Bill Text: CA SB843 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended

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

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Bill Title: Energy: electrical corporations: City of Davis PVUSA

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2012-08-30 - Re-referred to Com. on U. & C. pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.2. Joint Rule 62(a) file notice suspended. (Page 6685.) Set, first hearing. Failed passage in committee. Reconsideration granted. [SB843 Detail]

Download: California-2011-SB843-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 843	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 6, 2012
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 9, 2012
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 30, 2012
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 21, 2011
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 24, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Wolk
    (   Coauthors:   Senators  
Corbett   and Pavley   ) 
    (  Coauthors:   Assembly Members  
Huffman   and Skinner   ) 

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2011

   An act to amend Section 25019 of the Corporations Code, and to
amend Sections 216 and 218 of, to repeal Section 2826.5 of, and to
repeal and add Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 2830) of Part 2
of Division 1 of, the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 843, as amended, Wolk. Energy: electrical corporations: City of
Davis PVUSA solar facility: Community-Based Renewable Energy
Self-Generation Program.
   (1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has
regulatory jurisdiction over public utilities, including electrical
corporations, as defined. 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. Under existing law,
the local government renewable energy self-generation program
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.
   This bill would repeal  these provisions  
the local government renewable energy self-generation program 
and enact the Community-Based Renewable Energy Self-Generation
Program. The program would authorize a retail customer of an
electrical corporation (participant) to acquire an interest, as
defined, in a community renewable energy facility, as defined, for
the purpose of receiving a bill credit, as defined, to offset all or
a portion of the participant's electricity usage, consistent with
specified requirements.
    Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or
any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the
commission is a crime.
   Because the provisions of the bill would require action by the
commission to implement its requirements, a violation of these
provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding
the definition of a crime.
   (2) The bill would provide that any corporation or person engaged
directly or indirectly in developing, producing, delivering,
participating in, or selling interests in, a community renewable
energy facility is not a public utility or electrical corporation
solely by reason of engaging in any of those activities.
   (3) Existing law authorizes the City of Davis to receive a bill
credit, as defined, to a benefiting account, as defined, for
electricity supplied to the electrical grid by a photovoltaic
electricity generation facility located within, and partially owned
by, the city (PVUSA solar facility) and requires the commission to
adopt a rate tariff for the benefiting account.
   This bill would repeal these provisions relating to the City of
Davis.
   (4) 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.
State-mandated local program: yes.


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

  SECTION 1.  Section 25019 of the Corporations Code is amended to
read:
   25019.  (a) "Security" means any note; stock; treasury stock;
membership in an incorporated or unincorporated association; bond;
debenture; evidence of indebtedness; certificate of interest or
participation in any profit-sharing agreement; collateral trust
certificate; preorganization certificate or subscription;
transferable share; investment contract; viatical settlement contract
or a fractionalized or pooled interest therein; life settlement
contract or a fractionalized or pooled interest therein; voting trust
certificate; certificate of deposit for a security; interest in a
limited liability company and any class or series of those interests
(including any fractional or other interest in that interest), except
a membership interest in a limited liability company in which the
person claiming this exception can prove that all of the members are
actively engaged in the management of the limited liability company;
provided that evidence that members vote or have the right to vote,
or the right to information concerning the business and affairs of
the limited liability company, or the right to participate in
management, shall not establish, without more, that all members are
actively engaged in the management of the limited liability company;
certificate of interest or participation in an oil, gas  , 
or mining title or lease or in payments out of production under that
title or lease; put, call, straddle, option, or privilege on any
security, certificate of deposit, or group or index of securities
(including any interest therein or based on the value thereof); or
any put, call, straddle, option, or privilege entered into on a
national securities exchange relating to foreign currency; any
beneficial interest or other security issued in connection with a
funded employees' pension, profit sharing, stock bonus, or similar
benefit plan; or, in general, any interest or instrument commonly
known as a "security"; or any certificate of interest or
participation in, temporary or interim certificate for, receipt for,
guarantee of, or warrant or right to subscribe to or purchase, any of
the foregoing. All of the foregoing are securities whether or not
evidenced by a written document.
