BILL ANALYSIS
Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
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| |1(Aanestad) |
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| | |
|-------------------------------+----------------------------|
|Hearing Date: 8/20/01 |Amended: 7/10/01 |
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|Consultant: Lisa Matocq |Policy Vote: E, U & C |
| |5-0 |
| | |
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BILL SUMMARY:
AB 1 establishes a dispute resolution process for
investor-owned utilities (IOUs) and nonresidential
customers to determine the amount of energy efficiency
rebate that the customer is eligible to receive from the
IOU, as specified.
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2001-02 2002-03
2003-04 Fund
PUC Unknown, probably not significant costs,
Special*
depends on the number of complaints
*Public Utilities' Reimbursement Account (PURA)
STAFF COMMENTS:
Under current law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC)
establishes a surcharge to be imposed on all energy bills
to fund a variety of programs. These revenues are
collected by the IOUs and used, subject to PUC approval, to
fund a variety of programs, including rebate programs for
the installation of energy efficient appliances, or
systems.
The bill provides that if a dispute is not resolved, the
customer may file a complaint with the PUC, and requires
the PUC to issue findings within 30 days. Additionally, the
bill requires the amount of estimated rebate to be held in
reserve until the matter is resolved.
Increased costs to the PUC are unknown and depend on the
number of complaints it receives, but are probably not
significant. PURA revenues are derived from an annual
charged to public utilities, therefore, any increased costs
to the PUC should be recovered through increased fee
revenues.