Bill Text: CA AB1513 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended
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-Amended.html
Amended
IN
Assembly
March 25, 2019 |
Assembly Bill | No. 1513 |
Introduced by Assembly Member Holden |
February 22, 2019 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
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.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee:Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 16480.45 of the Government Code is amended to read:16480.45.
In addition to any other investment authorized by this article, the Treasurer may invest in Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) bonds, as defined in SectionSEC. 2.
Section 20194.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:20194.5.
In addition to the other investments authorized by this article, the board may invest in Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) bonds, as defined in SectionSEC. 3.
Section 11797 of the Insurance Code, as amended by Section 1 of Chapter 839 of the Statutes of 2012, is amended to read:11797.
(a) The board of directors shall cause all moneys in the State Compensation Insurance Fund that are in excess of current requirements to be invested and reinvested, from time to time, in the same manner as provided for private insurance carriers pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 1170) and Article 4 (commencing with Section 1190) of Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Division 1, but excluding Sections 1191, 1191.1, 1191.5, 1192.2, 1192.4, 1192.6, 1192.7, 1192.9, 1192.95, 1192.10, 1194.7, 1194.8, 1194.81, 1194.82, 1194.85, 1198, and 1199. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the State Compensation Insurance Fund may invest or reinvest an aggregated maximum of 20 percent of moneys that are in excess of the admitted assets over the liabilities and required reserves in the investments allowed pursuant to Sections 1191, 1192.4, 1192.6, 1192.10, 1194.7, and 1198.SEC. 4.
Section 11797 of the Insurance Code, as added by Section 2 of Chapter 839 of the Statutes of 2012, is amended to read:11797.
(a) The board of directors shall cause all moneys in the State Compensation Insurance Fund that are in excess of current requirements to be invested and reinvested, from time to time, in the same manner as provided for private insurance carriers pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 1170) and Article 4 (commencing with Section 1190) of Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Division 1, but excluding Sections 1191, 1191.1, 1191.5, 1192.2, 1192.4, 1192.6, 1192.7, 1192.9, 1192.95, 1192.10, 1194.7, 1194.8, 1194.81, 1194.82, 1194.85, 1198, and 1199.SEC. 5.
Section 336 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:336.
(a) The five-member Oversight Board shall be comprised as follows:SEC. 6.
Section 371 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:371.
(a) Except as provided in Sections 372 and 374, the uneconomic costs provided in Sections 367, 368, 375, and 376 shall be applied to each customer based on the amount of electricity purchased by the customer from an electrical corporation or alternate supplier of electricity, subject to changes in usage occurring in the normal course of business.SEC. 7.
Section 374 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:374.
(a) In recognition of statutory authority and past investments existing as of December 20, 1995, and subject to the firewall specified in subdivision (e) of Section 367, the obligation to pay the uneconomic costs identified in Sections 367, 368, 375, and 376 shall not apply to the following:SEC. 8.
Section 379.5 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:379.5.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on or before March 7, 2001, the commission, in consultation with the Independent System Operator, shall take all of the following actions, and shall include the reasonable costs involved in taking those actions in the distribution revenue requirements of utilities regulated by the commission, as appropriate:SEC. 9.
Section 384 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:384.
(a) Funds transferred to theSEC. 10.
Section 394.25 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:394.25.
(a) The commission may enforce the provisions of Sections 2102, 2103, 2104, 2105, 2107, 2108, and 2114 against electric service providers as if those electric service providers were public utilities as defined in these code sections. Notwithstanding the above, nothing in this section grants the commission jurisdiction to regulate electric service providers other than as specifically set forth in this part. Electric service providers shall continue to be subject to the provisions of Sections 2111 and 2112. Upon a finding by the commission’s executive director that there is evidence to support a finding that the electric service provider has committed an act constituting grounds for suspension or revocation of registration as set forth in subdivision (b) of Section 394.25, the commission shall notify the electric service provider in writing and notice an expedited hearing on the suspension or revocation of the electric service provider’s registration to be held within 30 days of the notification to the electric service provider of the executive director’s finding of evidence to support suspension or revocation of registration. The commission shall, within 45 days after holding the hearing, issue a decision on the suspension or revocation of registration, which shall be based on findings of fact and conclusions of law based on the evidence presented at the hearing. The decision shall include the findings of fact and the conclusions of law relied upon.SEC. 11.
Section 399.20 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:399.20.
(a) It is the policy of this state and the intent of the Legislature to encourage electrical generation from eligible renewable energy resources.SEC. 12.
Section 701.1 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:701.1.
(a) (1) The Legislature finds and declares that, in addition to other ratepayer protection objectives, a principal goal of electric and natural gas utilities’ resource planning and investment shall be to minimize the cost to society of the reliable energy services that are provided by natural gas and electricity, and to improve the environment and to encourage the diversity of energy sources through improvements in energy efficiency, development of renewable energy resources, such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal energy, and widespread transportation electrification.SEC. 13.
Section 714 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:714.
(a) The commission, no later than July 1, 2017, shall open a proceeding to determine the feasibility of minimizing or eliminating use of the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility located in the County of Los Angeles while still maintaining energy and electric reliability for the region. This determination shall be consistent with the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015 (Ch. 547, Stats. 2015) and Executive Order B-30-2015. The commission shall consult with theSEC. 14.
Section 715 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:715.
(a) The commission shall direct the operator of the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility located in the County of Los Angeles to provide all information the commission deems necessary for the commission to determine, in consultation with theSEC. 15.
Section 740.3 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:740.3.
(a) The commission, in cooperation with theSEC. 16.
Section 773 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:773.
SectionSEC. 17.
Section 785 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:785.
To the extent consistent with federal law and regulation and contractual obligations regarding other available gas, the commission shall, in consultation with the Division of Oil and Gas of the Department of Conservation and with theSEC. 18.
Section 895 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:895.
Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, moneys in the Gas Consumption Surcharge Fund are continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal years, as follows:SEC. 19.
Section 1822 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:1822.
(a) Any computer model that is the basis for any testimony or exhibit in a hearing or proceeding before the commission shall be available to, and subject to verification by, the commission and parties to the hearing or proceedings to the extent necessary for cross-examination or rebuttal, subject to applicable rules of evidence, except that verification is not required for any electricity demand model or forecast prepared by theSEC. 20.
Section 2774.6 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:2774.6.
The commission, in consultation with theSEC. 21.
Section 2840.2 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:2840.2.
For purposes of this article, the following terms have the following meanings:(c)“Electrical corporation” has the same meaning as defined in Section 218.
(d)“Energy Commission” means the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission.
(e)
(f)
SEC. 22.
Section 2854 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:2854.
(a) In order to further the state goal of encouraging the installation of 3,000 megawatts of photovoltaic solar energy in California within 10 years, the governing body of a local publicly owned electric utility that sells electricity at retail, shall adopt, implement, and finance a solar initiative program, funded in accordance with subdivision (b), for the purpose of investing in, and encouraging the increased installation of, residential and commercial solar energy systems.SEC. 23.
Section 9607 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:9607.
(a) The intent of this section is to avoid cost-shifting to customers of an electrical corporation resulting from the transfer of distribution services from an electrical corporation to an irrigation district.(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.