BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2649
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 21, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 2649 (Mullin) - As Amended: May 6, 2014
Policy Committee: Utilities and
Commerce Vote: 10-2
Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill supports the development of independent generation
facilities on military bases and privatized military housing by
exempting these facilities from interconnection agreements and
the associated interconnection fees and departing load charges
under specified conditions. Specifically, this bill:
1)Allows military facilities to generate up to 100% of their
average minimum daytime load if the generation is connected in
a manner that prevents the exporting of electricity.
2)Requires an IOU to process the request within 30 days and
prohibits the imposition of interconnection fees or studies,
if the military facility requests an interconnection
agreement.
3)Requires the PUC, on or before April 1, 2015 to require an IOU
to provide military facilities with interconnection
requirements that address the barriers the military has
experienced with timely interconnection and associated fees
and studies.
4)Requires military facilities to be charged based on actual
usage of the electricity delivered by the IOU transmission or
distribution system.
FISCAL EFFECT
Increased costs to the PUC (Utilities Reimbursement Account) of
up to $350,000 to calculate specific rate design components.
AB 2649
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COMMENTS
1)Purpose. According to the author, this bill is promotes
military self-generation to support the state's achievement of
distributed, renewable generation policy goals and the U.S.
Military's goals associated with renewable generation and
energy security.
2)Background. The United States Department of Defense is
working to achieve energy efficiency and renewable goals to
meet both Presidential and departmental requirements.
Military bases attempting to expand their self-generation face
physical, financial, and administrative challenges associated
with establishing interconnection agreements.
Current utility interconnection agreements allow generation
that is isolated from utility distribution system and sized up
to 50% of the customer's minimum load. Isolated generation
means that the Generating Facility is prevented from becoming
interconnected with an IOU distribution system by means of a
transfer switch or operating scheme specifically designed and
engineered for such operation. Current statutes obligate
customers to notify the utility of this type of generation. It
is unclear whether military facilities have attempted to use
this option.
While the 50% sizing requirement for isolated systems is
currently in interconnection agreements, for the purpose of
military facilities with generation that are isolated from the
grid, it may be appropriate to allow them to build on-site
generation that does not exceed 100% of their minimum daytime
load because they can consume this electricity on site without
export to the grid as long as the generation is constructed in
a manner that does not allow generation to flow back to the
IOU transmission or distribution lines.
The military facilities would like to preserve the option to
enter into an interconnection agreement but would like to
ensure that the agreements are made in a timely manner.
AB 2649
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Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081