Bill Text: CA AB217 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

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

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Bill Title: Electricity: solar electricity: low-income households.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2013-10-07 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 609, Statutes of 2013. [AB217 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB217-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 217	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 1, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Bradford
   (Principal coauthor: Senator De León)

                        JANUARY 31, 2013

   An act  to add Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 2855)
to Chapter 9 of Part 2 of Division 1   to amend Sections
2851 and 2852  of the Public Utilities Code, relating to
energy.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 217, as amended, Bradford. Electricity: solar electricity:
low-income households.
   Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission  (PUC)
 has regulatory authority over public utilities, including
electrical corporations. Decisions of the  PUC  
commission  adopted the California Solar Initiative 
administered by the state's 3 largest electrical corporations and
subject to the commission's supervision  . Existing law requires
the  PUC   commission  to ensure that not
less than 10% of the funds for the California Solar Initiative are
utilized for the installation of solar energy systems, as defined, on
low-income residential housing, as defined. Pursuant to this
requirement, the  PUC   commission  adopted
decisions that established the Single-Family Affordable Solar Homes
Program (SASH) and the Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing Program
(MASH),  which   pursuant to which the
electrical corporations  provide monetary incentives for the
installation of solar energy systems on low-income residential
housing. The SASH and MASH programs will operate until December 31,
 2015   2016  , or until  budgeted
 funds  collected for the above purposes  are
exhausted, whichever occurs sooner. 
   This bill would require the PUC to adopt a program, pursuant to
prescribed requirements, to provide monetary incentives for the
installation of solar energy systems on low-income residential
housing commencing January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2021, inclusive.
This bill would require the program to be funded by charges collected
from customers of specified investor-owned utilities, subject to
prescribed limitations. This bill would prohibit the total cost of
the program from exceeding $108,000,000. This bill would establish
the Low Income Solar Energy Fund, would require the moneys collected
to be deposited therein, and to be made available to the commission
for the purposes of this bill upon appropriation by the Legislature.
 
   This bill would require that all moneys set aside for the purpose
of funding the installation of solar energy systems on low-income
residential housing, that are unexpended and unencumbered on January
1, 2022, be utilized to augment existing cost-effective energy
efficiency measures in low-income residential housing that benefit
ratepayers.  
   By imposing a charge on customers to fund the Solar Energy Program
for Low-Income Residential Housing, the bill would constitute a
change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a
higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIII A of the
California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the
approval of 2/3 of the membership of each house of the Legislature.
 
   This bill would, upon the exhaustion of those funds, authorize the
surcharge collected by the electrical corporations for the
California Solar Initiative to continue to provide funding for the
administration of the SASH and MASH programs. The bill would require
the commission to ensure the total amount resulting from the
continued collection of the charge does not exceed $108,000,000. The
bill would extend the operation of the SASH and MASH programs to
December 31, 2021, or until the exhaustion of that amount, whichever
occurs sooner. The bill would require the SASH and MASH programs to
meet specified requirements. Because a violation of any order,
decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission
is 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:  2/3   majority  . Appropriation:
no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program:  no
  yes  .