   (b) "Security" does not include: (1) any beneficial interest in
any voluntary inter vivos trust which is not created for the purpose
of carrying on any business or solely for the purpose of voting, or
(2) any beneficial interest in any testamentary trust, or (3) any
insurance or endowment policy or annuity contract under which an
insurance company admitted in this state promises to pay a sum of
money (whether or not based upon the investment performance of a
segregated fund) either in a lump sum or periodically for life or
some other specified period, or (4) any franchise subject to
registration under the Franchise Investment Law (Division 5
(commencing with Section 31000)), or exempted from registration by
Section 31100 or 31101, or (5) any right to a bill credit or interest
of a participant in a community renewable energy facility pursuant
to Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 2830) of Part 2 of Division 1
of the Public Utilities Code.
  SEC. 2.  Section 216 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   216.  (a) "Public utility" includes every common carrier, toll
bridge corporation, pipeline corporation, gas corporation, electrical
corporation, telephone corporation, telegraph corporation, water
corporation, sewer system corporation, and heat corporation, where
the service is performed for, or the commodity is delivered to, the
public or any portion thereof.
   (b) Whenever any common carrier, toll bridge corporation, pipeline
corporation, gas corporation, electrical corporation, telephone
corporation, telegraph corporation, water corporation, sewer system
corporation, or heat corporation performs a service for, or delivers
a commodity to, the public or any portion thereof for which any
compensation or payment whatsoever is received, that common carrier,
toll bridge corporation, pipeline corporation, gas corporation,
electrical corporation, telephone corporation, telegraph corporation,
water corporation, sewer system corporation, or heat corporation, is
a public utility subject to the jurisdiction, control, and
regulation of the commission and the provisions of this part.
   (c) When any person or corporation performs any service for, or
delivers any commodity to, any person, private corporation,
municipality, or other political subdivision of the state, that in
turn either directly or indirectly, mediately or immediately,
performs that service for, or delivers that commodity to, the public
or any portion thereof, that person or corporation is a public
utility subject to the jurisdiction, control, and regulation of the
commission and the provisions of this part.
   (d) Ownership or operation of a facility that employs cogeneration
technology or produces power from other than a conventional power
source or the ownership or operation of a facility which employs
landfill gas technology does not make a corporation or person a
public utility within the meaning of this section solely because of
the ownership or operation of that facility.
   (e) Any corporation or person engaged directly or indirectly in
developing, producing, transmitting, distributing, delivering, or
selling any form of heat derived from geothermal or solar resources
or from cogeneration technology to any privately owned or publicly
owned public utility, or to the public or any portion thereof, is not
a public utility within the meaning of this section solely by reason
of engaging in any of those activities.
   (f) The ownership or operation of a facility that sells compressed
natural gas at retail to the public for use only as a motor vehicle
fuel, and the selling of compressed natural gas at retail from that
facility to the public for use only as a motor vehicle fuel, does not
make the corporation or person a public utility within the meaning
of this section solely because of that ownership, operation, or sale.

   (g) Ownership or operation of a facility that is an exempt
wholesale generator, as defined in the Public Utility Holding Company
Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 16451(6)), does not make a corporation
or person a public utility within the meaning of this section, solely
due to the ownership or operation of that facility.
   (h) The ownership, control, operation, or management of an
electric plant used for direct transactions or participation directly
or indirectly in direct transactions, as permitted by subdivision
(b) of Section 365, sales into a market established and operated by
the Independent System Operator or any other wholesale electricity
market, or the use or sale as permitted under subdivisions (b) to
(d), inclusive, of Section 218, shall not make a corporation or
person a public utility within the meaning of this section solely
because of that ownership, participation, or sale.
   (i) The ownership, control, operation, or management of a facility
that supplies electricity to the public only for use to charge light
duty plug-in electric vehicles does not make the corporation or
person a public utility within the meaning of this section solely
because of that ownership, control, operation, or management. For
purposes of this subdivision, "light duty plug-in electric vehicles"
includes light duty battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric
vehicles. This subdivision does not affect the commission's authority
under Section 454 or 740.2 or any other applicable statute.
   (j) A corporation or person engaged directly or indirectly in
developing, producing, delivering, participating in, or selling
interests in a community  renewable energy  facility,
pursuant to Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 2830) of Part 2, is
not a public utility within the meaning of this section solely by
reason of engaging in any of those activities.
