BILL NUMBER: SB 843	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 9, 2012
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 30, 2012
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 21, 2011
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 24, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Wolk

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2011

   An act to amend Section 25019 of the Corporations Code, and to
amend Sections 216 and 218 of, to repeal Section 2826.5 of, and to
repeal and add Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 2830) of Part 2
of Division 1 of, the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 843, as amended, Wolk. Energy: electrical corporations: City of
Davis PVUSA solar facility: Community-Based Renewable Energy
Self-Generation Program.
   (1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has
regulatory jurisdiction over public utilities, including electrical
corporations, as defined. Existing law authorizes the commission to
fix the rates and charges for every public utility, and requires that
those rates and charges be just and reasonable. Under existing law,
the local government renewable energy self-generation program
authorizes a local government, as defined, to receive a bill credit,
as defined, to be applied to a designated benefiting account for
electricity exported to the electrical grid by an eligible renewable
generating facility, as defined, and requires the commission to adopt
a rate tariff for the benefiting account.
   This bill would repeal these provisions and enact the
Community-Based Renewable Energy Self-Generation Program. The program
would authorize a retail customer of an electrical corporation
(participant) to acquire an interest, as defined, in a community
renewable energy facility, as defined, for the purpose of receiving a
bill credit, as defined, to offset all or a portion of the
participant's electricity usage, consistent with specified
requirements.
    Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or
any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the
commission is a crime.
   Because the provisions of the bill would require action by the
commission to implement its requirements, a violation of these
provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding
the definition of a crime. 
   The 
    (2)     The  bill would provide that
any corporation or person engaged directly or indirectly in
developing, producing, delivering, participating in, or selling
interests in, a community renewable energy facility is not a public
utility or electrical corporation solely by reason of engaging in any
of those activities. 
   (2) 
    (3)  Existing law authorizes the City of Davis to
receive a bill credit, as defined, to a benefiting account, as
defined, for electricity supplied to the electrical grid by a
photovoltaic electricity generation facility located within, and
partially owned by, the city (PVUSA solar facility) and requires the
commission to adopt a rate tariff for the benefiting account.
   This bill would repeal these provisions relating to the City of
Davis. 
   (3) 
    (4)  The California Constitution requires the state to
reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs
mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for
making that reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 25019 of the Corporations Code is amended to
read:
   25019.  (a) "Security" means any note; stock; treasury stock;
membership in an incorporated or unincorporated association; bond;
debenture; evidence of indebtedness; certificate of interest or
participation in any profit-sharing agreement; collateral trust
certificate; preorganization certificate or subscription;
transferable share; investment contract; viatical settlement contract
or a fractionalized or pooled interest therein; life settlement
contract or a fractionalized or pooled interest therein; voting trust
certificate; certificate of deposit for a security; interest in a
limited liability company and any class or series of those interests
(including any fractional or other interest in that interest), except
a membership interest in a limited liability company in which the
person claiming this exception can prove that all of the members are
actively engaged in the management of the limited liability company;
provided that evidence that members vote or have the right to vote,
or the right to information concerning the business and affairs of
the limited liability company, or the right to participate in
management, shall not establish, without more, that all members are
actively engaged in the management of the limited liability company;
certificate of interest or participation in an oil, gas or mining
title or lease or in payments out of production under that title or
lease; put, call, straddle, option, or privilege on any security,
certificate of deposit, or group or index of securities (including
any interest therein or based on the value thereof); or any put,
call, straddle, option, or privilege entered into on a national
securities exchange relating to foreign currency; any beneficial
interest or other security issued in connection with a funded
employees' pension, profit sharing, stock bonus, or similar benefit
plan; or, in general, any interest or instrument commonly known as a
"security"; or any certificate of interest or participation in,
temporary or interim certificate for, receipt for, guarantee of, or
warrant or right to subscribe to or purchase, any of the foregoing.
All of the foregoing are securities whether or not evidenced by a
written document.
