Bill Text: CA AB1110 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Greenhouse gases emissions intensity reporting: retail electricity suppliers.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2016-09-26 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 656, Statutes of 2016. [AB1110 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AB1110-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 1110	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 4, 2016
	AMENDED IN SENATE  SEPTEMBER 3, 2015
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 18, 2015
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 19, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Ting

                        FEBRUARY 27, 2015

   An act to amend Sections 398.1, 398.2,  and 398.4
  398.4, and 398.5  of the Public Utilities Code,
relating to energy.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1110, as amended, Ting. Greenhouse gases emissions intensity
reporting: retail electricity suppliers.
   Under existing law, entities offering electric services in
California are required to disclose information on the sources of
energy that are used to provide electric services. Existing law
requires every retail supplier, as defined, that makes an offer to
sell electricity that is consumed in California to disclose its
electricity sources for the previous calendar year. These disclosures
are required to be made to end-use  customers  
consumers  and potential end-use  customers. 
 consumers.  Existing law requires a retail supplier to
disclose its electricity sources as a percentage of annual sales that
is derived from specified sources of energy, including eligible
renewable energy resources.  Existing law requires that retail
suppliers annually report to the Energy Commission certain
information for each electricity from "specified sources," as
defined, offering for the previous calendar year. 
   This bill would require  the Energy Commission to calculate
the greenhouse gas emissions intensity for each purchase of
electricity   from "specified sources," as defined, and, in
consultation with the State Air Resources Board, to establish
greenhouse gas emissions intensity factors for electricity from
"unspecified sources." The bill would require  a retail
supplier, including an electrical corporation, local publicly owned
electric utility, electric service provider, and community choice
 aggregator   aggregator,  to also disclose
the greenhouse gases emissions intensity  associated with
its electricity sources.   of any electricity portfolio
offered to its retail customers, as specified, and the Energy
Commission's calculation of the greenhouse gas emissions intensity
associated with all statewide retail electricity sales.  The
bill would prohibit an adjustment in the calculation of 
emissions of  greenhouse  gases   gas
emissions intensity  through the application of  unbundled
 renewable energy credits, carbon offset credits,  or
other environmental attributes acquired from any facility not
generating the electricity procured by the retail supplier and
delivered to the balancing authority in which the customers of the
retail supplier are located.   or credits associated
with any greenhouse gas reductions unrelated to the production of
electricity. The bill would require a retail supplier to annually
report to the Energy Commission certain additional information for
each electricity offering for the previous calendar year.  The
bill would require the Energy Commission, on or before January 1,
 2017, to specify   2018, to adopt 
guidelines for the reporting  and disclosure  of greenhouse
gas emissions intensity, subject to public hearing. The bill would
require retail suppliers, beginning June 1,  2019, 
 2020,  to report to the Energy Commission data on
annual emissions of greenhouse gases   greenhouse gas
emissions intensity associated with retail sales  occurring
after December 31,  2017,   2018,  except
as provided.
   The Public Utilities Act makes any public utility and any
corporation other than a public utility, if the public utility or
corporation violates the act or fails to comply with any part of any
order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the
commission, guilty of a crime.
   Because the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and
because a violation of an order or decision of the commission
implementing its requirements by an electrical corporation or
electric service provider would be a crime, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program by expanding what is a crime. By placing
additional reporting duties upon local publicly owned electric
utilities, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
   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 specified reasons.
   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 398.1 of the Public Utilities Code is amended
to read:
   398.1.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares that there is a
need for reliable, accurate, timely, and consistent information
regarding fuel sources for electric generation offered for retail
sale in California.
   (b) The purpose of this article is to establish a program under
which entities offering electric services in California disclose
accurate, reliable, and simple to understand information on the
sources of energy, and the associated emissions of greenhouse gases,
that are used to provide electric services.
  SEC. 2.  Section 398.2 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   398.2.  The definitions set forth in this section shall govern the
construction of this article. 
   (a) "Greenhouse gas emissions intensity" means the sum of all
annual emissions of greenhouse gases associated with a generation
source divided by the annual production of electricity from the
generation source.  
   (a) 
    (b)  "Retail supplier" means an entity that offers an
electricity product for sale to retail consumers in California,
including an electrical corporation, local publicly owned electric
utility, electric service provider, and community choice aggregator.

