BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 793
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Date of Hearing: July 15, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
SB 793
(Wolk) - As Amended June 30, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires an investor-owned utility (IOU) participating
in a Green Tariff Shared Renewables Program (GTSR) to permit a
participating customer to subscribe to the program. This bill
SB 793
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also requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to provide
the customer with a nonbinding estimate of reasonably
anticipated bill credits and charges for a period up to 20
years.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Ongoing annual costs of approximately $130,000 (Public Utilities
Reimbursement Account) for the PUC to estimate costs and credits
over 20 years.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. The GTSR program provides an option for
approximately 75% of households and 70% of businesses who
cannot participate in rooftop solar programs because they rent
their homes or places of business, do not have strong enough
credit, or own a roof that is too small or does not receive
enough sunlight. According to the author, the PUC rules
currently prevent customers from subscribing to their
utility's GTSR program for a term of more than one year, a
limitation that was not required nor contemplated in the
enabling legislation. Because utility bill credits and
charges can fluctuate year to year, this one-year maximum
limitation prevents a customer from reasonably predicting
their rate associated with subscribing to GTSR beyond the
current year.
This limitation is likely to significantly reduce program
uptake, especially for customers who are considering making a
long-term agreement with a specific renewable energy developer
within the Enhanced Community Renewables portion of the GTSR
programs. This bill provides customers with information
necessary to make long-term decisions.
SB 793
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2)Background. In 2013, the Legislature passed SB 43 (Wolk)
Chapter 413, Statutes of 2013, which created the GTSR Pilot
Program, to allow electrical customers of investor-owned
utilities (IOUs) to purchase electricity from local renewable
energy facilities up to a statewide limit of 600 megawatts
(MV) proportionately distributed among the IOUs. The goal of
the GTSR program is to allow customers to access renewable
energy resources even if they are unable to have the benefits
of onsite generation. The PUC issued this decision on January
29, 2015 that allows customers to subscribe to the GTSR one
year at a time.
3)Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081