participating customers
as part of the board’s Voluntary Renewable Electricity Program.

begin delete

(v)

end delete

begin insert (w) end insert  A participating utility shall provide a municipality with
aggregated consumption data for participating customers within
the municipality’s jurisdiction to allow for reporting on progress
toward climate action goals by the municipality. A participating
utility shall also publicly disclose, on a geographic basis,
consumption data and reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases
achieved by participating customers in the utility’s green tariff
shared renewables program, on an aggregated basis consistent with
privacy protections as specified in Chapter 5 (commencing with
Section 8380) of Division 4.1.

begin delete

(w)

end delete

begin insert (x) end insert  Nothing in this section prohibits or restricts a community
choice aggregator from offering its own voluntary renewable
energy programs to participating customers of the community
choice aggregation.

SEC. 2.  

Section 2834 of the Public Utilities Code is repealed.

begin delete

2834.  

This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2019, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that is enacted before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends that date.

end delete

SEC. 3.  

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