Bill Text: CA AB1110 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
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-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1110 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 656
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 26, 2016
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 26, 2016
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 23, 2016
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 31, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 19, 2016
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, 398.4, and 398.5 of the
Public Utilities Code, relating to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1110, 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 consumers and potential end-use
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 State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission (Energy Commission) certain information for each
electricity offering from "specified sources," as defined, for the
previous calendar year and authorizes the Energy Commission to verify
environmental claims made by retail suppliers.
This bill would, among other things, require the Energy
Commission, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, to
adopt a methodology for the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions
intensity for each purchase of electricity by a retail supplier to
serve its retail customers. The bill would require a retail supplier,
including an electrical corporation, local publicly owned electric
utility, electric service provider, and community choice aggregator,
to also disclose both the greenhouse gases emissions intensity 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 require a retail supplier to annually report to
the Energy Commission certain additional information for each
electricity offering for the previous calendar year and would
authorize the Energy Commission to verify procurement claims, in
addition to environmental claims, made by retail suppliers. The bill
would require the Energy Commission, on or before January 1, 2018, to
adopt guidelines, through an open process, subject to public
comment, and adopted by a vote of the Energy Commission, for the
reporting and disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions intensity. The
bill would require retail suppliers, beginning June 1, 2020, to
report data on greenhouse gas emissions intensity associated with
retail sales occurring after December 31, 2018, except as provided.
The Public Utilities Act makes any public utility and any
corporation other than a public utility guilty of a crime, 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.
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.
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.
(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.
(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.
(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 determine whether a transaction
meets this definition, rather than hour-by-hour matching of loads
and resources.
(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. A retail supplier may distribute the disclosures required by
this section via email to any end-use consumer that has consented to
receive email in lieu of printed materials.
(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) Electricity from unspecified sources.
(B) 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, sources of 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.
(6) Other categories as determined by the Energy Commission.
(7) The portion of annual sales derived from unbundled renewable
energy credits shall be included in the disclosures in a format
determined by the Energy Commission. A retail supplier may include
additional information related to the sources of the unbundled
renewable energy credits.
(i) All electricity sources disclosed as purchases of electricity
from specified sources shall meet the requirements of subdivision (d)
of Section 398.2.
(j) 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) Each retail supplier shall disclose both 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) Adopt a methodology, in consultation with the State Air
Resources Board, for the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions
intensity for each purchase of electricity by a retail supplier to
serve its retail customers.
(B) Calculate the greenhouse gas emissions intensity associated
with statewide retail electricity sales based on the greenhouse gas
emissions for total California system electricity.
(C) 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.
(D) Establish guidelines for adjustments to a greenhouse gas
emissions intensity factor for a reporting year for any local
publicly owned electric utility demonstrating generation of
quantities of electricity in previous years in excess of its total
retail sales and wholesale sales from specified sources that do not
emit any greenhouse gases. Adjustments authorized by the guidelines
established 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 specified source.
(E) 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 or unspecified source located within the Western
Electricity Coordinating Council when calculating greenhouse gas
emissions intensity.
(F) (i) On or before January 1, 2018, adopt guidelines, through an
open process, subject to public comment, and adopted by a vote of
the Energy Commission, for the reporting and disclosure of greenhouse
gas emissions intensity associated with retail sales based on the
requirements of this subdivision. 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.
(ii) 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 shall be required to report that data no later than 36
months, after serving its first retail customer.
(3) 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 adopted
by the Energy Commission pursuant to 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 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) For each electricity offering, the kilowatthours sold at
retail.
(4) 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 and procurement
claims made by retail suppliers.
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.
