BILL NUMBER: AB 2514 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 609
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 27, 2012
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 27, 2012
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 20, 2012
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 27, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 6, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 25, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 1, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bradford
FEBRUARY 24, 2012
An act to amend Section 2827.8 of, and to add and repeal Section
2827.1 of, the Public Utilities Code, relating to electricity.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2514, Bradford. Net energy metering.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations.
Existing law, relative to private energy producers, requires every
electric utility, as defined, to make available to an eligible
customer-generator, as defined, a standard contract or tariff for net
energy metering on a first-come-first-served basis until the time
that the total rated generating capacity of renewable electrical
generation facilities, as defined, used by eligible
customer-generators exceeds 5% of the electric utility's aggregate
customer peak demand. The existing definition of an eligible
customer-generator requires that the generating facility use a solar
or wind turbine, or a hybrid system of both, and have a generating
capacity of not more than one megawatt. Electrical corporations are
an electric utility for these purposes.
This bill would require the commission to complete a study by
October 1, 2013, to determine who benefits from, and who bears the
economic burden, if any, of, the net energy metering program, and to
determine the extent to which each class of ratepayers and each
region of the state receiving service under the net energy metering
program is paying the full cost of the services provided to them by
electrical corporations, and the extent to which those customers pay
their share of the costs of public purpose programs. The bill would
require the commission to report the results of the study to the
Legislature within 30 days of its completion.
Existing law establishes separate requirements for wind energy
co-metering that provides a credit against the generation component
of an electricity bill of an electric utility for those
customer-generators utilizing a wind energy project greater than 50
kilowatts, but not exceeding one megawatt. The wind energy
co-metering provisions include a requirement that the eligible
customer-generator utilize a meter, or multiple meters, capable of
separately measuring electricity flow in both directions.
This bill would state that nothing in the wind energy co-metering
provisions precludes the use of advanced metering infrastructure
devices.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 2827.1 is added to the Public Utilities Code,
to read:
2827.1. (a) By October 1, 2013, the commission shall complete a
study to determine who benefits from, and who bears the economic
burden, if any, of, the net energy metering program authorized
pursuant to Section 2827, and to determine the extent to which each
class of ratepayers and each region of the state receiving service
under the net energy metering program is paying the full cost of the
services provided to them by electrical corporations, and the extent
to which those customers pay their share of the costs of public
purpose programs. In evaluating program costs and benefits for
purposes of the study, the commission shall consider all electricity
generated by renewable electric generating systems, including the
electricity used onsite to reduce a customer's consumption of
electricity that otherwise would be supplied through the electrical
grid, as well as the electrical output that is being fed back to the
electrical grid for which the customer receives credit or net surplus
electricity compensation under net energy metering. The study shall
quantify the costs and benefits of net energy metering to
participants and nonparticipants and shall further disaggregate the
results by utility, customer class, and household income groups
within the residential class. The study shall further gather and
present data on the income distribution of residential net energy
metering participants. In order to assess the costs and benefits at
various levels of net energy metering implementation, the study shall
be conducted using multiple net energy metering penetration
scenarios, including, at a minimum, the capacity needed to reach the
solar photovoltaic goals of the California Solar Initiative pursuant
to Section 25780 of the Public Resources Code, and the estimated net
energy metering capacity under the 5-percent minimum requirement of
paragraphs (1) and (4) of subdivision (c) of Section 2827.
(b) (1) The commission shall report the results of the study to
the Legislature within 30 days of its completion.
(2) The report shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795
of the Government Code.
(3) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this
section is repealed on July 1, 2017.
SEC. 2. Section 2827.8 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
2827.8. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, the
following provisions apply to an eligible customer-generator
utilizing wind energy co-metering with a capacity of more than 50
kilowatts, but not exceeding one megawatt, unless approved by the
electric service provider.
(a) The eligible customer-generator shall be required to utilize a
meter, or multiple meters, capable of separately measuring
electricity flow in both directions. Nothing in this section
precludes the use of advanced metering infrastructure devices. All
meters shall provide "time-of-use" measurements of electricity flow,
and the customer shall take service on a time-of-use rate schedule.
If the existing meter of the eligible customer-generator is not a
time-of-use meter or is not capable of measuring total flow of energy
in both directions, the eligible customer-generator is responsible
for all expenses involved in purchasing and installing a meter that
is both time-of-use and able to measure total electricity flow in
both directions. This subdivision shall not restrict the ability of
an eligible customer-generator to utilize any economic incentives
provided by a government agency or the electric service provider to
reduce its costs for purchasing and installing a time-of-use meter.
(b) The consumption of electricity from the electric service
provider for wind energy co-metering by an eligible
customer-generator shall be priced in accordance with the standard
rate charged to the eligible customer-generator in accordance with
the rate structure to which the customer would be assigned if the
customer did not use an eligible wind electrical generating facility.
The generation of electricity provided to the electric service
provider shall result in a credit to the eligible customer-generator
and shall be priced in accordance with the generation component,
excluding surcharges to cover the purchase of power by the Department
of Water Resources, established under the applicable structure to
which the customer would be assigned if the customer did not use an
eligible wind electrical generating facility.