BILL NUMBER: SB 23 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 9, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 2, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 26, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator Simitian
DECEMBER 6, 2010
An act to add Section 38566 to the Health and Safety Code, to
amend Section 25741.5 of the Public Resources Code, and to amend
Sections 399.12, 399.13, 399.15, 399.19, 399.26, 399.30, and 910 of
the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 23, as amended, Simitian. Energy: renewable energy resources.
(1) Existing law creates the California renewables portfolio
standard program (RPS program) and the Renewable Energy Resources
Program to increase the amount of electricity generated per year from
eligible renewable energy resources, as defined.
Existing law, effective on ____, requires
Effective on the 91st day after the adjournment of the 2011
- 12 First Extraordinary Session, the
State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission
(Energy Commission), by June 30, 2011, is required to
study and provide a report to the Legislature that analyzes
run-of-river hydroelectric generating facilities, as defined, in
British Columbia, including whether these facilities are, or should
be, included as renewable electrical generation facilities for
purposes of the Renewable Energy Resources Program administered by
the Energy Commission or eligible renewable energy resources for
purposes of the RPS program.
Existing law, effective on ____, requires
Effective on the 91st day after the adjournment of the 2011
- 12 First Extraordinary Session,
the Energy Commission, among other things, is required
to adopt regulations specifying procedures for enforcement of
the RPS requirements by July 1, 2011.
Existing law, effective on ____, requires
Effective on the 91st day after the adjournment of the 2011
-1 2 First Extraordinary Session, the
Public Utilities Commission (PUC), by July 1, 2011, is required
to determine the effective load carrying capacity of wind and
solar energy resources on the electrical grid.
This bill would extend the compliance date for these corresponding
reporting and regulatory requirements by one year, until
2012 , as provided .
(2) Existing law, effective on ____, requires
Effective on the 91st day after the adjournment of the 2011
-1 2 First Extraordinary Session,
the PUC, in consultation with the Energy Commission, is
required to report to the Legislature by January 1 of every
even-numbered year on (A) the progress and status of procurement
activities by each retail seller, (B) the status of permitting and
siting eligible renewable energy resources and transmission
facilities necessary to supply electricity generated to load, (C) the
projected ability of electrical corporations to meet the RPS program
procurement requirements under a cost limitation established by the
PUC and any recommendations for revisions to those cost limitations,
and (D) barriers to, and policy recommendations for, achieving the
renewables portfolio standard established pursuant to the RPS
program.
This bill would delete the requirement that the PUC report on the
projected ability of electrical corporations to meet the RPS program
procurement requirements under a cost limitation established by the
PUC and any recommendations for revisions to those cost limitations,
and would require that the first report be made on January 1, 2014.
(3) Existing law, effective on ____, requires
Effective on the 91s t day after the adjournment of
the First Extraordinary Session of the 2011 - 12
Session, the PUC is required to establish the
quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy
resources, as defined, to be procured by each retail seller, as
defined, for specified compliance periods, sufficient to ensure that
the procurement of electricity products from eligible renewable
energy resources achieves 20% of retail sales for the period January
1, 2011, to December 31, 2013, 25% of retail sales by December 31,
2016, and 33% of retail sales by December 31, 2020, and in all
subsequent years. The PUC is required to establish the quantity
of electricity products to be procured by the retail seller for each
compliance period by January 1, 2012. The RPS program,
consistent with the goals of procuring the least-cost and best-fit
eligible renewable energy resources that meet project viability
principles, requires that all retail sellers procure a balanced
portfolio of electricity products from eligible renewable energy
resources, as specified. The RPS program requires the PUC to direct
each electrical corporation to annually prepare a renewable energy
procurement plan containing specified matter and an annual
compliance report .
This bill would require the PUC to instead direct each
electrical corporation to prepare and regularly update a renewable
energy procurement plan establish the quantity of
electricity products to be procured by the retail seller for each
compliance period by June 1, 2012, and require that the compliance
report be submitted at least annually .
(4) Existing law, effective on ____, defines
Effective on the 91st day after the adjournment of the
First Extraordinary Session of the 2011 - 12
Session, an eligible renewable energy resource is defined
for the purposes of the RPS program to include a small
hydroelectric generation unit with a nameplate capacity not exceeding
40 megawatts that is operated as part of a water supply or
conveyance system, if the retail seller or local publicly owned
electric utility procured the electricity from the facility as of
December 31, 2005.
This bill would instead make a small hydroelectric generation unit
with a nameplate capacity not exceeding 40 megawatts an eligible
renewable energy resource if a retail seller or local publicly owned
electric utility operates the facility to supply or convey water to
its customers and procured the electricity from the facility as of
December 31, 2005.
(5) Existing law, effective on ____, requires
Effective on the 91st day after the adjournm ent of
the First Extraordinary Session of the 2011 -
12 Session, the governing board of a local publicly owned
electric utility, as defined, is required to adopt a
program for the enforcement of the RPS program on or before January
1, 2012.
This bill would extend this deadline until January 1, 2013.
(6) The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (the act),
establishes the State Air Resources Board (state board) as the state
agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting
greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to adopt
regulations to require the reporting and verification of statewide
greenhouse gas emissions and to monitor and enforce compliance with
this program. The act requires the state board to adopt a statewide
greenhouse gas emissions limit, as defined, to be achieved by 2020,
equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions levels in 1990.
The state board is required to adopt rules and regulations in an open
public process to achieve the maximum technologically feasible and
cost-effective greenhouse gas emission reductions.
This bill would prohibit the state board from adopting any
requirement for the procurement of eligible renewable energy
resources by a retail seller or local publicly owned electric
utility.
(7) This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section
399.30 of the Public Utilities Code, proposed by AB 1391, to be
operative only if AB 1391 and this bill are both chaptered and become
effective on or before January 1, 2012, and this bill is chaptered
last.
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 38566 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
to read:
38566. The state board shall not adopt any requirement for the
procurement of eligible renewable energy resources by a retail seller
or local publicly owned electric utility. For purposes of this
section, "eligible renewable energy resource" and "retail seller"
have the same meaning as defined in Section 399.12 of the Public
Utilities Code, and "local publicly owned electric utility" has the
same meaning as defined in Section 224.3 of the Public Utilities
Code.
SEC. 2. Section 25741.5 of the Public Resources Code, as added by
Chapter 1 of the First Extraordinary Session of the Statutes of 2011,
is amended to read:
25741.5. (a) By June 30, 2012, after providing public notice and
an opportunity for public comment, including holding at least one
public workshop, and following consultation with interested
governmental entities, the commission shall study and provide a
report to the Legislature that analyzes run-of-river hydroelectric
generating facilities in British Columbia, including whether these
facilities are, or should be, included as renewable electrical
generation facilities pursuant to Section 25741 or eligible renewable
energy resources pursuant to Article 16 (commencing with Section
399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public
Utilities Code.
(b) By completing the study and making recommendations, the
commission shall consider the effect that inclusion would have upon
all of the following:
(1) Emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
(2) Emissions of air pollutants.
