BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 542
Author: Wiggins (D) and Strickland (R)
Amended: 5/28/09
Vote: 21
SENATE ENERGY, U. & C. COMMITTEE : 10-1, 4/21/09
AYES: Padilla, Calderon, Corbett, Cox, Kehoe, Lowenthal,
Simitian, Strickland, Wiggins, Wright
NOES: Benoit
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-4, 5/28/09
AYES: Kehoe, Cox, Corbett, DeSaulnier, Hancock, Leno,
Oropeza, Yee
NOES: Denham, Runner, Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wolk
SUBJECT : Solar energy and energy efficiency programs
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the California Energy
Commission to inform solar energy system installers of
existing statutory requirements. This bill requires the
Public Utilities Commission to develop and implement a
strategy to expand participation of multi-unit residential
and commercial rental properties in existing energy
efficiency and solar energy programs.
ANALYSIS : Under existing law, the Public Utilities
Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over public
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utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined.
A decision of the PUC adopted the California Solar
Initiative. Existing law requires the PUC to undertake
certain steps in implementing the California Solar
Initiative. Existing law establishes a surcharge on all
natural gas consumed in the state and upon electricity
distributed by the state's three largest electrical
corporations, to fund certain low-income assistance
programs, cost-effective energy efficiency and conservation
activities, and public interest research and development.
This bill requires the PUC, by July 1, 2010, to develop and
implement a strategy to expand the participation of
multiunit residential and commercial rental properties in
utility energy efficiency and solar energy programs and to
prepare and submit a report on the program to the
Legislature by that date. This bill requires the PUC to
ensure that the strategy implemented does not result in any
additional ratepayer surcharges, is funded through existing
programs or the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009, and is cost effective for utility customers. This
bill requires the PUC to consider, in developing the
strategy, whether synergies exist between its energy
efficiency programs and the solar energy programs of the
California Solar Initiative, that, in the determination of
the PUC, can make energy efficiency and solar investments
cost effective for utility customers in multiunit
commercial and residential rental properties. This bill
requires the PUC, in implementing the California Solar
Initiative, to ensure that solar energy system installers
are informed that if the solar energy system is to be
installed on a manufactured home, that the installation is
required to comply with certain statutory and regulatory
requirements pertaining to the alteration of manufactured
housing.
Existing law requires the California Energy Commission
(CEC), in consultation with the PUC, local publicly owned
electric utilities, and interested members of the public,
to establish and thereafter revise eligibility criteria for
solar energy systems and to establish conditions for
ratepayer funded incentives that are applicable to the
California Solar Initiative.
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This bill requires the CEC to ensure that solar energy
system installers are informed that, if the solar energy
system is to be installed on a manufactured home, the
installation is required to comply with certain statutory
and regulatory requirements pertaining to the alteration of
manufactured housing. This bill requires the CEC to inform
installers about the permitting processes in its next
update of the California Solar Initiative Program Handbook.
Background
Since the 2000-01 energy crisis, California policy has
elevated energy efficiency measures as the highest priority
activity for meeting California's energy needs. Energy
efficiency is often cost effective, cheap, clean, and
relatively quick to implement. The PUC authorized
substantial energy efficiency programs for the major
investor-owned utilities for the period 2006-08. This
program is expected to produce $2.7 billion in net
benefits, reducing customer bills. Moreover, these savings
are the equivalent of avoiding three large powerplants over
the next three years, eliminating 3.4 million tons of
carbon dioxide in 2008, equivalent to taking 650,000 cars
off the road. For the 2009-2011 period, the PUC has
adopted slightly more ambitious goals. For the longer
term, the PUC has adopted an energy efficiency strategic
plan which dovetails with our AB 32 greenhouse gas
reduction goals. This plan has at its cornerstone four
"Big and Bold" initiatives:
1. All new residential construction will be zero net energy
by 2020.
2. All new commercial construction will be zero net energy
by 2030.
3. Air conditioning and heating systems will be performance
optimized for California's climate.
4. All low-income customers will be provided an opportunity
to participate in California's low income energy
efficiency programs by 2020.
The energy efficiency programs take many forms and target
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all customer classes, from residential to commercial. One
group of customers who gets relatively little attention is
renters. The difficulty of reaching out to renters is that
while the renter pays the energy bill, the landlord owns
the structure and, often, the appliances. It therefore
makes little sense for a landlord to install energy-saving
double-paned windows when the cost savings accrue to the
tenant. Alternatively, a renter would not bother paying
for a new, energy-efficient air conditioner if he had to
leave the unit behind once he moved on.
Renters are a large portion of Californians, comprising 43
percent of California households. While there are a few
programs targeted at renters, and a special energy
efficiency program for low-income households, renters are,
in the words of one of California's large investor-owned
utilities, "a very large and largely unserved market."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/28/09)
R?colte Energy
Western Center on Law and Poverty
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author has had constituents
who have wanted to install photovoltaic systems on their
manufactured homes, but have run into a government
bureaucracy which is unsure of which agency has
jurisdiction and what rules apply. The provisions in
Sections 1 and 2 of the bill are intended to remove the
uncertainty by citing the specific applicable code sections
and regulations. The author is also concerned that a
substantial portion of customers pay for the state's energy
efficiency programs and the California Solar Initiative,
but because of their housing status cannot participate in
either. This bill is an attempt to focus the PUC's effort
in this area.
DLW:mw 5/29/09 Senate Floor Analyses
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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