   (b) "Security" does not include: (1) any beneficial interest in
any voluntary inter vivos trust which is not created for the purpose
of carrying on any business or solely for the purpose of voting, or
(2) any beneficial interest in any testamentary trust, or (3) any
insurance or endowment policy or annuity contract under which an
insurance company admitted in this state promises to pay a sum of
money (whether or not based upon the investment performance of a
segregated fund) either in a lump sum or periodically for life or
some other specified period, or (4) any franchise subject to
registration under the Franchise Investment Law (Division 5
(commencing with Section 31000)), or exempted from registration by
Section 31100 or 31101, or (5) any right to a bill credit or interest
of a participant in a community renewable energy facility pursuant
to Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 2830) of Part 2 of Division 1
of the Public Utilities Code. 
  SEC. 2.    Section 216 of the Public Utilities
Code is amended to read:
   216.  (a) "Public utility" includes every common carrier, toll
bridge corporation, pipeline corporation, gas corporation, electrical
corporation, telephone corporation, telegraph corporation, water
corporation, sewer system corporation, and heat corporation, where
the service is performed for, or the commodity is delivered to, the
public or any portion thereof.
   (b) Whenever any common carrier, toll bridge corporation, pipeline
corporation, gas corporation, electrical corporation, telephone
corporation, telegraph corporation, water corporation, sewer system
corporation, or heat corporation performs a service for, or delivers
a commodity to, the public or any portion thereof for which any
compensation or payment whatsoever is received, that common carrier,
toll bridge corporation, pipeline corporation, gas corporation,
electrical corporation, telephone corporation, telegraph corporation,
water corporation, sewer system corporation, or heat corporation, is
a public utility subject to the jurisdiction, control, and
regulation of the commission and the provisions of this part.
   (c) When any person or corporation performs any service for, or
delivers any commodity to, any person, private corporation,
municipality, or other political subdivision of the state, that in
turn either directly or indirectly, mediately or immediately,
performs that service for, or delivers that commodity to, the public
or any portion thereof, that person or corporation is a public
utility subject to the jurisdiction, control, and regulation of the
commission and the provisions of this part.
   (d) Ownership or operation of a facility that employs cogeneration
technology or produces power from other than a conventional power
source or the ownership or operation of a facility which employs
landfill gas technology does not make a corporation or person a
public utility within the meaning of this section solely because of
the ownership or operation of that facility.
   (e) Any corporation or person engaged directly or indirectly in
developing, producing, transmitting, distributing, delivering, or
selling any form of heat derived from geothermal or solar resources
or from cogeneration technology to any privately owned or publicly
owned public utility, or to the public or any portion thereof, is not
a public utility within the meaning of this section solely by reason
of engaging in any of those activities.
   (f) The ownership or operation of a facility that sells compressed
natural gas at retail to the public for use only as a motor vehicle
fuel, and the selling of compressed natural gas at retail from that
facility to the public for use only as a motor vehicle fuel, does not
make the corporation or person a public utility within the meaning
of this section solely because of that ownership, operation, or sale.

   (g) Ownership or operation of a facility that is an exempt
wholesale generator, as defined in the Public Utility Holding Company
Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 16451(6)), does not make a corporation
or person a public utility within the meaning of this section, solely
due to the ownership or operation of that facility.
   (h) The ownership, control, operation, or management of an
electric plant used for direct transactions or participation directly
or indirectly in direct transactions, as permitted by subdivision
(b) of Section 365, sales into a market established and operated by
the Independent System Operator or any other wholesale electricity
market, or the use or sale as permitted under subdivisions (b) to
(d), inclusive, of Section 218, shall not make a corporation or
person a public utility within the meaning of this section solely
because of that ownership, participation, or sale.
   (i) A corporation or person engaged directly or indirectly in
developing, owning, producing, delivering, participating in, or
selling interests in, a community renewable energy facility pursuant
to Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 2830) of Part 2, is not a
public utility within the meaning of this section solely by reason of
engaging in any of those activities. 
   SEC. 2.    Se   ction 216 of the  
Public Utilities Code   is amended to read: 
   216.  (a) "Public utility" includes every common carrier, toll
bridge corporation, pipeline corporation, gas corporation, electrical
corporation, telephone corporation, telegraph corporation, water
corporation, sewer system corporation, and heat corporation, where
the service is performed for, or the commodity is delivered to, the
public or any portion thereof.