  SEC. 3.  Section 218 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   218.  (a) "Electrical corporation" includes every corporation or
person owning, controlling, operating, or managing any electric plant
for compensation within this state, except where electricity is
generated on or distributed by the producer through private property
solely for its own use or the use of its tenants and not for sale or
transmission to others.
   (b) "Electrical corporation" does not include a corporation or
person employing cogeneration technology or producing power from
other than a conventional power source for the generation of
electricity solely for any one or more of the following purposes:
   (1) Its own use or the use of its tenants.
   (2) The use of or sale to not more than two other corporations or
persons solely for use on the real property on which the electricity
is generated or on real property immediately adjacent thereto, unless
there is an intervening public street constituting the boundary
between the real property on which the electricity is generated and
the immediately adjacent property and one or more of the following
applies:
   (A) The real property on which the electricity is generated and
the immediately adjacent real property is not under common ownership
or control, or that common ownership or control was gained solely for
purposes of sale of the electricity so generated and not for other
business purposes.
   (B) The useful thermal output of the facility generating the
electricity is not used on the immediately adjacent property for
petroleum production or refining.
   (C) The electricity furnished to the immediately adjacent property
is not utilized by a subsidiary or affiliate of the corporation or
person generating the electricity.
   (3) Sale or transmission to an electrical corporation or state or
local public agency, but not for sale or transmission to others,
unless the corporation or person is otherwise an electrical
corporation.
   (c) "Electrical corporation" does not include a corporation or
person employing landfill gas technology for the generation of
electricity for any one or more of the following purposes:
   (1) Its own use or the use of not more than two of its tenants
located on the real property on which the electricity is generated.
   (2) The use of or sale to not more than two other corporations or
persons solely for use on the real property on which the electricity
is generated.
   (3) Sale or transmission to an electrical corporation or state or
local public agency.
   (d) "Electrical corporation" does not include a corporation or
person employing digester gas technology for the generation of
electricity for any one or more of the following purposes:
   (1) Its own use or the use of not more than two of its tenants
located on the real property on which the electricity is generated.
   (2) The use of or sale to not more than two other corporations or
persons solely for use on the real property on which the electricity
is generated.
   (3) Sale or transmission to an electrical corporation or state or
local public agency, if the sale or transmission of the electricity
service to a retail customer is provided through the transmission
system of the existing local publicly owned electric utility or
electrical corporation of that retail customer.
   (e) "Electrical corporation" does not include an independent solar
energy producer, as defined in Article 3 (commencing with Section
2868) of Chapter 9 of Part 2.
   (f) The amendments made to this section at the 1987 portion of the
1987-88 Regular Session of the Legislature do not apply to any
corporation or person employing cogeneration technology or producing
power from other than a conventional power source for the generation
of electricity that physically produced electricity prior to January
1, 1989, and furnished that electricity to immediately adjacent real
property for use thereon prior to January 1, 1989.
   (g) A corporation or person engaged directly or indirectly in
developing, owning, producing, delivering, participating in, or
selling interests in, a community renewable energy facility pursuant
to Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 2830) of Part 2, is not an
electrical corporation within the meaning of this section solely by
reason of engaging in any of those activities.
  SEC. 4.  Section 2826.5 of the Public Utilities Code is repealed.
  SEC. 5.  Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 2830) of Part 2 of
Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code is repealed.
  SEC. 6.  Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 2830) is added to
Part 2 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 7.5.  COMMUNITY-BASED RENEWABLE ENERGY SELF-GENERATION
PROGRAM


   2830.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (a) The Governor has proposed a Clean Energy Jobs Plan calling for
the development of 12,000 megawatts of generation from distributed
eligible renewable energy resources of up to 20 megawatts in size by
2020.  The Legislature recognizes the advantages of this
proposal as distributed generation provides benefits in addition to
the environmental benefits, including reduced electrical line losses,
decreased investment in transmission and distribution
infrastructure, easier permitting, and local economic benefits.
 There is widespread interest from many large institutional
customers, including schools, colleges, universities, local
governments, businesses, and the military, for development of
distributed energy facilities to serve their needs. For these reasons
the Legislature agrees that the Governor's distributed energy
program represents a desired policy direction for the state.
