BILL NUMBER: AB 2514 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 6, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 25, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 1, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bradford
FEBRUARY 24, 2012
An act to amend Section 2827.8 of, and to add and repeal Section
2827.1 of, the Public Utilities Code, relating to electricity.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2514, as amended, Bradford. Net energy metering.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations.
Existing law, relative to private energy producers, requires every
electric utility, as defined, to make available to an eligible
customer-generator, as defined, a standard contract or tariff for net
energy metering on a first-come-first-served basis until the time
that the total rated generating capacity of renewable electrical
generation facilities, as defined, used by eligible
customer-generators exceeds 5% of the electric utility's aggregate
customer peak demand. The existing definition of an eligible
customer-generator requires that the generating facility use a solar
or wind turbine, or a hybrid system of both, and have a generating
capacity of not more than one megawatt. Electrical corporations are
an electric utility for these purposes.
This bill would require the commission to complete a study by
June 30, October 1, 2013, to determine
who benefits from, and who bears the economic burden, if any,
of, the net energy metering program, and to determine the
extent to which each class of ratepayers and each region of the state
receiving service under the net energy metering tariff
program is paying the full cost of the services
provided to them by electrical corporations, and the
extent to which those customers pay their share of the costs of
public purpose programs , and the benefits of net energy
metering . The bill would require the commission to report
the results of the study to the Legislature within 30 days of its
completion.
Existing law establishes separate requirements for wind energy
co-metering that provides a credit against the generation component
of an electricity bill of an electric utility for those
customer-generators utilizing a wind energy project greater than 50
kilowatts, but not exceeding one megawatt. The wind energy
co-metering provisions include a requirement that the eligible
customer-generator utilize a meter, or multiple meters, capable of
separately measuring electricity flow in both directions.
This bill would state that nothing in the wind energy co-metering
provisions precludes the use of advanced metering infrastructure
devices.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 2827.1 is added to the Public Utilities Code,
to read:
2827.1. (a) By June 30, October 1,
2013, the commission shall complete a study to determine who
benefits from, and who bears the economic burden, if any, of, the net
energy metering program authorized pursuant to Section 2827, and to
determine the extent to which each class of ratepayers and each
region of the state receiving service under the net energy metering
tariff authorized pursuant to Section 2827
program is paying the full cost of the services provided to
them by electrical corporations, and the extent to which
those customers pay their share of the costs of public purpose
programs , and the benefits of net energy metering
. In evaluating program costs and benefits for purposes of the
study, the commission shall consider all electricity generated by
renewable electric generating systems, including the electricity used
onsite to reduce customers a customer's
consumption of electricity that otherwise would be supplied
through the electrical grid, as well as the electrical output that is
being fed back to the electrical grid for which the customer
receives credit or net surplus electricity compensation under net
energy metering. The commission shall use the peak demand
reported by those electric utilities filing a Form No. 1 with the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to determine aggregate customer
peak demand, and shall use the Energy Commission's alternating
current ratings to determine the total generating capacity of
eligible customer-generators, for purposes of calculating the
5-percent limitation in paragraphs (1) and (4) of subdivision (c) of
Section 2827. The study shall quantify the costs and
benefits of net energy metering to participants and
nonparticipants and shall further disaggregate the results by
utility, customer class, and household income groups within the
residential class. The study shall further gather and present data on
the income distribution of residential net energy metering
participants. In order to assess the costs and benefits at various
levels of net energy metering implementation, the study shall be
conducted using multiple net energy metering penetration scenarios,
including, at a minimum, the capacity needed to reach the solar
photovoltaic goals of the California Solar Initiative pursuant to
Section 25780 of the Public Resources Code, and the estimated net
energy metering capacity under the 5-percent minimum requirement of
paragraphs (1) and (4) of subdivision (c) of Section 2827.
(b) (1) The commission shall report the results of the study to
the Legislature within 30 days of its completion.
(2) The report shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795
of the Government Code.
(3) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this
section is repealed on July 1, 2017.
SEC. 2. Section 2827.8 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
2827.8. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, the
following provisions apply to an eligible customer-generator
utilizing wind energy co-metering with a capacity of more than 50
kilowatts, but not exceeding one megawatt, unless approved by the
electric service provider.
(a) The eligible customer-generator shall be required to utilize a
meter, or multiple meters, capable of separately measuring
electricity flow in both directions. Nothing in this section
precludes the use of advanced metering infrastructure devices. All
meters shall provide "time-of-use" measurements of electricity flow,
and the customer shall take service on a time-of-use rate schedule.
If the existing meter of the eligible customer-generator is not a
time-of-use meter or is not capable of measuring total flow of energy
in both directions, the eligible customer-generator is responsible
for all expenses involved in purchasing and installing a meter that
is both time-of-use and able to measure total electricity flow in
both directions. This subdivision shall not restrict the ability of
an eligible customer-generator to utilize any economic incentives
provided by a government agency or the electric service provider to
reduce its costs for purchasing and installing a time-of-use meter.
(b) The consumption of electricity from the electric service
provider for wind energy co-metering by an eligible
customer-generator shall be priced in accordance with the standard
rate charged to the eligible customer-generator in accordance with
the rate structure to which the customer would be assigned if the
customer did not use an eligible wind electrical generating facility.
The generation of electricity provided to the electric service
provider shall result in a credit to the eligible customer-generator
and shall be priced in accordance with the generation component,
excluding surcharges to cover the purchase of power by the Department
of Water Resources, established under the applicable structure to
which the customer would be assigned if the customer did not use an
eligible wind electrical generating facility.