Amended in Assembly April 21, 2014

Amended in Assembly March 28, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2529

Introduced by Assembly Member Williams

February 21, 2014

An act to add Section 25327 to the Public Resources Code, relating to energy.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2529, as amended, Williams. Energy: usage: plug-in equipment.

Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission), on a biennial basis, to conduct assessments and forecasts of all aspects of energy industry supply, production, transportation, delivery, and distribution. Existing law requires the Energy Commission, beginning November 1, 2003, and biennially thereafter, to adopt an integrated energy policy report containing an overview of major energy trends and issues facing the state.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory jurisdiction over the public utilities, including electrical corporations.

This bill would require the Energy Commission and the Public Utilities Commission, working jointly, to perform a baseline begin delete study end delete begin insert study, by January 1, 2016, end insert of energy usage by plug-in equipment, as defined, begin delete in 2014 end delete begin insert during the year 2014, end insert and to develop a coordinated implementation plan to achieve by 2030 specified aggregate reductions in energy consumption by plug-in equipment from the 2014 baseline, with biennial intermediate targets. The bill would require the Energy Commission to report on the progress towards meeting the reduction targets and update the implementation plan as a part of the integrated energy policy report.

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.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(1) Energy efficiency programs and standards are essential tools
to help California conserve energy.

(2) Currently, begin insert the various types of end insert plug-in equipment, such as
indoor and outdoor appliances, consumer and office electronics,
and power tools, are responsible for begin delete nearly 60 end delete begin insert over 50 end insert percent of
residential begin delete building end delete electricity consumption begin insert and 16 percent of
commercial electricity consumption end insert in California and begin delete their end delete begin insert this end insert
electricity consumption begin delete are end delete begin insert is end insert projected to increase by 2030.

(3) California has set ambitious goals for energy efficiency in
buildings and lighting, but does not have quantified goals for a
category that represents the majority of residential begin delete building end delete
electricity consumption.

(4) Large and cost-effective energy savings opportunities remain
available in plug-in begin delete equipment through a combination of incentive
programs, partnerships with industry, research and development,
consumer education, and efficiency standards. end delete begin insert equipment. There
is a need to supplement appliance efficiency standards by
expanding existing incentive programs and developing other
approaches including partnerships with industry, research and
development, and consumer education. end insert

begin delete

(5) Challenges with the attribution of business and consumer
electronics program savings to utilities and implementers are
limiting the effective utilization of these programs to capture
savings opportunities in residential and commercial plug-in
electronics.

end delete begin insert

(5) Market barriers, such as a lack of consumer awareness and
information on product lifetime energy costs, and split incentives
between manufacturers who make the key design decisions and
consumers who pay the electricity bill give efficiency programs a
critical role in realizing the economic potential for energy
efficiency in plug-in equipment.

end insert begin insert

(6) Challenges with the evaluation and the attribution of
program savings to utilities and implementers, as well as the focus
on short-term savings, are limiting the utilities’ ability to achieve
market transformation saving opportunities that take longer to
implement and require upfront investment to yield large future
savings.

end insert

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to set a goal for plug-in
equipment energy consumption to ensure both of the following:

(1) Energy savings opportunities in support of the state’s energy
and climate change goals are captured.

(2) The effective utilization of incentive programs, partnerships
with industry, research and development, consumer education, and
efficiency standards to meet the state’s energy and climate goals.

SEC. 2.  

Section 25327 is added to the Public Resources Code,
to read:

25327.  

(a) (1) For the purposes of this section, except as
provided in paragraph (2), “plug-in equipment” means an electrical
device that plugs into a wall outlet, including, but not limited to,
indoor appliances, such as kitchen and laundry appliances,
commercial plug-in refrigeration, and security appliances; outdoor
appliances, such as hot begin delete tubs end delete begin insert tub end insert and pool begin delete pumps and heaters; end delete
begin insert pumps; end insert consumer and office electronics; personal care products;
and power tools.

(2) “Plug-in equipment” does not include the following:

(A) Servers at industrial-scale data centers located in buildings
whose primary function is to be a data center.

(B) Heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) equipment.

(C) Built-in or portable lighting.

(D) Infrastructure loads connected directly to the building
wiring, such as Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) breakers
and outlets, smoke or carbon monoxide detectors, dimming
switches, doorbells, and garage openers.

(E) Electric vehicles.

(F) Medical devices begin insert , end insert as defined in subsection (h) of Section 321
of Title 21 of the United States Code.

(b) The commission and the Public Utilities Commission,
working jointly, shall do all of the following:

(1)  begin delete Perform end delete begin insert On or before January 1, 2016, perform end insert a baseline
study of energy use by plug-in equipment in begin insert both the end insert residential
and commercial sectors of the state begin delete in end delete begin insert during the year end insert 2014.

(2) Develop a coordinated implementation begin delete plan end delete begin insert plan, in
consultation with stakeholders, end insert to achieve by 2030 at least a begin delete 30 end delete
begin insert 25 end insert -percent aggregate reduction in energy consumption per
residential household, and begin delete 50 end delete begin insert a 40 end insert -percent aggregate reduction in
energy consumption per square foot of commercial space, by
plug-in equipment in the state from the 2014 baseline determined
pursuant to paragraph (1), with biennial intermediate targets
between 2016 to 2030. begin insert The coordinated implementation plan shall
meet all of the following requirements: end insert

begin insert

(A) Be comprised of a complementary portfolio of techniques,
applications, and practices that may include, but need not be
limited to, incentive programs, rebate programs, partnerships with
industry to promote innovation, research and development, public
outreach and education efforts, and efficiency standards.

end insert begin insert

(B) Consider costs and ratepayer protections, consistent with
Section 25000.1.

end insert begin insert

(C) Use an accurate cost-effectiveness methodology for
assessing the long-term value of efficiency savings and ensure that
benefits outweigh costs to ratepayers.

end insert

(3) Work with stakeholders to address challenges that may begin insert limit
or end insert inhibit the achievement of the reduction targets set forth in
paragraph (2), including, but not limited to, the begin delete attribution of
energy savings associated with business and consumer electronics end delete
begin insert evaluation and attribution of energy savings, and the enablement
of market transformation end insert programs.

(4) Track the implementation of the plan in meeting the
reduction targets annually through the Electricity Supply Analysis
Division of the commission and the Energy Division of the Public
Utilities Commission.

begin insert

(5) Revise the implementation plan and priorities in consultation
with stakeholders.

end insert

(c) The commission shall report on the progress towards meeting
the reduction targets through the tracking pursuant to paragraph
(4) of subdivision (b) and update the implementation plan, as a
part of the integrated energy policy report required pursuant to
Section 25302.