(3) Water quality, recreation, and fisheries.
(4) Any other environmental impact caused by run-of-river
hydroelectric generating facilities.
(c) The report submitted pursuant to this section shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(d) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this
section is repealed on January 1, 2016.
SEC. 3. Section 399.12 of the Public Utilities Code, as added by
Chapter 1 of the First Extraordinary Session of the Statutes of 2011,
is amended to read:
399.12. For purposes of this article, the following terms have
the following meanings:
(a) "Conduit hydroelectric facility" means a facility for the
generation of electricity that uses only the hydroelectric potential
of an existing pipe, ditch, flume, siphon, tunnel, canal, or other
manmade conduit that is operated to distribute water for a beneficial
use.
(b) "Balancing authority" means the responsible entity that
integrates resource plans ahead of time, maintains load-interchange
generation balance within a balancing authority area, and supports
interconnection frequency in real time.
(c) "Balancing authority area" means the collection of generation,
transmission, and loads within the metered boundaries of the area
within which the balancing authority maintains the electrical
load-resource balance.
(d) "California balancing authority" is a balancing authority with
control over a balancing authority area primarily located in this
state and operating for retail sellers and local publicly owned
electric utilities subject to the requirements of this article and
includes the Independent System Operator (ISO) and a local publicly
owned electric utility operating a transmission grid that is not
under the operational control of the ISO. A California balancing
authority is responsible for the operation of the transmission grid
within its metered boundaries which may not be limited by the
political boundaries of the State of California.
(e) "Eligible renewable energy resource" means an electrical
generating facility that meets the definition of a "renewable
electrical generation facility" in Section 25741 of the Public
Resources Code, subject to the following:
(1) (A) An existing small hydroelectric generation facility of 30
megawatts or less shall be eligible only if a retail seller or local
publicly owned electric utility procured the electricity from the
facility as of December 31, 2005. A small hydroelectric generation
unit with a nameplate capacity not exceeding 40 megawatts is an
eligible renewable energy resource if a retail seller or local
publicly owned electric utility operates the facility to supply or
convey water to its customers and procured the electricity from the
facility as of December 31, 2005. A new hydroelectric facility that
commences generation of electricity after December 31, 2005, is not
an eligible renewable energy resource if it will cause an adverse
impact on instream beneficial uses or cause a change in the volume or
timing of streamflow.
(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a conduit hydroelectric
facility of 30 megawatts or less that commenced operation before
January 1, 2006, is an eligible renewable energy resource. A conduit
hydroelectric facility of 30 megawatts or less that commences
operation after December 31, 2005, is an eligible renewable energy
resource so long as it does not cause an adverse impact on instream
beneficial uses or cause a change in the volume or timing of
streamflow.
(C) A facility approved by the governing board of a local publicly
owned electric utility prior to June 1, 2010, for procurement to
satisfy renewable energy procurement obligations adopted pursuant to
former Section 387, shall be certified as an eligible renewable
energy resource by the Energy Commission pursuant to this article, if
the facility is a "renewable electrical generation facility" as
defined in Section 25741 of the Public Resources Code.
(2) A facility engaged in the combustion of municipal solid waste
shall not be considered an eligible renewable energy resource unless
it is located in Stanislaus County and was operational prior to
September 26, 1996.
(f) "Procure" means to acquire through ownership or contract.
(g) "Procurement entity" means any person or corporation
authorized by the commission to enter into contracts to procure
eligible renewable energy resources on behalf of customers of a
retail seller pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 399.13.
(h) (1) "Renewable energy credit" means a certificate of proof
associated with the generation of electricity from an eligible
renewable energy resource, issued through the accounting system
established by the Energy Commission pursuant to Section 399.25, that
one unit of electricity was generated and delivered by an eligible
renewable energy resource.
(2) "Renewable energy credit" includes all renewable and
environmental attributes associated with the production of
electricity from the eligible renewable energy resource, except for
an emissions reduction credit issued pursuant to Section 40709 of the
Health and Safety Code and any credits or payments associated with
the reduction of solid waste and treatment benefits created by the
utilization of biomass or biogas fuels.
(3) (A) An electricity generated by an eligible renewable energy
resource attributable to the use of nonrenewable fuels, beyond a de
minimis quantity used to generate electricity in the same process
through which the facility converts renewable fuel to electricity,
shall not result in the creation of a renewable energy credit. The
Energy Commission shall set the de minimis quantity of nonrenewable
fuels for each renewable energy technology at a level of no more than
2 percent of the total quantity of fuel used by the technology to
generate electricity. The Energy Commission may adjust the de minimis
quantity for an individual facility, up to a maximum of 5 percent,
if it finds that all of the following conditions are met:
(i) The facility demonstrates that the higher quantity of
nonrenewable fuel will lead to an increase in generation from the
eligible renewable energy facility that is significantly greater than
generation from the nonrenewable fuel alone.
(ii) The facility demonstrates that the higher quantity of
nonrenewable fuels will reduce the variability of its electrical
output in a manner that results in net environmental benefits to the
state.
(iii) The higher quantity of nonrenewable fuel is limited to
either natural gas or hydrogen derived by reformation of a fossil
fuel.
(B) Electricity generated by a small hydroelectric generation
facility shall not result in the creation of a renewable energy
credit unless the facility meets the requirements of subparagraph (A)
of paragraph (1) of subdivision (e).
(C) Electricity generated by a conduit hydroelectric generation
facility shall not result in the creation of a renewable energy
credit unless the facility meets the requirements of subparagraph (B)
of paragraph (1) of subdivision (e).
(D) Electricity generated by a facility engaged in the combustion
of municipal solid waste shall not result in the creation of a
renewable energy credit unless the facility meets the requirements of
paragraph (2) of subdivision (e).
(i) "Renewables portfolio standard" means the specified percentage
of electricity generated by eligible renewable energy resources that
a retail seller or a local publicly owned electric utility is
required to procure pursuant to this article.
(j) "Retail seller" means an entity engaged in the retail sale of
electricity to end-use customers located within the state, including
any of the following:
(1) An electrical corporation, as defined in Section 218.
(2) A community choice aggregator. The commission shall institute
a rulemaking to determine the manner in which a community choice
aggregator will participate in the renewables portfolio standard
program subject to the same terms and conditions applicable to an
electrical corporation.
(3) An electric service provider, as defined in Section 218.3, for
all sales of electricity to customers beginning January 1, 2006. The
commission shall institute a rulemaking to determine the manner in
which electric service providers will participate in the renewables
portfolio standard program. The electric service provider shall be
subject to the same terms and conditions applicable to an electrical
corporation pursuant to this article. This paragraph does not impair
a contract entered into between an electric service provider and a
retail customer prior to the suspension of direct access by the
commission pursuant to Section 80110 of the Water Code.
(4) "Retail seller" does not include any of the following:
(A) A corporation or person employing cogeneration technology or
producing electricity consistent with subdivision (b) of Section 218.
(B) The Department of Water Resources acting in its capacity
pursuant to Division 27 (commencing with Section 80000) of the Water
Code.