   (b) Community-based renewable energy self-generation creates jobs,
reduces emissions of greenhouse gases,  and  promotes
energy independence  , and will assist in meeting the state's
zero net energy buildings goals  . Further, community-based
renewable energy self-generation will enable schools, colleges,
universities, local governments, businesses  ,  and
consumers to save money on their electricity bills, thereby helping
to fund educational programs, social services, and new hiring.
   (c) The California Solar Initiative has been extremely successful,
resulting in over 100,000 residential and commercial 
on-site   onsite  installations of solar energy
systems. The Community-Based Renewable Energy Self-Generation Program
seeks to build on this success by dramatically expanding the market
for eligible renewable energy resources to include residential and
commercial renters, residential and commercial buildings with shaded
or improperly oriented roofs, and other groups who are unable to
access the benefits of onsite generation.  It is in the
public interest to promote broader participation in self-generation
by California residents, public agencies, and businesses by the
development of community renewable energy self-generation facilities
in which participants are entitled to generate electricity and
receive credit for that electricity on their utility bills. 

   (d) Many institutional customers in California have been focused
on distributed energy programs of their own. For example, the
Secretary of the Navy established as policy that 50 percent of the
on-shore electricity for naval and Marine Corps installations in the
United States be from renewable sources by 2020. To implement this
policy the Navy and Marine Corps have been working on a variety of
renewable generation projects within the 1 megawatt to 20 megawatt
range. The military installations, and other institutional users,
have identified a number of regulatory barriers to implementing
distributed generation projects. The enactment of this chapter will
create a mechanism whereby institutional customers such as military
installations, universities, and local governments, as well as groups
of individuals, can efficiently invest in generating electricity
from eligible renewable energy resources.
   (e) It is the intent of the Legislature that public schools have
the authority to invest in community renewable energy facilities to
generate electricity as provided in this chapter. Electricity usage
is one of the most significant cost pressures facing public schools
at a time when schools have been forced to cut essential programs,
increase classroom sizes, and send pink slips to teachers throughout
the state. Schools may use the savings for restoring funds for
salaries, student achievement, facility maintenance, and other
budgetary needs. The community renewable energy facility projects
that go forward pursuant to this chapter will create new construction
jobs, stimulate the economy, generate funding, and provide more
electricity generated by clean, renewable sources to customers.
   (f) It is the further intent of the Legislature that  , 
as the commission works to implement this chapter,  that
 the commission carefully consider regulatory barriers to
distributed generation projects already identified and those not yet
identified, and quickly address those barriers in a manner that is
conducive to the development of distributed generation projects
consistent with appropriate ratepayer protections. 
   (g) It is further the intent of the Legislature that the
commission work to maintain ratepayer indifference to
nonbeneficiaries, reflecting both the costs and benefits such systems
provide to the residents of California. 
   2831.  As used in this chapter, the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (a) "Benefiting account" means one or more accounts designated to
receive a bill credit pursuant to Section 2832.
   (b) "Bill credit" means an amount of money credited each month, or
in an otherwise applicable billing period, to one or more benefiting
accounts based on the percentage share of the  electrical output
of a  community renewable energy facility that is assigned to
the account pursuant to the methodology described in Section 2832.
   (c) "Community renewable energy facility" means a facility for the
generation of electricity that meets all of the following
requirements:
   (1) Has a generating capacity of no more than 20 megawatts  of
alternating current  .
   (2) Is an eligible renewable energy resource pursuant to the
California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (Article 16
(commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1).
   (3) The electrical output of the facility is measured by a
production meter  capable of recording electrical generation
in real time   owned by the electrical corporation, that
meets the tariff requirements of the electrical corporation and the
Independent System Operator  .
   (4) Is located within the service territory of an electrical
corporation having 100,000 or more service connections  in
California  .
   (5)  If it is to interconnect to the electrical grid at
the transmission level of the grid, it has applied for
interconnection through the Independent System Operators' generation
interconnection process   Has complied with standard
interconnection operation requirements of the electrical corporation,
and where applicable, the   Independent System Operator,
consistent with any applicable tariffs  .
   (6) Unless the facility has a bill credit arrangement in place by
December 31, 2012, it achieves initial commercial operation on
January 1, 2013, or thereafter.
   (d) "Default load aggregation point" means a calculation, as
determined by the commission, of avoided cost derived from an hourly
day-ahead electricity market price that reflects the costs the
electrical corporation avoids in procuring electricity during the
time period a community renewable energy facility generates
electricity.
