Bill Text: CA AB1513 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Assembly Bill 1513 (Prior Session Legislation)

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

Bill Title: Energy.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-10-02 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 396, Statutes of 2019. [AB1513 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB1513-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1513

Introduced by Assembly Member Holden

February 22, 2019

An act to amend Section 399.14 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to electricity.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1513, as introduced, Holden. Electricity procurement contracts: assignment: California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, while local publicly owned electric utilities, as defined, are under the direction of their governing boards. The California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program requires the Public Utilities Commission to establish a renewables portfolio standard requiring all retail sellers, as defined, to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources, as defined, so that the total kilowatthours of those products sold to their retail end-use customers achieves 25% of retail sales by December 31, 2016, 33% by December 31, 2020, 44% by December 31, 2024, 52% by December 31, 2027, and 60% by December 31, 2030. The program additionally requires each local publicly owned electric utility, as defined, to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources to achieve the procurement requirements established by the program.

This bill would authorize an electrical corporation, upon receiving approval of an application by the commission, to assign all or part of a contract for the procurement of eligible renewable energy resources to a retail seller, local publicly owned electric utility, electrical cooperative, the Department of Water Resources, or a military facility. The bill would authorize the commission to approve the application if it finds that the assignment or partial assignment would not be detrimental to the interests of bundled ratepayers of the electrical corporation and the assignment or partial assignment would not result in the electrical corporation’s failure to meet its procurement requirements pursuant to the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 399.14 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

399.14.

(a) (1) An electrical corporation, pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 1001), and in order to meet its unmet renewables portfolio standard procurement requirements, may apply to the commission for approval to construct, own, and operate an eligible renewable energy resource.

(2) If the proposed eligible renewable energy resource complies with the requirements of subdivision (b), the commission shall approve an application filed pursuant to paragraph (1), until the commission has approved applications for eligible renewable energy resources for the electrical corporation that, when constructed and operating, will provide 8.25 percent of the electrical corporation’s anticipated retail sales by December 31, 2020, and thereafter.

(3) The commission may approve additional applications for eligible renewable energy resources once the commission has approved sufficient applications for eligible renewable energy resources for the electrical corporation that, when constructed and operating, will provide 8.25 percent of the electrical corporation’s anticipated retail sales by December 31, 2020, and thereafter.

(b) The commission shall not approve any application by an electrical corporation pursuant to subdivision (a) unless both of the following conditions are met:

(1) The eligible renewable energy resource utilizes a viable technology at a reasonable cost.

(2) The eligible renewable energy resource provides comparable or superior value to ratepayers when compared to then recent contracts for generation provided by eligible renewable energy resources.

(c) In approving any application by an electrical corporation for approval to construct, own, and operate an eligible renewable energy resource, the commission shall apply traditional cost-of-service ratemaking. When applying traditional cost-of-service ratemaking, the commission, in the certificate authorizing the new construction, shall specify the maximum cost determined to be reasonable and prudent for the construction of the facility and the cost of initial operation of the facility. Upon a filing by the electrical corporation, the commission may authorize an increase in the maximum cost of construction if it determines that the cost has in fact increased, that the cost increase is determined to be reasonable and prudent, and that the present or future public convenience or necessity require construction of the project at the increased cost.

(d) Upon receiving approval from the commission, an electrical corporation may contract with a retail seller, local publicly owned electric utility, electrical cooperative, the Department of Water Resources, or a military facility to assign all or part of a contract for the procurement of eligible renewable energy resources, including a contract entered into pursuant to a renewables procurement solicitation. The commission may approve an application for approval filed by an electrical corporation if the commission finds both of the following:
(1) The assignment or partial assignment will not be detrimental to the interests of bundled ratepayers of the electrical corporation.
(2) The assignment or partial assignment will not result in the electrical corporation’s failure to meet its procurement requirements pursuant to this chapter.