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

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-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 217	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


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 of the Public Utilities Code,
relating to energy.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 217, as introduced, 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 adopted the California Solar
Initiative. Existing law requires the PUC 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 adopted decisions that established the
Single-Family Affordable Solar Homes Program (SASH) and the
Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing Program (MASH), which 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, or until budgeted funds 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.
   Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


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

  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.