Legislative
Center
EPIC monitors and conducts analysis on key energy-related legislation in California. EPIC's Legislative Center provides a listing and summary of energy-related legislation.
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2012 California Energy-Related Legislation (Updated 5-2-12)
Click on the bill number for more information.
Building Standards
AB 1627 (Dickinson) Manual for Reducing Vehicle Miles Traveled
This bill would require the Office of Planning and Research (OPR), not later than January 1,2014, to prepare and make available a manual containing specified information designed to be used by local governments, local agencies, and project developers to evaluate and incorporate measures and strategies to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in new residential and commercial building projects. The bill would require OPR not later than January 1, 2014, to make recommendations to the Legislature and local policymakers of measures to improve the reduction of VMT related to residential and commercial building projects.
SB 1130 (De Leon) Commercial Building Energy Standards
The bill would require the California Energy Commission to analyze and evaluate standards for
commercial energy building.
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California Public Utilities Commission
AB 1703 (Hill) Utility Disclosure of Civil Action
This bill would: (1) require a public utility to file a completed report with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) within 30 days as to any final judgment, arbitration award, compromise, or settlement in excess of $50,000 in any civil action brought by an employee, former employee, contractor, or subcontractor of the utility against the utility regarding safety issues that could jeopardize the lives or health of Californians; (2) It would authorize the CPUC to limit this reporting requirement to those particular types of claims that the CPUC determines are likely to involve claims or allegations that could jeopardize the lives or health of Californians: (3) require the CPUC to develop and adopt the report form to be used by a public utility to comply with this reporting requirement: and, (4) require specified civil penalties to be imposed for a violation of these requirements.
AB 1843 (Hill) Whistleblower Protection
This bill would require the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to establish a comprehensive whistleblower protection program to protect public utility employees, former employees, and 3rd-party contractors and subcontractors from retaliation for bringing information to the commission or other public entities regarding, but not limited to, safety issues.
AB 2584 (Bradford) Electric and Natural Gas Utility Investigations
This bill would: (1) require every electrical corporation and gas corporation to cooperate fully with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in an investigation into any major accident or any reportable incident regardless of pending litigation or other investigations, including, but not limited to, those that may be related to a PUC investigation; (2) require every electrical corporation and gas corporation to provide the CPUC, upon its request, immediate access to specified document; and (3) require every electrical corporation and gas corporation to preserve any and all documents it collects as part of its own investigation related to the incident for at least 5 years.
SB 981 (Yee) Rules on CPUC Employees Working for Regulated Entities (and Vice Versa)
This bill would prospectively prohibit: (1) a commissioner or executive employee of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), for a period of 2 years after leaving the employment of the CPUC, from becoming an employee of, or, for compensation, acting as the agent for, a public utility subject to the regulatory authority of the CPUC pursuant to the Public Utilities Act, (2) the CPUC from hiring, as an executive employee of the commission, any person who, in the previous 2 years, was an employee or agent, for compensation, of a public utility subject to the regulatory authority of the CPUC pursuant to the Public Utilities Act, (3) would prospectively prohibit any person from holding the office of commissioner who, in the previous 2 years, was an employee or agent, for compensation, for a public utility subject to the regulatory authority of the CPUC pursuant to the Public Utilities Act.
SB 1000 (Yee) Public Release of CPUC Accident Reports and Recommendations
This bill would require that any order or recommendation made by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and any accident report filed with the CPUC pursuant to requirements in the Public Utilities Act be made available and ready for public review in compliance with the California Public Records Act.
SB 1403 (Yee) Public Utilities Commission Intervention in Related Proceedings
This bill would authorize the attorney for the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), if directed to do so by the CPUC, to intervene, if possible, in any action or proceeding involving any question arising pursuant to the Public Utilities Act. It also would require the attorney for the commission to commence, prosecute, and expedite the final determination of all actions and proceedings, as directed or authorized by the commission, and to generally perform all duties and services.
