BILL ANALYSIS
SB 730
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 28, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Steven Bradford, Chair
SB 730 (Wiggins) - As Amended: June 21, 2010
SENATE VOTE : (Vote not relevant)
SUBJECT : Energy efficiency.
SUMMARY : Requires the California Public Utilities Commission
(PUC) to ensure that the Sonoma County Regional Climate
Protection Authority (SCRCPA) interests are considered when
evaluating energy-efficiency investments. Additionally, the
bill requires electrical corporations to collaborate with
regional authorities and other public agencies when developing
its energy-efficiency programs. Specifically, this bill :
1)States legislative intent that the PUC shall continue to
administer cost-effective energy efficiency programs
authorized pursuant to existing statutory authority.
2)Requires the PUC to ensure regional and local interests,
including SCRCPA, are involved in program portfolio design,
revision, and implementation when evaluating energy-efficiency
investments, where appropriate.
3)Requires an electrical corporation to collaborate with county
climate protection authorities, or other public agencies when
developing or revising its energy efficiency program.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Mandates the PUC has regulatory authority over public
utilities, including electrical corporations.
2)Requires the PUC to review and adopt a procurement plan for
each electrical corporation in accordance with specified
elements, incentive mechanisms, and objectives.
3)Requires electrical corporations proposed plan to include a
showing that the electrical corporation will first meet its
unmet needs through all available energy efficiency and demand
reduction resources that are cost-effective, reliable, and
feasible.
4)Requires the PUC, in evaluating energy-efficiency investments,
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to ensure that local and regional interests are encouraged to
participate in program implementation.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill maximizes Sonoma
County's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve
energy efficiency. This bill requires utility companies, such
as Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), to plan and coordinate their
energy efficiency efforts with the County, specifically SCRCPA.
The author believes local energy efficiency and climate change
initiatives approved and supported by local communities, need to
be harmonized and coordinated with PUC efforts on energy
efficiency and funded by the ratepayer funded energy-efficiency
programs, when appropriate.
Background : In response to the Global Warming Solutions Act of
2006 (AB 32 Nunez, Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006), the
California Air Resources Board (ARB) adopted the AB 32 Scoping
Plan in December 2008. The plan recognizes the critical role
local governments will play in the successful implementation of
AB 32. The Scoping Plan specifically states that, "Local
governments are essential partners in achieving California's
goals to reduce GHG emissions. They have broad influence and,
in some cases, exclusive authority over activities that
contribute to significant direct and indirect GHG emissions
through their planning and permitting processes, local
ordinances, outreach and education efforts, and municipal
operations. Many of the proposed measures to reduce GHG
emissions rely on local government actions."
ARB is encouraging local governments to adopt a GHG reduction
goal for municipal operations emissions and move toward
establishing similar goals for community emissions that parallel
the state commitment to reduce GHG emissions by approximately 15
percent from current levels by 2020.
Local governments on their own initiative and through state
programs and policies have launched a variety of programs to
reduce energy consumption and regional gas emissions. For
instance, the County of Sonoma, all nine cities within the
county, Sonoma County Water Agency, Sonoma County Transportation
Authority and the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and
Open Space District have all adopted the most aggressive
emission reduction targets in the United States, which is 25
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percent below 1990 levels by 2015. To meet this ambitious goal,
last year the community successfully sponsored legislation to
create the nation's first regional climate protection authority
(AB 881 Huffman/Wiggins, Chapter 375, Statutes of 2009).
Working closely with the Sonoma County and its cities, SCRCPA is
deploying an aggressive energy conservation effort that involves
coordinating and implementing a county-wide building retrofit
program.
Sonoma County launched the Sonoma County Energy Independence
Program (SCEIP) in March 2009, authorized by AB 811 (Levine),
Chapter 159, Statutes, 2008. The bill allows property owners to
finance energy efficiency, water efficiency and renewable energy
improvements through voluntary assessments. Sonoma County's
program has proved to be successful and is the only county-wide
"AB 811 program" in the state. The County has received over $35
million in applications and has funded nearly $20 million in
completed projects.
The low-hanging fruit : Energy efficiency is the first priority
in California's loading order for energy resources. Energy
efficiency is a zero-emission strategy to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions in the electricity sector. Energy efficiency and
conservation programs also reduce energy costs, which in turn
make businesses more competitive and allow customers to save
money. Moreover, energy efficiency reduces the cost of meeting
peak demand during periods of high temperatures and high prices.
By reducing the demand for electricity, energy-efficiency
programs play a major role in increasing reliability of the
electric grid by reducing demands on existing power plants and
the transmission systems, and thereby reducing the demand for
new power plants and transmission infrastructure.
The 2008 PUC Strategic Plan sets forth a vision for local
government partnerships with utilities. According to the PUC,
"By 2020, California's local governments will be leaders in
using energy efficiency to reduce energy use and global warming
emissions both in their own facilities and throughout their
communities."
In September 2009, the PUC approved the 2010-2012 Utility
Energy-Efficiency Portfolios. These portfolios, administered by
the investor owned utilities (IOU's), contain $3.1 billion in
ratepayer-supported programs for energy efficiency. Of these
funds, the portfolios provide $260 million in energy-efficiency
funding to selected cities, counties and regional governments.
According to the PUC, the majority of these local government
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partnership programs and the local government pilot programs
were also funded in the 2006-2008 portfolios.
Seat at the table : Current law requires the PUC to ensure that
regional and local interests, multifamily dwellings, and energy
service industry capabilities are incorporated into the IOU's
program portfolio design. This bill specifically compels the
PUC to ensure SCRCPA interests are incorporated into PG&E's
energy-efficiency portfolio. This may be a burdensome task for
the PUC, as there are numerous programs that are contained in
the four IOU's energy-efficiency portfolios. However, there is
an opportunity for interested participants or entities to file
comments on the IOU's proposed plan during a public proceeding
at the PUC, before the IOU's energy-efficiency portfolio is
adopted. Rather than make reference to SCRCPA in statute, the
author and committee may wish to delete this reference and
instead insert "local and regional interests, including but not
limited to, those interests pursuant to Section 181000-181016 ."
This bill requires the IOU's to collaborate with, and seek
comments from county climate protection authorities or other
public agencies that are authorized to implement regional or
countywide climate protection and energy-efficiency programs.
PG&E states their willingness to identify programs that work for
Sonoma County, but believe statutory direction would set a
precedent that is problematic, as other entities may similarly
want to engage in the design of their portfolio. However,
SCRCPA claims that there have been cases where Sonoma County and
PG&E have launched energy-efficiency programs that are very
similar in design. In order to avoid this circumstance, SCRCPA
desires to be an active participant in PG&E's energy- efficiency
portfolio design. Furthermore, Sonoma County Board of
Supervisors believe this provision would ensure local
governments a seat at the policy-making table and provide the
opportunity for sharing local best practices and innovative
thinking.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
City of Cotati
City of Healdsburg
City of Sonoma
Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection Authority (RCPA)
Sonoma County Water Agency
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Town of Windsor
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : DaVina Flemings / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083