BILL NUMBER: AB 1073 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 12, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 16, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 31, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Fuentes
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act to add Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 8390) to Division
4.1 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy efficiency.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1073, as amended, Fuentes. Electrical corporation energy
efficiency programs: application requirements.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has
regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical
corporations and gas corporations, as defined. The Public Utilities
Act requires the PUC to review and adopt a procurement plan for each
electrical corporation in accordance with specified elements,
incentive mechanisms, and objectives. The act requires that an
electrical corporation's proposed procurement plan include certain
elements, including 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. The act requires the PUC, in consultation with the State
Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy
Commission) , to identify all potentially achievable
cost-effective electricity efficiency savings and to establish
efficiency targets for electrical corporations to achieve pursuant to
their procurement plan. The act additionally requires the PUC, in
consultation with the Energy Commission, to identify all potentially
achievable cost-effective natural gas efficiency savings and to
establish efficiency targets for a gas corporation to achieve and
requires that a gas corporation first meet its unmet resource needs
through all available natural gas efficiency and demand response
resources that are cost effective, reliable, and feasible.
Existing law, adopted as part of electrical restructuring and
continued in the Reliable Electric Service Investments Act, requires
the PUC to supervise the administration of certain
low-income energy efficiency programs, in consultation with the
Low-Income Oversight Board, funded through a
nonbypassable charge upon distribution. The PUC has approved
various energy efficiency programs by electrical corporations and gas
corporations.
Existing law requires that a local publicly owned electric
utility, in procuring energy to serve the load of its retail end-use
customers, to first acquire all available energy efficiency and
demand reduction resources that are cost effective, reliable, and
feasible, to establish annual targets for energy efficiency savings
and demand reduction, and to report those targets and their basis to
the Energy Commission. Existing law requires every publicly
owned electric and gas utility that provides the energy for space
heating for low-income customers to also provide home weatherization
services for those customers if a significant need for those services
exists in the utility's service territory, in
consideration of certain factors. Existing law requires that each
local publicly owned electric and gas utility develop and implement
its low-income weatherization program in consultation with gas and
electrical corporations and the Department of Economic Opportunity,
to avoid duplication and to ensure the most efficient use of public
and private resources.
This bill would require that the recipient of
ratepayer-funded energy efficiency incentives certify that any
applicable permits, as appropriate, for a project that involves a
physical alteration or addition to a residential, commercial, or
industrial structure have been obtained and approved prior to
applying for incentives from an energy utility, as defined
prohibit an energy utility, as defined, from issuing rebates or
incentives for energy efficiency improvements unless the recipient of
the rebate or incentive certifies that the improvement or
installation has complied with applicable permitting requirements and
appropriate licensing requirements .
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 8390) is added to
Division 4.1 of the Public Utilities Code, to read:
CHAPTER 6. ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS
8390. (a) For purposes of this chapter, "energy utility" means an
electrical corporation, gas corporation, local publicly owned
electric utility, or municipal corporation that provides gas service.
(b) The recipient of ratepayer-funded energy efficiency incentives
shall certify that any applicable permits, as appropriate, for a
project that involves a physical alteration or addition to a
residential, commercial, or industrial structure have been obtained
and approved prior to applying for incentives from an energy utility.
This requirement does not apply to an application for
ratepayer-funded energy efficiency incentives for appliances or
changes, alterations, or repairs to structures that are of a minor
nature not affecting structural features, egress, sanitation, safety,
or accessibility, as determined by the entity of local government
responsible for the issuance of building or construction permits.
(b) (1) Any rebates or incentives offered by an energy utility for
an energy efficiency improvement or installation of energy efficient
components, equipment, or appliances in buildings shall be provided
only if the recipient of the rebate or incentive certifies that the
improvement or installation has complied with any applicable
permitting requirements and, if a contractor performed the
installation or improvement, that the contractor holds the
appropriate license for the work performed.
(2) This subdivision does not imply or create authority or
responsibility, or expand existing authority or responsibility, of an
energy utility for the enforcement of the building energy and water
efficiency standards adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) of
Section 25402 of the Public Resources Code, or appliance efficiency
standards and certification requirements adopted pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 25402 of the Public Resources Code.