BILL NUMBER: SB 793 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 587
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 8, 2015
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 8, 2015
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 31, 2015
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 27, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 30, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 5, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 27, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Senator Wolk
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Williams)
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
An act to amend Section 2833 of the Public Utilities Code,
relating to electricity.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 793, 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 be
provided with a nonbinding estimate of reasonably anticipated bill
credits and bill charges, as determined by the commission, for a
period of up to 20 years.
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 impose 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.
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.
(o) A participating utility shall permit a participating customer
to subscribe to the program and be provided with a nonbinding
estimate of reasonably anticipated bill credits and bill charges, as
determined by the commission, for a period of up to 20 years.
(p) 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.
(q) 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.
(r) 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.
(s) 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.
(t) 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.
(u) 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.
(v) 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.
(w) 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.
(x) 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. 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.