   (b) Whenever any common carrier, toll bridge corporation, pipeline
corporation, gas corporation, electrical corporation, telephone
corporation, telegraph corporation, water corporation, sewer system
corporation, or heat corporation performs a service for, or delivers
a commodity to, the public or any portion thereof for which any
compensation or payment whatsoever is received, that common carrier,
toll bridge corporation, pipeline corporation, gas corporation,
electrical corporation, telephone corporation, telegraph corporation,
water corporation, sewer system corporation, or heat corporation, is
a public utility subject to the jurisdiction, control, and
regulation of the commission and the provisions of this part.
   (c) When any person or corporation performs any service for, or
delivers any commodity to, any person, private corporation,
municipality, or other political subdivision of the state, that in
turn either directly or indirectly, mediately or immediately,
performs that service for, or delivers that commodity to, the public
or any portion thereof, that person or corporation is a public
utility subject to the jurisdiction, control, and regulation of the
commission and the provisions of this part.
   (d) Ownership or operation of a facility that employs cogeneration
technology or produces power from other than a conventional power
source or the ownership or operation of a facility which employs
landfill gas technology does not make a corporation or person a
public utility within the meaning of this section solely because of
the ownership or operation of that facility.
   (e) Any corporation or person engaged directly or indirectly in
developing, producing, transmitting, distributing, delivering, or
selling any form of heat derived from geothermal or solar resources
or from cogeneration technology to any privately owned or publicly
owned public utility, or to the public or any portion thereof, is not
a public utility within the meaning of this section solely by reason
of engaging in any of those activities.
   (f) The ownership or operation of a facility that sells compressed
natural gas at retail to the public for use only as a motor vehicle
fuel, and the selling of compressed natural gas at retail from that
facility to the public for use only as a motor vehicle fuel, does not
make the corporation or person a public utility within the meaning
of this section solely because of that ownership, operation, or sale.

   (g) Ownership or operation of a facility that is an exempt
wholesale generator, as defined in the Public Utility Holding Company
Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 16451(6)), does not make a corporation
or person a public utility within the meaning of this section, solely
due to the ownership or operation of that facility.
   (h) The ownership, control, operation, or management of an
electric plant used for direct transactions or participation directly
or indirectly in direct transactions, as permitted by subdivision
(b) of Section 365, sales into a market established and operated by
the Independent System Operator or any other wholesale electricity
market, or the use or sale as permitted under subdivisions (b) to
(d), inclusive, of Section 218, shall not make a corporation or
person a public utility within the meaning of this section solely
because of that ownership, participation, or sale.
   (i) The ownership, control, operation, or management of a facility
that supplies electricity to the public only for use to charge light
duty plug-in electric vehicles does not make the corporation or
person a public utility within the meaning of this section solely
because of that ownership, control, operation, or management. For
purposes of this subdivision, "light duty plug-in electric vehicles"
includes light duty battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric
vehicles. This subdivision does not affect the commission's authority
under Section 454 or 740.2 or any other applicable statute. 
   (j) A corporation or person engaged directly or indirectly in
developing, producing, delivering, participating in, or selling
interests in a community facility, pursuant to Chapter 7.5
(commencing with Section 2830) of Part 2, is not a public utility
within the meaning of this section solely by reason of engaging in
any of those activities. 
  SEC. 3.  Section 218 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   218.  (a) "Electrical corporation" includes every corporation or
person owning, controlling, operating, or managing any electric plant
for compensation within this state, except where electricity is
generated on or distributed by the producer through private property
solely for its own use or the use of its tenants and not for sale or
transmission to others.
   (b) "Electrical corporation" does not include a corporation or
person employing cogeneration technology or producing power from
other than a conventional power source for the generation of
electricity solely for any one or more of the following purposes:
   (1) Its own use or the use of its tenants.
   (2) The use of or sale to not more than two other corporations or
persons solely for use on the real property on which the electricity
is generated or on real property immediately adjacent thereto, unless
there is an intervening public street constituting the boundary
between the real property on which the electricity is generated and
the immediately adjacent property and one or more of the following
applies:
   (A) The real property on which the electricity is generated and
the immediately adjacent real property is not under common ownership
or control, or that common ownership or control was gained solely for
purposes of sale of the electricity so generated and not for other
business purposes.
   (B) The useful thermal output of the facility generating the
electricity is not used on the immediately adjacent property for
petroleum production or refining.