   (e) "Facility rate" means the per kilowatthour rate  , or
some other unit of measurement that the commission determines to be
superior to kilowatthours, established by the commission that is used
to calculate the bill credit for a particular community renewable
energy facility. The applicable facility rate for each community
renewable energy facility shall be computed pursuant to Section 2832
 .  The facility rate shall be set using the method
described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of
Section 2832. That method shall be used to calculate the minimum
value for the bill credit for each participant with an interest in
the community renewable energy facility. This minimum value may be
replaced by the methodology for calculating the added value of the
generation, when applicable, pursuant to subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 2832. 
   (f) "Interest" means a direct or indirect ownership, lease,
subscription, or financing interest in a community renewable energy
facility that enables the participant to receive a bill credit for a
retail account with the electrical corporation.
   (g) "Local government" means a city, county, city and county,
special district, school district,  public water district, public
irrigation district, county office of education, political
subdivision, or other local governmental entity.  For the
purposes of this chapter, "water district" has the same meaning as
defined in Section 20200 of the Water Code, and "irrigation district"
means an entity formed pursuant to the Irrigation District 
 Law set forth in Division 11 (commencing with Section 20500) of
the Water Code. 
   (h) "Participant" means a retail customer of an electrical
corporation who owns, leases, finances, or subscribes to an interest
in a community renewable energy facility and who has designated one
or more of its own retail accounts as a benefiting account to which
the subscription shall be attributed.
   (i) "Participant organization" means any entity whose purpose is
to beneficially own or operate a community renewable energy facility
for the participants or owners of that facility.  A "participant
organization" can also be a "participant" as defined in subdivision
(h). 
   2832.  (a) (1) A retail customer of an electrical corporation
having 100,000 or more service connections within the state may
acquire an interest in a community renewable energy facility for the
purpose of becoming a participant and receiving a bill credit to
offset all or a portion of the customer's bill for  the
generation component of that customer's  electrical service. The
participant shall designate one or more benefiting accounts to which
the interest shall be attributed.
   (2) To be eligible to be designated as a benefiting account, the
account shall be for service to premises located within the
geographical boundaries of the service territory of the electrical
corporation containing the community renewable energy facility, or
within the geographical boundaries of a contiguous service territory,
if the electrical corporation or local publicly owned electric
utility for that service territory have entered into an agreement
enabling the connection of the benefiting account to the community
renewable energy facility.
   (3) A participant organization may  construct a community
renewable energy facility on a site chosen by the participant
organization and may  beneficially own or operate a community
renewable energy facility for the participants of that facility. A
community renewable energy facility may be built, owned, or operated
by a third party under contract with a participant organization.
   (4) (A) The combined statewide cumulative rated generating
capacity of community renewable energy facilities under this program
shall not exceed  2   two  gigawatts,
except as provided by in subparagraph (B).
   (B) The commission shall maintain a publicly available database of
existing and proposed community renewable energy facilities.
Proposed community renewable energy facilities shall report their
expected size, location, and commercial operation date no less than
six months prior to their commercial operation date.  Once
the statewide cumulative rated generation capacity of existing and
proposed community renewable energy facilities reaches one gigawatt,
the commission shall establish a process for allocating the remaining
one gigawatt of capacity to ensure the cap established in
subparagraph (A) is not exceeded.  When the statewide
cumulative rated generation capacity of community renewable energy
facilities reaches one and one-half gigawatts, the commission shall
begin a process to determine if the gigawatt limitation in
subparagraph (A) is necessary. Unless the commission determines that
removal of the gigawatt limitation in subparagraph (A) would have a
significant negative effect on electrical corporation ratepayers, the
commission shall order that the gigawatt limitation is no longer
applicable. If the commission decides that the removal of the
gigawatt limitation in subparagraph (A) would have a significant
negative effect on the ratepayers of  an   the
 electrical  corporation   corporations
 , the commission shall decide if the limitation should remain
at two gigawatts or if it should be raised to some other level. For
the purposes of this subparagraph, the rated generating capacity of a
community renewable energy facility shall, where available, use the
Energy Commission's alternating current rating for the facility. 
If the commission determines that the two gigawatt cap shall remain
in effect, the commission shall establish a process for allocating
the remaining 500 megawatts of capacity to ensure the cap established
in subparagraph (A) is not exceeded. 