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Clean Fuels and Vehicles
AB 523 (Valadao) Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program
This bill would provide that on and after July 1, 2013, the eligibility for funding under the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program administered by the Energy Commission for the production of ethanol is limited to projects for the production of ethanol that are not derived from corn.
AB 1608 (Wieckowski) Clean Vehicle Incentives
This bill would require the California Air Resources Board in implementing the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project to provide rebates for the purchase of eligible light-duty vehicles from a California manufacturer in an amount 20% greater than the rebates made available for the purchase of eligible light-duty vehicles not from a California manufacturer. The bill also would require the state board in implementing the Hybrid Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project, with funds made available by the state board, to provide rebates for the purchase of eligible medium- or heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles from a California manufacturer in an amount 20% greater than the rebates made available for the purchase of eligible medium- or heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles not from a California manufacturer.
SB 1455 (Kehoe) CEC and CARB Collaboration to Attain Alternative Fuel Goals
This bill would require: (1) the California Energy Commission (CEC) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB), among other things, to coordinate efforts to implement the state alternative fuels goal, as specified, (2) both agencies, on or before January 1, 2014, to update a specified economic analysis, evaluate how the use of new and existing investment programs could be used to attain the state alternative transportation fuels goal, and evaluate how the impact of federal fuel policies and existing state policies will help attain the state alternative transportation fuels goal, (3) both agencies, commencing November 1, 2013, and every 2 years thereafter, to report in the integrated energy policy report, the status and implementation of reaching the state alternative transportation fuels goals, as specified, and (4) both agencies to include a finding on the effect of proposed regulations related to the state alternative transportation fuels goal.
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Distributed Generation
AB 2340 (Williams) Reimbursement of Distributed Generation Upgrade Costs
This bill would require the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to convene a proceeding on or before July 1, 2013, to develop rules for the reimbursement of distribution grid upgrade costs to developers of wholesale distribution generation facilities constructed subsequent to the completion of
interconnection studies. The bill would require those costs to be included in each electrical corporation’s rate base.
AB 2341 (Williams) Deployment of Distributed Generation
This bill would require the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to ensure, through its decisions in electrical corporation general rate cases and related proceedings, that all investments in the distribution grid are compatible with optimal deployment of distributed generation, to the extent grid upgrades are required to meet a goal of 12,000 megawatts of distributed generation by 2020.
AB 2590 (Blumenfield) Rule 21 Report Disclosure
This bill would require investor-owned electric utilities to post on their Internet Web sites any report required by a revision to the commission’s Electric Rule 21, if that revision is adopted after January
1, 2012
SB 843 (Wolk) Community-Based Renewable Energy Self-Generation Program
Under existing law, the local government renewable energy self-generation program authorizes a local government to receive a bill credit to be applied to a designated benefiting account for
electricity exported to the electrical grid by an eligible renewable generating facility and requires the commission to adopta rate tariff for the benefiting account. This bill would repeal these provisions and enact the Community-Based Renewable Energy Self-Generation Program. The program would authorize a retail customer of an electrical corporation to acquire an interest in a community renewable energy facility for the purpose of receiving a bill credit to offset all or a portion of the participant's electricity usage, consistent with specified requirements. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.
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Energy Efficiency
AB 1124 (Skinner) Low Income Energy Efficiency Program
This bill would require the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), in its review of the energy efficiency programs of electrical corporations and gas corporations, to ensure compliance with certain specified principles.
AB 1711 (Galgiani) Energy Rating Requirements
Existing law requires California Energy Commission (CEC), by March 1, 2010, to establish a regulatory proceeding to develop a comprehensive program to achieve greater energy savings in the state's existing residential and nonresidential building stock. Existing law requires that the program developed pursuant to those provisions, among other things, ensure, for residential buildings, that the energy efficiency assessments, ratings, or improvements do not unreasonably or unnecessarily affect the home purchasing process or the ability of individuals to rent housing. This bill would, for purposes of those provisions governing energy efficiency assessments, ratings, or improvement for residential buildings, specify that an unreasonable or unnecessary affect on the home purchasing process or the ability of individuals to rent housing includes an act or requirement in the assessment, rating, or improvement of a residential building that results in certain costs or delays the close of escrow.