   (C) The electricity furnished to the immediately adjacent property
is not utilized by a subsidiary or affiliate of the corporation or
person generating the electricity.
   (3) Sale or transmission to an electrical corporation or state or
local public agency, but not for sale or transmission to others,
unless the corporation or person is otherwise an electrical
corporation.
   (c) "Electrical corporation" does not include a corporation or
person employing landfill gas technology for the generation of
electricity for any one or more of the following purposes:
   (1) Its own use or the use of not more than two of its tenants
located on the real property on which the electricity is generated.
   (2) The use of or sale to not more than two other corporations or
persons solely for use on the real property on which the electricity
is generated.
   (3) Sale or transmission to an electrical corporation or state or
local public agency.
   (d) "Electrical corporation" does not include a corporation or
person employing digester gas technology for the generation of
electricity for any one or more of the following purposes:
   (1) Its own use or the use of not more than two of its tenants
located on the real property on which the electricity is generated.
   (2) The use of or sale to not more than two other corporations or
persons solely for use on the real property on which the electricity
is generated.
   (3) Sale or transmission to an electrical corporation or state or
local public agency, if the sale or transmission of the electricity
service to a retail customer is provided through the transmission
system of the existing local publicly owned electric utility or
electrical corporation of that retail customer.
   (e) "Electrical corporation" does not include an independent solar
energy producer, as defined in Article 3 (commencing with Section
2868) of Chapter 9 of Part 2.
   (f) The amendments made to this section at the 1987 portion of the
1987-88 Regular Session of the Legislature do not apply to any
corporation or person employing cogeneration technology or producing
power from other than a conventional power source for the generation
of electricity that physically produced electricity prior to January
1, 1989, and furnished that electricity to immediately adjacent real
property for use thereon prior to January 1, 1989.
   (g) A corporation or person engaged directly or indirectly in
developing, owning, producing, delivering, participating in, or
selling interests in, a community renewable energy facility pursuant
to Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 2830) of Part 2, is not an
electrical corporation within the meaning of this section solely by
reason of engaging in any of those activities.
  SEC. 4.  Section 2826.5 of the Public Utilities Code is repealed.
  SEC. 5.  Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 2830) of Part 2 of
Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code is repealed.
  SEC. 6.  Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 2830) is added to
Part 2 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 7.5.  COMMUNITY-BASED RENEWABLE ENERGY 
SELF-GENERATION PROGRAM   SELF-GENERATION PROGRAM 


   2830.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (a) The Governor has proposed a Clean Energy Jobs Plan calling for
the development of 12,000 megawatts of generation from distributed
eligible renewable energy resources of up to 20 megawatts in size by
2020. The Legislature recognizes the advantages of this proposal as
distributed generation provides benefits in addition to the
environmental benefits, including reduced electrical line losses,
decreased investment in transmission and distribution infrastructure,
easier permitting, and local economic benefits. There is widespread
interest from many large institutional customers, including schools,
colleges, universities, local governments, businesses, and the
military, for development of distributed energy facilities to serve
their needs. For these reasons the Legislature agrees that the
Governor's distributed energy program represents a desired policy
direction for the state.
   (b) Community-based renewable energy self-generation creates jobs,
reduces emissions of greenhouse gases, promotes energy independence,
and will assist in meeting the state's zero net energy buildings
goals. Further, community-based renewable energy self-generation will
enable schools, colleges, universities, local governments,
businesses and consumers to save money on their electricity bills,
thereby helping to fund educational programs, social services, and
new hiring.
   (c) The California Solar Initiative has been extremely successful,
resulting in over 100,000 residential and commercial on-site
installations of solar energy systems. The Community-Based Renewable
Energy Self-Generation Program seeks to build on this success by
dramatically expanding the market for eligible renewable energy
resources to include residential and commercial renters, residential
and commercial buildings with shaded or improperly oriented roofs,
and other groups who are unable to access the benefits of onsite
generation. It is in the public interest to promote broader
participation in self-generation by California residents, public
agencies, and businesses by the development of community renewable
energy self-generation facilities in which participants are entitled
to generate electricity and receive credit for that electricity on
their utility bills.
