California Assembly Bill AB904 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 904AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 11, 2012 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 10, 2011 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2011 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 31, 2011 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Skinner FEBRUARY 17, 2011 An act to add Section 381.3 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 904, as amended, Skinner. Energy efficiency. Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to establish, by March 1, 2010, a regulatory proceeding to develop a comprehensive program to achieve greater energy savings in the state's existing residential and nonresidential building stock. Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations. Existing law authorizes the PUC to establish rules for all public utilities, subject to control by the Legislature. Pursuant to existing law, the PUC has opened Rulemaking 09-11-014 (Order Instituting Rulemaking to Examine the Commission's Post-2008 Energy Efficiency Policies, Programs, Evaluation, Measurement and Verification, and Related Issues, filed November 20, 2009). Existing law requires the PUC, by March 1, 2010, to open a new proceeding or amend an existing proceeding to 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 above-described Energy Commission program. This bill would require the PUC, as part of Rulemaking 09-11-014, to  ensure that energy efficiency programs (1) result in real, absolute reductions in energy consumption, (2) examine alternatives to traditional administration, delivery, and evaluation mechanisms for energy efficiency services, and (3)  evaluate  all  reasonable alternatives for financing residential energy efficiency retrofits, including efficiency  improvement   improvements  of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning. The bill would require the PUC to consult and coordinate with the Energy Commission in  achieving these results   complying with those requirements  . 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 381.3 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read: 381.3. (a) As part of Rulemaking 09-11-014 (Order Instituting Rulemaking to Examine the Commission's Post-2008 Energy Efficiency Policies, Programs, Evaluation, Measurement and Verification, and Related Issues, filed November 20, 2009), the commission shall  ensure that energy efficiency programs that are under review in that proceeding do all the following:   (1) Result in real, absolute reductions in energy consumption.   (2) Examine alternatives to traditional administration, delivery, and evaluation mechanisms for energy efficiency services, including, but not limited to, the provision of feed-in tariffs to those who can provide for and obtain verifiable consumption reductions.   (3)     Evaluate all   evaluate  reasonable alternatives for financing residential energy efficiency retrofits, including efficiency improvements of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning. (b) The commission shall consult and coordinate with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission in complying with subdivision (a).