BILL NUMBER: AB 2075 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 6, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 29, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Fong
FEBRUARY 23, 2012
An act to repeal Section 25502.3 of the Public Resources
amend Section 2827.10 of the Public Utilities
Code, relating to energy , and declaring the urgency thereof, to
take effect immediately .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2075, as amended, Fong. Energy: powerplant
certification. Net energy metering: fuel cell
electrical generating facilities.
Existing law establishes a net energy metering program that is
available to an eligible fuel cell customer-generator, as defined.
The existing definition of an eligible fuel cell customer-generator
requires that the customer use a fuel cell electrical generating
facility with a capacity of not more than one megawatt that is
located on or adjacent to the customer's owned, leased, or rented
premises, is interconnected to, and operates in parallel with, the
electrical grid while the grid is operational or in a grid
independent mode when the grid is nonoperational, and is sized to
offset part or all of the eligible fuel cell customer-generator's own
electrical requirements.
This bill would revise the definition of an eligible fuel cell
customer-generator to increase the permissible generating capacity of
the fuel cell electrical generating facility to not more than 3
megawatts.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Existing law vests the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission with the exclusive jurisdiction to certify an
electric generating facility. Existing law defines a facility to mean
an electric transmission line or thermal powerplant with a
generating capacity of 50 megawatts or greater. Existing law
authorizes a person proposing to construct a facility excluded from
the commission's jurisdiction to waive the exclusion by submitting to
the commission a notice of intent to file an application for
certification.
This bill would repeal that authorization.
Vote: majority 2/3 . Appropriation:
no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Secti on 2827.10 of the
Public Utilities Code is amended to read:
2827.10. (a) As used in this section, the following terms have
the following meanings:
(1) "Electrical corporation" means an electrical corporation, as
defined in Section 218.
(2) "Eligible fuel cell electrical generating facility" means a
facility that includes the following:
(A) Integrated powerplant systems containing a stack, tubular
array, or other functionally similar configuration used to
electrochemically convert fuel to electric energy.
(B) An inverter and fuel processing system where necessary.
(C) Other plant equipment, including heat recovery equipment,
necessary to support the plant's operation or its energy conversion.
(3) "Eligible fuel cell customer-generator" means a customer of an
electrical corporation that meets all the following criteria:
(A) Uses a fuel cell electrical generating facility with a
capacity of not more than one megawatt three
megawatts that is located on or adjacent to the customer's
owned, leased, or rented premises, is interconnected and operates in
parallel with the electric electrical
grid while the grid is operational or in a grid independent mode when
the grid is nonoperational, and is sized to offset part or all of
the eligible fuel cell customer-generator's own electrical
requirements.
(B) Is the recipient of local, state, or federal funds, or who
self-finances projects designed to encourage the development of
eligible fuel cell electrical generating facilities.
(C) Uses technology the commission has determined will achieve
reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases pursuant to subdivision
(b), and meets the emission requirements for eligibility for funding
set forth in subdivision (c), of Section 379.6.
(4) "Net energy metering" means measuring the difference between
the electricity supplied through the electrical grid and the
difference between the electricity generated by an eligible fuel cell
electrical generating facility and fed back to the electric
electrical grid over a 12-month period as
described in subdivision (e). Net energy metering shall be
accomplished using a time-of-use meter capable of registering the
flow of electricity in two directions. If the existing electrical
meter of an eligible fuel cell customer-generator is not capable of
measuring the flow of electricity in two directions, the eligible
fuel cell customer-generator shall be responsible for all expenses
involved in purchasing and installing a meter that is able to measure
electricity flow in two directions. If an additional meter or meters
are installed, the net energy metering calculation shall yield a
result identical to that of a time-of-use meter.
(b) Every electrical corporation shall, not later than March 1,
2004, file with the commission a standard tariff providing for net
energy metering for eligible fuel cell customer-generators,
consistent with this section. Every electrical corporation shall make
this tariff available to eligible fuel cell customer-generators upon
request, on a first-come-first-served basis, until the total
cumulative rated generating capacity used by the eligible fuel cell
customer-generators equals 45 megawatts within the service territory
of the electrical corporation for an electrical corporation with a
peak demand above 10,000 megawatts, or equals 22.5 megawatts within
the service territory of the electrical corporation for an electrical
corporation with a peak demand of 10,000 megawatts or below. The
combined statewide cumulative rated generating capacity used by the
eligible fuel cell customer-generators in the service territories of
all electrical corporations in the state may not exceed 112.5
megawatts.
