BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    SB 1441


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          SENATE THIRD READING


          SB  
          1441 (Leno and Pavley)


          As Amended  August 19, 2016


          Majority vote


          SENATE VOTE:  28-11


           -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                   |Noes                 |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
          |Utilities       |10-5 |Gatto, Burke, Eggman,  |Patterson, Chávez,   |
          |                |     |                       |Dahle, Hadley,       |
          |                |     |                       |Obernolte            |
          |                |     |Cristina Garcia,       |                     |
          |                |     |Eduardo Garcia, Roger  |                     |
          |                |     |Hernández, Quirk,      |                     |
          |                |     |Santiago, Ting,        |                     |
          |                |     |Williams               |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
          |Appropriations  |13-6 |Gonzalez, Bloom,       |Bigelow, Daly,       |
          |                |     |Bonilla, Bonta,        |Gallagher, Jones,    |
          |                |     |Calderon, Eggman,      |Obernolte, Wagner    |
          |                |     |Eduardo Garcia,        |                     |
          |                |     |Holden, Quirk,         |                     |
          |                |     |Santiago, Weber, Wood, |                     |
          |                |     |Chu                    |                     |








                                                                    SB 1441


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          |                |     |                       |                     |
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          SUMMARY:  Prohibits, to the extent feasible, the California  
          Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) from allowing gas  
          corporations to seek or receive cost recovery from ratepayers  
          for the value of natural gas lost to the atmosphere from certain  
          natural gas facilities when establishing rates in an individual  
          rulemaking proceeding or in general rate cases.  This  
          prohibition applies to the following facilities:


          1)CPUC-regulated gas pipeline facilities;




          2)Above-ground storage facilities;




          3)Underground storage facilities;




          4)Processing facilities;




          5)Facilities used for the transportation of natural gas; and,












                                                                    SB 1441


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          6)Facilities used for the delivery of natural gas.




          This bill does not apply to "natural gas lost to the atmosphere  
          resulting from an act of God."




          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, costs to the CPUC will be minor and absorbable. 


          COMMENTS: 


          1)Purpose:  According to the author, enough natural gas is lost  
            each year to fuel six million homes.  In the United States  
            last year, this lost gas had the same negative impact on the  
            climate as the annual carbon emissions of 117 million cars -  
            roughly half the cars in the country.  The author contends  
            that preventing cost recovery from ratepayers of lost natural  
            gas creates an added incentive to repair leaks to the maximum  
            extent feasible. 


          2)Methane Emission Reduction:  Methane is a potent greenhouse  
            gas, with roughly 28 times the warming power of carbon dioxide  
            over a 100-year period and more than 80 times over a 20-year  
            period.  Methane also affects local air quality by  
            contributing to the formation of global background levels of  
            ozone.  Methane emissions result from unintentional or  
            intentional releases of natural gas.  Unintentional releases  
            of methane, or fugitive emissions, can come from leaking  
            pipelines, abandoned wells, or inefficient combustion.   
            Intentional releases occur when there is a need to vent  
            natural gas to reduce excess pressure on pipeline  








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            infrastructure when such pressure presents a safety risk. 




          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Darion Johnston / U. & C. / (916) 319-2083  FN:  
          0004715