Bill Text: CA SB953 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Customer-sited renewable energy or energy storage systems: discriminatory fees or charges.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-16 - March 17 hearing postponed by committee. [SB953 Detail]
Download: California-2019-SB953-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Bill
No. 953
| Introduced by Senator Wiener (Principal coauthor: Senator Nielsen) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Gallagher, Mark Stone, and Ting) |
February 10, 2020 |
An act to add Section 2829.5 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 953, as introduced, Wiener.
Customer-sited renewable energy or energy storage systems: discriminatory fees or charges.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, while local publicly owned electric utilities, as defined, are under the direction of their governing boards. 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. Existing law authorizes the commission to establish rules for all public utilities, subject to control by the Legislature.
This bill would require the commission, or the governing board of a local publicly owned electric utility, as applicable, to ensure that customers within its jurisdiction who have customer-sited renewable energy or energy storage systems are not subject to discriminatory fees or charges levied as a result of
installing or using those customer-sited renewable energy or energy storage systems, as specified.
Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.
Because this bill would require action by the commission to enforce its requirements and a violation of that commission action implementing its requirements would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Because the bill imposes requirements on the boards of local publicly owned electric utilities, which are entities of local government, 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 specified reasons.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 2829.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:2829.5.
(a) The commission, or the governing board of a local publicly owned electric utility, as applicable, shall ensure that customers within its jurisdiction who have customer-sited renewable energy or energy storage systems are not subject to discriminatory fees or charges levied as a result of installing or using those customer-sited renewable energy or energy storage systems.(b) This section shall not limit the authority of the commission or a governing board of a local publicly owned electric utility to alter the valuation of energy exported to the distribution grid from customer-sited renewable energy systems or to assign one-time fees based on the costs of connecting renewable energy storage systems to the distribution
grid.
