Bill Text: CA AB512 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Local government renewable energy self-generation
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2011-10-06 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 478, Statutes of 2011. [AB512 Detail]
Download: California-2011-AB512-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 512 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 478
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 6, 2011
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 5, 2011
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 30, 2011
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 2, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 25, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 12, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gordon
FEBRUARY 15, 2011
An act to amend Section 2830 of the Public Utilities Code,
relating to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 512, Gordon. Local government renewable energy self-generation
program.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations,
as defined. Existing law authorizes a local government, as defined,
to receive a bill credit, as defined, to be applied to a designated
benefiting account for electricity exported to the electrical grid by
an eligible renewable generating facility, as defined, and requires
the commission to adopt a rate tariff for the benefiting account.
Existing law establishes the responsibilities of the affected
electrical corporation to which the facility is interconnected. An
eligible renewable generating facility for the purposes of these
provisions is limited to a facility that has a generating capacity of
no more than one megawatt. These provisions are known as the Local
Government Renewable Energy Self-Generation Program.
This bill would expand the definition of an eligible renewable
generating facility for the purposes of the program to include a
facility that has a generating capacity of no more than 5 megawatts.
The bill would prohibit an electrical corporation from being required
to compensate a local government for electricity generated from a
facility in excess of the bill credits applied to the designated
benefiting account. The bill would prohibit a local government
renewable generation facility participating in the program from being
eligible for any other tariff or program that requires an electrical
corporation to purchase generation from that facility while
participating in the program. The bill would exempt an electrical
corporation with 60,000 or fewer customer accounts from the program.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 2830 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
2830. (a) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Benefiting account" means an electricity account, or more
than one account, located within the geographical boundaries of a
local government or, for a campus, within the geographical boundary
of the city, county, or city and county in which the campus is
located, that is mutually agreed upon by the local government or
campus and an electrical corporation.
(2) "Bill credit" means an amount of money credited to a
benefiting account that is calculated based upon the time-of-use
electricity generation component of the electricity usage charge of
the generating account, multiplied by the quantities of electricity
generated by an eligible renewable generating facility that are
exported to the grid during the corresponding time period.
Electricity is exported to the grid if it is generated by an eligible
renewable generating facility, is not utilized onsite by the local
government, and the electricity flows through the meter site and on
to the electrical corporation's distribution or transmission
infrastructure.
(3) "Campus" means an individual community college campus,
individual California State University campus, or individual
University of California campus.
(4) "Eligible renewable generating facility" means a generation
facility that meets all of the following requirements:
(A) Has a generating capacity of no more than five megawatts.
(B) Is an eligible renewable energy resource, as defined in
Article 16 (commencing with Section 399.11) of Part 1.
(C) Is located within the geographical boundary of the local
government or, for a campus, within the geographical boundary of the
city or city and county, if the campus is located in an incorporated
area, or county, if the campus is located in an unincorporated area.
(D) Is owned by, operated by, or on property under the control of,
the local government or campus.
(E) Is sized to offset all or part of the electrical load of the
benefiting account. For these purposes, premises that are leased by a
local government or campus are under the control of the local
government or campus.
(5) "Generating account" means the time-of-use electric service
account of the local government or campus where the eligible
renewable generating facility is located.
(6) "Local government" means a city, county, whether general law
or chartered, city and county, special district, school district,
political subdivision, or other local public agency, but shall not
mean a joint powers authority, the state or any agency or department
of the state, other than an individual campus of the University of
California or the California State University.
(b) Subject to the limitation in subdivision (h), a local
government may elect to receive electric service pursuant to this
section, if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The local government designates one or more benefiting
accounts to receive a bill credit.
(2) A benefiting account receives service under a time-of-use rate
schedule.
(3) The benefiting account is the responsibility of, and serves
property that is owned, operated, or on property under the control of
the same local government that owns, operates, or controls the
eligible renewable generating facility.
(4) The electrical output of the eligible renewable generating
facility is metered for time of use to allow calculation of the bill
credit based upon when the electricity is exported to the grid.
(5) All costs associated with the metering requirements of
paragraphs (2) and (4) are the responsibility of the local
government.
(6) All costs associated with interconnection are the
responsibility of the local government. For purposes of this
paragraph, "interconnection" has the same meaning as defined in
Section 2803, except that it applies to the interconnection of an
eligible renewable generating facility rather than the energy source
of a private energy producer.