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 2851 of the   Public
Utilities Code   is amended to read: 
   2851.  (a) In implementing the California Solar Initiative, the
commission shall do all of the following:
   (1)  (A)    The commission shall authorize the
award of monetary incentives for up to the first megawatt of
alternating current generated by solar energy systems that meet the
eligibility criteria established by the  State 
Energy  Resources Conservation and Development 
Commission pursuant to Chapter 8.8 (commencing with Section 25780) of
Division 15 of the Public Resources Code. The commission shall
determine the eligibility of a solar energy system, as defined in
Section 25781 of the Public Resources Code, to receive monetary
incentives until the time the  State  Energy
 Resources Conservation and Development  Commission
establishes eligibility criteria pursuant to Section 25782. Monetary
incentives shall not be awarded for solar energy systems that do not
meet the eligibility criteria. The incentive level authorized by the
commission shall decline each year following implementation of the
California Solar Initiative, at a rate of no less than an average of
7 percent per year, and  , except as provided in subparagraph
(B),  shall be zero as of December 31, 2016. The commission
shall adopt and publish a schedule of declining incentive levels no
less than 30 days in advance of the first decline in incentive
levels. The commission may develop incentives based upon the output
of electricity from the system, provided those incentives are
consistent with the declining incentive levels of this paragraph and
the incentives apply to only the first megawatt of electricity
generated by the system. 
   (B) The incentive level for the installation of a solar energy
system pursuant to Section 2852 shall be zero as of December 31,
2021. 
   (2) The commission shall adopt a performance-based incentive
program so that by January 1, 2008, 100 percent of incentives for
solar energy systems of 100 kilowatts or greater and at least 50
percent of incentives for solar energy systems of 30 kilowatts or
greater are earned based on the actual electrical output of the solar
energy systems. The commission shall encourage, and may require,
performance-based incentives for solar energy systems of less than 30
kilowatts. Performance-based incentives shall decline at a rate of
no less than an average of 7 percent per year. In developing the
performance-based incentives, the commission may:
   (A) Apply performance-based incentives only to customer classes
designated by the commission.
   (B) Design the performance-based incentives so that customers may
receive a higher level of incentives than under incentives based on
installed electrical capacity.
   (C) Develop financing options that help offset the installation
costs of the solar energy system, provided that this financing is
ultimately repaid in full by the consumer or through the application
of the performance-based rebates.
   (3) By January 1, 2008, the commission, in consultation with the
 State  Energy  Resources Conservation and
Development  Commission, shall require reasonable and
cost-effective energy efficiency improvements in existing buildings
as a condition of providing incentives for eligible solar energy
systems, with appropriate exemptions or limitations to accommodate
the limited financial resources of low-income residential housing.
   (4) Notwithstanding subdivision (g) of Section 2827, the
commission may develop a time-variant tariff that creates the maximum
incentive for ratepayers to install solar energy systems so that the
system's peak electricity production coincides with California's
peak electricity demands and that ensures that ratepayers receive due
value for their contribution to the purchase of solar energy systems
and customers with solar energy systems continue to have an
incentive to use electricity efficiently. In developing the
time-variant tariff, the commission may exclude customers
participating in the tariff from the rate cap for residential
customers for existing baseline quantities or usage by those
customers of up to 130 percent of existing baseline quantities, as
required by Section  80110 of the Water Code  
739.9  . Nothing in this paragraph authorizes the commission to
require time-variant pricing for ratepayers without a solar energy
system.
   (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), in implementing the
California Solar Initiative, the commission may authorize the award
of monetary incentives for solar thermal and solar water heating
devices, in a total amount up to one hundred million eight hundred
thousand dollars ($100,800,000).
   (c) (1) In implementing the California Solar Initiative, the
commission shall not allocate more than fifty million dollars
($50,000,000) to research, development, and demonstration that
explores solar technologies and other distributed generation
technologies that employ or could employ solar energy for generation
or storage of electricity or to offset natural gas usage. Any program
that allocates additional moneys to research, development, and
demonstration shall be developed in collaboration with the Energy
Commission to ensure there is no duplication of efforts, and adopted
by the commission through a rulemaking or other appropriate public
proceeding. Any grant awarded by the commission for research,
development, and demonstration shall be approved by the full
commission at a public meeting. This subdivision does not prohibit
the commission from continuing to allocate moneys to research,
development, and demonstration pursuant to the self-generation
incentive program for distributed generation resources originally
established pursuant to Chapter 329 of the Statutes of 2000, as
modified pursuant to Section 379.6.
   (2) The Legislature finds and declares that a program that
provides a stable source of monetary incentives for eligible solar
