California Assembly Bill AB2584 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2584AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2014 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Nestande FEBRUARY 21, 2014 An act to amend Section  399.11   2827.8  of the Public Utilities Code, relating to  energy.   electrici   ty.  LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2584, as amended, Nestande. Energy: California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program.  Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined, while local publicly owned electric utilities, as defined, are under the direction of their governing board. Existing law relative to private energy producers requires every electric utility, as defined, to develop a standard contract or tariff providing for net energy metering, as defined, and to make this contract or tariff available to eligible customer generators, as defined, upon request for generation by a renewable electrical generation facility, as defined. Existing law authorizes a local publicly owned electric utility to elect to instead offer co-energy metering, which uses a generation-to-generation energy and time-of-use credit formula, as specified.   Existing law establishes separate requirements for wind energy co-metering that provides a credit against the generation component of an electricity bill of an electric utility for those eligible customer-generators utilizing a wind energy project with a generating capacity greater than 50 kilowatts, but not exceeding one megawatt, unless approved by the electric utility.   This bill would provide that, for a United States Department of Defense installation, wind energy co-metering is available if the generating capacity does not exceed 1.5 megawatts.   Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission to review and adopt a renewable energy procurement plan for each electrical corporation, as defined, pursuant to the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program.   This bill would make technical and nonsubstantive changes to the program's legislative findings and declarations.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no   yes  . State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Section 2827.8 of the   Public Utilities Code   is amended to read:  2827.8. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, the following provisions apply to an eligible customer-generator utilizing wind energy co-metering with a capacity of more than 50 kilowatts, but not exceeding one megawatt  , or for a   United States Department of Defense installation, not exceeding 1.5 megawatts  , unless approved by the electric  service provider   utility  . (a) The eligible customer-generator shall be required to utilize a meter, or multiple meters, capable of separately measuring electricity flow in both directions. Nothing in this section precludes the use of advanced metering infrastructure devices. All meters shall provide "time-of-use" measurements of electricity flow, and the customer shall take service on a time-of-use rate schedule. If the existing meter of the eligible customer-generator is not a time-of-use meter or is not capable of measuring total flow of energy in both directions, the eligible customer-generator is responsible for all expenses involved in purchasing and installing a meter that is both time-of-use and able to measure total electricity flow in both directions. This subdivision shall not restrict the ability of an eligible customer-generator to utilize any economic incentives provided by a government agency or the electric  service provider   utility  to reduce its costs for purchasing and installing a time-of-use meter. (b) The consumption of electricity from the electric  service provider   utility  for wind energy co-metering by an eligible customer-generator shall be priced in accordance with the standard rate charged to the eligible customer-generator in accordance with the rate structure to which the customer would be assigned if the customer did not use an eligible wind electrical generating facility. The generation of electricity provided to the electric  service provider   utility  shall result in a credit to the eligible customer-generator and shall be priced in accordance with the generation component, excluding surcharges to cover the purchase of power by the Department of Water Resources, established under the applicable structure to which the customer would be assigned if the customer did not use an eligible wind electrical generating facility.  SECTION 1.   Section 399.11 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read: 399.11. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) To attain a target of generating 20 percent of total retail sales of electricity in California from eligible renewable energy resources by December 31, 2013, and 33 percent by December 31, 2020, it is the intent of the Legislature that the commission and the Energy Commission implement the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program described in this article. (b) Achieving the renewables portfolio standard through the procurement of various electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources is intended to provide unique benefits to California, including all of the following, each of which independently justifies the program: (1) Displacing fossil fuel consumption within the state. (2) Adding new electrical generating facilities in the transmission network within the Western Electricity Coordinating Council service area. (3) Reducing air pollution in the state. (4) Meeting the state's climate change goals by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases associated with electrical generation. (5) Promoting stable retail rates for electric service. (6) Meeting the state's need for a diversified and balanced energy generation portfolio. (7) Assistance with meeting the state's resource adequacy requirements. (8) Contributing to the safe and reliable operation of the electrical grid, including providing predictable electrical supply, voltage support, lower line losses, and congestion relief. (9) Implementing the state's transmission and land use planning activities related to development of eligible renewable energy resources. (c) The California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program is intended to complement the Renewable Energy Resources Program administered by the Energy Commission and established pursuant to Chapter 8.6 (commencing with Section 25740) of Division 15 of the Public Resources Code. (d) New and modified electric transmission facilities may be necessary to facilitate the state achieving its renewables portfolio standard targets. (e) (1) Supplying electricity to California end-use customers that is generated by eligible renewable energy resources is necessary to improve California's air quality and public health, and the commission shall ensure rates are just and reasonable, and are not significantly affected by the procurement requirements of this article. This electricity may be generated anywhere in the interconnected grid that includes many states, and areas of both Canada and Mexico. (2) This article requires generating resources located outside of California that are able to supply that electricity to California end-use customers to be treated identically to generating resources located within the state, without discrimination. (3) California electrical corporations have already executed, and the commission has approved, power purchase agreements with eligible renewable energy resources located outside of California that will supply electricity to California end-use customers. These resources will fully count toward meeting the renewables portfolio standard procurement requirements. In addition, there are nearly 7,000 megawatts of additional proposed renewable energy resources located outside of California that are awaiting interconnection approval from the Independent System Operator. All of these resources, if procured, will count as eligible renewable energy resources that satisfy the portfolio content requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 399.16.