BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 836
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 17, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                    SB 836 (Padilla) - As Amended:  July 13, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                              
          UtilitiesVote:12-0 (Consent)

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to 
          provide to the Legislature the costs of electricity procurement 
          contracts and approved utility-owned generation to meet the 
          state's renewable portfolio standard (RPS) goals. Specifically, 
          this bill:

          1)Requires the PUC by February 1, 2012 to release the costs 
            since January 2003 of all procurement contracts and 
            utility-owned generation eligible under the RPS.

          2)Requires the PUC commencing February 1, 2013 and annually 
            thereafter, to release the same information for the prior 
            calendar year, unless there were few than three contracts 
            approved in that year.

          3)Specifies the information to be provided regarding:

             a)   Power purchase contracts, and stipulates that the 
               information shall be aggregated to the extent required to 
               ensure confidentiality of individual contract costs.

             b)   Each utility-owned renewable generation project.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Minor absorbable costs for the PUC to provide to compile and 
          release the required information.

           COMMENTS  









                                                                  SB 836
                                                                  Page  2

          Purpose  . SB 836 is intended to ensure that the public and the 
          Legislature are aware of the costs of the RPS program by 
          requiring the PUC to release those costs, in the aggregate, on a 
          regular basis.

          SB X1 2 (Simitian), which was signed by the governor on April 
          12, 2011, increases the state's RPS requirement for 20% of state 
          energy to be generated from eligible renewable resources by 2010 
          to 33% by 2020. This legislation will take effect 90 days after 
          the adjournment of the first extraordinary session, which has 
          not yet occurred.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081