energy systems will encourage private investment sufficient to make
solar technologies cost effective.
   (3) On or before June 30, 2009, and by June 30th of every year
thereafter, the commission shall submit to the Legislature an
assessment of the success of the California Solar Initiative program.
That assessment shall include the number of residential and
commercial sites that have installed solar thermal devices for which
an award was made pursuant to subdivision (b) and the dollar value of
the award, the number of residential and commercial sites that have
installed solar energy systems, the electrical generating capacity of
the installed solar energy systems, the cost of the program, total
electrical system benefits, including the effect on electrical
service rates, environmental benefits, how the program affects the
operation and reliability of the electrical grid, how the program has
affected peak demand for electricity, the progress made toward
reaching the goals of the program, whether the program is on schedule
to meet the program goals, and recommendations for improving the
program to meet its goals. If the commission allocates additional
moneys to research, development, and demonstration that explores
solar technologies and other distributed generation technologies
pursuant to paragraph (1), the commission shall include in the
assessment submitted to the Legislature, a description of the
program, a summary of each award made or project funded pursuant to
the program, including the intended purposes to be achieved by the
particular award or project, and the results of each award or
project.
   (d) (1) The commission shall not impose any charge upon the
consumption of natural gas, or upon natural gas ratepayers, to fund
the California Solar Initiative.
   (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any charge imposed
to fund the program adopted and implemented pursuant to this section
shall be imposed upon all customers not participating in the
California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) or family electric rate
assistance (FERA) programs, including those residential customers
subject to the rate  cap required by  
limitation specified in  Section  80110 of the Water
Code   739.9  for existing baseline quantities or
usage up to 130 percent of existing baseline quantities of
electricity.
   (3) The costs of the program adopted and implemented pursuant to
this section may not be recovered from customers participating in the
California Alternate Rates for Energy or CARE program established
pursuant to Section 739.1, except to the extent that program costs
are recovered out of the nonbypassable system benefits charge
authorized pursuant to Section 399.8.
   (e) In implementing the California Solar Initiative, the
commission shall  ,   except as provided in subdivision
(f),  ensure that the total cost over the duration of the
program does not exceed three billion five hundred fifty million
eight hundred thousand dollars ($3,550,800,000). The financial
components of the California Solar Initiative shall consist of the
following:
   (1) Programs under the supervision of the commission funded by
charges collected from customers of San Diego Gas and Electric
Company, Southern California Edison Company, and Pacific Gas and
Electric Company.  The   Except as provided in
subdivision (f), the  total cost over the duration of these
programs shall not exceed two billion three hundred sixty-six million
eight hundred thousand dollars ($2,366,800,000) and includes moneys
collected directly into a tracking account for support of the
California Solar Initiative.
   (2) Programs adopted, implemented, and financed in the amount of
seven hundred eighty-four million dollars ($784,000,000), by charges
collected by local publicly owned electric utilities pursuant to
Section 387.5. Nothing in this subdivision shall give the commission
power and jurisdiction with respect to a local publicly owned
electric utility or its customers.
   (3) Programs for the installation of solar energy systems on new
construction, administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation
and Development Commission, and funded by charges in the amount of
four hundred million dollars ($400,000,000), collected from customers
of San Diego Gas and Electric Company, Southern California Edison
Company, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
   (4) The changes made to this subdivision by the act adding this
paragraph do not authorize the levy of a charge or any increase in
the amount collected pursuant to any existing charge, nor do the
changes add to, or detract from, the commission's existing authority
to levy or increase charges. 
   (f) Notwithstanding subdivision (e), upon exhaustion of the amount
specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (e), the commission shall
authorize the continued collection of the charge for the purposes of
Section 2852. The commission shall ensure that the total amount
collected pursuant to this subdivision does not exceed one hundred
eight million dollars ($108,000,000). 
   SEC. 2.    Section 2852 of the   Public
Utilities Code   is amended to read: 
   2852.  (a) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (1) "Affordable housing cost," "affordable rent," and "lower
income households" have the same meanings as in those set forth in
Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 50050) of Part 1 of Division 31 of
the Health and Safety Code.
   (2) "California Solar Initiative" means the program providing
ratepayer funded incentives for eligible solar energy systems adopted
by the Public Utilities Commission in Decision 05-12-044 and
Decision 06-01-024.
   (3) "Low-income residential housing" means any of the following:
   (A) A multifamily residential complex financed with low-income
housing tax credits, tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds, general