   (5) (A) The commission shall maintain a public database of
annualized average generation rates for each customer class and tier.

   (B) The tariff applicable to a participant shall be identical,
with respect to rate structure, all retail rate components, and any
monthly charges, to the charges that the participant would be
assigned if the participant did not receive a bill credit.
Participants shall not be assessed standby charges on the community
renewable energy facility or the kilowatthour generation of a
community renewable energy facility.  Any new or additional
demand charge, standby charge, customer charge, minimum monthly
charge, interconnection charge, or any other charge that would
increase a participant's costs beyond those of other customers who
are not participants in the rate class to which the participant would
                                           otherwise be assigned if
the participant did not receive a bill credit is contrary to the
intent of this chapter, and shall not form a part of the participant'
s tariff. 
   (6) The commission shall establish a facility rate  base
 for each community renewable energy facility 
utilizing either the renewables portfolio standard (RPS) solicitation
method or added value method, to be computed   , 
as follows:
   (A)  Beginning January 1, 2013, the RPS solicitation
method shall be used for computing the facility rate. Pursuant to
this method, the   The  facility rate shall be set
at the weighted average time-of-delivery adjusted cost of electricity
 delivered from an   estab   lished in
the commission's Renewables Portfolio Standard Quarterly Report, 4th
Quarter 2011, Cost Reporting in Compliance with SB 836, published in
the first quarter of the   previous year, for 
eligible renewable energy  resource   resources
 of comparable size  that utilizes   to,
and utilizing  the same generating technology as  , 
 employed by  the community renewable energy
facility,  calculated on January 1 of the previous year for
each electrical corporation for purposes of the report made to the
Legislature pursuant to Section 911  and that are under
contract with the electrical corporation  . Where data is not
available for a comparable resource and facility size for the
previous year, the most recent data shall be used.  The
facility rate shall be calculated on the basis of the price paid for
a kilowatthour of electricity, unless the commission determines that
some other unit of measurement is superior to using kilowatthours, in
which case that unit of measurement will be used. The RPS
solicitation method for computing the facility rate shall be
determined as of the time that the community renewable energy
facility becomes operational.   The facility rate shall
be the price per kilowatthour of electricity and shall be determined
as of the time that the community renewable energy facility becomes
operational. Once established, a facility rate shall be applicable to
that facility for the operational life of the facility. A subsequent
facility or a subsequent modification to a facility placed in
service January 1, 2013, that results in an increase in the facility'
s capacity to produce electricity shall be subject to the facility
rate in effect on the date the subsequent facility or capacity
commences commercial operation. The commission shall publish an
individual facility rate tariff applicable to all participants per
electrical corporation no later than 90 days following the enactment
of the act that created this subparagraph. 
   (B) Not later than December 31, 2014, the commission shall
determine  the added value method for calculating a facility
rate. Pursuant to the added value method, the facility rate shall be
set at the monetary value of the   the methodology for
calculating the added value used to determine the participant's bill
credit. In determining the added value, the commission shall
determine the amount of monetary costs and  benefits a community
renewable energy facility brings to the electrical corporation,
other nonparticipating ratepayers, and the grid. In determining the
added value, the commission shall analyze the  costs and 
benefits, including  , but not limited to,  avoided
transmission line loss, avoided transmission and distribution
infrastructure costs, any reduction in fixed operations and
maintenance costs, the offset of peak demand or shifting load, and
the reduction of environmental compliance costs, including costs that
would otherwise be incurred for reducing emissions of greenhouse
gases. The  net  value of  these   the
costs and  benefits  derived from a community renewable
energy facility shall be denominated in a monetary   amount
per kilowatthour of production and  shall be added to the
otherwise applicable generation component of the participant's
electric service rate.  The commission shall reevaluate the
facility rate using the added value method every three years, and
shall establish a new added value if the commission determines that
there has been a material change in the added value of the community
renewable energy facility.   Once the commission
determines the monetary amount of the net costs and benefits of a
community renewable energy facility, that value shall be set for the
operational life of that facility. This value shall be multiplied by
a participant's interest in a community renewable energy facility to
determine the participant's bill credit, if both of the following are
true: 
   (7) (A) Prior to January 1, 2015, the RPS solicitation method
shall be used to compute the facility rate.  
