California Assembly Bill AB1124 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 1124AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 13, 2012 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 11, 2012 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 10, 2011 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 7, 2011 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Skinner (Coauthors: Senators DeSaulnier and Hancock) FEBRUARY 18, 2011 An act to amend Section 381.2 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1124, as amended, Skinner. Energy: energy efficiency. Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to order certain electrical corporations to collect and spend certain funds for public benefit programs, including cost-effective energy efficiency and conservation programs. Existing law requires the PUC, by March 1, 2010, to have opened a new proceeding or amended an existing proceeding to investigate the ability of electrical corporations and gas corporations to provide energy efficiency financing options to their customers to implement the comprehensive energy efficiency program for certain residential and nonresidential buildings developed by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission pursuant to a specified provision of law. Existing law also requires the PUC to include an assessment of each electrical corporation's and each gas corporation's implementation of that program in a specified triennial report required under existing law. This bill would require the PUC, in its review of the energy efficiency programs of electrical corporations and gas corporations, to ensure compliance with  certain   specified  principles  , as specified  . 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 381.2 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read: 381.2. (a) By March 1, 2010, the commission, by opening a new proceeding or amending an existing proceeding, shall investigate the ability of electrical corporations and gas corporations to provide various energy efficiency financing options to their customers for the purposes of implementing the program developed pursuant to Section 25943 of the Public Resources Code. (b) In the report prepared pursuant to Section 384.2, the commission shall include an assessment of each electrical corporation' s and each gas corporation's implementation of the program developed pursuant to Section 25943 of the Public Resources Code. (c) In its review of the energy efficiency programs of electrical corporations and gas corporations, the commission shall ensure compliance with the following principles.  The energy efficiency programs shall:   (1) Encourage job creation and training opportunities, with an emphasis on skilled occupations necessary for installation of highly efficient energy savings measures.   (2)   (1)  Achieve maximum energy savings for all  types of customers   customer classes  by adopting whole building, performance-based approaches.  (3)   (2)  Maximize opportunities of leveraging private capital by increasing and streamlining access to on-bill repayment programs without increasing utility costs.  (3) Encourage job creation and training opportunities, with an emphasis on skilled occupations necessary for installation of highly efficient energy savings measures.  (4)  Facilitate   Create a single point of contact to coordinate  access to  the  energy efficiency programs for prospective customers using approaches that streamline and simplify procedures for determining property-level program enrollment and customer eligibility  as well as encourage customer participation  .  (5) Create a single point of contact to coordinate access to energy efficiency programs for prospective customers to maximize energy savings and encourage customer participation.   (6)   (5)  Provide equivalent funding and comparable measures for all eligible customers within the energy efficiency programs, particularly those customers that are more difficult to reach and have not yet been served by the programs, including small businesses, renters, multifamily renters, persons with disabilities, and those located in remote areas.