obligation bonds, or local, state, or federal loans or grants, and
for which either of the following applies:
   (i) The rents of the occupants who are lower income households do
not exceed those prescribed by deed restrictions or regulatory
agreements pursuant to the terms of the financing or financial
assistance.
   (ii) The affordable units have been or will be initially sold at
an affordable housing cost to a lower income household and those
units are subject to a resale restriction or equity sharing agreement
pursuant to the terms of the financing or financial assistance.
   (B) A multifamily residential complex in which at least 20 percent
of the total housing units are sold or rented to lower income
households and either of the following applies:
   (i) The rental housing units targeted for lower income households
are subject to a deed restriction or affordability covenant with a
public entity or nonprofit housing provider organized under Section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code that has as its stated purpose
in its articles of incorporation on file with the office of the
Secretary of State to provide affordable housing to lower income
households that ensures that the units will be available at an
affordable rent for a period of at least 30 years.
   (ii) The housing units have been or will be initially sold at an
affordable cost to a lower income household and those units are
subject to a resale restriction or equity sharing agreement, for
which the homeowner does not receive a greater share of equity than
described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 65915 of the
Government Code, with a public entity or nonprofit housing provider
organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code that
has as its stated purpose in its articles of incorporation on file
with the office of the Secretary of State to provide affordable
housing to lower income households.
   (C) An individual residence sold at an affordable housing cost to
a lower income household that is subject to a resale restriction or
equity sharing agreement, for which the homeowner does not receive a
greater share of equity than described in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (c) of Section 65915 of the Government Code, with a
public entity or nonprofit housing provider organized under Section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code that has as its stated purpose
in its articles of incorporation on file with the office of the
Secretary of State to provide affordable housing to lower income
households.
   (4) "Solar energy system" means a solar energy device that has the
primary purpose of providing for the collection and distribution of
solar energy for the generation of electricity, that produces at
least one kilowatt, and produces not more than five megawatts,
alternating current rated peak electricity, and that meets or exceeds
the eligibility criteria established by the commission or the
 State  Energy  Resources Conservation and
Development  Commission.
   (b) In establishing the California Solar Initiative, no moneys
shall be diverted from any existing programs for low-income
ratepayers, or from cost-effective energy efficiency or demand
response programs.
   (c) (1) The commission shall ensure that not less than 10 percent
of the funds for the California Solar Initiative  , as specified
in subdivision (e) of, or moneys collected pursuant to subdivision
(f) of, Section 2851,  are utilized for the installation of
solar energy systems on low-income residential housing.
Notwithstanding any other law, the commission may modify the monetary
incentives made available pursuant to the California Solar
Initiative to accommodate the limited financial resources of
low-income residential housing.
   (2) The commission may incorporate a revolving loan or loan
guarantee program into the California Solar Initiative for low-income
residential housing. All loans outstanding as of January 1, 
2016   2021  , shall continue to be repaid
consistent with the terms and conditions of the program adopted and
implemented by the commission pursuant to this subdivision, until
repaid in full.
   (3) All moneys set aside for the purpose of funding the
installation of solar energy systems on low-income residential
housing that are unexpended and unencumbered on January 1, 
2016   2021  , and all moneys thereafter repaid
pursuant to paragraph (2), except to the extent those moneys are
encumbered pursuant to this section, shall be utilized to augment
existing cost-effective energy efficiency measures in low-income
residential housing that benefit ratepayers. 
   (d) In supervising a program implementing the California Solar
Initiative pursuant to this section, the commission shall ensure that
the program does all of the following:  
   (1) Is a cost-effective investment by ratepayers in peak
electricity generation capacity where ratepayers recoup the cost of
their investment through lower rates as a result of avoiding
purchases of electricity at peak rates, with additional system
reliability and pollution reduction benefits.  
   (2) Requires reasonable and cost-effective energy efficiency
improvements in existing buildings as a condition of providing
incentives for eligible solar energy systems, with appropriate
exemptions or limitations to accommodate the limited financial
resources of low-income residential housing.  
   (3) Requires participants who receive monetary incentives to
enroll in the Energy Savings Assistance Program established pursuant
to Section 382, if eligible.  
   (4) Provides job training and employment opportunities in the
solar energy and energy efficiency sectors of the economy. 
   SEC. 3.    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.  
  SECTION 1.    Article 1.5 (commencing with Section
2855) is added to Chapter 9 of Part 2 of Division 1 of the Public
Utilities Code, to read:

      Article 1.5.  Solar Energy Program for Low-Income Residential
Housing


   2855.  The Legislature finds and declares that it is the goal of
the state to establish a program to install solar energy systems that
have a generating capacity equivalent of 50 megawatts on low-income
residential housing during the period from January 1, 2016, to
December 31, 2021, inclusive.
   2856.  As used in this article, the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (a) "Low-income residential housing" has the same meaning as that
term is defined in Section 2852.
   (b) "Solar energy system" has the same meaning as that term is
defined in Section 2852.
   2857.  Commencing January 1, 2015, until December 31, 2021, the
commission shall adopt a program to provide monetary incentives for
the installation of solar energy systems on low-income residential
housing receiving service from San Diego Gas and Electric Company,
Southern California Edison Company, and Pacific Gas and Electric
Company.
   2858.  The program adopted by the commission, pursuant to this
article, shall do all of the following:
   (a) Be a cost-effective investment by ratepayers in peak
electricity generation capacity where ratepayers recoup the cost of
their investment through lower rates as a result of avoiding
purchases of electricity at peak rates, with additional system
reliability and pollution reduction benefits.
   (b) Require reasonable and cost-effective energy efficiency
improvements in existing buildings as a condition of providing
incentives for eligible solar energy systems, with appropriate
exemptions or limitations to accommodate the limited financial
resources of low-income residential housing.
   (c) Require participants who receive monetary incentives to enroll
in the Energy Savings Assistance Program established pursuant to
Section 382, if eligible.
   (d) Provide job training and employment opportunities in the solar
energy and energy efficiency sectors of the economy.
   (e) Prohibit participants in the program from receiving monetary
incentives in those locations where incentives are available pursuant
to Section 2852.
   2859.  (a) The program shall be funded by charges collected from
customers of San Diego Gas and Electric Company, Southern California
Edison Company, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company. The total cost
over the duration of the program shall not exceed one hundred eight
million dollars ($108,000,000).
   (b) In establishing the program, moneys shall not be diverted from
any existing programs for low-income ratepayers, or from
cost-effective energy efficiency or demand response programs.
   (c) (1) The commission shall not impose any charge upon the
consumption of natural gas, or upon natural gas ratepayers, to fund
the program.
   (2) Notwithstanding any other law, any charge imposed to fund the
program adopted and implemented pursuant to this article shall be
imposed upon all customers not participating in the California
Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) or family electric rate assistance
(FERA) programs, including those residential customers subject to the
rate cap required by Section 80110 of the Water Code for existing
baseline quantities or usage up to 130 percent of existing baseline
quantities of electricity.
   (3) The costs of the program adopted and implemented pursuant to
this section shall not be recovered from customers participating in
the CARE program established pursuant to Section 739.1, except to the
extent that program costs are recovered out of the nonbypassable
system benefits charge authorized pursuant to Section 399.8.
   (d) All moneys set aside for the purpose of funding the
installation of solar energy systems on low-income residential
housing that are unexpended and unencumbered on January 1, 2022,
except to the extent those moneys are encumbered pursuant to this
article, shall be utilized to augment existing cost-effective energy
efficiency measures in low-income residential housing that benefit
ratepayers.
   (e) The Low Income Solar Energy Fund is hereby established in the
State Treasury. Moneys collected pursuant to this article shall be
deposited into the fund and made available to the commission for the
purposes of this article upon appropriation by the Legislature.