(C) A local publicly owned electric utility.
(k) "WECC" means the Western Electricity Coordinating Council of
the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, or a successor
to either corporation.
SEC. 4. Section 399.13 of the Public Utilities Code, as added by
Chapter 1 of the First Extraordinary Session of the Statutes of 2011,
is amended to read:
399.13. (a) (1) The commission shall direct each electrical
corporation to prepare and regularly update a renewable energy
procurement plan that includes the matter in paragraph (4)
(5) , to satisfy its obligations under the
renewables portfolio standard. To the extent feasible, this
procurement plan shall be proposed, reviewed, and adopted by the
commission as part of, and pursuant to, a general procurement plan
process. The commission shall require each electrical corporation to
review and update its renewable energy procurement plan as it
determines to be necessary.
(2) The commission shall direct each retail seller to prepare and
submit regular compliance reports that include any information the
commission determines is relevant to tracking the ability of the
retail seller to meet the requirements of this article.
(2) Every electrical corporation that owns electrical transmission
facilities shall annually prepare, as part of the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission Order 890 process, and submit to the
commission, a report identifying any electrical transmission
facility, upgrade, or enhancement that is reasonably necessary to
achieve the renewables portfolio standard procurement requirements of
this article. Each report shall look forward at least five years
and, to ensure that adequate investments are made in a timely manner,
shall include a preliminary schedule when an application for a
certificate of public convenience and necessity will be made,
pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 1001), for any
electrical transmission facility identified as being reasonably
necessary to achieve the renewable energy resources procurement
requirements of this article. Each electrical corporation that owns
electrical transmission facilities shall ensure that project-specific
interconnection studies are completed in a timely manner.
(3) The commission shall direct each retail seller to prepare and
submit at least an annual compliance report that includes all of the
following:
(A) The current status and progress made during the prior year
toward procurement of eligible renewable energy resources as a
percentage of retail sales, including, if applicable, the status of
any necessary siting and permitting approvals from federal, state,
and local agencies for those eligible renewable energy resources
procured by the retail seller, and the current status of compliance
with the portfolio content requirements of subdivision (c) of Section
399.16, including procurement of eligible renewable energy resources
located outside the state and within the WECC and unbundled
renewable energy credits.
(B) If the retail seller is an electrical corporation, the current
status and progress made during the prior year toward construction
of, and upgrades to, transmission and distribution facilities and
other electrical system components it owns to interconnect eligible
renewable energy resources and to supply the electricity generated by
those resources to load, including the status of planning, siting,
and permitting transmission facilities by federal, state, and local
agencies.
(C) Recommendations to remove impediments to making progress
toward achieving the renewable energy resources procurement
requirements established pursuant to this article.
(3)
(4) The commission shall adopt, by rulemaking, all of
the following:
(A) A process that provides criteria for the rank ordering and
selection of least-cost and best-fit eligible renewable energy
resources to comply with the California Renewables Portfolio Standard
Program obligations on a total cost basis. This process shall take
into account all of the following:
(i) Estimates of indirect costs associated with needed
transmission investments and ongoing electrical corporation expenses
resulting from integrating and operating eligible renewable energy
resources.
(ii) The cost impact of procuring the eligible renewable energy
resources on the electrical corporation's electricity portfolio.
(iii) The viability of the project to construct and reliably
operate the eligible renewable energy resource, including the
developer's experience, the feasibility of the technology used to
generate electricity, and the risk that the facility will not be
built, or that construction will be delayed, with the result that
electricity will not be supplied as required by the contract.
(iv) Workforce recruitment, training, and retention efforts,
including the employment growth associated with the construction and
operation of eligible renewable energy resources and goals for
recruitment and training of women, minorities, and disabled veterans.
(B) Rules permitting retail sellers to accumulate, beginning
January 1, 2011, excess procurement in one compliance period to be
applied to any subsequent compliance period. The rules shall apply
equally to all retail sellers. In determining the quantity of excess
procurement for the applicable compliance period, the commission
shall deduct from actual procurement quantities, the total amount of
procurement associated with contracts of less than 10 years in
duration. In no event shall electricity products meeting the
portfolio content of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section
399.16 be counted as excess procurement.
(C) Standard terms and conditions to be used by all electrical
corporations in contracting for eligible renewable energy resources,
including performance requirements for renewable generators. A
contract for the purchase of electricity generated by an eligible
renewable energy resource, at a minimum, shall include the renewable
energy credits associated with all electricity generation specified
under the contract. The standard terms and conditions shall include
the requirement that, no later than six months after the commission's
approval of an electricity purchase agreement entered into pursuant
to this article, the following information about the agreement shall
be disclosed by the commission: party names, resource type, project
location, and project capacity.
(D) An appropriate minimum margin of procurement above the minimum
procurement level necessary to comply with the renewables portfolio
standard to mitigate the risk that renewable projects planned or
under contract are delayed or canceled. This paragraph does not
preclude an electrical corporation from voluntarily proposing a
margin of procurement above the appropriate minimum margin
established by the commission.
(4)
(5) Consistent with the goal of increasing California's
reliance on eligible renewable energy resources, the renewable
energy procurement plan submitted by an electrical corporation shall
include all of the following:
(A) An assessment of annual or multiyear portfolio supplies and
demand to determine the optimal mix of eligible renewable energy
resources with deliverability characteristics that may include
peaking, dispatchable, baseload, firm, and as-available capacity.
(B) Potential compliance delays related to the conditions
described in paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 399.15.
(C) A bid solicitation setting forth the need for eligible
renewable energy resources of each deliverability characteristic,
required online dates, and locational preferences, if any.
(D) A status update on the development schedule of all eligible
renewable energy resources currently under contract.
(E) Consideration of mechanisms for price adjustments associated
with the costs of key components for eligible renewable energy
resource projects with online dates more than 24 months after the
date of contract execution.
(F) An assessment of the risk that an eligible renewable energy
resource will not be built, or that construction will be delayed,
with the result that electricity will not be delivered as required by
the contract.
(5)
(6) In soliciting and procuring eligible renewable
energy resources, each electrical corporation shall offer contracts
of no less than 10 years duration, unless the commission approves of
a contract of shorter duration.
(6)
(7) In soliciting and procuring eligible renewable
energy resources for projects located in California, each electrical
corporation shall give preference to renewable energy projects that
provide environmental and economic benefits to communities afflicted
with poverty or high unemployment, or that suffer from high emission
levels of toxic air contaminants, criteria air pollutants, and
greenhouse gases.
(b) A retail seller may enter into a combination of long- and
short-term contracts for electricity and associated renewable energy
credits. The commission may authorize a retail seller to enter into a
contract of less than 10 years' duration with an eligible renewable
energy resource, if the commission has established, for each retail
seller, minimum quantities of eligible renewable energy resources to
be procured through contracts of at least 10 years' duration.
(b)
(c) The commission shall review and accept, modify, or
reject each electrical corporation's renewable energy resource
procurement plan prior to the commencement of renewable energy
procurement pursuant to this article by an electrical corporation.