SB 1268 (Pavley) Energy Conservation Assistance Act of 1979 Extension
This bill would: (1) extend the Energy Conservation Assistance Act of 1979 to January 1, 2028, (2) include measures primarily intended to reduce peak electricity demand as “energy conservation measures” and any combination of units of local government below the state and special districts formed for the joint exercise of power as “units of local government” for the purposes of the act, (3) provide instead that the loan repayments be made in accordance with a schedule established by the commission, (3) require any unexpended funds from the proceeds of revenue bonds sold for the purposes of the act remaining in the account on January 1, 2028 to remain in the account until all bond obligations have been satisfied and thereafter revert the remaining unexpended funds to the General Fund, (4) require unexpended funds from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 remaining in the account on January 1, 2028, to revert to the Federal Trust Fund.
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Energy Procurement
SB 1312 (Blakeslee) Loading Order Requirements
This bill would recast the loading order requirements to instead require a showing that the procurement plan creates or maintains a diversified procurement portfolio consisting of both short-term and long-term electricity and electricity-related and demand reduction products pursuant to a specified loading order. The first element of the loading order would require the electrical corporation to first meet its unmet resource needs through all available energy efficiency and demand reduction resources, including energy conservation, peak load reduction, load shifting, and demand response resources, that are cost effective, reliable, and feasible. The 2nd element of the loading order would require the electrical corporation to secondarily meet its unmet resource needs through cost effective, reliable, and feasible procurement of eligible renewable energy resources pursuant to the RPS program and ultraclean and low-emission distributed generation. The bill would recognize that procurement of variable generation eligible renewable energy resources may require the procurement of additional integration resources, including generation from natural gas powerplants that are able to provide regulation and ancillary services. The 3rd element of the loading order would be procurement of other resources.
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Financing
AB 796 (Blumenfield) Energy Loan Guarantees
This bill would make changes to the law establishing the Capital Access Loan Program for small businesses, administered by the California Pollution Control Financing Authority, including (1) increasing this maximum contribution by the financial institution to $200,000, if the matching contribution made by the authority is funded exclusively from funds made available pursuant to the federal Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, (2) limiting the amount of those funds used for matching contributions for deposits exceeding $100,000 to not more than 50% of the available funds,(3) requiring the authority to establish the Clean Energy Economy and Jobs Incentive Program to provide financial assistance in the form of specified financing mechanisms for an applicant to promote the commercialization and manufacturing of a project in eligible clean energy technology areas, and (4) establishing the Clean Energy Economy and Jobs Incentive Program Fund in the State Treasury and would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, authorize the authority to expend moneys in the fund to implement the program. The bill would repeal the program on January 1, 2018.
AB 904 (Skinner) CPUC Evaluation of Financing Options for Residential Efficiency Improvements (R.09-11-014)
This bill would require the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), as part of Rulemaking 09-11-014, to evaluate reasonable alternatives for financing residential energy efficiency retrofits, including efficiency improvements of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning.
AB 2409 (Allen) Energy Efficiency Financing Review by CEC
This bill would require the California Energy Commission(CEC), in collaboration with specied entities, to review emerging technology financing models used in other states to finance energy efficiency technology deployments and services that maximize private sector investment in California. The bill would also authorize the commission to establish and consult with an investment advisory group consisting of private and public investors.
AB 2551 (Hueso) Renewable Energy Financing Districts
Existing law authorizes counties and cities to form infrastructure financing districts and requires that a district finance only public capital facilities of communitywide significance. This bill would authorize a legislative body to establish an infrastructure financing district in a renewable energy zone area for the purpose of promoting renewable energy projects. The bill would exempt the creation of the district from the existing 2/3 voter-approval requirement.
