BILL NUMBER: SB 656 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 369
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE AUGUST 4, 1995
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR AUGUST 3, 1995
PASSED THE SENATE JULY 20, 1995
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY JULY 17, 1995
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 7, 1995
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 4, 1995
INTRODUCED BY Senator Alquist
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Takasugi)
FEBRUARY 22, 1995
An act to add Section 2827 to the Public Utilities Code, relating
to public utilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 656, Alquist. Public utilities: energy metering.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission is vested with
regulatory authority over public utilities.
This bill would require every electric utility in the state,
including a privately owned or publicly owned public utility,
municipally owned utility, and electrical cooperative that offers
residential electrical service, whether or not the entity is subject
to the jurisdiction of the commission, to develop a standard contract
or tariff providing for net energy metering, as defined, to be
available to eligible customer-generators, as defined, pursuant to
specified conditions.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 2827 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
2827. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that a program to
provide net energy metering for eligible customer-generators is one
way to encourage private investment in renewable energy resources,
stimulate in-state economic growth, enhance the continued
diversification of California's energy resource mix, and reduce
utility interconnection and administrative costs.
(b) "Eligible customer-generator" means a residential customer of
an electric utility, including any privately owned or public owned
public utility, municipally owned utility, or electrical cooperative
whether or not the entity is subject to the jurisdiction of the
commission, who owns and operates a solar electrical generating
facility with a capacity of not more than 10 kilowatts that is
located on the customer's premises, operates in parallel with the
utility's transmission and distribution facilities, and is intended
primarily to offset part or all of the customer's own electrical
requirements.
(c) "Net energy metering" means using a single, nondemand,
non-time-differentiated meter to measure the difference between the
electricity supplied by a utility and the electricity generated by an
eligible customer-generator and fed back to the utility over an
entire billing period.
(d) Every electric utility in the state, including any privately
owned or publicly owned public utility, municipally owned utility,
and electrical cooperative that offers residential electrical
service, whether or not the entity is subject to the jurisdiction of
the commission, shall develop a standard contract or tariff providing
for net energy metering, and shall make this contract available to
eligible customer-generators on a first-come, first-served basis
until the time that the total rated generating capacity owned and
operated by eligible customer-generators in each utility's service
area equals 0.1 percent of the utility's peak electricity demand
forecast for 1996, as described by the following schedule:
1996 Peak System Net Metering
Utility Demand (MW) Capacity (MW)
Pacific Gas and Electric
Company Service Area 17,426 17
Northern California
Municipals 2,200 2.2
Sacramento Municipal
Utility District 2,556 2.6
Southern California
Edison Planning Area 19,725 20
Los Angeles Department
of Water and Power 6,057 6.1
San Diego Gas and
Electric Company 3,608 3.6
Burbank, Glendale,
Pasadena 787 0.8
Other 960 1
Statewide 53,319 53.3
(e) Each eligible customer-generator meeting the criteria of
subdivision (d) shall be entitled to net energy metering, under the
following conditions:
(1) Where the electricity supplied by the utility exceeds the
electricity generated by the customer-generator over the applicable
billing period, the customer-generator shall be billed for the net
energy supplied at the customer-generator's standard rate.
(2) Where the electrical energy generated by the
customer-generator exceeds the energy supplied by the utility over
the applicable billing period, the customer-generator shall be
compensated for the net energy generated at the applicable
non-time-differentiated energy payment rate for other qualifying
small power producers.
(f) A utility may, with the consent of the eligible
customer-generator, annualize the period during which the net energy
measurement is calculated. The following rules shall apply to the
annualized net energy measurement:
(1) The utility shall measure the net energy produced or consumed
on a monthly basis, in accordance with normal metering practices.
(2) Where the electricity supplied by the utility exceeds the
electricity generated by the customer-generator during the month, the
customer-generator shall be billed for the net energy supplied.
(3) Where the electricity generated by the customer-generator
exceeds the electricity supplied by the utility, the utility shall
credit the customer-generator for the excess kilowatt hours
generated. This kilowatt hour credit shall appear on the next
monthly bill.
(4) At the end of the annual period, the utility shall issue
payment to the customer-generator for any remaining unused credit for
the excess kilowatt hours generated during the prior year. Payment
for this credit shall be at the applicable non-time-differentiated
energy payment rate for qualifying small power producers.
(g) The provisions of this section shall be subject to any and all
applicable rulings adopted by the commission or any other regulating
bodies in regard to the restructuring of electric utilities.