Bill Text: CA AB2529 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Energy: usage: plug-in equipment.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-05-23 - Joint Rule 62(a), file notice suspended. (Page 5065.) In committee: Set, second hearing. Held under submission. [AB2529 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB2529-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2529 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 15, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 12, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 21, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Williams
FEBRUARY 21, 2014
An act to add Section 25327 to the Public Resources Code, relating
to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2529, as amended, Williams. Energy: usage: plug-in equipment.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission (Energy Commission), on a biennial basis, to
conduct assessments and forecasts of all aspects of energy industry
supply, production, transportation, delivery, and distribution.
Existing law requires the Energy Commission, beginning November 1,
2003, and biennially thereafter, to adopt an integrated energy policy
report containing an overview of major energy trends and issues
facing the state.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
jurisdiction over the public utilities, including electrical
corporations.
This bill would require the Energy Commission and the Public
Utilities Commission, working jointly, to perform a baseline study,
by January 1, 2017, of energy usage by plug-in equipment, as defined,
during the year 2014, and to develop a coordinated implementation
plan to achieve by 2030 specified aggregate reductions in energy
consumption by plug-in equipment from the 2014 baseline, with
biennial intermediate targets. The bill would authorize the Energy
Commission and the Public Utilities Commission to increase or
decrease the aggregate reduction targets in energy consumption, if
the Energy Commission and the Public Utilities Commission jointly
determine, based on the baseline study, that those aggregate
reduction targets are either unattainable or uneconomic for
ratepayers, or are too conservative and would require a notice to be
submitted to the Legislature, if those targets are increased or
decreased due to unforseen developments in plug-in equipment
technology or the market for plug-in equipment. The bill would
require the Energy Commission to report on the progress toward
meeting the reduction targets and update the implementation plan as a
part of the integrated energy policy report.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) Energy efficiency programs and standards are essential tools
to help California conserve energy.
(2) Currently, the various types of plug-in equipment, such as
indoor and outdoor appliances, consumer and office electronics, and
power tools, are responsible for over 50 percent of residential
electricity consumption and 16 percent of commercial electricity
consumption in California and this electricity consumption is
projected to increase by 2030.
(3) California has set ambitious goals for energy efficiency in
buildings and lighting, but does not have quantified goals for a
category that represents the majority of residential electricity
consumption.
(4) Large and cost-effective energy savings opportunities remain
available in plug-in equipment. There is a need to supplement
appliance efficiency standards by expanding existing incentive
programs and developing other approaches including partnerships with
industry, research and development, and consumer education.
(5) Market barriers, such as a lack of consumer awareness and
information on product lifetime energy costs, and split incentives
between manufacturers who make the key design decisions and consumers
who pay the electricity bill give efficiency programs a critical
role in realizing the economic potential for energy efficiency in
plug-in equipment.
(6) Challenges with the evaluation and the attribution of program
savings to utilities and implementers, as well as the focus on
short-term savings, are limiting the utilities' ability to achieve
market transformation saving opportunities that take longer to
implement and require upfront investment to yield large future
savings.
(7) There are insufficient opportunities for the State Energy
Resources Conservation and Development Commission and the Public
Utilities Commission to integrate key industry expertise into program
design and implementation.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to set a goal for plug-in
equipment energy consumption to ensure both of the following:
(1) Energy savings opportunities in support of the state's energy
and climate change goals are captured.
(2) The effective utilization of incentive programs, partnerships
with industry, research and development, consumer education, and
efficiency standards to meet the state's energy and climate goals.
SEC. 2. Section 25327 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
25327. (a) (1) For the purposes of this section, except as
provided in paragraph (2), "plug-in equipment" means an electrical
device that plugs into a wall power
outlet, including, but not limited to, indoor appliances, such as
kitchen and laundry appliances, portable, window-mounted, or
through-the-wall HVAC equipment, commercial plug-in refrigeration,
and security appliances; plug-in outdoor appliances; consumer and
office electronics; personal care products; and power tools.
(2) "Plug-in equipment" does not include the following:
(A) Servers Equipment at
industrial-scale data centers located in buildings whose primary
function is to be a data center.
