BILL NUMBER: AB 1552 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 15, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Committee on Utilities and Commerce (Fuentes (Chair),
Duvall (Vice Chair), Blakeslee, Buchanan, Carter, Fong, Furutani,
Huffman, Krekorian, Smyth, and Torrico)
MARCH 10, 2009
An act to amend Sections 395.5, 398.2, 398.3,
398.4, and 398.5 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1552, as amended, Committee on Utilities and Commerce.
Electricity.
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has
regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical
corporations. Existing law defines an "electric service provider" as
an entity that offers electrical service to customers within the
service territory of an electrical corporation, excluding electrical
corporations, local publicly owned electric utilities, and certain
cogenerators. Provisions of the existing Public Utilities Act
restructuring the electrical services industry require that electric
service providers register with the commission, and provide for the
authorization of direct transactions between electric service
providers and retail end-use customers. The act requires the
commission, pursuant to electrical restructuring, to authorize and
facilitate direct transactions between electricity suppliers and
retail end-use customers. However, other existing law suspends the
right of retail end-use customers other than community choice
aggregators, as defined, to acquire service from certain electricity
suppliers, after a period of time to be determined by the commission,
until the Department of Water Resources no longer supplies
electricity under that law. Notwithstanding this suspension, existing
law, until January 1, 2010, authorizes a nonprofit charitable
organization, to acquire electric commodity service through a direct
transaction with an electric service provider if electric commodity
service is donated free of charge without compensation.
This bill would extend until January 1, 2012, the authorization
for a nonprofit charitable organization, to acquire electric
commodity service through a direct transaction with an electric
service provider if electric commodity service is donated free of
charge without compensation.
(2) Existing
The California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program requires
the Public Utilities Commission to implement annual procurement
targets for the procurement of eligible renewable energy resources,
as defined, for all retail sellers, as defined, to achieve the
targets and goals of the program. Existing law
establishes a separate program under which retail
suppliers of electricity disclose accurate, reliable, and
simple to understand information on the generation attributes of the
electricity they propose to sell, including eligible renewables, as
defined. Existing law provides that a retail supplier that does not
make any claims that identify its electricity sources as different
than net system power, as defined, is authorized to disclose net
system electricity sources.
This bill would replace the term "retail supplier" with "retail
seller" and would replace the term "eligible renewables" with
"eligible renewable energy resources" in the later described
program and would incorporate definitions for those terms that
are applicable to the California Renewables Portfolio Standard
Program. The bill would make other nonsubstantive changes.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes
no . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 395.5 of the Public
Utilities Code is amended to read:
395.5. (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have
the following meanings:
(1) "Nonprofit charitable organization" means any charitable
organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal
Revenue Code that has as its primary purpose serving the needs of the
poor or elderly.
(2) "Electric commodity" means electricity used by the customer or
a supply of electricity available for use by the customer, and does
not include services associated with the transmission and
distribution of electricity.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 80110 of the Water Code, a nonprofit
charitable organization may acquire electric commodity service
through a direct transaction with an electric service provider if
electric commodity service is donated free of charge without
compensation.
(c) A nonprofit charitable organization that acquires donated
electric commodity service through a direct transaction pursuant to
this section shall be responsible for paying all of the following:
(1) Those charges and surcharges that would be imposed upon a
retail end-use customer of a community aggregator pursuant to
subdivisions (d), (e), (f), and (g) of Section 366.2.
(2) The transmission and distribution charges of an electrical
corporation or a local publicly owned electric utility.
(3) A nonbypassable charge imposed pursuant to Article 7
(commencing with Section 381), Article 8 (commencing with Section
385), or Article 15 (commencing with Section 399).
(4) Costs imposed upon a load-serving entity pursuant to Section
380.
(d) Existing direct access rules and all service obligations
otherwise applicable to electric service providers shall govern
transactions under this section.
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2012, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2012, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 2. SECTION 1. Section 398.2 of
the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:
398.2. For purposes of this article, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Eligible renewable energy resource" shall have the same
meaning as defined in Section 399.12.
