Bill Text: CA SB501 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

California Senate Bill 501

Bill Title: Retail hydrogen refueling stations: reliability and service quality plan.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2024-02-01 - Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [SB501 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB501-Amended.html

Amended IN Senate April 19, 2023

Amended IN Senate March 20, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 501

Introduced by Senator Newman

February 14, 2023

An act to add Section 43871.5 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to greenhouse gases.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 501, as amended, Newman. ~~Hydrogen~~ Retail hydrogen refueling stations: reliability and service quality plan.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Pursuant to the act, the state board has adopted the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard regulations.

Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, in partnership with the state board and in consultation with other state agencies, as specified, to develop and adopt a state plan to increase the use of alternative transportation fuels, which includes hydrogen. Existing law requires the energy commission, in consultation with the state board and the Public Utilities Commission, to prepare a statewide assessment of the fuel cell electric vehicle fueling infrastructure and fuel production needed to support the adoption of zero-emission vehicles, as specified.

This bill would require the energy commission to develop a plan for improving reliability, service quality, and operational uptime of retail hydrogen fueling stations, would require specified metrics for measuring reliability, and would require the use of a public workshop process to develop the measures. The bill would require a retail hydrogen refueling ~~stations~~ station operator to maintain a publicly available online customer feedback portal, ~~post~~ and prominently display the ~~online~~ internet website address for the feedback portal at the operator’s retail hydrogen refueling station in a place clearly visible to a customer during ~~refueling, and~~ refueling. The bill would disqualify a retail hydrogen refueling station operator from receiving a publicly funded ~~grants~~ grant if it the operator fails to comply. The bill would require the energy commission to convene a public workshop process to ~~create additional feedback portal requirements.~~ develop mechanisms to improve consumer access to information about the status of a retail hydrogen refueling station’s ability to meet refueling demands and recommend ways a consumer can provide feedback on service concerns at a retail hydrogen refueling station.

This bill would require the energy commission to use the data collected under these provisions to develop numerical scales for station operator and station quality rankings, as specified. The bill would require the energy commission to create an internet website with an interactive map of every hydrogen refueling station in the state that provides specified information for each station.
This bill would require the state board to develop a performance penalty and quality bonus wherein the poorest performing stations would have a percentage of their Low-Carbon Fuel Standard credits withheld each quarter and those credits would be awarded to the highest performing stations.
This bill would require the energy commission, with the input of stakeholders, to analyze existing retail hydrogen refueling station performance, identify barriers to improving retail hydrogen refueling station performance, and develop recommendations for mechanisms to improve retail hydrogen refueling station performance, as specified.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

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

SECTION 1.

Section 43871.5 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

43871.5.

(a) The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission shall do all of the following:

(1) Develop a plan for improving the reliability, service quality, and operational uptime of retail hydrogen fueling stations in California.

(2) Convene a public workshop process to develop measures of reliability and service quality at retail hydrogen fueling stations that includes, but is not limited to, the following metrics:

(A) Uptime, defined as the percentage of time each individual pump is operational or nonoperational.

(B) Fuel availability, defined as both the percentage and the length of time stations lack sufficient saleable hydrogen onsite, to be defined as 20 kilograms of hydrogen.

(D) The percentage of refuelings that are partial refuelings.

(E) Technician response time, defined as the length of time between which station operators become aware a pump is nonoperational and when a technician, who is an employee or contractor trained and equipped to diagnose and repair malfunctions, arrives onsite.

(3) Collect data on measures of reliability and service quality for any retail hydrogen refueling station that has received a public grant. Retail hydrogen refueling station operators shall report ~~any and~~ all data requested by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission as necessary to conform with these provisions.

(4) Direct a retail hydrogen refueling ~~stations~~ station operator to maintain an online customer feedback ~~portal.~~ portal on the operator’s internet website. The internet website address for the customer feedback portal shall be prominently ~~displayed,~~ displayed at the operator’s retail hydrogen refueling station, conform to all relevant accessibility or disability standards, and be clearly visible to a customer during refueling. The portal shall allow rated customer feedback on, but not limited to, station cleanliness and the estimated wait time to refuel. Failure to provide a customer feedback portal shall disqualify the refueling station operator from receiving publicly funded grants.

(5) Convene a public workshop process to develop ~~additional measures for inclusion in the customer feedback portal.~~ mechanisms to improve consumer access to information about the status of a retail hydrogen refueling station’s ability to meet refueling demands and recommend ways a consumer can provide feedback on service concerns at a retail hydrogen refueling station.

(6) ~~Utilizing the data collected pursuant to this section, develop a station quality ranking that will assign a performance ranking on a numerical scale for all retail hydrogen refueling stations.~~ With the input of stakeholders, analyze existing retail hydrogen refueling station performance, identify barriers to improving retail hydrogen refueling station performance, and develop recommendations for mechanisms to improve retail hydrogen refueling station performance. The analysis shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:

~~(7)Utilizing the data collected pursuant to this section, develop a station operator ranking that will assign a performance ranking on a numerical scale for all retail hydrogen refueling stations.~~
(8)Publish all data collected pursuant to this section on a publicly accessible internet website that displays all retail hydrogen refueling stations on an interactive map that provides a user with all of the following information for each station:
~~(A)Station address.~~
~~(B)Station operator.~~
~~(C)Number of pumps, differentiating between H35 and H70 nozzles.~~
~~(D)Operational status of each pump onsite.~~
~~(E)Aggregate uptime of pumps, differentiating between H35 and H70 nozzles.~~
~~(F)Volume of saleable hydrogen fuel.~~
~~(G)Retail cost per kilogram of hydrogen.~~
~~(H)Historical average number of refuelings per hour, displayed by hour of the day.~~
(b)The state board shall develop a performance penalty for the poorest performing retail hydrogen refueling stations and a quality bonus for the highest performing stations. The performance penalty shall consist of a withholding of a percentage of credits generated each quarter issued to the station under the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard regulations (Subarticle 7 (commencing with Section 95480) of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations). The withheld credits shall be awarded to the highest performing stations as a quality bonus.
(A) An analysis of opportunities to encourage better performance by retail hydrogen refueling stations through a statewide ranking system.
(B) An analysis of the use of a station ranking system and credits issued to hydrogen refueling stations under the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard regulations (Subarticle 7 (commencing with Section 95480) of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations) to penalize and award retail hydrogen refueling stations based on their performance.
(C) Other incentives, as identified by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to improve retail hydrogen refueling station performance.