(B) Non-plug-in heating, ventilation, and cooling equipment,
including split, packaged, or built up HVAC equipment that is
typically installed by an HVAC contractor.
(C) Built-in or portable lighting.
(D) Infrastructure loads connected directly to the building
wiring, such as Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) breakers and
outlets, smoke or carbon monoxide detectors, dimming switches, and
doorbells.
(E) Electric vehicles.
(F) Medical devices, as defined in subsection (h) of Section 321
of Title 21 of the United States Code.
(3) For purposes of this subdivision, wall
power outlets include line outlets, such as 110 Voltage
Alternating Current (VAC) and other emerging delivery mechanisms,
including Universal Serial Bus (USB), Power over Ethernet (PoE), and
24 volt direct current (V DC).
(4) For purposes of this subdivision "HVAC" means heating,
ventilation, and air conditioning.
(b) The commission and the Public Utilities Commission, working
jointly, shall do all of the following:
(1) On or before January 1, 2017, perform a baseline study of
energy use by plug-in equipment in both the residential and
commercial sectors of the state during the year 2014, in accordance
with the following:
(A) The study shall identify the average annual energy
consumption of individual product categories that account for 80
percent of total the total average annual
energy consumption for plug-in electricity consumption
equipment in the residential sector and in the
commercial sector.
(B) The study shall include those products that the commission and
the Public Utilities Commission elect to include, based on market
and technology trends.
(C) When conducting the study, priority shall be given to the use
of existing recent and relevant studies whenever possible, including
those performed in other states, instead of performing new field
studies.
(2) Develop a coordinated implementation plan, in consultation
with stakeholders, including equ ipment
manufacturers, equipment retailers, and electric utilities, to
achieve by 2030 at least a 25-percent aggregate reduction in energy
consumption per residential household, and a 40-percent aggregate
reduction in energy consumption per square foot of commercial space,
by plug-in equipment in the state from the 2014 baseline determined
pursuant to paragraph (1), with biennial intermediate targets between
2018 to 2030, except as provided in subdivision (c). The coordinated
implementation plan shall meet all of the following requirements:
(A) Be comprised of a complementary portfolio of techniques,
applications, and practices that may include, but need not be limited
to, incentive programs, rebate programs, appliance early replacement
rebate programs that link purchase and disposal rebates, upstream
market transformation programs, voluntary initiatives and
partnerships with industry to promote innovation, expanded research
and development, public outreach and education efforts, and
efficiency standards.
(B) Consider costs and ratepayer protections, consistent with
Section 25000.1.
(C) Use an accurate cost-effectiveness methodology for assessing
the long-term value of efficiency savings and ensure that benefits
outweigh costs to ratepayers.
(3) Work with stakeholders to address challenges that may limit or
inhibit the achievement of the reduction targets set forth in
paragraph (2), including, but not limited to, the evaluation and
attribution of energy savings, and the enablement of market
transformation programs.
(4) Track the implementation of the plan in meeting the reduction
targets annually through the Electricity Supply Analysis Division of
the commission and the Energy Division of the Public Utilities
Commission.
(5) Revise the implementation plan and priorities in consultation
with stakeholders.
(c) (1) The commission and the Public Utilities Commission may
increase or decrease the aggregate reduction targets for energy
consumption specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), if the
commission and the Public Utilities Commission jointly determine,
based on the baseline energy use study conducted pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), (b),
that those aggregate reduction targets for energy consumption are
either unattainable or uneconomic for ratepayers, or are too
conservative.
(2) If, as a result of unforseen developments in plug-in equipment
technology or the market for plug-in equipment, the commission and
the Public Utilities Commission take action pursuant to paragraph
(1), the commission and the Public Utilities Commission shall submit
a notice to the Legislature, in accordance with Section 9795 of the
Government Code, describing that action, including the basis for that
action.
(d) The commission shall report on the progress toward meeting the
reduction targets through the tracking pursuant to paragraph (4) of
subdivision (b) and update the implementation plan, as a part of the
integrated energy policy report required pursuant to Section 25302.