   (B) Beginning January 1, 2015, the added value method shall be
used to compute the facility rate if both of the following are true:

   (i) The commission has determined  a facility rate
  an added value  for the community renewable
energy facility using the added value method.
   (ii) The bill credit that will be provided  to a participant
 using the added value method is greater than the credit
provided by continued use of the  RPS solicitation method
  facility rate  . 
   (8) The electrical corporation shall provide a monthly bill
credit, valued in dollars, to each benefiting account. The bill
credit amount shall be calculated as the volumetric quantity of
generation allocated to the benefiting account multiplied by the
facility rate. The volumetric quantity of generation shall be
expressed in kilowatthours, unless the commission determines that
another unit of measurement is superior to use in place of
kilowatthours.  
   (C) The commission shall reevaluate the added value methodology
every three years.  
   (D) The commission shall endeavor to calculate the added value
bill credit so that the program goals, including nonbeneficiary
ratepayer indifference, can reasonably be expected to be met. 
   (b) (1) A participant shall not acquire an interest in a community
renewable energy facility that represents more than  2
  two  megawatts of generating capacity  or the
equivalent amount, as denominated in kilowatthours  . This
limitation does not apply to a federal, state, or local government,
school, school district, county office of education, the California
Community Colleges, the California State University, or the
University of California.
   (2) The commission shall not regulate the prices paid for an
interest in a community renewable energy facility, but may enforce
the required disclosures  , and may establish rules applicable to
participant organizations to ensure consumer protection  .
   (3) Participants may aggregate their loads for the purpose of
participating in a community renewable energy facility pursuant to
this section.
   (4) For a participant that elects to aggregate its loads for the
purpose of acquiring an interest in a community renewable energy
facility, the participant shall designate the  benefitting
  benefiting  accounts and the allocation of the
bill credit to those accounts.
   (c) (1) A participant organization shall provide to the electrical
corporation information on the identity of the benefiting accounts
that will receive a bill credit pursuant to this section not less
then 30 days prior to the billing cycle for which the participant's
account will receive a bill credit. The participant organization
shall provide the electrical corporation with not less than 30 days'
notice whenever a participant's facility rate changes from the RPS
solicitation method to the added value method.
   (2) Prior to the sale  or resale  of an interest in a
community renewable energy facility, the participant organization
 or the participant, or both,  shall provide a disclosure to
the potential participant that, at a minimum, includes all of the
following:
   (A) A good faith estimate of the annual kilowatthours to be
delivered by the community renewable energy facility based on the
size of the interest.
   (B) A plain language explanation of the terms under which the bill
credits will be calculated.
   (C) A plain language explanation of the contract provisions
regulating the disposition or transfer of the interest.
   (D) A plain language explanation of the costs and benefits to the
potential participant based on their current usage and applicable
tariff, for the term of the proposed contract.
   (3) Not more frequently than once per month, and upon providing
the electrical corporation with a minimum of 30 days' notice, the
participant organization may change, add, or remove a benefiting
account. If the owner of a benefiting account transfers service to a
new address or benefiting account, the electrical corporation shall
transfer any credit remaining from the previous account to the new
account.
   (4) A participant organization shall be responsible for providing
to the electrical corporation, on a monthly basis, a statement of the
percentage shares to be used to determine the bill credit to each
benefiting account and the names and account numbers of those
participants  who's facility rate is to be changed from the
RPS solicitation method to the added value method  
whose bill credit is to be calculated using the added value method
instead of the facility rate  . If there has been no change in
the allocations from the previous submission or in the method of
calculating the  facility rate   bill credit
 of participants, the participant organization is not required
to submit a new statement.
   (5) The participant organization shall provide real-time meter
data to the electrical corporation and shall make the data available
to a participant upon request. A participant organization shall be
responsible for all costs of metering and shall retain production
data for a period of 36 months.
   (6) A participant organization shall provide not less than 120
days' notice to the electrical corporation and the commission prior
to the date the community renewable energy facility becomes
operational.
   (7) The participant organization shall establish an account and
register the community renewable energy facility with the Western
Renewable Energy Generation Information System or its successor.
