BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 790
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Date of Hearing: August 17, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 790 (Leno) - As Amended: August 15, 2011
Policy Committee:
UtilitiesVote:10-1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill makes several changes regarding the formation and
administration of community choice aggregators (CCAs).
Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes any public agency with authority to generate and
deliver retail electricity within its jurisdiction to become a
CCA for those cities and counties within or contiguous to its
jurisdiction that have requested the agency to implement a
CCA.
2)Requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), within 180
days of a filing, to resolve complaints alleging that an
electrical corporation violated its obligation to cooperate
with an entity seeking to implement a CCA. The deadline may be
extended by (a) mutual agreement of the parties or (b) by the
PUC, for up to 60 days, upon written determination by the
commission of the need for an extension.
3)Requires a CCA to have an operating service agreement with the
electrical corporation and requires the PUC to ensure that
such agreements include equitable responsibilities and
remedies for all parties.
4)Requires that, to the extent that costs paid by CCA customers
reimburse an electrical corporation for its costs to comply
with resource adequacy provisions, renewable portfolio
standards (RPS) requirements, or AB 32 compliance, the CCA
customers be provided a comparable credit.
5)Requires that, to the extent an electrical corporation
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receives benefits on behalf of CCA customers regarding AB 32
compliance, those benefits be transferred or credited to the
CCA.
6)Stipulates that, with specified exceptions, CCA customers are
not required to pay nonbypassable charges for services or
programs that do not benefit either the CCA and/or its
customers.
7)Requires the PUC to establish a process to determine whether a
third-party, including a CCA, may administer those energy
efficiency and conservation programs not intended for
statewide or regional benefit, and prohibits the PUC from
delegating authority for such a determination to an electrical
corporation.
8)Requires a CCA electing to become an administrator per 7),
above, to submit a plan to the PUC, which shall certify that
the plan includes specified elements.
9)Requires the PUC, by March 1, 2012, to commence a rulemaking,
to be implemented by January 1, 2013, to adopt a code of
conduct, associated rules, and enforcement procedures, as
specified, governing the conduct of electrical corporations
with respect to the consideration, formation, and
implementation of CCA programs.
FISCAL EFFECT
The PUC estimates additional workload demands of about $430,000.
These costs include two regulatory analysts, one administrative
law judge and one legal analyst, to implement the bill, which
will include reviewing and certifying CCAs as administrators of
energy efficiency and conservation programs; implementing the
new stricter rules related to utility marketing with regard to a
CCA formation; conducting the complaint review process regarding
CCA formation, conducting proceedings to implement the new rules
for determining direct and indirect benefits to CCA customers
when the utilities are directed to procure generation resources
for system and for local area reliability; and addressing issues
that may arise if CCAs are no longer local community load
aggregators but expand beyond the local communities into other
jurisdictions, (Public Utilities Reimbursement Account).
A portion of this workload will be one-time in nature and the
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ongoing workload will in part depend on the volume of new CCA
formation, thus some of the positions identified above may only
be required for a limited term.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . According to the author, this bill is intended to
affirm CCA procurement autonomy, protect both bundled service
and CCA ratepayers, and correct abuses of market power by the
investor-owned utilities (IOUs) regarding the launch and
operation of CCA programs. SB 790 would help level the playing
field for local governments seeking to establish a CCA
program.
2)Background . In 2002, AB 117 (Migden) established a local
government's right to implement CCAs, a program allowing
communities pool the electric load of their residents,
businesses and other institutions in order to procure and
generate electricity on their behalf. The CCA mechanism allows
local governments to procure electricity on behalf of their
residents and businesses, while the utility continues to
provide distribution, transmission and billing services.
In the nine years since local governments were given the right
to establish CCAs, and despite numerous community efforts to
do so, only one region has been successful in implementing a
CCA. Several cities joined together in Marin County and
formed, under a joint powers authority, "Marin Clean Energy."
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081