   (d) Many institutional customers in California have been focused
on distributed energy programs of their own. For example, the
Secretary of the Navy established as policy that 50 percent of the
on-shore electricity for naval and Marine Corps installations in the
United States be from renewable sources by 2020. To implement this
policy the Navy and Marine Corps have been working on a variety of
renewable generation projects within the 1 megawatt to 20 megawatt
range. The military installations, and other institutional users,
have identified a number of regulatory barriers to implementing
distributed generation projects. The enactment of this chapter will
create a mechanism whereby institutional customers such as military
installations, universities, and local governments, as well as groups
of individuals, can efficiently invest in generating electricity
from eligible renewable energy resources.
   (e) It is the intent of the Legislature that public schools have
the authority to invest in community renewable energy facilities to
generate electricity as provided in this chapter. Electricity usage
is one of the most significant cost pressures facing public schools
at a time when schools have been forced to cut essential programs,
increase classroom sizes, and send pink slips to teachers throughout
the state. Schools may use the savings for restoring funds for
salaries, student achievement, facility maintenance, and other
budgetary needs. The community renewable energy facility projects
that go forward pursuant to this chapter will create new construction
jobs, stimulate the economy, generate funding, and provide more
electricity generated by clean, renewable sources to customers.
   (f) It is the further intent of the Legislature that as the
commission works to implement this chapter, that the commission
carefully consider regulatory barriers to distributed generation
projects already identified and those not yet identified, and quickly
address those barriers in a manner that is conducive to the
development of distributed generation projects consistent with
appropriate ratepayer protections.
   2831.  As used in this chapter, the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (a) "Benefiting account" means one or more accounts designated to
receive a bill credit pursuant to Section 2832.
   (b) "Bill credit" means an amount of money credited each month, or
in an otherwise applicable billing period, to one or more benefiting
accounts based on the percentage share of the community renewable
energy facility that is assigned to the account pursuant to the
methodology described in Section 2832.
   (c) "Community renewable energy facility" means a facility for the
generation of electricity that meets all of the following
requirements:
   (1) Has a generating capacity of no more than 20 megawatts.
   (2) Is an eligible renewable energy resource pursuant to the
California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (Article 16
(commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1).
   (3) The electrical output of the facility is measured by a
production meter capable of recording electrical generation in real
time.
   (4) Is located within the service territory of an electrical
corporation having 100,000 or more service connections in California.

   (5) If it is to interconnect to the electrical grid at the
transmission level of the grid, it has applied for interconnection
through the Independent System Operator's generation interconnection
process.  
   (5) If it is to interconnect to the electrical grid at the
transmission level of the grid, it has applied for interconnection
through the Independent System Operators' generation interconnection
process. 
   (6) Unless the facility has a bill credit arrangement in place by
December 31, 2012, it achieves initial commercial operation on
January 1, 2013, or thereafter. 
   (d) "Default load aggregation point" means a calculation, as
determined by the commission, of avoided cost derived from an hourly
day-ahead electricity market price that reflects the costs the
electrical corporation avoids in procuring electricity during the
time period a community renewable energy facility generates
electricity.  
   (d) 
    (e)  "Facility rate" means the per kilowatthour rate, or
some other unit of measurement that the commission determines to be
superior to kilowatthours, established by the commission that is used
to calculate the bill credit for a particular community renewable
energy facility. The applicable facility rate for each community
renewable energy facility shall be computed pursuant to Section 2832.

   (e) 
    (f)  "Interest" means a direct or indirect ownership,
lease, subscription, or financing interest in a community renewable
energy facility that enables the participant to receive a bill credit
for a retail account with the electrical corporation. 
   (f) 
    (g)  "Local government" means a city, county, city and
county, special district, school district, county office of
education, political subdivision, or other local governmental entity.

   (g) 
    (h)  "Participant" means a retail customer of an
electrical corporation who owns, leases, finances, or subscribes to
an interest in a community renewable energy facility and who has
designated one or more of its own retail accounts as a benefiting
account to which the subscription shall be attributed. 
   (h) 
    (i)  "Participant organization" means any entity whose
purpose is to beneficially own or operate a community renewable
energy facility for the participants or owners of that facility.
   2832.  (a) (1) A retail customer of an electrical corporation
having 100,000 or more service connections within the state may
acquire an interest in a community renewable energy facility for the
purpose of becoming a participant and receiving a bill credit to
offset all or a portion of the customer's bill for electrical
service. The participant shall designate one or more benefiting
accounts to which the interest shall be attributed.
