BILL ANALYSIS
AB 758
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Date of Hearing: April 20, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 758 (Skinner) - As Amended: April 14, 2009
SUBJECT : Energy: energy audit.
SUMMARY : Requires the California Energy Commission (CEC) to
develop an energy efficiency program for existing residential
and commercial buildings.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the CEC to establish criteria for adopting a
statewide home energy rating program for residential
dwellings, and requires the CEC to adopt the program in
consultation with representatives of the Department of Real
Estate, the Department of Housing and Community Development,
the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC),
investor-owned and municipal utilities, cities and counties,
real estate licensees, home builders, mortgage lenders, home
appraisers and inspectors, home energy rating organizations,
contractors who provide home energy services, consumer groups,
and environmental groups.
2)Requires the PUC to have each electrical corporation identify
a separate rate component to collect revenue to fund
cost-effective energy efficiency and conservation activities.
3)AB 2021 (Levine) Chapter 734, Statutes of 2006, requires all
electric and natural gas utilities to meet energy efficiency
savings targets established by the CEC and the PUC.
4)Requires all electric utilities, in procuring energy, to first
acquire all available energy efficiency and demand reduction
resources that are cost effective, reliable, and feasible.
5)Requires the PUC to impose a surcharge on all natural gas
customers to fund cost-effective energy efficiency and
conservation activities.
THIS BILL :
1)Requires the CEC to establish a regulatory proceeding to
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develop and implement a comprehensive program to achieve
energy savings in existing residential and commercial building
stock that fall significantly below the current Title 24
building standards.
2)Requires the CEC to coordinate with the PUC and consult with
the Department of Real Estate, the Department of Housing and
Community Development, investor-owned and publicly owned
utilities, and other groups the CEC deems appropriate to
develop and implement the program.
3)Requires the CEC to consider various items when developing the
program, including a method to inform and educate the public
about the need for an energy efficiency program, and the most
effective way to report the audit results to the building
owner.
4)Requires the PUC to open a proceeding to investigate the
ability of electrical corporations to provide various energy
efficiency financing options to their customers for the
comprehensive energy efficiency program.
5)Requires the PUC, after specified conditions, to authorize
each electrical corporation to provide a number of low- or
no-cost energy efficiency audits, and requires the PUC to
provide an annual report to the Legislature and the CEC.
6)Requires local publicly owned electric utilities to implement
an energy efficiency program and report annually to its
customers and the CEC specified information about the program.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS : According to the author, the purpose of this bill is
to capture energy savings in existing buildings.
1) Why energy efficiency : State energy policy prioritizes
energy efficiency to reduce energy usage which diminishes the
need for new power plants and transmission lines. Energy
efficiency measures are an inexpensive alternative to investment
in infrastructure, and reduces the proliferation of greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions.
To reduce energy usage in existing buildings, the CEC and most
of the utilities provide information on energy-efficiency
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do-it-yourself audits. The CEC issued a booklet directed at
homebuyers that provides information about home energy audits
and rating programs and markets this information through home
warranty company websites. Many of the recommendations require
nominal expenses that render large savings. Some low-cost
examples include replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact
fluorescent ones, using motion sensor controls for exterior
lighting, and caulking, sealing, or applying weatherstrip to
seams, cracks, and openings to the outside around windows and
doors.
The Legislature directed the CEC to develop a statewide estimate
of all potentially achievable cost-effective electricity and
natural gas efficiency savings and establish statewide annual
targets for energy efficiency savings and demand reduction over
10 years (AB 2021, Levine, Chapter 734, Statutes of 2006). To
complement the legislative directives the CEC, in its Integrated
Energy Policy Report, strongly supports capturing all
cost-effective efficiency savings potential and recommends
pursuing legislation that would require energy audits and
cost-effective levels of efficiency improvements at the time of
sale of a building. In addition, the CEC's Report on Energy
Efficiency in Existing Buildings recommends "Time of Sale
Information Disclosure" where California should begin requiring
the disclosure of home energy ratings when a house is sold.
Both recommendations are based on the CEC evaluation of the
potential savings achieved if cost-effective energy efficiency
measures were applied to existing buildings: 9% of statewide
electricity consumption, 11% of peak demand, and 5% of natural
gas consumption.
On November 21, 2007, the Building Industry Association held a
Climate Change Task Force, at which a consultant presented a
report that determined that 31% of California's electricity is
used in housing, and 28% of GHG emissions are attributable to
the energy used for residential and commercial buildings. Of
the 28%, existing housing constitutes 99% of the GHG emissions.
The same entity provided a Retrofit Study and calculated that
single-family homes built before 1960 constitute 37% of GHG
emissions. Those built during the 1970s contribute 20%. These
figures gradually decrease by decade and those built during the
naughts (2000s), only contribute about 8% of GHG emissions.
2) Bigger and Bolder energy efficiency efforts : The PUC,
through its "Big Bold Energy Efficiency Strategies," is
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considering three programs designed to move all new residential
and commercial construction to a zero net-energy standard so
that the energy the building consumes is offset by the amount of
energy it produces. The goal of this program is to reach zero
net-energy consumption in residential construction by 2020 and
in commercial construction by 2030.
To promote energy and water efficiency, the Governor signed an
Executive Order (S-20-04) creating the Green Building Initiative
for both public and private buildings. This initiative sets
goals to reduce electricity use and create more energy-efficient
structures throughout the state.
3) AB 2678 (Nunez) : Last year, AB 2678 (Nunez), when heard in
this committee, required the CEC to establish an ongoing
proceeding to develop requirements for time-of-sale
energy-efficiency audits for residential and commercial
buildings. Due to the complex nature of imposing an additional
significant requirement on realtors and lending institutions at
the time of sale of residential and commercial buildings, this
bill was amended and struck the required time-of-sale audits.
AB 2678 was held in Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 758 includes a provision that ensures that energy audits for
residential buildings are not required as a condition of sale
and do not unreasonably or unnecessarily affect the home
purchasing process or the ability for individuals to rent
housing. However, the author would like to retain the authority
to use time-of-sale as a trigger for a comprehensive audit, but
not prevent a transfer of title if the work isn't complete. The
bill includes a provision that states that a transfer of
property subject to this program shall not be invalidated solely
because of the failure of a person to comply with a provision of
the program.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Breathe California
Global Green USA (sponsor)
The Utility Reform Network (TURN)
Opposition
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None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Gina Adams / U. & C. / (916) 319-2083