(c)
(d) Unless previously preapproved by the commission, an
electrical corporation shall submit a contract for the generation of
an eligible renewable energy resource to the commission for review
and approval consistent with an approved renewable energy resource
procurement plan. If the commission determines that the bid prices
are elevated due to a lack of effective competition among the
bidders, the commission shall direct the electrical corporation to
renegotiate the contracts or conduct a new solicitation.
(d)
(e) If an electrical corporation fails to comply with a
commission order adopting a renewable energy resource procurement
plan, the commission shall exercise its authority pursuant to Section
2113 to require compliance. The commission shall enforce comparable
penalties on any retail seller that is not an electrical corporation
that fails to meet the procurement targets established pursuant to
Section 399.15.
(e)
(f) (1) The commission may authorize a procurement
entity to enter into contracts on behalf of customers of a retail
seller for electricity products from eligible renewable energy
resources to satisfy the retail seller's renewables portfolio
standard procurement requirements. The commission shall not require
any person or corporation to act as a procurement entity or require
any party to purchase eligible renewable energy resources from a
procurement entity.
(2) Subject to review and approval by the commission, the
procurement entity shall be permitted to recover reasonable
administrative and procurement costs through the retail rates of
end-use customers that are served by the procurement entity and are
directly benefiting from the procurement of eligible renewable energy
resources.
(f)
(g) Procurement and administrative costs associated
with contracts entered into by an electrical corporation for eligible
renewable energy resources pursuant to this article and approved by
the commission are reasonable and prudent and shall be recoverable in
rates.
(g)
(h) Construction, alteration, demolition, installation,
and repair work on an eligible renewable energy resource that
receives production incentives pursuant to Section 25742 of the
Public Resources Code, including work performed to qualify, receive,
or maintain production incentives, are "public works" for the
purposes of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1720) of Part 7 of
Division 2 of the Labor Code.
SEC. 5. Section 399.15 of the Public Utilities Code, as added by
Section 20 of Chapter 1 of the First Extraordinary Session of the
Statutes of 2011, is amended to read:
399.15. (a) In order to fulfill unmet long-term resource needs,
the commission shall establish a renewables portfolio standard
requiring all retail sellers to procure a minimum quantity of
electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources as a
specified percentage of total kilowatthours sold to their retail
end-use customers each compliance period to achieve the targets
established under this article. Deficits For
any retail seller procuring at least 14 percent of retail sales from
eligible renewable energy resources in 2010, the deficits
associated with any previous renewables portfolio standard
obligation through December 31, 2010, shall not be added to
any procurement requirement pursuant to this article.
(b) The commission shall implement renewables portfolio standard
procurement requirements only as follows:
(1) Each retail seller shall procure a minimum quantity of
eligible renewable energy resources for each of the following
compliance periods:
(A) January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2013, inclusive.
(B) January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2016, inclusive.
(C) January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2020, inclusive.
(2) (A) No later than January 1, 2013 June
1, 2012 , the commission shall establish the quantity of
electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources to be
procured by the retail seller for each compliance period. These
quantities shall be established in the same manner for all retail
sellers and result in the same percentages used to establish
compliance period quantities for all retail sellers.
(B) In establishing quantities for the compliance period from
January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2013, inclusive, the commission
shall require procurement for each retail seller equal to an average
of 20 percent of retail sales. For the following compliance periods,
the quantities shall reflect reasonable progress in each of the
intervening years sufficient to ensure that the procurement of
electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources
achieves 25 percent of retail sales by December 31, 2016, and 33
percent of retail sales by December 31, 2020. The commission shall
require retail sellers to procure not less than 33 percent of retail
sales of electricity products from eligible renewable energy
resources in all subsequent years.
(C) Retail sellers shall be obligated to procure no less than the
quantities associated with all intervening years by the end of each
compliance period. Retail sellers shall not be required to
demonstrate a specific quantity of procurement for any individual
intervening year.
(3) The commission shall not require the procurement of eligible
renewable energy resources in excess of the quantities identified in
paragraph (2). A retail seller may voluntarily increase its
procurement of eligible renewable energy resources beyond the
renewables portfolio standard procurement requirements.
(4) Only for purposes of establishing the renewables portfolio
standard procurement requirements of paragraph (1) and determining
the quantities pursuant to paragraph (2), the commission shall
include all electricity sold to retail customers by the Department of
Water Resources pursuant to Division 27 (commencing with Section
80000) of the Water Code in the calculation of retail sales by an
electrical corporation.
(5)
The commission shall waive enforcement of this section if it finds
that the retail seller has demonstrated any of the following
conditions were beyond the control of the retail seller and have
prevented compliance:
(A) There is inadequate transmission capacity to allow for
sufficient electricity to be delivered from proposed eligible
renewable energy resource projects using the current operational
protocols of the Independent System Operator. In making its findings
relative to the existence of this condition with respect to a retail
seller that owns transmission lines, the commission shall consider
both of the following:
(i) Whether the retail seller has undertaken, in a timely fashion,
reasonable measures under its control and consistent with its
obligations under local, state, and federal laws and regulations, to
develop and construct new transmission lines or upgrades to existing
lines intended to transmit electricity generated by eligible
renewable energy resources. In determining the reasonableness of a
retail seller's actions, the commission shall consider the retail
seller's expectations for full-cost recovery for these transmission
lines and upgrades.
(ii) Whether the retail seller has taken all reasonable
operational measures to maximize cost-effective deliveries of
electricity from eligible renewable energy resources in advance of
transmission availability.
(B) Permitting, interconnection, or other circumstances that delay
procured eligible renewable energy resource projects, or there is an
insufficient supply of eligible renewable energy resources available
to the retail seller. In making a finding that this condition
prevents timely compliance, the commission shall consider whether the
retail seller has done all of the following:
(i) Prudently managed portfolio risks, including relying on a
sufficient number of viable projects.
(ii) Sought to develop one of the following: its own eligible
renewable energy resources, transmission to interconnect to eligible
renewable energy resources, or energy storage used to integrate
eligible renewable energy resources. This clause shall not require an
electrical corporation to pursue development of eligible renewable
energy resources pursuant to Section 399.14.
(iii) Procured an appropriate minimum margin of procurement above
the minimum procurement level necessary to comply with the renewables
portfolio standard to compensate for foreseeable delays or
insufficient supply.
(iv) Taken reasonable measures, under the control of the retail
seller, to procure cost-effective distributed generation and
allowable unbundled renewable energy credits.
(C) Unanticipated curtailment of eligible renewable energy
resources necessary to address the needs of a balancing authority.
(6) If the commission waives the compliance requirements of this
section, the commission shall establish additional reporting
requirements on the retail seller to demonstrate that all reasonable
actions under the control of the retail seller are taken in each of
the intervening years sufficient to satisfy future procurement
requirements.
(7) The commission shall not waive enforcement pursuant to this
section, unless the retail seller demonstrates that it has taken all
reasonable actions under its control, as set forth in paragraph (5),
to achieve full compliance.
