SB 919, as amended, Hertzberg. Water supply: creation or augmentation of local water supplies.
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. The existing California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program requires a retail seller of electricity, as defined, and local publicly owned electric utilities to purchase specified minimum quantities of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources, as defined, for specified compliance periods, sufficient to ensure that the level of procurement of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources reaches a specified percentage of retail sales by a specified date.
This bill would require the commission, before January 1, 2018, in consultation with the Independent System Operator, to address the oversupply of renewable energy resources through a tariff or other economic incentive for electricity purchased by customers operating “facilities that create or augment local water supplies,” as defined, to reduce the cost of electricity to those facilities.
Because a violation of an order or a direction of the commission is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) 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:
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
3(1) California’s drought has affected every region of the state.
4Scientists predict our changing climate will increase the frequency,
5length, and severity of droughts in the future. As a result, the state
6must prioritize local water security.
7(2) Traditionally, California has relied on interregional water
8transfers and tapping groundwater sources.
9(3) California’s water systems were developed in an era of
10plentiful water, delivering fresh water
hundreds of miles away at
11little cost. Those systems allowed regions to develop without
12sufficient local supplies.
13(4) During droughts, however, groundwater supplies are pumped
14faster than they can be replenished, and 2014 saw the lowest final
15calendar year allocation in the 54-year history of the state water
16project, just 5 percent allocated of that which was requested.
17(5) This drought, coupled with forecasts of a changing climate
18featuring even more severe droughts, has forced Californians to
19prioritize local water security.
20(6) There are several underutilized water resources that can be
21managed locally, including desalination, brackish water desalting,
22water recycling, and water reuse. One of the barriers to
23cost-effective
desalination, brackish water desalting, water
24recycling, and water reuse is the cost of electricity because moving
25and treating water are energy intensive.
P3 1(7) Recent forecasts of California’s electrical grid show
2substantial challenges to integrating a high fraction of electricity
3from renewable resources, including curtailment of resources due
4to oversupply. Such excess electricity could be directed through
5regulatory signals, demand response, and appropriate tariffs to
6facilities that create or augment local water supplies in an effort
7to meet the needs for local water security and integration of
8generation from renewable energy resources.
9(8) There is a clear public interest in maximizing the
10development and expansion of facilities that create or augment
11local water
supplies. Given that water and energy are inextricably
12linked, it is also imperative that those facilities receive all available
13cost-effective energy efficiency, demand response, and regulatory
14assistance.
15(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to expedite funding made
16available pursuant to the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure
17Improvement Act of 2014 (Division 26.7 (commencing with
18Section 79700) of the Water Code) for projects that encourage the
19deployment of facilities that create or augment local water supplies,
20including, but not limited to, desalination, brackish water desalting,
21water recycling,begin insert stormwater and dry weather runoff capture and
22use,end insert or water reuse facilities.
Section 711 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
24read:
(a) Before January 1, 2018, the commission, in
26consultation with the Independent System Operator, shall address
27the oversupply of renewable energy resources through a tariff or
28other economic incentive, such as time-of-use or demand response,
29for the electricity purchased by customers operating facilities that
30create or augment local water supplies to apply at the option of
31the customer, to reduce the cost of electricity to those facilities.
32(b) For purposes of this section, “facilities that create or augment
33local water supplies” include desalination, brackish water desalting,
34water recycling, water reuse,begin insert
stormwater and dry weather runoff
35capture and use,end insert and groundwater recharge facilities.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
37Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
38the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
39district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
40infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
P4 1for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
2the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
3the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
4Constitution.
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