(b) "Net system electricity" means the mix of electricity fuel
source types established by the Energy Commission representing the
sources of electricity consumed in California that are not disclosed
as specific purchases pursuant to Section 398.4.
(c) "Retail seller" has the same meaning as defined in Section
399.12, and as further authorized pursuant to Section 399.12.5.
(d) "System operator" means the Independent System Operator with
responsibility for the efficient use and reliable operation of the
transmission grid, as provided by Section 345, or a local publicly
owned electric utility that does not utilize the Independent System
Operator.
(e) "Specific purchases" means electricity transactions which are
traceable to specific generation sources by any auditable contract
trail or equivalent, such as a tradable commodity system, that
provides commercial verification that the electricity source claimed
has been sold once and only once to a retail consumer. Retail sellers
may rely on annual data to meet this requirement, rather than
hour-by-hour matching of loads and resources.
SEC. 3. SEC. 2. Section 398.3 of the
Public Utilities Code is amended to read:
398.3. (a) Beginning January 1, 1998, or as soon as practicable
thereafter, each generator that provides meter data to a system
operator shall report to the system operator electricity generated in
kilowatthours by hour by generator, the fuel type or fuel types and
fuel consumption by fuel type by month on an historical recorded
quarterly basis. Facilities using only one fuel type may satisfy this
requirement by reporting fuel type only. With regard to any facility
using more than one fuel type, reports shall reflect the fuel
consumed as a percentage of electricity generation.
(b) The Energy Commission shall have authorization to access the
electricity generation data in kilowatthours by hour for each
facility that provides meter data to the system operator, and the
fuel type or fuel types.
(c) With regard to out-of-state generation, the Energy Commission
shall have authorization to access the electricity generation data in
kilowatthours by hour at the point at which out-of-state generation
is metered, to the extent the information has been submitted to a
system operator.
(d) Trade secrets as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 3426.1
of the Civil Code contained in the information provided to the system
operators pursuant to this section shall be treated as confidential.
These data may be disclosed only by the system operators and only by
authorization of the generator except that the Energy Commission
shall have authorization to access these data, shall consider all
these data to be trade secrets, and shall only release these data in
an aggregated form such that trade secrets cannot be discerned.
SEC. 4. SEC. 3. Section 398.4 of the
Public Utilities Code is amended to read:
398.4. (a) Every retail seller that makes an offering to sell
electricity that is consumed in California shall disclose its
electricity sources. A retail seller that does not make any claims
that identify its electricity sources as different than net system
power may disclose net system electricity. Every retail seller that
makes an offering to sell electricity that is consumed in California
and makes any claims that identify any of its electricity sources as
different than net system electricity shall disclose these sources as
specific purchases.
(b) The disclosures required by this section shall be made to
potential end-use consumers in all product-specific written
promotional materials that are distributed to consumers by either
printed or electronic means, except that advertisements and notices
in general circulation media shall not be subject to this
requirement.
(c) The disclosures required by this section shall be made at
least quarterly to end-use consumers of the offered electricity.
(d) The disclosures required by this section shall be made
separately for each offering made by the retail seller.
(e) On or before January 1, 1998, the Energy Commission shall
specify guidelines for the format and means for disclosure required
by Section 398.3 and this section, based on the requirements of this
article and subject to public hearing.
(f) The costs of making the disclosures required by this section
shall be considered to be generation related.
(g) The disclosures required by this section shall be expressed as
a percentage of annual sales derived from each of the following
categories, unless no specific purchases are disclosed, in which case
only the first category shall be disclosed:
(1) Net system electricity.
(2) Specific purchases.
(h) (1) Each of the categories specified in subdivision (g) shall
be additionally identified as a percentage of annual sales that is
derived from each fuel type of the categories specified as follows:
(A) Coal.
(B) Large hydroelectric (greater than 30 megawatts).
(C) Natural gas.
(D) Nuclear.