(8) If a retail seller fails to procure sufficient eligible
renewable energy resources to comply with a procurement requirement
pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) and fails to obtain an order from
the commission waiving enforcement pursuant to paragraph (5), the
commission shall exercise its authority pursuant to Section 2113.
(9) Deficits associated with the compliance period shall not be
added to a future compliance period.
(c) The commission shall establish a limitation for each
electrical corporation on the procurement expenditures for all
eligible renewable energy resources used to comply with the
renewables portfolio standard. In establishing this limitation, the
commission shall , at a minimum, rely on the
following:
(1) The most recent renewable energy procurement plan.
(2) Procurement expenditures that approximate the expected cost of
building, owning, and operating eligible renewable energy resources.
(3) The potential that some planned resource additions may be
delayed or canceled.
(d) In developing the limitation pursuant to subdivision (c), the
commission shall ensure all of the following:
(1) The limitation is set at a level that prevents
disproportionate rate impacts.
(2) The costs of all procurement credited toward achieving the
renewables portfolio standard are counted towards the limitation.
(3) Procurement expenditures do not include any indirect expenses,
including imbalance energy charges, sale of excess energy, decreased
generation from existing resources, transmission upgrades, or the
costs associated with relicensing any utility-owned hydroelectric
facilities.
(e) (1) No later than January 1, 2016, the commission shall
prepare a report to the Legislature assessing whether each electrical
corporation can achieve a 33-percent renewables portfolio standard
by December 31, 2020, and maintain that level thereafter, within the
adopted cost limitations. If the commission determines that it is
necessary to change the limitation for procurement costs incurred by
any electrical corporation after that date, it may propose a revised
cap consistent with the criteria in subdivisions (c) and (d). The
proposed modifications shall take effect no earlier than January 1,
2017.
(2) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, the
requirement for submitting a report imposed under paragraph (1) is
inoperative on January 1, 2021.
(3) A report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(f) If the cost limitation for an electrical corporation is
insufficient to support the projected costs of meeting the renewables
portfolio standard procurement requirements, the electrical
corporation may refrain from entering into new contracts or
constructing facilities beyond the quantity that can be procured
within the limitation, unless eligible renewable energy resources can
be procured without exceeding a de minimis increase in rates,
consistent with the long-term procurement plan established for the
electrical corporation pursuant to Section 454.5.
(g) (1) The commission shall monitor the status of the cost
limitation for each electrical corporation in order to ensure
compliance with this article.
(2) If the commission determines that an electrical corporation
may exceed its cost limitation prior to achieving the renewables
portfolio standard procurement requirements, the commission shall do
both of the following within 60 days of making that determination:
(A) Investigate and identify the reasons why the electrical
corporation may exceed its cost limitation.
(B) Notify the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the
Legislature that the electrical corporation may exceed its cost
limitation, and include the reasons why the electrical corporation
may exceed its cost limitation.
(h) The establishment of a renewables portfolio standard shall not
constitute implementation by the commission of the federal Public
Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-617).
SEC. 6. Section 399.19 of the Public Utilities Code, as added by
Section 26 of Chapter 1 of the First Extraordinary Session of the
Statutes of 2011, is amended to read:
399.19. Beginning January 1, 2014, the commission, in
consultation with the Energy Commission, shall report to the
Legislature by January 1 of every even-numbered year on all of the
following:
(a) The progress and status of procurement activities by each
retail seller.
(b) The status of permitting and siting eligible renewable energy
resources and transmission facilities necessary to supply electricity
generated to load, including the time taken to permit each eligible
renewable energy resource and transmission line or upgrade,
explanations of failures to meet permitting milestones, and
recommendations for improvements to expedite permitting and siting
processes.
(c) Any barriers to, and policy recommendations for, achieving the
renewables portfolio standard pursuant to this article.
SEC. 7. Section 399.26 of the Public Utilities Code, as added by
Chapter 1 of the First Extraordinary Session of the Statutes of 2011,
is amended to read:
399.26. (a) In order for the state to meet the requirements of
the California renewables portfolio standard program, substantially
increased amounts of electricity generated by eligible renewable
energy resources must be integrated with, and interconnected to, the
transmission grid that is either owned by, or under the operational
control of, the local publicly owned electric utilities and the
transmission grid that is under the operational control of the
Independent System Operator.
(b) The Independent System Operator and the balancing authority of
each area in California shall do both of the following:
(1) Work cooperatively to integrate and interconnect eligible
renewable energy resources to the transmission grid by the most
efficient means possible with the goal of minimizing the impact and
cost of new transmission needed to meet both reliability needs and
the renewables portfolio standard procurement requirements.
(2) Accomplish the requirements of paragraph (1) in a manner that
respects the ownership, business, and dispatch models for
transmission facilities owned by electrical corporations, local
publicly owned electric utilities, joint powers agencies, and
independent transmission companies.
(c) The Independent System Operator shall seek any approvals from
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that are necessary to
accomplish the goals and requirements of this article.
(d) In order to maintain electric service reliability and to
minimize the construction of fossil fuel electrical generation
capacity to support the integration of intermittent renewable
electrical generation into the electrical grid, by January 1, 2013,
the commission shall determine the effective load carrying capacity
of wind and solar energy resources on the California electrical grid.
The commission shall use those effective load carrying capacity
values in establishing the contribution of wind and solar energy
resources toward meeting the resource adequacy requirements
established pursuant to Section 380.
SEC. 8. Section 399.30 of the Public Utilities Code, as added by
Chapter 1 of the First Extraordinary Session of the Statutes of 2011,
is amended to read:
399.30. (a) In order to fulfill unmet long-term generation
resource needs, each local publicly owned electric utility shall
adopt and implement a renewable energy resources procurement plan
that requires the utility to procure a minimum quantity of
electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources,
including renewable energy credits, as a specified percentage of
total kilowatthours sold to the utility's retail end-use customers,
each compliance period, to achieve the targets of subdivision (c).
(b) The governing board shall implement procurement targets for a
local publicly owned electric utility that require the utility to
procure a minimum quantity of eligible renewable energy resources for
each of the following compliance periods:
(1) January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2013, inclusive.
(2) January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2016, inclusive.
(3) January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2020, inclusive.
(c) The governing board of a local publicly owned electric utility
shall ensure all of the following:
(1) The quantities of eligible renewable energy resources to be
procured for the compliance period from January 1, 2011, to December
31, 2013, inclusive, are equal to an average of 20 percent of retail
sales.
(2) The quantities of eligible renewable energy resources to be
procured for all other compliance periods reflect reasonable progress
in each of the intervening years sufficient to ensure that the
procurement of electricity products from eligible renewable energy
resources achieves 25 percent of retail sales by December 31, 2016,
and 33 percent of retail sales by December 31, 2020. The local
governing board shall require the local publicly owned utilities to
procure not less than 33 percent of retail sales of electricity
products from eligible renewable energy resources in all subsequent
years.
(3) A local publicly owned electric utility shall adopt
procurement requirements consistent with Section 399.16.