   (b) 
    (c)  "System operator" means the Independent System
Operator with responsibility for the efficient use and reliable
operation of the transmission grid, as provided by Section 345, or a
local publicly owned electric utility that does not utilize the
Independent System Operator. 
   (c) "Specific purchases" 
    (d)     "Purchases of electricity from
specified sources" or "purchases from specified sources"  means
electricity transactions that are traceable to specific generation
sources by any auditable contract trail or equivalent, such as a
tradable commodity system, that provides commercial verification that
the electricity source claimed has been sold once and only once to a
retail consumer. Retail suppliers may rely on annual data to
meet this requirement,   determine whether a
transaction meets this definition,  rather than hour-by-hour
matching of loads and resources. 
   (d) "Unspecified sources of power" 
    (e)     "Electricity from unspecified
sources"  means electricity that is not traceable to specific
generation sources by any auditable contract trail or equivalent,
including a tradable commodity system, that provides commercial
verification that the electricity source claimed has been sold once,
and only once, to a retail consumer.
  SEC. 3.  Section 398.4 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   398.4.  (a) Every retail supplier that makes an offering to sell
electricity that is consumed in California shall disclose its
electricity sources and the associated greenhouse gases emissions
intensity for the previous calendar year.
   (b) The disclosures required by this section shall be made to
potential end-use consumers in all product-specific written
promotional materials that are distributed to consumers by either
printed or electronic means, including the retail supplier's Internet
Web site, if one exists, except that advertisements and notices in
general circulation media shall not be subject to this requirement.
   (c) The disclosures required by this section shall be made
annually to end-use consumers of the offered electricity. The annual
disclosure shall be made by the end of the first complete billing
cycle for the third quarter of the year, and shall be consistent with
information provided to the Energy Commission pursuant to Section
398.5.
   (d) The disclosures required by this section shall be made
separately for each  portfolio  offering made by the retail
supplier.
   (e) On or before January 1, 1998, the Energy Commission shall
specify guidelines for the format and means for disclosure required
by Section 398.3 and this section, based on the requirements of this
article and subject to public hearing.
   (f) The costs of making the disclosures required by this section
shall be considered to be generation related.
   (g) The disclosures required by this section shall comply with the
following:
   (1) A retail supplier's disclosure of its electricity sources
shall be expressed as a percentage of annual sales derived from each
of the following categories:
   (A)  Unspecified sources of electricity.  
Electricity from unspecified sources. 
   (B)  Specific purchases.   Purchases 
 of electricity from specified sources. 
   (2) A retail supplier's disclosure of its electricity sources
shall also separately identify total California system electricity,
which is the sum of all in-state generation and net electricity
imports by fuel type.
   (h) Each of the categories specified in subdivision (g) shall be
additionally identified as a percentage of annual sales that is
derived from the following  fuels or   fuels,
 sources of  energy:   energy,  
or electricity products: 
   (1) Coal.
   (2) Large hydroelectric (greater than 30 megawatts).
   (3) Natural gas.
   (4) Nuclear.
   (5) Eligible renewable energy resources pursuant to the California
Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (Article 16 (commencing with
Section 399.11)), including any of the following:
   (A) Biomass and biowaste.
   (B) Geothermal.
   (C) Eligible hydroelectric.
   (D) Solar.
   (E) Wind. 
   (F) Unbundled renewable energy credits. 
   (6) Other categories as determined by the Energy Commission.
   (i) All electricity sources disclosed as  specific
 purchases  of electricity from specified sources 
shall meet the requirements of subdivision  (c) 
 (d)  of Section 398.2.
   (j)  Specific purchases   Purchases of
electricity from specified sources  identified pursuant to this
section shall be from sources connected to the Western Electricity
Coordinating Council interconnected grid. 
   (k) (1) The greenhouse gases emissions intensity associated with a
retail supplier's electricity sources shall be reported by the
retail supplier to the customer as the sum of all annual emissions of
greenhouse gases divided by annual retail electric sales. Emissions
of greenhouse gases shall be calculated using the emissions reported
for electricity supplied by entities required to report emissions of
greenhouse gases pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section
95100) of Subchapter 10 of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of Title 17 of the
California Code of Regulations. Emissions of greenhouse gases shall
include any emissions otherwise attributable to any first deliverer,
as defined in paragraph (178) of subdivision (a) of Section 95102 of
Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations, supplying electricity
directly or indirectly to the retail supplier.  
   (2) For purposes of this subdivision, no adjustment shall be made
to the calculation of emissions of greenhouse gases assigned to any
retail supplier through the application of the following: 

