CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1846

Introduced by Assembly Member Salas

January 06, 2020

An act to add Section 772.5 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to public utilities.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1846, as introduced, Salas. Public utilities: in-home energy display units.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations. Existing law authorizes smart grid technologies to be deployed in a manner to maximize the benefit to ratepayers and to achieve the benefits of smart grid technology, authorizes the commission to modify or adjust smart grid technology requirements for an electrical corporation with fewer than 100,000 service connections as individual circumstances merit, and requires the commission, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, the Independent System Operator, and electrical corporations, to evaluate the impact of the deployment on major initiatives and policies. Existing law requires electrical corporations that utilize advanced metering infrastructure allowing customers to access their electrical consumption data to ensure that those customers have an option to access that data without being required to agree to the sharing of their personally identifiable information, including electrical consumption data, with a third party.
This bill would require the commission to require each public utility that provides utility service to a residential customer to ensure that an in-home usage display unit, as defined, is installed in each residence that is in its service territory and is first occupied on or after January 1, 2031.
Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.
Because a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission implementing the provisions of this bill would be a crime, this 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 a specified reason.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 772.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

772.5.
 (a) The commission shall require each public utility that provides utility service to a residential customer to ensure that an in-home usage display unit is installed in each residence that is in its service territory and is first occupied on or after January 1, 2031.
(b) For purposes of this section, an “in-home usage display unit” is a device that provides a utility account holder with real-time consumption data and pricing for the service provided and that is capable of sending alerts through email, text message, or automated telephone call to the account holder.

SEC. 2.

 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.