SB 343 (De Leon) Energy Efficiency Financing Assessment by CPUC
This bill would require the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), in Rulemaking 09-11-014, in consultation with the Energy Commission, the Treasurer, and the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority, to determine appropriate energy efficiency financing measures, programs, and funding sources for the residential, commercial, and public building sectors in order to achieve the statewide energy efficiency goals for those sectors identified in the California Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan adopted by the CPUC.
SB 998 (De Leon) Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy on-bill Repayment Programs
This bill would: (1) require the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to require an electrical corporation and gas corporation with 100,000 or more service connections in the state to develop and implement an on-bill repayment program for eligible energy efficiency, renewable energy, and distributed generation investments, financed pursuant to an agreement with an OBR partner on terms that the CPUC approves and ensures that the terms are just and reasonable; (2) require the CPUC ensure that any on-bill repayment program approved by the CPUC include certain elements; (3) authorize the commission to require an electrical corporation or gas corporation to treat any resulting shortfall in payment for electric or gas service consistent with the rules established by the CPUC for a customer’s failure to pay for electric or gas service; (4) authorize the CPUC to order an electrical corporation or gas corporation with less than 100,000 service connections in the state to establish on-bill repayment programs based upon each utility’s individual circumstances.
SB 1484 (Pavley) California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank
The Bergeson-Peace Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Act establishes in the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Fund for the purpose of funding specified types of infrastructure development projects. This bill would instead establish the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development.
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Greenhouse Gas / Climate Change
AB 1532 (Pérez) California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 Greenhouse Gas Account
This bill would: (1) create the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Account within the Air Pollution Control Fund; (2) require moneys collected pursuant to a market-based compliance mechanism be deposited in this account; (3) require those moneys,upon appropriation by the Legislature, be used for speci ed purposes; (4) require administering agencies, including the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and any other state agency identified by the Legislature, to allocate those moneys to measures and programs that meet speci ed criteria; (5) require the state board to develop and adopt every 3 years an investment plan that identifies the anticipated expenditures of moneys appropriated from the account to the budget committees of each house of the Legislature; and (6) require the CARB board to annually submit a report no later than December of each year to the appropriate committees of the Legislature on the status of projects and their outcomes and any changes the state board recommends need to be made to the investment plan.
AB 2404 (Fuentes) Local Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Grants
This bill would: (1) create the Local Emission Reduction Program and would permit specified moneys collected pursuant to market-based compliance mechanisms to be available, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes of carrying out the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006; (2) require the California Air Resources Board (CARB), in coordination with the
Strategic Growth Council and other state entities, as appropriate, to provide local assistance grants to eligible recipients for the purposes of developing and implementing multibenefit greenhouse gas emission reduction projects in this state;and, (3) authorize the Strategic Growth
Council to award moneys under the program to a county, or counties, that adopts a local greenhouse gas emission reduction program, as certified by CARB, that achieves specified purposes.
SB 1066 (Lieu) Coastal Resources and Climate Change
This bill would authorize the State Coastal Conservancy to fund and undertake projects to address climate change, giving priority to projects that maximize public benefits.
SB 1076 (Emmerson) Tire Inflation Regulation for Greenhouse Gas Reduction
This bill, until January 1, 2018, would require a tire pressure gauge used to meet the requirements of this regulation to be accurate within a range of plus or minus 2 pounds per square inch of pressure (2 psi). The bill, until January 1, 2018, would authorize automotive service providers to meet the requirements of the regulation without checking and inflating a vehicle’s tire if that tire is determined to be an unsafe tire, as defined, or that tire has tire age.
SB 1128 (Padilla) Sales and Use Tax Exemption for Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Technology
Existing law authorizes the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority, until January 1, 2021, to provide financial assistance in the form of the sales and use tax exclusion for a project to promote California-based manufacturing, California-based jobs, the reduction of greenhouse gases, or the reduction in air and water pollution or energy consumption. This bill would: (1) additionally authorize the authority, until July 1, 2016,to grant the above financial assistance to projects that promote the utilization of advanced manufacturing, as defined; (2) require the authority, until July 1, 2016, to study the effiicacy and cost benefit of the sales and use tax exemption for advanced manufacturing projects; (3) require the authority, before January 1, 2017, to submit to the Legislature a report on the study; (4) require the authority, until July 1, 2016, to work with the Legislative Analyst’s Office to determine the most efficient and cost effective way for the state to create jobs in advanced manufacturing; and, (5) require the authority, until January 1, 2021, to work with the University of California or the California State University to perform a peer review of the net benefits test used to evaluate applicants applying for the sales and use tax exemption.
