AB 2017, as introduced, Muratsuchi. Energy: financing: rental properties.
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations, as defined. Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable.
This bill would authorize the commission to require an electrical or gas corporation with 250,000 or more service connections to develop and implement an on-bill repayment program providing financial assistance for energy efficiency, renewable energy, distributed generation, energy storage, or demand response improvements for rental properties by allowing for the repayment of the financial assistance to be included in the utility customer’s utility bill. Because a violation of any part of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the Public Utilities Commission is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Chapter 8.1 (commencing with Section 2846) is
2added to Part 2 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code, to read:
3
For the purposes of this chapter, the following the terms
7have the following meanings:
8(a) “OBR improvement” means an eligible energy improvement
9financed through an OBR obligation.
10(b) “OBR obligation” means an obligation to repay a financing
11provided to a utility customer by an OBR partner pursuant to an
12on-bill repayment program approved by the commission.
13(c) “OBR partner” means a person or entity providing financing
14for eligible energy improvements pursuant to an on-bill repayment
15program. OBR partners include, but are not limited to, banks,
16savings
and loan institutions, credit unions, or project developers.
17Financing may be provided in the form of a loan, lease, power
18purchase agreement, energy service agreement, or other financing
19structure approved by the commission.
20(d) “On-bill repayment program” or “OBR program” means a
21program, which may include one or more pilot test programs,
22approved by the commission that enables financing of eligible
23energy improvements for rental properties to be repaid through
24OBR repayment charges to be associated with the same utility
25account or accounts where savings are anticipated to be realized
26as a result of the improvements.
27(e) “OBR repayment charge” means a charge, constituting
28repayment of all or a portion of any OBR obligation, that is
29included on a utility bill in accordance with a commission-approved
30utility tariff.
31(f) “Utility” means an electrical corporation or gas corporation
32that develops, or is required to develop, an on-bill repayment
33program.
(a) The commission may require an electrical
2corporation or gas corporation with 250,000 or more service
3connections in the state to develop and implement one or more
4on-bill repayment programs for eligible energy efficiency,
5renewable energy, distributed generation, energy storage, or
6demand response improvements.
7(b) A utility shall not implement the on-bill repayment program
8without the express approval of the commission.
9(c) The commission shall supervise on-bill repayment programs
10to ensure that the programs are administered in compliance with
11the terms approved by the commission.
In approving an OBR program, the commission shall
13consider whether the program contains appropriate rules and
14criteria including all of the following:
15(a) (1) Eligibility criteria for the types of energy improvements
16and technologies that would be financed by the OBR program.
17(2) The commission may include nonenergy reducing
18improvements as an eligible improvement for financing if it deems
19appropriate.
20(b) Rules prohibiting the unauthorized removal from the rental
21property of an OBR improvement.
22(c) Rules for project inspection and verification
services to
23ensure the cost-effectiveness of the OBR program.
24(d) Requirements regarding the investment quality and
25performance of the financing instruments for the OBR program.
26(e) Consumer protections for low-income residential customers,
27including protections that prevent increases in the number of
28service terminations, a loan loss reserve, bill neutrality, prepayment
29options, and other mechanisms deemed appropriate by the
30commission.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
32Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
33the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
34district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
35infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
36for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
37the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
P4 1the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
2Constitution.
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