   (2) To be eligible to be designated as a benefiting account, the
account shall be for service to premises located within the
geographical boundaries of the service territory of the electrical
corporation containing the community renewable energy facility, or
within the geographical boundaries of a contiguous service territory,
if the electrical corporation or local publicly owned electric
utility for that service territory have entered into an agreement
enabling the connection of the benefiting account to the community
renewable energy facility.
   (3) A participant organization may beneficially own or operate a
community renewable energy facility for the participants of that
facility. A community renewable energy facility may be built, owned,
or operated by a third party under contract
                 with a participant organization.
   (4) (A) The combined statewide cumulative rated generating
capacity of community renewable energy facilities under this program
shall not exceed 2 gigawatts, except as provided by in subparagraph
(B).
   (B) The commission shall maintain a publicly available database of
existing and proposed community renewable energy facilities.
Proposed community renewable energy facilities shall report their
expected size, location, and commercial operation date no less than
six months prior to their commercial operation date. Once the
statewide cumulative rated generation capacity of existing and
proposed community renewable energy facilities reaches one gigawatt,
the commission shall establish a process for allocating the remaining
one gigawatt of capacity to ensure the cap established in
subparagraph (A) is not exceeded. When the statewide cumulative rated
generation capacity of community renewable energy facilities reaches
one and one-half gigawatts, the commission shall begin a process to
determine if the gigawatt limitation in subparagraph (A) is
necessary. Unless the commission determines that removal of the
gigawatt limitation in subparagraph (A) would have a significant
negative effect on electrical corporation ratepayers, the commission
shall order that the gigawatt limitation is no longer applicable. If
the commission decides that the removal of the gigawatt limitation in
subparagraph (A) would have a significant negative effect on the
ratepayers of an electrical corporation, the commission shall decide
if the limitation should remain at two gigawatts or if it should be
raised to some other level. For the purposes of this subparagraph,
the rated generating capacity of a community renewable energy
facility shall, where available, use the Energy Commission's
alternating current rating for the facility.
   (5) (A) The commission shall maintain a public database of
annualized average generation rates for each customer class and tier.

   (B) The tariff applicable to a participant shall be identical,
with respect to rate structure, all retail rate components, and any
monthly charges, to the charges that the participant would be
assigned if the participant did not receive a bill credit.
Participants shall not be assessed standby charges on the community
renewable energy facility or the kilowatthour generation of a
community renewable energy facility. Any new or additional demand
charge, standby charge, customer charge, minimum monthly charge,
interconnection charge, or any other charge that would increase a
participant's costs beyond those of other customers who are not
participants in the rate class to which the participant would
otherwise be assigned if the participant did not receive a bill
credit is contrary to the intent of this chapter, and shall not form
a part of the participant's tariff.
   (6) The commission shall establish a facility rate base for each
community renewable energy facility utilizing either the renewables
portfolio standard (RPS) solicitation method or added value method,
to be computed as follows:
   (A) Beginning January 1, 2013, the RPS solicitation method shall
be used for computing the facility rate. Pursuant to this method, the
facility rate shall be set at the weighted average time-of-delivery
adjusted cost of electricity delivered from an eligible renewable
energy resource of comparable size that utilizes the same generating
technology as employed by the community renewable energy facility,
calculated  for the most recent   on January 1
of the previous  year for each electrical corporation for
purposes of the report made to the Legislature pursuant to Section
911. Where data is not available for a comparable resource and
facility size for the previous year, the most recent data shall be
used. The facility rate shall be calculated on the basis of the price
paid for a kilowatthour of electricity, unless the commission
determines that some other unit of measurement is superior to using
kilowatthours, in which case that unit of measurement will be used.
The RPS solicitation method for computing the facility rate shall be
determined as of the time that the community renewable energy
facility becomes operational.
   (B) Not later than December 31, 2014, the commission shall
determine the added value method for calculating a facility rate.