SB 1139 (Rubio) Carbon Capture and Storage Regulation
Existing law requires the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources to regulate the construction and operation of wells. Under existing federal law, the division has been delegated with the responsibility of regulating class II wells under the federal Underground Injection Control program. This bill would specifically require the division to regulate carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery projects that seek to demonstrate carbon sequestration for various laws providing for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. This bill would require the state board, by January 1, 2015, to adopt a final methodology for carbon capture and storage projects seeking to demonstrate sequestration under various laws providing for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
SB 1572 (Pavley) Greenhouse Gas Reduction Account
This bill would: (1) create the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Account within the Air Pollution Control Fund, (2) require moneys collected pursuant to a market-based compliance mechanism be deposited in this account, (3) require those moneys, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be used for purposes of carrying out the act, (4) require the Governor to submit to the Legislature a draft plan detailing how moneys in the account should be spent and to establish criteria for the development and implementation of an a final expenditure plan for moneys appropriated from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Account, (5) require that funds
appropriated from the account be spent according to the final expenditure plan and for the purpose of achieving the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in a manner that is consistent with the act, and (6) require state agencies designated by the Governor to
develop and adopt the final expenditure plan through an open, public process.
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Miscellaneous
SB 1409 (Pavley) MOU with United States Department of Defense
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature that the Governor consider entering into a memorandum of understanding with the United States Department of Defense to identify opportunities to coordinate, where feasible, energy procurement and the implementation of complementary energy policies, including laws, regulations, and other commitments, to localize energy generation and storage and to promote energy efficiency and demand response, alternative fuel, advanced vehicles, and related infrastructure.
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Natural Gas
AB 2559 (Buchanan) Natural Gas Pipeline Management
This bill would: (1) require the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to ensure that a
local entity is provided notice by a gas corporation whenever a pipeline integrity management plan may result in the gas corporation undertaking pipeline inspection, remediation, or replacement work within the jurisdiction of the local entity, and the inspection, remediation, or replacement work within that jurisdiction is likely to require action by the local entity to approve or facilitate the work; (2) require that the local entity that has been provided with notice expedite any permitting or other actions necessary to complete any pipeline inspection, remediation, or replacement work within the jurisdiction of the local entity that is necessary pursuant to the pipeline integrity management plan; and, (3) prohibit a local entity from imposing permit requirements that exceed the scope of the proposed pipeline project, unless the additional requirements specifically relate to the project and are necessary for public safety.
SB 1054 (Pavley) Oil and Gas Well Operation Notice
Current law requires a well operator - including hydraulic fracturing wells - to file a written notice of intention to commence drilling with the State Oil and Gas Supervisor or district deputy before commencing the work of drilling a well. It also provides that the notice is deemed approved if the supervisor or the district deputy fails to give a written response to the notice within 10 working days from the date of receipt. This bill would: (1) extend the response time by the supervisor from 10 working days to 15 working days, (2) require the owner or operator to provide notice to, among others certain surface property owners and occupants no less than 20 calendar days prior to the planned drilling operations and would require the notice to include information about the well and the planned operations, (3) require a well owner or operator to notify, among others, the supervisor or district deputy before commencing hydraulic fracturing operations, and (4) require the supervisor, beginning January 1, 2014, and on the 10th calendar day of each year thereafter, to submit to the Legislature an annual written report regarding the implementation of this notice requirement.