   (8)  The participant organization shall be responsible for
all costs of interconnection at either the distribution or
transmission level of the electrical grid.   The
interconnection process and cost allocation for facilities built
  under this section shall be determined by applicable rules
for interconnection established by the commission. The facility
owner shall be responsible for grid use and management fees,
imbalance charges, or other costs allocated by the Independent System
Operator. 
   (d) (1) An electrical corporation shall ensure that requests for
establishment of bill credits and changes to benefiting accounts are
processed in a time period not to exceed 30 days from the date it
receives the request.
   (2) An electrical corporation shall cooperate fully with community
renewable energy facilities to implement this chapter.
   (3) An electrical corporation shall comply with the requirements
applicable to protection of the right to commercial free speech
described in Commission Decision 10-05-050 as applied to the
development, sale of subscriptions, and operation of community
renewable energy facilities. Community renewable energy facilities
may file a complaint with the commission for violation of this
paragraph.
   (4) For  capacity   energy  that is
unallocated to a  benefitting   benefiting 
account during the previous billing period, the recipient electrical
corporation shall pay the  facility operator  
participant organization  the current default load aggregation
point  and receive any renewable energy credits associated with
that energy  .
   (e) The following process shall be used when billing and 
creating   crediting  a benefiting account:
   (1) An electrical corporation shall bill a benefiting account for
all electricity usage, and for each applicable bill component,
including but not limited to transmission and distribution charges,
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. Participants shall
not be subject to any departing load charge.
   (2) An electrical corporation shall subtract the bill credit
applicable to the benefiting account. The electrical corporation
shall ensure that the participant receives the full bill credit to
which it is entitled. The information and line items on a participant'
s bill statement will be unchanged, except one or more entries
detailing the bill credit shall be added to a participant's bill.
   (3) If, at the end of each billing cycle, the total otherwise
applicable generation component of the bill exceeds the bill credit,
the benefiting account shall be billed for the difference.
   (4) (A) If, at the end of a billing cycle, the bill credit exceeds
the generation component of the amount billed to the account, the
difference shall be carried forward as a dollar credit to the next
billing cycle.
   (B) If the participant's bill credit is calculated based on the
added value method pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (6) of
subdivision (a), the bill credit may exceed the generation component
of the bill, but only by the amount of the added value. The added
value shall be subtracted from the balance of the participant's bill
remaining after credits are applied to the generation component of
the bill. Any earned credit that exceeds the generation component of
the bill shall roll over to the subsequent billing period and shall
continue to roll over until used or until the annual anniversary date
of the participant's initial bill credit, whichever occurs first. On
the annual anniversary date of the participant's initial bill
credit, any remaining bill credit earned during the previous year and
that remains after the application of bill credits to the generation
component of a participant's bills shall cease to roll over and will
be subject to a default load aggregation point true-up. The default
load aggregation point true-up shall be calculated by converting the
remaining unused bill credits to kilowatthours, by dividing the
unused bill credits by  whichever is applicable on the
anniversary date, either  the facility rate  , or the sum of
added value and the participant's otherwise applicable generation
component  , and then multiplying the kilowatthours by the
default load aggregation point. The amount calculated doing the
default load aggregation point true-up is owed by the electrical
corporation to the participant. The commission shall determine
whether the default load aggregation point true-up is to be paid to
participants or credited to future billings and, if so, the manner of
crediting.
   (f) Any renewable energy credits associated with an interest shall
 either  be retired by the participant organization on
behalf of the participant  or transferred to the Western
Renewable Energy Generation Information System account of that
participant, for the purpose of demonstrating the purchase of
renewable energy. Those renewable energy credits shall not be further
sold, transferred, or otherwise monetized by a party for any purpose
 . Renewable energy credits  generated at a facility
owned by an electrical corporation, or  associated with
electricity paid for by the electrical corporation shall be counted
toward meeting that electrical corporation's renewables portfolio
standard. For purposes of this subdivision, "renewable energy credit"
and "renewables portfolio standard" have the same meanings as
defined in Section 399.12.
   (g) In calculating its procurement requirements to meet the
requirements of the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program
(Article 16 (commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part
1), an electrical corporation may exclude from total retail sales the
kilowatthours generated by a community renewable energy facility.
   (h) The resource value attributable to a community renewable
energy facility, as determined by the commission pursuant to Section
380, shall be assigned to the electrical corporation to which the
facility is interconnected.
  SEC. 7.  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.