   (A) Renewable energy credits, as defined in subdivision (h) of
Section 399.12.  
   (B) Offset credits issued pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with
Section 95801) of Subchapter 10 of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of Title
17 of the California Code of Regulations.  
   (C) Other environmental attributes acquired from any facility not
generating the electricity procured by the retail supplier and
delivered to the balancing authority in which the customers of the
retail supplier are located.  
   (3) The Energy Commission shall ensure that the calculation of
greenhouse gas emissions attributed to a retail supplier is
consistent with treatment under the market-based compliance mechanism
adopted by the State Air Resources Board for the following:
 
   (A) Procurement from electric generation without a compliance
obligation pursuant to Section 95852.2 of Title 17 of the California
Code of Regulations.  
   (B) Procurement satisfying the requirements of paragraph (4) of
subdivision (b) of Section 95852 of Title 17 of the California Code
of Regulations.  
   (4) For purposes of determining greenhouse gas intensity pursuant
to this section, the Energy Commission shall determine the
appropriate treatment for production from any electricity source
located behind the meter of a customer served by a retail supplier.
At a minimum, any reported electricity production shall be verified
using a revenue grade meter and added to the calculation of the
retail electric sales for the retail supplier.  
   (5) The calculation of greenhouse gas emissions intensity shall
not be determined based upon whether the procurement is either
assigned to any particular portfolio content category under
subdivision (b) of Section 399.16 or classified as counting in full
pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 399.16.  
   (6) The Energy Commission shall, in consultation with the State
Air Resources Board and consistent with the requirements of this
subdivision, establish emissions intensity factors for electricity
sources reported by retail suppliers.  
   (7) Each retail supplier shall separately identify the greenhouse
gases emissions intensity associated with statewide retail
electricity sales in the same year. The Energy Commission, in
consultation with the State Air Resources Board, shall calculate the
greenhouse gases emissions intensity associated with statewide retail
electricity sales based on the emissions of greenhouse gases for
total California system electricity.  
   (8) (A) On or before January 1, 2017, the Energy Commission shall
specify guidelines for the reporting and disclosure of greenhouse gas
emissions intensity, based on the requirements of this subdivision
and subject to public hearing. Beginning June 1, 2019, retail
suppliers shall be required to report to the Energy Commission data
on annual emissions of greenhouse gases occurring after December 31,
2017.  
   (B) Any new community choice aggregator formed after January 1,
2016, shall not be required to report to the Energy Commission data
on annual emissions of greenhouse gases occurring until at least 24
months, but no later than 36 months, after serving its first retail
customer.  
   (9) Any marketing or retail product claims relating to the
greenhouse gas emissions intensity of the electricity sources of a
retail supplier shall be consistent with the methodology required
under this section. Retail suppliers may provide additional
information to customers describing other actions relating to
greenhouse gas emissions.  
   (k) (1) Each retail supplier shall disclose the greenhouse gas
emissions intensity of any electricity portfolio offered to its
retail customers and the Energy Commission's calculation of
greenhouse gas emissions intensity associated with all statewide
retail electricity sales, consistent with the requirements of this
subdivision.  
   (2) The Energy Commission shall do all of the following: 

   (A) Calculate the greenhouse gas emissions intensity for each
purchase of electricity from a specified source using data reported
to the State Air Resources Board under the regulations for the
Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting program or a successor program. If
emissions data is unavailable or restricted due to confidentiality,
the Energy Commission may establish default emissions intensity
factors for purchases from specified sources.  
   (B) Establish, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board,
default emissions intensity factors for electricity from unspecified
sources located in California, electricity from unspecified sources
imported into the state from other regions, and electricity from
sources without a reporting obligation.  
   (C) Calculate the greenhouse gas emissions intensity associated
with statewide retail electricity sales based on the greenhouse gas
emissions for total California system electricity.  
   (D) Rely on the most recent verified greenhouse gas emissions data
while ensuring that greenhouse gas emissions intensity factors for
electricity from specified and unspecified sources are available to
retail suppliers with sufficient advance notice to permit timely
reporting.  
   (E) Retain the right to verify any procurement claims made by a
retail supplier, including the right to review any underlying
procurement contracts, the associated electronic tags demonstrating
that the claimed electricity was delivered to the retail supplier,
and all related financial settlements.  
   (3) The Energy Commission shall not authorize a retail seller to
make any adjustments to the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions
intensity beyond those permitted under the market-based compliance
mechanism adopted by the State Air Resources Board. A retail seller
shall not make adjustments due to the use of offset credits, credits
associated with any greenhouse gas reductions unrelated to the
production of electricity, or unbundled renewable energy credits.
 
