Bill Text: CA SB1385 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Electricity: multifamily housing local solar program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-08-11 - August 11 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. [SB1385 Detail]

Download: California-2021-SB1385-Amended.html

Amended  IN  Senate  March 24, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 1385


Introduced by Senator Cortese

February 18, 2022


An act to add Sections 399.34 and 2827.5 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to electricity.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1385, as amended, Cortese. Electricity: multifamily housing local solar program.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Under existing law, the Green Tariff Shared Renewables Program requires 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 directly in offsite electrical generation facilities that use eligible renewable energy resources. Existing law requires the commission, by June 30, 2017, to authorize, through the Multifamily Affordable Housing Solar Roofs Program, the awarding of monetary incentives for qualifying solar energy systems that are installed on qualified multifamily affordable housing properties through December 31, 2030.
This bill would require the commission, on or before January 1, 2024, to establish a new multifamily housing local solar program that would require each electrical corporation with more than 100,000 service connections in California to construct, or contract for the construction of, a solar and storage system on or near qualified multifamily housing, as specified.
Under existing law, a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.
Because a violation of a commission action implementing this bill’s requirements would be a crime, the 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: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) California’s rooftop solar program has primarily benefited higher income people who live in single-family residences.
(2) Rooftop solar developers and the existing programs intended to bring the benefits of rooftop solar to lower income people who live in multifamily housing have not been sufficient to remedy the disparities in the rooftop solar market.
(3) The existing rooftop solar programs have resulted in lower income customers, who do not get the benefits of rooftop solar, subsidizing higher income customers, who get those benefits.
(4) The existing rooftop solar programs have not brought solar and storage to high fire threat districts that could benefit from the resilience provided by local solar and storage systems.
(5) Community choice aggregators already have the authority, and do not need any additional legislative authorization, to implement a program analogous to that provided for in this act because they have the authority to own and operate electric generation and storage facilities and to provide bill credits to their customers in amounts they determine.
(b) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that this act bring the economic and resilience benefits of local solar and storage to lower income customers, customers in underserved communities, and customers in high fire threat districts, without shifting costs to nonparticipating customers.
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that the program established pursuant to this act be implemented as quickly as reasonably possible over a 10-year period.

SEC. 2.

 Section 399.34 is added to the Public Utilities Code, immediately following Section 399.33, to read:

399.34.
 For purposes of calculating retail sales pursuant to this article, the retail sales of a large electrical corporation, as defined in Section 2827, shall be reduced by the number of kilowatt-hours credited to its customers participating in the multifamily housing local solar program established pursuant to Section 2827.5.

SEC. 3.

 Section 2827.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

2827.5.
 (a) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “High fire threat district” means areas identified as tier 2 (elevated) or tier 3 (extreme) fire risk on the fire threat map maintained by the commission.
(2) “Large electrical corporation” has the same meaning as defined in Section 2827.
(3) “Low income “Low-income customer” means an individual or household who qualifies for one or more of the following programs:
(A) The California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) program described in Section 739.1.
(B) The Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) program described in Section 739.12.
(C) The CalFresh program established pursuant to (Chapter Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 18900) of Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code). Code.
(D) The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (Chapter 51 (commencing with Section 2011) of Title 7 of the United States Code).
(E) The Low-income Heating Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) (42 U.S.C. Sec. 8621).
(F) The federal Head Start Program (42 U.S.C. Sec. 9801 et seq.).
(4) “Proportionate share” means the share of the total program size allocated to each large electrical corporation based on that large electrical corporation’s share of the total electrical load of all large electrical corporations in California.
(5) “Qualified multifamily housing” means housing with four or more housing units that satisfies one of the following criteria:
(A) The housing predominantly houses low-income customers.
(B) The housing is located in an underserved community.
(C) The housing is located in a high fire threat district.
(6) “Renewable energy credit” has the same meaning as defined in Section 399.12.
(7) “Solar and storage system” means a photovoltaic generating system with paired storage that is sized to optimize the system’s ability to generate export electricity to the electrical grid at times of day when it is most valuable.
(8) “Total program size” means generating capacity of 3,000 megawatts.
(9) “Underserved community” has the same meaning as defined in Section 1601.
(b) On or before January 1, 2024, the commission shall establish a new multifamily housing local solar program consistent with all of the following requirements:
(1) The program shall be implemented as quickly as reasonably possible, but constructing one-half of the total program size shall not take longer than 5 years and constructing the total program size shall not take longer than 10 years.
(2) Each large electrical corporation shall identify enough qualified multifamily housing to satisfy its proportionate share.
(3) (A) Each large electrical corporation shall construct, or contract for the construction of, a solar and storage system on or near the qualified multifamily housing it identified pursuant to paragraph (2). The solar and storage system shall be sized to meet all, or part, of those customers’ electrical requirements.
(B) The property owner of qualified multifamily housing shall not be required to participate in the program established by this section. A large electrical corporation that seeks to site a solar and storage system on property that it does not own shall enter into a mutually agreeable lease, easement, or other arrangement with the property owner.
(4) The solar and storage system shall be owned by the large electrical corporation and connected in front of the customers’ meters.
(5) Each large electrical corporation shall export electricity from the solar and storage system and shall apply the value of revenue from the exports as follows: to provide monthly bill credits to participating low-income customers, pay the costs of constructing and operating the system, and pay the costs of administering the program. Each large electrical corporation shall not shift these costs to nonparticipating customers.

(A)The value of the electricity shall be set using the commission’s most recent avoided cost calculator or its successor.

(B)One-half of the value set pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be credited monthly to participating low-income customers residing in the qualified multifamily housing as a separate line item on their electricity bills.

(C)One-half of the value set pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be applied to the revenue requirement for the cost of the solar and storage system until the revenue requirement is paid off, at which time the entire value shall be credited to participating customers, less the costs of administering the program. The revenue requirement shall include the large electrical corporation’s reasonable costs of administering the program.

(6) Each large electrical corporation shall site and operate its the solar and storage system systems to accomplish, to the greatest extent feasible, all of the following:
(A) Maximizing the bill credit available to participating customers.
(B) Maximizing the economic and reliability benefits to the electrical system and all other customers.
(C) Providing resilience to participating customers and their communities.
(7) Each large electrical corporation shall retire all renewable energy credits from generation exported by the solar and storage system on behalf of the participating customers.
(c) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 1720 of the Labor Code, unless constructed by employees of a large electrical corporation, construction of each solar and storage system shall constitute a public works project for purposes of Article 2 (commencing with Section 1770) of Chapter 1 of Part 7 of Division 2 of the Labor Code.
(d) The commission may increase the total program size.

SEC. 4.

 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.
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