Bill Text: CA AB415 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Green Tariff Shared Renewables Program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2016-02-01 - Died at Desk. [AB415 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AB415-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 415	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Chávez

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2015

   An act to amend Section 2831 of the Public Utilities Code,
relating to energy.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 415, as introduced, Chávez. Green Tariff Shared Renewables
Program.
   Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations.
Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges
for every public utility, and requires that those rates and charges
be just and reasonable. The Green Tariff Shared Renewables Program
requires a participating utility, defined as being an electrical
corporation with 100,000 or more customers in California, to file
with the commission an application requesting approval of a tariff to
implement a program enabling ratepayers to participate in electrical
generation facilities that use eligible renewable energy resources,
consistent with certain legislative findings and statements of
intent.
   This bill would make a nonsubstantive revision to the legislative
findings and statements of intent.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


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

  SECTION 1.  Section 2831 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   2831.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (a) Building operational generating facilities that utilize
sources of renewable energy within California, to supply the state's
demand for electricity, provides significant financial, health,
environmental, and workforce benefits to the State of California.
   (b) The California Solar Initiative will achieve its goals,
resulting in over 150,000 residential and commercial onsite
installations of solar energy systems. However, the California Solar
Initiative cannot reach all residents and businesses that want to
participate and is limited to only solar energy systems and not other
eligible renewable energy resources. A green tariff shared
renewables program seeks to build on the success of the California
Solar Initiative by expanding access to all eligible renewable energy
resources to all ratepayers who are currently unable to access the
benefits of onsite generation.
   (c) There is widespread interest from many large institutional
customers, including schools, colleges, universities, local
governments, businesses, and the military, for the development of
generation facilities that are eligible renewable energy resources to
serve more than 33 percent of their energy needs.
   (d) Public institutions will benefit from a green tariff shared
renewables program's enhanced flexibility to participate in shared
generation facilities that are eligible renewable energy resources.
   (e) Building operational generating facilities that are eligible
renewable energy resources creates jobs, reduces emissions of
greenhouse gases, and promotes energy independence.
   (f) Many large energy users in California have pursued onsite
electrical generation from eligible renewable energy resources, but
cannot achieve their goals due to rooftop or land space limitations,
or size limits on net energy metering. The enactment of this chapter
will create a mechanism whereby institutional customers, such as
military installations, universities, and local governments, as well
as commercial customers and groups of individuals, can meet their
needs with electrical generation from eligible renewable energy
resources.
   (g) It is the intent of the Legislature that a green tariff shared
renewables program be implemented in  such  a
manner that facilitates a large, sustainable market for offsite
electrical generation from facilities that are eligible renewable
energy resources, while fairly compensating electrical corporations
for the services they provide, without affecting nonparticipating
ratepayers.
   (h) It is the further intent of the Legislature that a green
tariff shared renewables program be implemented in a manner that
ensures nonparticipating ratepayer indifference for the remaining
bundled service, direct access, and community choice aggregation
customers.