SB 1350 (Leno) Fines and Penalties Related to Natural Gas Accidents
This bill would: (1) revise provisions in the Public Utilities Act related to accidents that are specific to gas corporations that involve safety standards for pipeline facilities or the transportation of gas in the state, to authorize the commission to order that all or a portion of a fine or penalty levied against a gas corporation in relation to a safety standard for pipeline facilities or the transportation of gas in the state be held in trust by the commission to offset expenses for gas safety measures that would otherwise be recovered from the utility’s customers, (2) require that moneys ordered by the commission to be held in trust be used only for the purpose of offsetting expenses incurred by the gas corporation for gas safety measures, and only if the expenses would otherwise be recovered in rates from the utility’s customers, and (3) require that any moneys not used for these purposes be paid to the General Fund.
SB 1496 (Simitian) Liquefied Natural Gas Market Assessment Act
This bill would: (1) enact the Liquefied Natural Gas Market Assessment Act and would require the Energy Commission, as a component of the integrated energy policy report, to conduct a study of the need for liquefied natural gas imports to meet the state’s energy demand, (2) require the Energy Commission, prior to a lease or permit being issued by the State Lands Commission or the California Coastal Commission to license a liquefied natural gas facility on the California coast, to update its study of the need for liquefied natural gas imports at least 60 days prior to a hearing by the State Lands Commission or the California Coastal Commission if the Energy Commission has not issued an integrated energy policy report within 180 days of the hearing, (3) require a liquefied natural gas terminal project applicant to include in the application evidence that it has consulted with the United States Department of Defense and its impacted service components. For a project involving the construction or operation of a liquefied natural gas terminal for which an application submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) or the United States Maritime Administration has not been deemed data adequate on or before January 1, 2013, and the application is being processed for further action by the FERC or the United States Maritime Administration, an environmental impact report prepared for that project by a lead agency would be required to contain specified information.
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Net Energy Metering
AB 2165 (Hill) Fuel Cell Eligibility under Net Energy Metering
This bill would revise the definition of an eligible fuel-cell customer-generator to require that the customer be physically located within the service territory of the electrical corporation and receive bundled service, distribution service, or transmission service from the electrical corporation. In place of the existing maximum megawatt limitations upon an electrical corporation's obligation to offer the tariff, the bill would require the electrical corporation to make the tariff available until the total cumulative rated generating capacity of the eligible fuel cell electrical generating facilities receiving service pursuant to the tariff reaches 1 percent of the aggregate customer peak demand for the electrical corporation's service territory.
AB 2234 (Hill) Public Agency Eligibility under Net Energy Metering
This bill would include in the definition of an eligible customer-generator, a public agency customer meeting the existing requirements applicable to residential, small commercial, commercial, industrial, or agricultural customers, except that that generation facility have a total capacity of not more than 5 megawatts.
AB 2514 (Bradford) Net Energy Metering Study
This bill would require the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to complete a study by June 30, 2013, to determine the extent to which each class of ratepayers and each region of the sate receiving service under the net energy metering tariff is paying the full cost of the services provided to them by electrical corporations, the extent to which those customers pay their share of the costs of public purpose programs, and the benefits of net energy metering. The bill would require the commission to report the results of the study to the Legislature within 30 days of its completion.
SB 594 (Wolk) Aggregating Meters under Net Energy Metering
This bill would authorize an eligible net energy metering customer-generator with multiple meters to elect to aggregate the electrical load of the meters located on the property where the generation facility is located and on all property adjacent or contiguous to the property on which the generation facility is located, if those properties are solely owned by the eligible customer-generator. This bill would prohibit an eligible customer-generator that chooses to aggregate from receiving net surplus electricity compensation and require the electric utility to retain kilowatthours.
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Rates and Tariffs
AB 1755 (Perea) Fixed Customer Charge
This bill would authorize the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to approve a fixed per-customer charge not based upon usage that applies to all customers of an electrical corporation, including CARE program participants, to recover fixed costs of providing service, if the CPUC finds that such a charge is just and reasonable and is necessary to provide rate relief to upper tier residential customers of the electrical corporation.
SB 1207 (Fuller) Fair and Equitable Rates
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would require fair and equitable statewide electric rates.