(d) The governing board of a local publicly owned electric utility
may adopt the following measures:
(1) Rules permitting the utility to apply excess procurement
of eligible renewable energy resources accumulated through
December 31, 2010, or from one compliance period to subsequent
compliance periods, in the same manner as allowed for retail sellers.
Those rules shall ensure that excess procurement accumulated through
December 31, 2010, is calculated based on annual eligible renewable
energy resource procurement targets in effect since 2006, provided
that the procurement targets, as amended, specified the achievement
of not less than a 20 percent renewables portfolio standard by no
later than December 31, 2010, and included increasing procurement
targets for each intervening year. in one compliance
period to subsequent compliance periods in the same manner as allowed
for retail sellers pursuant to Section 399.13.
(2) Conditions that allow for delaying timely compliance
consistent with subdivision (b) of Section 399.15.
(3) Cost limitations for procurement expenditures consistent with
subdivision (c) of Section 399.15.
(e) The governing board of the local publicly owned electric
utility shall adopt a program for the enforcement of this article on
or before January 1, 2013. The program shall be adopted at a publicly
noticed meeting offering all interested parties an opportunity to
comment. Not less than 30 days' notice shall be given to the public
of any meeting held for purposes of adopting the program. Not less
than 10 days' notice shall be given to the public before any meeting
is held to make a substantive change to the program.
(f) (1) Each local publicly owned electric utility shall annually
post notice, in accordance with Chapter 9 (commencing with Section
54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code,
whenever its governing body will deliberate in public on its
renewable energy resources procurement plan.
(2) Contemporaneous with the posting of the notice of a public
meeting to consider the renewable energy resources procurement plan,
the local publicly owned electric utility shall notify the Energy
Commission of the date, time, and location of the meeting in order to
enable the Energy Commission to post the information on its Internet
Web site. This requirement is satisfied if the local publicly owned
electric utility provides the uniform resource locator (URL) that
links to this information.
(3) Upon distribution to its governing body of information related
to its renewable energy resources procurement status and future
plans, for its consideration at a noticed public meeting, the local
publicly owned electric utility shall make that information available
to the public and shall provide the Energy Commission with an
electronic copy of the documents for posting on the Energy Commission'
s Internet Web site. This requirement is satisfied if the local
publicly owned electric utility provides the uniform resource locator
(URL) that links to the documents or information regarding other
manners of access to the documents.
(g) A local publicly owned electric utility shall annually submit
to the Energy Commission documentation regarding eligible renewable
energy resources procurement contracts that it executed during the
prior year, as follows:
(1) A description of the eligible renewable energy resource,
including the duration of the contract or electricity purchase
agreement.
(2) A description and identification of the electrical generating
facility providing the eligible renewable energy resource under the
contract.
(3) An estimate of the percentage increase in the utility's total
retail sales of electricity from eligible renewable energy resources
that will result from the contract.
(h) A public utility district that receives all of its electricity
pursuant to a preference right adopted and authorized by the United
States Congress pursuant to Section 4 of the Trinity River Division
Act of August 12, 1955 (Public Law 84-386) shall be in compliance
with the renewable energy procurement requirements of this article.
(i) For a local publicly owned electric utility that was in
existence on or before January 1, 2009, that provides retail electric
service to 15,000 or fewer customer accounts in California, and is
interconnected to a balancing authority located outside this state
but within the WECC, an eligible renewable energy resource includes a
facility that is located outside California that is connected to the
WECC transmission system, if all of the following conditions are
met:
(1) The electricity generated by the facility is procured by the
local publicly owned electric utility, is delivered to the balancing
authority area in which the local publicly owned electric utility is
located, and is not used to fulfill renewable energy procurement
requirements of other states.
(2) The local publicly owned electric utility participates in, and
complies with, the accounting system administered by the Energy
Commission pursuant to this article.
(3) The Energy Commission verifies that the electricity generated
by the facility is eligible to meet the renewables portfolio standard
procurement requirements.
(j) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), for a local publicly owned
electric utility that is a joint powers authority of districts
established pursuant to state law on or before January 1, 2005, that
furnish electric services other than to residential customers, and is
formed pursuant to the Irrigation District Law (Division 11
(commencing with Section 20500) of the Water Code), the percentage of
total kilowatthours sold to the district's retail end-use customers,
upon which the renewables portfolio standard procurement
requirements in subdivision (b) are calculated, shall be based on the
authority's average retail sales over the previous seven years. If
the authority has not furnished electric service for seven years,
then the calculation shall be based on average retail sales over the
number of completed years during which the authority has provided
electric service.
(k) A local publicly owned electric utility in a city and county
that only receives greater than 67 percent of its electricity sources
from hydroelectric generation located within the state that it owns
and operates, and that does not meet the definition of a "renewable
electrical generation facility" pursuant to Section 25741 of the
Public Resources Code, shall be required to procure eligible
renewable energy resources, including renewable energy credits, to
meet only the electricity demands unsatisfied by its hydroelectric
generation in any given year, in order to satisfy its renewable
energy procurement requirements.
(l) Each local publicly owned electric utility shall report, on an
annual basis, to its customers and to the Energy Commission, all of
the following:
(1) Expenditures of public goods funds collected pursuant to
Section 385 for eligible renewable energy resource development.
Reports shall contain a description of programs, expenditures, and
expected or actual results.
(2) The resource mix used to serve its customers by energy source.
(3) The utility's status in implementing a renewables portfolio
standard pursuant to subdivision (a) and the utility's progress
toward attaining the standard following implementation, including
information that demonstrates the conditions, if any, delaying the
utility's timely compliance with the renewables portfolio standard
consistent with paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 399.15.
(m) A local publicly owned electric utility shall retain
discretion over both of the following:
(1) The mix of eligible renewable energy resources procured by the
utility and those additional generation resources procured by the
utility for purposes of ensuring resource adequacy and reliability.
(2) The reasonable costs incurred by the utility for eligible
renewable energy resources owned by the utility.
(n) On or before July 1, 2012, the Energy Commission shall adopt
regulations specifying procedures for enforcement of this article.
The regulations shall include a public process under which the Energy
Commission may issue a notice of violation and correction against a
local publicly owned electric utility for failure to comply with this
article, and for referral of violations to the State Air Resources
Board for penalties pursuant to subdivision (o).
(o) (1) Upon a determination by the Energy Commission that a local
publicly owned electric utility has failed to comply with this
article, the Energy Commission shall refer the failure to comply with
this article to the State Air Resources Board, which may impose
penalties to enforce this article consistent with Part 6 (commencing
with Section 38580) of Division 25.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
Any penalties imposed shall be comparable to those adopted by the
commission for noncompliance by retail sellers.
(2) If Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health
and Safety Code is suspended or repealed, the State Air Resources
Board may take action to enforce this article on local publicly owned
electric utilities consistent with Section 41513 of the Health and
Safety Code, and impose penalties on a local publicly owned electric
utility consistent with Article 3 (commencing with Section 42400) of
Chapter 4 of Part 4 of, and Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section
43025) of Part 5 of, Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code.
