BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2529
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 28, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 2529 (Williams) - As Amended: April 21, 2014
SUBJECT : Energy: usage: plug-in equipment
SUMMARY : This bill requires the California Energy Commission
(CEC) and the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to
perform a study of energy usage by plug-in equipment and develop
an implementation plan to achieve specified reductions in energy
consumption by plug-in equipment by 2030.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the CEC to continuously carry out studies, technical
assessments, research projects, and data collection directed
to reducing wasteful, inefficient, unnecessary, or uneconomic
uses of energy, including improved appliance efficiency.
2)Requires the CEC to adopt cost-effective energy and water
efficiency standards for appliances.
3)Requires CEC to adopt energy efficiency standards for battery
chargers. Standards for consumer chargers went into effect on
February 1, 2013, and standards for industrial chargers went
into effect on January 1, 2014.
4)Prohibits the sale of products that do not meet efficiency
standards adopted by the CEC.
5)Authorizes the CEC to issue administrative enforcement process
for violations of its appliance efficiency standards,
including administrative civil penalties up to $2500 for each
violation, in compliance with existing law governing
administrative hearings and adjudication.
THIS BILL :
1)States legislative findings relating to plug-in equipment.
States that it is the intent of the Legislature to set a goal
for plug-in equipment to ensure that energy savings
opportunities are captured and the effective use of incentive
programs, partnerships with industry, research and
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development, consumer education, and efficiency standards to
meet the state's energy and climate change goals.
2)Defines "plug-in equipment" as an electrical device that plugs
into a wall outlet, including outdoor appliances, kitchen and
laundry appliances, commercial plug-in refrigeration, security
appliances, hot tub and pool pumps, consumer and office
electronics, personal care products, and power tools.
3)Excludes from the definition of plug-in equipment industrial
data centers, heating, ventilation, and cooling equipment,
built in or portable lighting, infrastructure loads connected
directly to the building wiring (Ground Fault Circuit
Interrupter breakers and outlets, smoke or carbon monoxide
detectors, dimming switches, doorbells, and garage door
openers), electric vehicles, and medical devices.
4)By January 1, 2016, requires the CEC and PUC to jointly
perform a study of energy use by plug-in equipment by both
commercial and residential customers during the year 2014 to
establish a baseline.
5)By the year 2030, requires the CEC and PUC to develop a
coordinated implementation plan, in consultation with
stakeholders, to reduce plug-in energy consumption by at least
a 25 percent aggregate reduction in residential households and
40 percent aggregate reduction per square foot of commercial
space when compared to the 2014 baseline.
6)Requires the implementation plan to include "biennial
intermediate targets" between 2016 and 2030.
7)Specifies that the implementation plan must:
a) Be comprised of a portfolio of techniques, applications,
and practices, including incentive programs, rebate
programs, partnerships with industry, public outreach, and
efficiency standards;
b) Consider cost and ratepayer protections; and,
c) Use an accurate cost-effectiveness method for assessing
the long-term value of energy efficiency savings and ensure
that benefits outweigh costs to ratepayers.
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8)Requires the CEC and PUC to work with stakeholders to address
challenges that may limit or inhibit the achievement of the
reduction targets specified in the implementation plan,
including valuation and attribution of energy savings and
enabling market transformation.
9)Requires the CEC and PUC to annually track the implementation
of the plan in meeting the energy reduction targets.
10)Allows the CEC and PUC to revise the implementation plan and
its priorities in consultation with stakeholders.
11)Requires the CEC to report on progress through the tracking
plan (pursuant to bullet 9 above) and update the
implementation plan as part of the the Integrated Energy
Policy Report (IEPR).
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
4 This bill . According to the author:
Plug-in equipment is responsible for nearly 60 percent of
residential and 16 percent of commercial electricity
consumption in California. Across both sectors, plug-in
equipment consumes the equivalent annual output of 23
500-megawatt power plants. This is projected to increase
to 27 power plants by 2030.
The [CEC] and [PUC] have an array of existing programs
including research and development, appliance standards,
and incentive programs aimed at increasing energy
efficiency statewide. There is the potential to scale up
these efforts to capture a larger share of cost-effective
energy savings in plug-in equipment. Quantified goals will
drive state agencies to perform target-driven planning,
working with stakeholders to utilize the most effective
strategies available to transform the plug-in equipment
market at the pace and scale required to meet California's
energy and climate goals.