Pursuant to the added value method, the facility rate shall be set at
the monetary value of the benefits a community renewable energy
facility brings to the electrical corporation, other nonparticipating
ratepayers, and the grid. In determining the added value, the
commission shall analyze the benefits, including avoided transmission
line loss, avoided transmission and distribution infrastructure
costs, any reduction in fixed operations and maintenance costs, the
offset of peak demand or shifting load, and the reduction of
environmental compliance costs, including costs that would otherwise
be incurred for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. The value of
these benefits shall be added to the otherwise applicable generation
component of the participant's electric service rate. The commission
shall reevaluate the facility rate using the added value method every
three years, and shall establish a new added value if the commission
determines that there has been a material change in the added value
of the community renewable energy facility.
   (7) (A) Prior to January 1, 2015, the RPS solicitation method
shall be used to compute the facility rate.
   (B) Beginning January 1, 2015, the added value method shall be
used to compute the facility rate if both of the following are true:
   (i) The commission has determined a facility rate for the
community renewable energy facility using the added value method.
   (ii) The bill credit that will be provided using the added value
method is greater than the credit provided by continued use of the
RPS solicitation method.
   (8) The electrical corporation shall provide a monthly bill
credit, valued in dollars, to each benefiting account. The bill
credit amount shall be calculated as the volumetric quantity of
generation allocated to the benefiting account multiplied by the
facility rate. The volumetric quantity of generation shall be
expressed in kilowatthours, unless the commission determines that
another unit of measurement is superior to use in place of
kilowatthours.
   (b) (1) A participant shall not acquire an interest in a community
renewable energy facility that represents more than 2 megawatts of
generating capacity. This limitation does not apply to a federal,
state, or local government, school, school district, county office of
education, the California Community Colleges, the California State
University, or the University of California.
   (2) The commission shall not regulate the prices paid for an
interest in a community renewable energy facility, but may enforce
the required disclosures.
   (3) Participants may aggregate their loads for the purpose of
participating in a community renewable energy facility pursuant to
this section.
   (4) For a participant that elects to aggregate its loads for the
purpose of acquiring an interest in a community renewable energy
facility, the participant shall designate the benefitting accounts
and the allocation of the bill credit to those accounts.
   (c) (1) A participant organization shall provide to the electrical
corporation information on the identity of the benefiting accounts
that will receive a bill credit pursuant to this section not less
then 30 days prior to the billing cycle for which the participant's
account will receive a bill credit. The participant organization
shall provide the electrical corporation with not less than 30 days'
notice whenever a participant's facility rate changes from the RPS
solicitation method to the added value method.
   (2) Prior to the sale of an interest in a community renewable
energy facility, the participant organization shall provide a
disclosure to the potential participant that, at a minimum, includes
all of the following:
   (A) A good faith estimate of the annual kilowatthours to be
delivered by the community renewable energy facility based on the
size of the interest.
   (B) A plain language explanation of the terms under which the bill
credits will be calculated.
   (C) A plain language explanation of the contract provisions
regulating the disposition or transfer of the interest.
   (D) A plain language explanation of the costs and benefits to the
potential participant based on their current usage and applicable
tariff, for the term of the proposed contract.
   (3) Not more frequently than once per month, and upon providing
the electrical corporation with a minimum of 30 days' notice, the
participant organization may change, add, or remove a benefiting
account. If the owner of a benefiting account transfers service to a
new address or benefiting account, the electrical corporation shall
transfer any credit remaining from the previous account to the new
account.
   (4) A participant organization shall be responsible for providing
to the electrical corporation, on a monthly basis, a statement of the
percentage shares to be used to determine the bill credit to each
benefiting account and the names and account numbers of those
participants who's facility rate is to be changed from the RPS
solicitation method to the added value method. If there has been no
change in the allocations from the previous submission or in the
method of calculating the facility rate of participants, the
participant organization is not required to submit a new statement.
   (5) The participant organization shall provide real-time meter
data to the electrical corporation and shall make the data available
to a participant upon request. A participant organization shall be
responsible for all costs of metering and shall retain production
data for a period of 36 months.
   (6) A participant organization shall provide not less than 120
days' notice to the electrical corporation and the commission prior
to the date the community renewable energy facility becomes
operational.
   (7) The participant organization shall establish an account and
register the community renewable energy facility with the Western
Renewable Energy Generation Information System or its successor.
   (8) The participant organization shall be responsible for all
costs of interconnection at either the distribution or transmission
level of the electrical grid.