(3) For the purpose of this subdivision, this section is an
emissions reduction measure pursuant to Section 38580 of the Health
and Safety Code.
(4) If the State Air Resources Board has imposed a penalty upon a
local publicly owned electric utility for the utility's failure to
comply with this article, the State Air Resources Board shall not
impose an additional penalty for the same infraction, or the same
failure to comply, with any renewables procurement requirement
imposed upon the utility pursuant to the California Global Warming
Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500)
of the Health and Safety Code).
(5) Any penalties collected by the State Air Resources Board
pursuant to this article shall be deposited in the Air Pollution
Control Fund and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, shall be
expended for reducing emissions of air pollution or greenhouse gases
within the same geographic area as the local publicly owned electric
utility.
(p) The commission has no authority or jurisdiction to enforce any
of the requirements of this article on a local publicly owned
electric utility.
SEC. 8.5. Section 399.30 of the Public
Utilities Code , as added by Section 29 of Chapter 1 of
the First Extraordinary Session of the Statutes of 2011, is amended
to read:
399.30. (a) In order to fulfill unmet long-term generation
resource needs, each local publicly owned electric utility shall
adopt and implement a renewable energy resources procurement plan
that requires the utility to procure a minimum quantity of
electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources,
including renewable energy credits, as a specified percentage of
total kilowatthours sold to the utility's retail end-use customers,
each compliance period, to achieve the targets of subdivision (c).
(b) The governing board shall implement procurement targets for a
local publicly owned electric utility that require the utility to
procure a minimum quantity of eligible renewable energy resources for
each of the following compliance periods:
(1) January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2013, inclusive.
(2) January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2016, inclusive.
(3) January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2020, inclusive.
(c) The governing board of a local publicly owned electric utility
shall ensure all of the following:
(1) The quantities of eligible renewable energy resources to be
procured for the compliance period from January 1, 2011, to December
31, 2013, inclusive, are equal to an average of 20 percent of retail
sales.
(2) The quantities of eligible renewable energy resources to be
procured for all other compliance periods reflect reasonable progress
in each of the intervening years sufficient to ensure that the
procurement of electricity products from eligible renewable energy
resources achieves 25 percent of retail sales by December 31, 2016,
and 33 percent of retail sales by December 31, 2020. The local
governing board shall require the local publicly owned utilities to
procure not less than 33 percent of retail sales of electricity
products from eligible renewable energy resources in all subsequent
years.
(3) A local publicly owned electric utility shall adopt
procurement requirements consistent with Section 399.16.
(d) The governing board of a local publicly owned electric utility
may adopt the following measures:
(1) Rules permitting the utility to apply excess procurement in
one compliance period to subsequent compliance periods in the same
manner as allowed for retail sellers pursuant to Section 399.13.
(2) Conditions that allow for delaying timely compliance
consistent with subdivision (b) of Section 399.15.
(3) Cost limitations for procurement expenditures consistent with
subdivision (c) of Section 399.15.
(e) The governing board of the local publicly owned electric
utility shall adopt a program for the enforcement of this article on
or before January 1, 2012 2013 . The
program shall be adopted at a publicly noticed meeting offering all
interested parties an opportunity to comment. Not less than 30 days'
notice shall be given to the public of any meeting held for purposes
of adopting the program. Not less than 10 days' notice shall be given
to the public before any meeting is held to make a substantive
change to the program.
(f) (1) Each
local publicly owned electric utility shall annually post notice, in
accordance with Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Part 1
of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code, whenever its
governing body will deliberate in public on its renewable energy
resources procurement plan.
(2) Contemporaneous with the posting of the notice of a public
meeting to consider the renewable energy resources procurement plan,
the local publicly owned electric utility shall notify the Energy
Commission of the date, time, and location of the meeting in order to
enable the Energy Commission to post the information on its Internet
Web site. This requirement is satisfied if the local publicly owned
electric utility provides the uniform resource locator (URL) that
links to this information.
(3) Upon distribution to its governing body of information related
to its renewable energy resources procurement status and future
plans, for its consideration at a noticed public meeting, the local
publicly owned electric utility shall make that information available
to the public and shall provide the Energy Commission with an
electronic copy of the documents for posting on the Energy Commission'
s Internet Web site. This requirement is satisfied if the local
publicly owned electric utility provides the uniform resource locator
(URL) that links to the documents or information regarding other
manners of access to the documents.
(g) A local publicly owned electric utility shall annually submit
to the Energy Commission documentation regarding eligible renewable
energy resources procurement contracts that it executed during the
prior year, as follows:
(1) A description of the eligible renewable energy resource,
including the duration of the contract or electricity purchase
agreement.
(2) A description and identification of the electrical generating
facility providing the eligible renewable energy resource under the
contract.
(3) An estimate of the percentage increase in the utility's total
retail sales of electricity from eligible renewable energy resources
that will result from the contract.
(h) A public utility district that receives all of its electricity
pursuant to a preference right adopted and authorized by the United
States Congress pursuant to Section 4 of the Trinity River Division
Act of August 12, 1955 (Public Law 84-386) shall be in compliance
with the renewable energy procurement requirements of this article.
(i) For a local publicly owned electric utility that was in
existence on or before January 1, 2009, that provides retail electric
service to 15,000 or fewer customer accounts in California, and is
interconnected to a balancing authority located outside this state
but within the WECC, an eligible renewable energy resource includes a
facility that is located outside California that is connected to the
WECC transmission system, if all of the following conditions are
met:
(1) The electricity generated by the facility is procured by the
local publicly owned electric utility, is delivered to the balancing
authority area in which the local publicly owned electric utility is
located, and is not used to fulfill renewable energy procurement
requirements of other states.
(2) The local publicly owned electric utility participates in, and
complies with, the accounting system administered by the Energy
Commission pursuant to this article.
(3) The Energy Commission verifies that the electricity generated
by the facility is eligible to meet the renewables portfolio standard
procurement requirements.
(j) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), for a local publicly owned
electric utility that is a joint powers authority of districts
established pursuant to state law on or before January 1, 2005, that
furnish electric services other than to residential customers, and is
formed pursuant to the Irrigation District Law (Division 11
(commencing with Section 20500) of the Water Code), the percentage of
total kilowatthours sold to the district's retail end-use customers,
upon which the renewables portfolio standard procurement
requirements in subdivision (b) are calculated, shall be based on the
authority's average retail sales over the previous seven years. If
the authority has not furnished electric service for seven years,
then the calculation shall be based on average retail sales over the
number of completed years during which the authority has provided
electric service.
(k) A local publicly owned electric utility in a city and county
that only receives greater than 67 percent of its electricity sources
from hydroelectric generation located within the state that it owns
and operates, and that does not meet the definition of a "renewable
electrical generation facility" pursuant to Section 25741 of the
Public Resources Code, shall be required to procure eligible
renewable energy resources, including renewable energy credits, to
meet only the electricity demands unsatisfied by its hydroelectric
generation in any given year, in order to satisfy its renewable
energy procurement requirements.
