BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 793
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB
793 (Wolk)
As Amended June 30, 2015
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 23-13
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Utilities |14-0 |Rendon, Patterson, | |
| | |Achadjian, Bonilla, | |
| | |Burke, Eggman, | |
| | |Cristina Garcia, | |
| | |Hadley, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Roger Hernández, | |
| | |Obernolte, Quirk, | |
| | |Santiago, Ting, | |
| | |Williams | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |16-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonta, | |
| | |Calderon, Chang, | |
| | |Daly, Eggman, | |
SB 793
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| | |Gallagher, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Jones, Quirk, Rendon, | |
| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: 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
also requires the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)
to provide the customer with a nonbinding estimate of reasonably
anticipated bill credits and charges for a period up to 20
years.
EXISTING LAW:
a)Requires participating IOUs to file applications to establish
a voluntary GTSR Program in their service area. (Public
Utilities Code Section 2831)
b)Requires the CPUC to issue a decision on the IOU's voluntary
GTSR Program applications by July 1, 2014. (Public Utilities
Code Section 2831)
c)Specifies GTSR program criteria related to maximum statewide
program size, size of qualified facilities, location of
facilities near customers, restrictions on market
concentration, inclusion of disadvantaged communities, a 20
megawatts (MW) set aside within the GTSR program for the City
of Davis, and restrictions to ensure that the costs of the
SB 793
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program are not borne by non-participants. (Public Utilities
Code Section 2833)
d)Sunsets the statute January 1, 2019. (Public Utilities Code
Section 2834)
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, ongoing annual costs of approximately $130,000
(Public Utilities Reimbursement Account) for the CPUC to
estimate costs and credits over 20 years.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. The GTSR program provides an option for households
and 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.
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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 IOUs to purchase
electricity from local renewable energy facilities up to a
statewide limit of 600 megawatts 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
CPUC issued this decision on January 29, 2015, that allows
customers to subscribe to the GTSR one year at a time.Analysis
Prepared by: Sue Kateley / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083 FN: 0001444