California Assembly Bill AB719 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 719AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 24, 2013 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2013 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Roger Hernndez FEBRUARY 21, 2013 An act to add Section 384.5 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 719, as amended, Roger Hernndez. Energy: energy  efficiency.   efficiency: street light pole.  Under the Public Utilities Act, or the act, the Public Utilities Commission, or the PUC, has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. The act requires the commission to review and adopt a procurement plan for each electrical corporation in accordance with specified elements, incentive mechanisms, and objectives. The act requires that an electrical corporation's proposed procurement plan include certain elements, including a showing that the electrical corporation will first meet its unmet needs through all available energy efficiency and demand-reduction resources that are cost effective, reliable, and feasible. Existing law requires the PUC, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to identify all potentially achievable cost-effective electricity efficiency savings and establish efficiency targets.  A violation of the act is a crime.  This bill would require the commission, on or before March 1, 2014, to order electrical corporations to submit a tariff to be used, at the discretion of local governments, to fund energy efficiency improvements in street light poles owned by the electrical corporations.  This   The  bill would state the intent of the Legislature that utility-owned street light poles, whose electricity use is paid by local governments, be converted to use cost-effective technology that reduces electricity consumption  to   and may  achieve lower utility bills.  Under existing law, a violation of the act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime.   Because this bill would require electrical corporations, pursuant to an order of the PUC, to submit the specified tariff and a violation of this requirement is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime.  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.   It is the intent of the Legislature that electrical-corporation-owned street light poles, whose electricity use is paid by local governments, be converted to use cost-effective technology that reduces electricity consumption so that a city, county, or city and county may achieve lower utility bills for the electricity used by these street light poles.   SECTION 1.   SEC. 2.  Section 384.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:  384.5. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that electrical-corporation-owned street light poles, whose electricity use is paid by local governments, be converted to use cost-effective technology that reduces electricity consumption so that a city, county, or city and county may achieve lower utility bills for the electricity used by these street light poles. (b)  384.5.   (a)    On or before March 1, 2014, the commission shall order electrical corporations to submit a tariff to be used, at the discretion of local governments, to fund energy efficiency improvements in street light poles owned by the electrical corporations to ensure reduced energy consumption  and lower electricity bills  for local governments who are streetlight customers covered by these tariffs.  (c)   (   b)  The tariff shall be designed to allow local governments to remit the cost of the improvement through the tariff over time, resulting in  lower   reduced  energy  consumption and lower energy bills,   consumption,  without shifting costs to nonparticipating ratepayers.  The cost of the improvement shall be identified separately rather than included within the charge for electrical service.   (d)   (   c)  Notwithstanding subdivision  (c),   (b),  the  conversion   improvement  performed pursuant to the tariff submitted under subdivision  (b)   (a)  shall be eligible for any rebate or incentives available through ratepayer-funded programs intended to increase energy efficiency.  (e)   (   d)  For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) "Electrical corporation" means an electrical corporation, as defined in Section 218, with at least 100,000 service connections in California. (2) "Street light pole" means a pole, arm, or fixture used primarily for street, pedestrian, or security lighting.  SEC. 2.   SEC. 3.  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.