BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2581
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Date of Hearing: May 7, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 2581 (Bradford) - As Amended: April 21, 2014
Policy Committee: Utilities and
Commerce Vote: 13-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill revises various provisions that guide the California
Energy Commission's (CEC) adoption and use of appliance and
building standards. Specifically, this bill:
1) Adds voluntary agreements to the list of actions CEC may
take to promote water and energy efficient appliances.
2) Requires CEC to rely upon the most current data
available, and when feasible, data that is no older than
one year, prior to commencing an appliance standard
rulemaking.
3) Authorizes CEC to repeal a standard that is duplicative
or inconsistent with federal law.
4)Requires CEC to perform preliminary software tests using
examples of common residential and non-residential buildings
before approving a public domain computer program to estimate
energy consumption. Requires CEC to make the results publicly
available.
5)Requires CEC to ensure its computer program that estimates
energy consumption is publicly available at least six months
before the effective date of adopted or updated standards.
6)Requires CEC to routinely adjust the software to improve
modeling accuracy for use within single-family residential
dwellings and multi-family residential dwellings.
FISCAL EFFECT
AB 2581
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1)Increased costs to CEC in the $750,000 range for contracts and
staffing associated with new requirements relating to
appliance standards.
2)Increased costs to CEC in the $700,000 range for contracts and
staffing associated with new requirements relating to building
standards.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose. According to the author, the tools approved by CEC
to estimate energy usage are not accurate and consistently
overestimate energy usage. This bill requires CEC to routinely
adjust public domain software that estimates energy usage and
disclose any potential differences between the model and
actual energy use patterns.
The author also asserts that when standards are adopted or
updated, CEC software is not always fully tested and ready to
go. This bill requires testing and approval to be completed
six months before standards go into effect. Finally, this
bill assures the most current data is used when enacting
energy efficiency standards for appliances.
2)Background. CEC is required to continuously carry out
studies, technical assessments, research projects, and data
collection directed to reduce wasteful, inefficient,
unnecessary, or uneconomic uses of energy. As part of this
requirement, CEC adopts energy and water efficiency standards
for appliances and buildings.
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081