Bill Text: CA SB656 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Electrical restructuring: natural gas restructuring: information practices.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2013-10-05 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 604, Statutes of 2013. [SB656 Detail]

Download: California-2013-SB656-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 656	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Wright

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2013

   An act to amend Section 392.1 of the Public Utilities Code,
relating to electricity.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 656, as introduced, Wright. Electrical restructuring:
information practices.
   Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission to compile
and regularly update specific consumer information regarding
electrical service.
   This bill would, instead, specifically require the commission to
compile and update that information every 6 months.
   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.  Section 392.1 of the Public Utilities Code is amended
to read:
   392.1.  (a) The commission shall compile and  regularly
 update  every six months all of  the following
information: names and contact numbers of registered providers,
information to assist consumers in making service choices, and the
number of customer complaints against specific providers in relation
to the number of customers served by those providers and the
disposition of those complaints. To facilitate this function,
registered entities shall file with the commission information
describing the terms and conditions of any standard service plan made
available to residential and small commercial customers. The
commission shall adopt a standard format for this filing. The
commission shall maintain and make generally available a list of
entities offering electrical services operating in California. This
list shall include all registered providers and those providers not
required to be registered  who   that 
request the commission to be included in the list. The 
commission shall,   commission,  upon request, 
shall  make this information available at no charge.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, public agencies 
which   that  are registered entities shall be
required to disclose their terms and conditions of service contracts
only to the same extent that other registered entities would be
required to disclose the same or similar service contracts.
   (b) The commission shall issue public alerts about companies
attempting to provide electric service in the state in an
unauthorized or fraudulent manner as defined in subdivision (b) of
Section 394.25.
   (c) The commission shall direct the Office of Ratepayer Advocates
to collect and analyze information provided pursuant to subdivision
(a) for purposes of preparing easily understandable informational
guides or other tools to help residential and small commercial
customers understand how to evaluate competing electric service
options. In implementing these provisions, the commission shall
direct the Office of Ratepayer Advocates to pay special attention to
ensuring that customers, especially those with
limited-English-speaking ability or other disadvantages when dealing
with marketers, receive correct, reliable, and easily understood
information to help them make informed choices. The Office of
Ratepayer Advocates shall not make specific recommendations or rank
the relative attractiveness of specific service offerings of
registered providers of electric services.