   (4) The Energy Commission may authorize an adjustment to a
greenhouse gas emissions intensity factor for any local publicly
owned electric utility demonstrating procurement of quantities of
electricity in a single year in excess of its total retail sales from
purchases from specified sources that do not emit any greenhouse
gases. Any request for adjustments by an eligible local publicly
owned electric utility shall be considered in an open process,
subject to public comment, and adopted through a vote of the full
Energy Commission. An adjustment authorized by the Energy Commission
shall not permit excess generation procured in a single year to be
counted more than once or to be resold to another retail supplier as
a purchase from a specified source.  
   (5) The Energy Commission shall ensure that there is no double
counting of the greenhouse gas emissions or emissions attributes
associated with any unit of electricity production reported by a
retail supplier for any specific generating facility located within
the Western Electricity Coordinating Council when calculating
greenhouse gas emissions intensity.  
   (6) (A) On or before January 1, 2018, the Energy Commission shall
adopt guidelines for the reporting and disclosure of greenhouse gas
emissions intensity associated with retail sales based on the
requirements of this subdivision and subject to public hearing.
Beginning June 1, 2020, retail suppliers shall be required to report
data on greenhouse gas emissions intensity associated with retail
sales occurring after December 31, 2018.  
   (B) Any new community choice aggregator formed after January 1,
2016, shall not be required to report data on greenhouse gas
emissions intensity associated with retail sales until at least 24
months, but no later than 36 months, after serving its first retail
customer.  
   (7) Any marketing or retail product claims relating to the
greenhouse gas emissions intensity of the electric supply portfolio
of a retail supplier shall be consistent with the methodology
required under this section. Retail suppliers may provide additional
information to customers describing other actions relating to
greenhouse gases that are unrelated to the electric supply portfolio.

   (l) The provisions of this section shall not apply to generators
providing electric service onsite, under an over-the-fence
transaction as described in Section 218, or to an affiliate or
affiliates, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 372.
   SEC. 4.    Section 398.5 of the   Public
Utilities Code   is amended to read: 
   398.5.  (a) Retail suppliers  that disclose specific
purchases pursuant to Section 398.4  shall annually report
to the Energy Commission, for each electricity offering for the
previous calendar year, each of the following:
   (1) The kilowatthours purchased, by generator and fuel type during
the previous calendar year, consistent with the meter data,
including losses, reported to the system operator. 
   (2) The kilowatthours purchased from unspecified sources in
California and from unspecified sources imported into California from
other subregions within the Western Electricity Coordinating
Council.  
   (3) Any kilowatthours supplied to the retail seller directly or
indirectly by a first deliverer of electricity into the state. 

   (2) 
    (4)  For each electricity offering the kilowatthours
sold at retail. 
   (3) 
    (5)  For each electricity offering the disclosures made
to consumers pursuant to Section 398.4.
   (b) Information submitted to the Energy Commission pursuant to
this section that is a trade secret as defined in subdivision (d) of
Section 3426.1 of the Civil Code shall not be released except in an
aggregated form such that trade secrets cannot be discerned.
   (c) The Energy Commission shall specify guidelines and standard
formats, based on the requirements of this article and subject to
public hearing, for the submittal of information pursuant to this
article.
   (d) In developing the rules and procedures specified in this
section, the Energy Commission shall seek to minimize the reporting
burden and cost of reporting that it imposes on retail suppliers.
   (e) The provisions of this section shall not apply to generators
providing electric service onsite, under an over-the-fence
transaction as described in Section 218, or to an affiliate or
affiliates, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 372.
   (f) The Energy Commission may verify environmental claims made by
retail suppliers.
   SEC. 4.   SEC. 5.   No reimbursement is
required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution because a local agency or school district has
the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments
sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by
this act or because 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.