(7) The local government does not sell electricity exported to the
electrical grid to a third party.
(8) All electricity exported to the grid by the local government
that is generated by the eligible renewable generating facility
becomes the property of the electrical corporation to which the
facility is interconnected, but shall not be counted toward the
electrical corporation's total retail sales for purposes of Article
16 (commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1.
Ownership of the renewable energy credits, as defined in Section
399.12, shall be the same as the ownership of the renewable energy
credits associated with electricity that is net metered pursuant to
Section 2827.
(9) An electrical corporation shall not be required to compensate
a local government for electricity generated from an eligible
renewable facility pursuant to this section in excess of the bill
credits applied to the designated benefiting account. A local
government renewable generation facility participating pursuant to
this section shall not be eligible for any other tariff or program
that requires an electrical corporation to purchase generation from
that facility while participating in the local government renewable
energy self-generation program pursuant to this section.
(c) (1) A benefiting account shall be billed for all electricity
usage, and for each bill component, at the rate schedule applicable
to the benefiting account, including any cost-responsibility
surcharge or other cost recovery mechanism, as determined by the
commission, to reimburse the Department of Water Resources for
purchases of electricity, pursuant to Division 27 (commencing with
Section 80000) of the Water Code.
(2) The bill shall then subtract the bill credit applicable to the
benefiting account. The generation component credited to the
benefiting account shall not include the cost-responsibility
surcharge or other cost recovery mechanism, as determined by the
commission, to reimburse the Department of Water Resources for
purchases of electricity, pursuant to Division 27 (commencing with
Section 80000) of the Water Code. The electrical corporation shall
ensure that the local government receives the full bill credit.
(3) If, during the billing cycle, the generation component of the
electricity usage charges exceeds the bill credit, the benefiting
account shall be billed for the difference.
(4) If, during the billing cycle, the bill credit applied pursuant
to paragraph (2) exceeds the generation component of the electricity
usage charges, the difference shall be carried forward as a
financial credit to the next billing cycle.
(5) After the electricity usage charge pursuant to paragraph (1)
and the credit pursuant to paragraph (2) are determined for the last
billing cycle of a 12-month period, any remaining credit resulting
from the application of this section shall be reset to zero.
(d) The commission shall ensure that the transfer of a bill credit
to a benefiting account does not result in a shifting of costs to
bundled service subscribers. The costs associated with the transfer
of a bill credit shall include all billing-related expenses.
(e) Not more frequently than once per year, and upon providing the
electrical corporation with a minimum of 60 days' notice, the local
government may elect to change a benefiting account. Any credit
resulting from the application of this section earned prior to the
change in a benefiting account that has not been used as of the date
of the change in the benefiting account, shall be applied, and may
only be applied, to a benefiting account as changed.
(f) A local government shall provide the electrical corporation to
which the eligible renewable generating facility will be
interconnected with not less than 60 days' notice prior to the
eligible renewable generating facility becoming operational. The
electrical corporation shall file an advice letter with the
commission that complies with this section not later than 30 days
after receipt of the notice, proposing a rate tariff for a benefiting
account. The commission, within 30 days of the date of filing, shall
approve the proposed tariff or specify conforming changes to be made
by the electrical corporation to be filed in a new advice letter.
(g) The local government may terminate its election pursuant to
subdivision (b), upon providing the electrical corporation with a
minimum of 60 days' notice. Should the local government sell its
interest in the eligible renewable generating facility, or sell the
electricity generated by the eligible renewable generating facility,
in a manner other than required by this section, upon the date of
either event, and the earliest date if both events occur, no further
bill credit pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) may be
earned. Only credit earned prior to that date shall be made to a
benefiting account.
(h) An electrical corporation is not obligated to provide a bill
credit to a benefiting account that is not designated by a local
government prior to the point in time that the combined statewide
cumulative rated generating capacity of all eligible renewable
generating facilities within the service territories of the state's
three largest electrical corporations reaches 250 megawatts. Only
those eligible renewable generating facilities that are providing
bill credits to benefiting accounts pursuant to this section shall
count toward reaching this 250-megawatt limitation. Each electrical
corporation shall only be required to offer service or contracts
under this section until that electrical corporation reaches its
proportionate share of the 250-megawatt limitation based on the ratio
of its peak demand to the total statewide peak demand of all
electrical corporations.
(i) This chapter does not apply to an electrical corporation with
60,000 or fewer customer accounts.
