BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
17 (Padilla)
Hearing Date: 05/26/2009 Amended: 05/05/2009
Consultant: Brendan McCarthy Policy Vote: EU&C 10-0
SB 17 (Padilla)
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 17 requires the Public Utilities Commission, in
consultation with the Energy Commission and others, to develop a
smart electricity grid deployment plan and to adopt standards
and protocols to facilitate the adoption of smart grid
technologies. The bill requires the investor owned utilities to
develop and submit a smart grid deployment plan for approval by
the Public Utilities Commission. The bill also requires
municipal electric utilities with more than 100,000 customers to
develop a smart grid deployment plan.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
PUC regulations Absorbable within existing resources
Special *
CEC consultation $50 $100 $100 Special
**
* PUC Utilities Reimbursement Account
** Public Interest Research, Development and Demonstration Fund
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STAFF COMMENTS:
Current federal law requires each state to consider investment
in smart electricity grid systems and directs the National
Institute of Standards and Technology to coordinate the
development of smart grid standards. The American Reinvestment
and Recovery Act of 2009 authorizes the federal Department of
Energy to award $4 billion in grants for smart grid deployment
projects.
SB 17 requires the Public Utilities Commission, in consultation
with the Energy Commission, the California Independent System
Operator and other stakeholders to determine the requirements
for a smart gird deployment plan. The Public Utilities
Commission shall institute a rulemaking proceeding to adopt
standards and protocols for a smart grid. The bill also requires
the Public Utilities Commission to report annually on issues
SB 17 (Padilla)
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relating to the deployment of smart grid technology.
The Public Utilities Commission indicates that it has already
begun a proceeding on this issue and can absorb the costs within
existing resources. Because the Energy Commission already uses
existing research and development funds to work on issues
relating to smart grid issues, it should need limited additional
resources to consult with the Public Utilities Commission on
this issue.
The bill requires each investor owned utility to develop and
submit a smart grid deployment plan to the Public Utilities
Commission by July 2011. The bill also requires each municipal
electric utility with more than 100,000 service connections to
develop a smart grid deployment plan by July 2011.
The eventual deployment of smart grid technologies will
primarily be funded by electricity ratepayers. Because the
technologies to be deployed, the timeline over which they will
be deployed, and the impact those technologies will have on
electricity grid management are unknown, it is not possible to
predict whether smart grid deployment will lead to higher or
lower electricity rates.