Amended in Assembly May 15, 2014

Amended in Assembly May 12, 2014

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 study, by January 1, 2017, of energy usage by plug-in equipment, as defined, during the year 2014, 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 authorize the Energy Commission and the Public Utilities Commission to increase or decrease the aggregate reduction targets in energy consumption, if the Energy Commission and the Public Utilities Commission jointly determine, based on the baseline study, that those aggregate reduction targets are either unattainable or uneconomic for ratepayers, or are too conservative and would require a notice to be submitted to the Legislature, if those targets are increased or decreased due to unforseen developments in plug-in equipment technology or the market for plug-in equipment. The bill would require the Energy Commission to report on the progress toward 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, the various types of plug-in equipment, such as
indoor and outdoor appliances, consumer and office electronics,
and power tools, are responsible for over 50 percent of residential
electricity consumption and 16 percent of commercial electricity
consumption in California and this electricity consumption is
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 electricity
consumption.

(4) Large and cost-effective energy savings opportunities remain
available in plug-in 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.

(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.

(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.

(7) There are insufficient opportunities for the State Energy
Resources Conservation and Development Commission and the
Public Utilities Commission to integrate key industry expertise
into program design and implementation.

(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 begin delete wall end delete begin insert power end insert outlet, including, but not limited
to, indoor appliances, such as kitchen and laundry appliances,
portable, window-mounted, or through-the-wall HVAC equipment,
commercial plug-in refrigeration, and security appliances; plug-in
outdoor appliances; consumer and office electronics; personal care
products; and power tools.

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

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

(B) Non-plug-in heating, ventilation, and cooling equipment,
including split, packaged, or built up HVAC equipment that is
typically installed by an HVAC contractor.

(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, and doorbells.

(E) Electric vehicles.

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

(3) For purposes of this subdivision, begin delete wall end delete begin insert power end insert outlets include
line outlets, such as 110 Voltage Alternating Current (VAC) and
other emerging delivery mechanisms, including Universal Serial
Bus (USB), Power over Ethernet (PoE), and 24 volt direct current
(V DC).

(4) For purposes of this subdivision “HVAC” means heating,
ventilation, and air conditioning.

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

(1) On or before January 1, 2017, perform a baseline study of
energy use by plug-in equipment in both the residential and
commercial sectors of the state during the year 2014, in accordance
with the following:

(A)  The study shall identify the average begin insert annual end insert energy
consumption of individual product categories that account for 80
percent of begin delete total end delete begin insert the total average annual energy consumption for end insert
plug-in begin delete electricity consumption end delete begin insert equipment end insert in the residential sector
and in the commercial sector.

(B) The study shall include those products that the commission
and the Public Utilities Commission elect to include, based on
market and technology trends.

(C) When conducting the study, priority shall be given to the
use of existing recent and relevant studies whenever possible,
including those performed in other states, instead of performing
new field studies.

(2) Develop a coordinated implementation plan, in consultation
with stakeholders, begin insert including equipment manufacturers, equipment
retailers, and electric utilities, end insert to achieve by 2030 at least a
25-percent aggregate reduction in energy consumption per
residential household, and a 40-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 2018 to 2030, except as provided in subdivision (c). The
coordinated implementation plan shall meet all of the following
requirements:

(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, appliance early
replacement rebate programs that link purchase and disposal
rebates, upstream market transformation programs, voluntary
initiatives and partnerships with industry to promote innovation,
expanded research and development, public outreach and education
efforts, and efficiency standards.

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

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

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

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

(c) (1) The commission and the Public Utilities Commission
may increase or decrease the aggregate reduction targets for energy
consumption specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), if the
commission and the Public Utilities Commission jointly determine,
based on the baseline energy use study conducted pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision begin delete (a), end delete begin insert (b), end insert that those aggregate reduction
targets for energy consumption are either unattainable or
uneconomic for ratepayers, or are too conservative.

(2) If, as a result of unforseen developments in plug-in
equipment technology or the market for plug-in equipment, the
commission and the Public Utilities Commission take action
pursuant to paragraph (1), the commission and the Public Utilities
Commission shall submit a notice to the Legislature, in accordance
with Section 9795 of the Government Code, describing that action,
including the basis for that action.

(d) The commission shall report on the progress toward 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.