AB 2529 is needed to help leverage California's energy
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efficiency programs and partnerships in a coordinated
fashion to meet the challenge and opportunity presented by
this large, yet often overlooked, sector of energy
consumption.
4 CEC appliance standard regulations . The CEC began adopting
appliance regulations at its inception in 1977. As new
product designs, new information about products, and new
information about energy usage become available, the CEC
periodically proposes new regulations and updates existing
regulations. Current law requires CEC to research,
investigate, assess, and identify appliances and other
products should be subject to appliance efficiency standards.
The CEC is preempted from adopting energy efficiency
regulations on products which are already regulated for their
energy usage by the Federal government.
Current CEC regulations include 23 categories of appliances,
including: air conditioners, heaters, and fans; battery
chargers; clothes washers and dryers; cooking products and
food service equipment; dishwashers; distribution
transformers; electric motors; lighting products; plumbing
fittings and fixtures; pool and spa equipment; external power
supplies; refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and freezers;
televisions, consumer audio and video equipment; and, water
heaters. These existing regulations include plug-in
equipment, including power tools, lights, electronics,
cordless phones, and other plug-in devices.
The Energy Commission recently released a Notice of its
Appliance Regulation Rulemaking Schedule. The schedule
anticipates draft regulations to be available for the
following appliances:
a) Faucets, toilets, and urinals, April 2014;
b) Air filters and dimming ballasts, April 2014;
c) Light emitting diode (LED) lamps and multifaceted
reflector (MR) lamps, May 2014;
d) Pool pump motors and portable electric spas, August
2014;
e) Computers, monitors, and displays, November 2014;
f) Network equipment, February 2015;
g) Game consoles, February 2015; and,
h) Commercial clothes dryers, February 2015.
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3 Energy efficiency opportunities . This bill is intended to
build on CEC's existing efforts to improve energy efficiency
in plug-in appliances by requiring CEC to plan for reducing
plug-loads by 25 percent aggregate reduction in residential
households and 40 percent aggregate reduction per square foot
of commercial space by 2030.
According to the bill's sponsor, additional energy savings is
achievable, in part, by requiring that devices go into very
low power modes when not in use; improved efficiency in large
appliances; expanding the application of ultra-low power
technology currently used in mobile electronics to more types
of products; higher efficiency in small to medium sized data
centers; and expanded use of smart home and office control
systems.
The goals in this bill were based, in part, on A Tool to
Prioritize Energy Efficiency Investments, published by the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which identified over
700 energy efficiency measures and states, "this work
demonstrates multiple pathways to achieve approximately 50
percent savings from the baseline projected building energy
use in 2030. It further demonstrates that the average cost of
these savings is less than half the production cost of the
energy?"
The 2013 California Energy Efficiency and Goals Study, prepared
for the PUC, found that:
Lighting, whole-building, and appliance plugs have the
largest energy savings potential. There are many new
appliance plug measures that are coming into the market and
modeled in this study. The results show that these new
appliance plug measures have a significant impact on energy
savings potential and make up nearly a quarter of the
potential savings in 2020.
According to the bill's sponsor, additional energy savings is
achievable, in part, by requiring that devices go into very
low power modes when not in use; improved efficiency in large
appliances; expanding the application of ultra-low power
technology currently used in mobile electronics to more types
of products; higher efficiency in small to medium sized data
centers; and, expanded use of smart home and office control
systems.
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While the targets were based on existing studies, they are
arbitrary and may benefit from including flexibility to
reflect changing markets, ongoing energy efficiency efforts,
and other potentially unforeseen developments.
4 Double referral . This bill was heard in the Assembly
Utilities and Commerce Committee on April 21st and passed with
a vote of 10-4.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Energy Efficiency Industry Council
Environmental Defense Fund
Environmental Entrepreneurs
Global Green
Natural Resources Defense Council (sponsor)
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
San Diego Gas and Electric Company
Sempra Energy Utilities
Sierra Club California
Southern California Gas Company
Southern California Edison
Union of Concerned Scientists
Opposition
California Manufacturers and Technology Association
Information Technology Industrial Council
TechNet
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092