(l) Each local publicly owned electric utility shall report, on an
annual basis, to its customers and to the Energy Commission, all of
the following:
(1) Expenditures of public goods funds collected pursuant to
Section 385 for eligible renewable energy resource development.
Reports shall contain a description of programs, expenditures, and
expected or actual results.
(2) The resource mix used to serve its customers by energy source.
(3) The utility's status in implementing a renewables portfolio
standard pursuant to subdivision (a) and the utility's progress
toward attaining the standard following implementation ,
including information that demonstrates the conditions, if any,
delaying the utility's timely compliance with the renewables
portfolio standard consistent with paragraph (5) of subdivision (b)
of Section 399.15 .
(m) A local publicly owned electric utility shall retain
discretion over both of the following:
(1) The mix of eligible renewable energy resources procured by the
utility and those additional generation resources procured by the
utility for purposes of ensuring resource adequacy and reliability.
(2) The reasonable costs incurred by the utility for eligible
renewable energy resources owned by the utility.
(n) On or before July 1, 2011 2012 ,
the Energy Commission shall adopt regulations specifying procedures
for enforcement of this article. The regulations shall include a
public process under which the Energy Commission may issue a notice
of violation and correction against a local publicly owned electric
utility for failure to comply with this article, and for
referral of violations to the State Air Resources Board for
the assessment of civil penalties pursuant to subdivision
(o).
(o) (1) Upon a determination by the Energy Commission that a local
publicly owned electric utility has failed to comply with this
article, the Energy Commission shall refer the failure to
comply with this article to the State Air Resources Board, which
may impose penalties to enforce this article ,
consistent with Part 6 (commencing with Section 38580) of
Division 25.5 of the Health and Safety Code. Any penalties imposed
shall be comparable to those adopted by the commission for
noncompliance by retail sellers. this section. Any
penalty imposed upon a local publicly owned electric utility pursuant
to this section shall parallel those adopted by the commission for
noncompliance with the requirements of this article by a retail
seller. The Energy Commission has exclusive authority to assess
penalties upon a local publicly owned electric utility for a failure
to comply with this article.
(2) If Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health
and Safety Code is suspended or repealed, the State Air Resources
Board may take action to enforce this article on local publicly owned
electric utilities consistent with Section 41513 of the Health and
Safety Code, and impose penalties on a local publicly owned electric
utility consistent with Article 3 (commencing with Section 42400) of
Chapter 4 of Part 4 of, and Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section
43025) of Part 5 of, Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code.
(3) For the purpose of this subdivision, this section is an
emissions reduction measure pursuant to Section 38580 of the Health
and Safety Code.
(4) If the State Air Resources Board has imposed a penalty upon a
local publicly owned electric utility for the utility's failure to
comply with this article, the State Air Resources Board shall not
impose an additional penalty for the same infraction, or the same
failure to comply, with any renewables procurement requirement
imposed upon the utility pursuant to the California Global Warming
Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500)
of the Health and Safety Code).
(2) A local publicly owned electric utility that violates any
order, rule, or regulation of the Energy Commission issued or adopted
pursuant to this article, may be assessed a civil penalty in
accordance with the procedures described in Section 25534.1 of the
Public Resources Code. In lieu of the penalty structure set forth in
Section 25534 of the Public Resources Code, the Energy Commission
shall establish the penalty structure by regulation, which shall
consider, in addition to other relevant factors, the penalty
structure adopted by the commission for noncompliance by retail
sellers.
(3) Any order of the Energy Commission that imposes penalties
pursuant to this section shall be subject to judicial review and
enforcement as specified in subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section
25534.2 of the Public Resources Code.
(5)
(4) Any civil penalties collected by the
State Air Resources Board Energy Commission
from a local publicly owned electric utility pursuant to this
article section shall be deposited in
the Air Pollution Control Fund Energy
Resources Programs Account and, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, shall be expended for reducing emissions of air
pollution or greenhouse gases within the same geographic area as the
local publicly owned electric utility the purposes of
meeting the goals of this article. Those penalty revenues may be
used by the Energy Commission for the administration of this article
.
(p) The commission has no authority or jurisdiction to enforce any
of the requirements of this article on a local publicly owned
electric utility.
SEC. 9. Section 910 of the Public Utilities Code, as added by
Chapter 1 of the First Extraordinary Session of the Statutes of 2011,
is amended to read:
910. (a) By April 1 of each year, the commission shall prepare
and submit to the policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature a
written report summarizing the following information:
(1) All electrical corporation revenue requirement increases
associated with meeting the renewables portfolio standard, as defined
in Section 399.12, including direct procurement costs for eligible
renewable energy resources and renewable energy credits,
administrative expenses for procurement, expenses incurred to ensure
a reliable supply of electricity, and expenses for upgrades to the
electrical transmission and distribution grid necessary to the
delivery of electricity from eligible renewable energy resources to
load.
(2) All cost savings experienced, or costs avoided, by electrical
corporations as a result of meeting the renewables portfolio
standard.
(3) All costs incurred by electrical corporations for incentives
for distributed and renewable generation, including the
self-generation incentive program, the California Solar Initiative,
and net energy metering.
(4) All cost savings experienced, or costs avoided, by electrical
corporations as a result of incentives for distributed and renewable
generation.
(5) All renewable, fossil fuel, and nuclear procurement costs,
research, study, or pilot program costs, or other program costs for
which an electrical corporation is seeking recovery in rates, that is
pending determination or approval by the commission.
(6) The decision number for each decision of the commission of
recovery in rates of costs incurred by an electrical corporation
since the preceding report.
(7) Any change in the electrical load serviced by an electrical
corporation since the preceding report.
(8) The efforts each electrical corporation is taking to recruit
and train employees to ensure an adequately trained and available
workforce, including the number of new employees hired by the
electrical corporation for purposes of implementing the requirements
of Article 16 (commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3, the
goals adopted by the electrical corporation for increasing women,
minority, and disabled veterans trained or hired for purposes of
implementing the requirements of Article 16 (commencing with Section
399.11) of Chapter 2.3, and, to the extent information is available,
the number of new employees hired and the number of women, minority,
and disabled veterans trained or hired by persons or corporations
owning or operating eligible renewable energy resources under
contract with an electrical corporation. This paragraph does not
provide the commission with authority to engage in, regulate, or
expand its authority to include, workforce recruitment or training.
(b) The commission may combine the information required by this
section with the reports prepared pursuant to Article 16 (commencing
with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3.
(c) (1) The requirement for submitting a report under subdivision
(a) is inoperative on January 1, 2016, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of
the Government Code.
(2) A report made pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be submitted
in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
SEC. 10. Section 8.5 of this bill incorporates
amendments to Section 399.30 of the Public Utilities Code proposed by
both this bill and Assembly Bill 1391. It shall only become
operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or
before January 1, 2012, (2) each bill amends Section 399.30 of the
Public Utilities Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Assembly
Bill 1391, in which case Section 8 of this bill shall not become
operative.