SB 1537 (Kehoe) Transparent and Stable Rates for Renewable Energy
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to establish a transparent and stable rate structure for electrical generation by eligible renewable energy resources.
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Renewable Energy
AB 1073 (Fuentes) CEQA Rules for Conversion of Solar Thermal Plant to Photovoltaics
Existing law vests the California Energy Commission (CEC) with the exclusive jurisdiction to certify thermal powerplants. Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the certification of a thermal powerplant is a certified regulatory program and is therefore exempt from certain requirements of CEQA. A thermal powerplant does not include a solar photovoltaic electrical generating facility. However, existing law provides that the thermal powerplant certification process applies to owners of specified proposed solar thermal powerplants who are proposing to convert the proposed facility from solar thermal technology to solar photovoltaic technology if the proposed solar thermal powerplant project has been certified by the CEC. Existing law provides that the thermal powerplant certification process does not apply to the proposed conversion if the certification of the proposed solar thermal powerplant was timely challenged. This bill would provide that the thermal powerplant certification process would apply to a proposed conversion of a solar thermal powerplant that was timely challenged if the challenge was subsequently dismissed by the California Supreme Court.
AB 1771 (Valadao) Hydroelectric Generation Eligibility for Renewable Portfolio Standard
This bill would revise the definition of an eligible renewable energy resource for the purposes of the California renewables portfolio standard program to include a hydroelectric generation facility of any size and make conforming changes. These provisions would become operative 6 months after the date that a certain report is submitted by the California Energy Commission (CEC) to the Legislature.
AB 1801 (Campos) Renewable Energy Permitting Costs
This bill would prohibit a local agency from charging a fee for permit for a renewable energy system, as defined, that exceeds the actual cost of issuing the permit.
AB 1900 (Gatto) Biogas Rules
This bill would, among other provisions, (1) provide that the California Public Utilitie Commission's (CPUC) duty to specify the maximum amount of vinyl chloride that may be found in landfill gas applies to gas that is to be injected into a common carrier pipeline, (2) require the CPUC to develop reasonable, prudent, and minimally restrictive testing protocols for gas collected from a solid waste landfill that is to be injected into a common carrier pipeline to determine if the gas contains chemicals known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity, (3) prohibit a gas producer from knowingly selling, supplying, transporting, or purchasing gas collected from a hazardous waste landfill, (4) require the CPUC, by January 1, 2014, to establish a program that requires electrical corporations to collectively enter into at least 5 contracts to procure biomethane through intrastate common carrier pipelines.
AB 1990 (Fong) Small-Scale Feed In tariff
This bill would: (1) establish the small-scale renewable generation feed-in tariff program with the goal of installing 375 megawatts of electrical generating capacity from small-scale renewable generation facilities in the state's most impacted and disadvantaged communities, (2) require the California Public Utiities (CPUC), in consultation with California Energy Commission, electrical corporations, the Division of Ratepayer Advocates, and interested stakeholders, to develop program elements for the program that are applicable to electrical corporations and that achieve certain environmental justice objectives, (3) require each electrical corporation to file with the CPUC a standard tariff for electricity purchased pursuant to a clean energy contract with a small-scale renewable generation facility owner or operator, (4) require the CPUC to establish a schedule of standard tariff rates for electricity that electrical corporations are required to purchase through clean energy contracts with a small-scale renewable generation facility owner or operator, (5) requires each local publicly owned electric utility that sells electricity at retail to establish a schedule of standard tariff rates for electricity purchased through clean energy contracts from small-scale renewable generation facilities pursuant to a small-scale generation program for the utility, (6) require the CPUC to allocate procurement targets for each electrical corporation and local publicly owned electric utility in proportion to each utility's percentage share of the state's total electricity sales measured in kilowatthours for the calendar year ending December 31, 2012.
AB 2196 (Chesbro) Renewable Fuel Eligibility for Renewable Portfolio Standard
This bill would provide that if the RPS program eligibility of a facility is based on the use of landfill gas, digester gas, or another renewable fuel delivered to the facility through a common carrier pipeline, the transaction, including the source of the fuel and delivery method, shall meet certain conditions.