   (d) (1) An electrical corporation shall ensure that requests for
establishment of bill credits and changes to benefiting accounts are
processed in a time period not to exceed 30 days from the date it
receives the request.
   (2) An electrical corporation shall cooperate fully with community
renewable energy facilities to implement this chapter.
   (3) An electrical corporation shall comply with the requirements
applicable to protection of the right to commercial free speech
described in Commission Decision 10-05-050 as applied to the
development, sale of subscriptions, and operation of community
renewable energy facilities. Community renewable energy facilities
may file a complaint with the commission for violation of this
paragraph.
   (4) For capacity that is unallocated to a benefitting account
during the previous billing period, the recipient electrical
corporation shall pay the facility operator the current default load
aggregation point.
   (e) The following process shall be used when billing and creating
a benefiting account:
   (1) An electrical corporation shall bill a benefiting account for
all electricity usage, and for each applicable bill component,
including but not limited to transmission and distribution charges,
at the rate schedule applicable to the benefiting account, including
any cost-responsibility surcharge or other cost recovery mechanism,
as determined by the commission, to reimburse the Department of Water
Resources for purchases of electricity pursuant to Division 27
(commencing with Section 80000) of the Water Code. Participants shall
not be subject to any departing load charge.
   (2) An electrical corporation shall subtract the bill credit
applicable to the benefiting account. The electrical corporation
shall ensure that the  subscriber   participant
 receives the full bill credit to which it is entitled. The
information and line items on a participant's bill statement will be
unchanged, except one or more entries detailing the bill credit shall
be added to a participant's bill.
   (3) If, at the end of each billing cycle, the total otherwise
applicable  generation component of the  bill exceeds the
bill credit, the benefiting account shall be billed for the
difference.
   (4)  (A)    If, at the end of a billing cycle,
the bill credit exceeds the  total   generation
component of the  amount billed to the account, the difference
shall be carried forward as a dollar credit to the next billing
cycle. 
   (B) If the participant's bill credit is calculated based on the
added value method pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (6) of
subdivision (a), the bill credit may exceed the generation component
of the bill, but only by the amount of the added value. The added
value shall be subtracted from the balance of the participant's bill
remaining after credits are applied to the generation component of
the bill. Any earned credit that exceeds the generation component of
the bill shall roll over to the subsequent billing period and shall
continue to roll over until used or until the annual anniversary date
of the participant's initial bill credit, whichever occurs first. On
the annual anniversary date of the participant's initial bill
credit, any remaining bill credit earned during the previous year and
that remains after the application of bill credits to the generation
component of a participant's bills shall cease to roll over and will
be subject to a default load aggregation point true-up. The default
load aggregation point true-up shall be calculated by converting the
remaining unused bill credits to kilowatthours, by dividing the
unused bill credits by the facility rate, and then multiplying the
kilowatthours by the default load aggregation point. The amount
calculated doing the default load aggregation point true-up is owed
by the electrical corporation to the participant. The commission
shall determine whether the default load aggregation point true-up is
to be paid to participants or credited to future billings and, if
so, the manner of crediting. 
   (f)  Unless specifically provided otherwise in the
contract between the participant organization and the participant,
any   Any    renewable energy credits
associated with an interest shall be retired by the participant
organization on behalf of the participant. Renewable energy credits
generated at a facility owned by an electrical corporation  , or
associated with electricity paid for by the electrical corporation
 shall be counted toward  meeting  that electrical
corporation's renewables portfolio standard. For purposes of this
subdivision, "renewable energy credit" and "renewables portfolio
standard" have the same meanings as defined in Section 399.12.
   (g) In calculating its procurement requirements to meet the
requirements of the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program
(Article 16 (commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part
1), an electrical corporation may exclude from total retail sales the
kilowatthours generated by a community renewable energy facility.

   (h) A community renewable energy facility that is interconnected
at the distribution level shall be treated as being deliverable to
load for the purposes of Section 380. The generating capacity of a
community renewable energy facility shall be counted toward meeting
the resource adequacy requirements adopted by the commission pursuant
to Section 380.  
   (h) The resource value attributable to a community renewable
energy facility, as determined by the commission pursuant to Section
380, shall be assigned to the electrical corporation to which the
facility is interconnected. 
  SEC. 7.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.