(E) Other.
(F) Eligible renewable energy resources, which shall be
additionally identified as a percentage of annual sales that is
derived from each fuel type of the subcategories specified as
follows:
(i) Biomass and waste.
(ii) Geothermal.
(iii) Small hydroelectric (less than or equal to 30 megawatts).
(iv) Solar.
(v) Wind.
(2) The category "Other" shall be used for fuel types other than
those listed above that represent less than 2 percent of net system
electricity. The Energy Commission may specify additional categories
or change these categories, consistent with the requirements of this
article, California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (Article 16
(commencing with Section 399.11)), and subject to public hearing, if
it determines that the changes will facilitate the disclosure
objectives of this section.
(i) All electricity sources disclosed as specific purchases shall
meet the requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 398.2.
(j) Specific purchases identified pursuant to this section shall
be from sources connected to the Western Electricity Coordinating
Council interconnected grid.
(k) Net system electricity shall be disclosed for the most recent
calendar year available. Disclosure of net system electricity shall
be accompanied by this qualifying note: "The State of California
determines this net system electricity mix annually; your actual
electricity purchases may vary." The Energy Commission may modify
this note, consistent with the requirements of this article and
subject to public hearing, if it determines that the changes will
facilitate the disclosure objectives of this section.
( l ) For each offering made by a retail seller for
which specific purchases are disclosed, the retail seller shall
disclose projected specific purchases for the current calendar year.
Projected specific purchases need not be disclosed by numerical
percentage at the subcategory level identified in subparagraph (F) of
paragraph (1) of subdivision (h). Every retail seller that discloses
specific purchases shall also disclose annually to its customers,
separately for each offering made by the retail seller, its actual
specific purchases for the previous calendar year consistent with
information provided to the Energy Commission pursuant to Section
398.5. Disclosure of projected specific purchases and actual specific
purchases shall each be accompanied by statements identifying
whether the data are projected or actual, as developed by the Energy
Commission, subject to public hearing.
(m) The provisions of this section shall not apply to generators
providing electric service onsite, under an over-the-fence
transaction as described in Section 218, or to an affiliate or
affiliates, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 372.
SEC. 5. SEC. 4. Section 398.5 of the
Public Utilities Code is amended to read:
398.5. (a) Retail sellers that disclose specific purchases
pursuant to Section 398.4 shall report on or before March 1 of each
year to the Energy Commission, for each electricity offering, for the
previous calendar year each of the following:
(1) The kilowatthours purchased, by generator and fuel type during
the previous calendar year, consistent with the meter data,
including losses, reported to the system operator.
(2) For each electricity offering the kilowatthours sold at
retail.
(3) For each electricity offering the disclosures made to
consumers pursuant to Section 398.4.
(b) Information submitted to the Energy Commission pursuant to
this section that is a trade secret as defined in subdivision (d) of
Section 3426.1 of the Civil Code shall not be released except in an
aggregated form such that trade secrets cannot be discerned.
(c) The Energy Commission shall specify guidelines and standard
formats, based on the requirements of this article and subject to
public hearing, for the submittal of information pursuant to this
article.
(d) In developing the rules and procedures specified in this
section, the Energy Commission shall seek to minimize the reporting
burden and cost of reporting that it imposes on retail sellers.
(e) On or before October 15 of each year, the Energy Commission
shall issue a report comparing information available pursuant to
Section 398.3 with information submitted by retail sellers pursuant
to this section, and with information disclosed to consumers pursuant
to Section 398.4. This report shall be forwarded to the commission.
(f) On or before April 15 of each year, the Energy Commission
shall issue a report calculating net system electricity. The Energy
Commission will establish the generation mix for net generation
imports delivered at interface points and metered by the system
operators.
(g) The provisions of this section shall not apply to generators
providing electric service onsite, under an over-the-fence
transaction as described in Section 218, or to an affiliate or
affiliates, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 372.
(h) The Energy Commission may verify the veracity of environmental
claims made by retail sellers.