SB 963 (Cannella) Municipal Utility Feed-In Tariff
This bill would move language related to existing requirements for municipal utilities to offer feed-in tariffs to certain customers to that portion of the Public Utilities Code concerning the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program.
SB 971 (Cannella) Renewable Energy Portfolio: Definition of Sales
This bill would: (1) revise the RPS program so that the specified minimum quantities of electricity products required to be procured are based upon a percentage of the utility’s net program retail sales of electricity in California, (2) define “net program retail sales” of electricity as being the total retail sales of electricity by the retail seller or local publicly owned electric utility within California, minus those retail sales where the load was met by noneligible hydroelectric generation, and (3) state the intent of the Legislature to increase the amount of electricity generated from eligible renewable energy resources per year so that amount equals at least 33% of net program retail sales of electricity in California per year by December 31, 2020.
SB 1332 (Negrete McLeod) Municipal Utility Feed-In Tariffs
This bill would the move language related to existing requirement that Municipal Utilities offer feed-in tariffs to certain customers to that portion of the Public Utilities Code concerning the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program and would require that the tariff be adopted by March 1, 2013.
SB 1493 (Cannella) Municipal Utility Feed-in Tariffs
This bill would move language related to a requirement that municipal utilities offer feed-in tariffs to certain customers to that portion of the Public Utilities Code concerning the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program.
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Solar Energy
AB 2135 (Blumenfield) Guidelines for Solar Permitting
This bill would require the commission, the Department of Housing and Community Development, and the State Fire Marshal to cooperate in developing a model ordinance and guidelines to assist local agencies to develop building standards and permitting processes for solar distributed generation technology on residential and commercial property and post the model ordinance and guidelines on their respectiveInternet Web sites.
AB 2249 (Buchanan) Solar Water Heating and Efficiency Act of 2007
This bill would: (1) expand the definition of a solar water heating system to include a facility meeting the specified requirements and would qualify the exclusion from the definition of a solar water heating system as being limited to a single-family residential solar pool heating system, (2) expand the statement of legislative intent to include schools as being sites where the 200,000 solar water heating systems may be located, and (3) revise certain eligibility criteria as being applicable to installation of solar water heating systems at municipal and educational sites.
AB 2339 (Williams) Geothermal Heat Pump and Solar Thermal
This bill would require the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), in consultation with the California Energy Commission, the California Air Resources Board, electrical corporations, and the geothermal heat pump and distributed solar thermal heating and cooling industries to evaluate policies and develop sufficient infrastructure sufficient to overcome barriers to the widespread deployment and use of geothermal and solar heating and cooling technologies. The bill would require the CPUC, by July 1, 2013, to adopt rules addressing specified issues regarding geothermal and solar heating and cooling technologies.
SB 1222 (Leno) Permitting of Distributed Solar Energy
This bill would make several findings and declarations relating to clean energy. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would assist local jurisdictions to develop building standards and permitting policies to ensure that there is a streamlined process for the deployment of solar distributed generation in the residential and commercial building sectors.
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Transportation
AB 343 (Atkins) Redevelopment Plan Consistency with SB 375 Requirements
This bill would require each redevelopment plan issued by a redevelopment agency to be consistent with the regional sustainable communities strategy or alternative planning strategy adopted by the metropolitan planning organization or council of government.
AB 1574 (Galgiani) High Speed Rail
This bill would: (1) repeal all of the provisions of the California High-Speed Rail Act, (2) enact a new California High-Speed Rail Act, (3) continue the High-Speed Rail Authority in existence with limited responsibilities and would place the authority within the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, (4) require the authority to adopt policies directing the development and implementation of high-speed rail, prepare and adopt a business plan and high-speed train capital program, establish a peer review group, select alignments for the routes of the high-speed train system established by law, adopt criteria for the award of franchises, and set fares or establish guidelines for the setting of fares.
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