(c) In determining the eligibility for the cumulative rated
generating capacity within an electrical service area, preference
shall be given to facilities which, at the time of installation, are
located in a community with significant exposure to air contaminants
or localized air contaminants, or both, including, but not limited
to, communities of minority populations or low-income populations, or
both, based on the ambient air quality standards established
pursuant to Section 39607 of the Health and Safety Code.
(d) Each net energy metering contract or tariff shall be
identical, with respect to rate structure, all retail rate
components, and any monthly charges, to the contract or tariff to
which the customer would be assigned if the customer was not an
eligible fuel cell customer-generator. Any new or additional demand
charge, standby charge, customer charge, minimum monthly charge,
interconnection charge, or other charge that would increase an
eligible fuel cell customer-generator's costs beyond those of other
customers in the rate class to which the eligible fuel cell
customer-generator would otherwise be assigned are contrary to the
intent of the Legislature in enacting the act adding this section,
and may not form a part of net energy metering tariffs.
(e) The net metering calculation shall be made by measuring the
difference between the electricity supplied to the eligible
customer-generator and the electricity generated by the eligible
customer-generator and fed back to the electric
electrical grid over a 12-month period. The following
rules shall apply to the annualized metering calculation:
(1) The eligible fuel cell customer-generator shall, at the end of
each 12-month period following the date of final interconnection of
the eligible fuel cell electrical generating facility with an
electrical corporation, and at each anniversary date thereafter, be
billed for electricity used during that period. The electrical
corporation shall determine if the eligible fuel cell
customer-generator was a net consumer or a net producer of
electricity during that period. For purposes of determining if the
eligible fuel cell customer-generator was a net consumer or a net
producer of electricity during that period, the electrical
corporation shall aggregate the electrical load of the eligible fuel
cell customer-generator under the same ownership. Each aggregated
account shall be billed and measured according to a time-of-use rate
schedule.
(2) At the end of each 12-month period, where the electricity
supplied during the period by the electrical corporation exceeds the
electricity generated by the eligible fuel cell customer-generator
during that same period, the eligible fuel cell customer-generator is
a net electricity consumer and the electrical corporation shall be
owed compensation for the eligible fuel cell customer-generator's net
kilowatthour consumption over that same period. The compensation
owed for the eligible fuel cell customer-generator's consumption
shall be calculated as follows:
(A) The generation charges for any net monthly consumption of
electricity shall be calculated according to the terms of the tariff
to which the same customer would be assigned to or be eligible for if
the customer was not an eligible fuel cell customer-generator. When
the eligible fuel cell customer-generators is a net generator during
any discrete time-of-use period, the net kilowatthours produced shall
be valued at the same price per kilowatthour as the electrical
corporation would charge for retail kilowatthour sales for
generation, exclusive of any surcharges, during that same time-of-use
period. If the eligible fuel cell customer-generator's time-of-use
electrical meter is unable to measure the flow of electricity in two
directions, paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) shall apply. All other
charges, other than generation charges, shall be calculated in
accordance with the eligible fuel cell customer-generator's
applicable tariff and based on the total kilowatthours delivered by
the electrical corporation to the eligible fuel cell
customer-generator. To the extent that charges for transmission and
distribution services are recovered through demand charges in any
particular month, no standby reservation charges shall apply in that
monthly billing cycle.
(B) The net balance of moneys owed shall be paid in accordance
with the electrical corporation's normal billing cycle.
(3) At the end of each 12-month period, where the electricity
generated by the eligible fuel cell customer-generator during the
12-month period exceeds the electricity supplied by the electrical
corporation during that same period, the eligible fuel cell
customer-generator is a net electricity producer and the electrical
corporation shall retain any excess kilowatthours generated during
the prior 12-month period. The eligible fuel cell customer-generator
shall not be owed any compensation for those excess kilowatthours.
(4) If an eligible fuel cell customer-generator terminates service
with the electrical corporation, the electrical corporation shall
reconcile the eligible fuel cell customer-generator's consumption and
production of electricity during any 12-month period.
(f) A fuel cell electrical generating facility shall not be
eligible for participation in the tariff established pursuant to this
section unless it commenced operation before January 1, 2014. A fuel
cell customer-generator shall be eligible for the tariff established
pursuant to this section only for the operating life of the eligible
fuel cell electrical generating facility.
SEC. 2. This act is an urgency statute necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety
within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go
into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to avoid delays and uncertainty in the introduction of
advanced ultraclean and low-emission distributed generation
technologies by removing barriers to ensure that all fuel cell
technologies have a fair and equal opportunity to participate and
take advantage of net energy metering, it is necessary that this act
take effect immediately.
SECTION 1. Section 25502.3 of the Public
Resources Code is repealed.