BILL ANALYSIS
AB 9 X2
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 9 X2 (Migden)
As Amended May 24, 2001
Majority vote
SUMMARY : Authorizes customers to aggregate their electric loads
as individual consumers with private aggregators, or as members
of their local community with community choice aggregators.
Specifically this bill :
1)Authorizes any municipality or group of municipalities acting
together to aggregate their electrical load within its
boundaries.
2)Provides for "community choice aggregators" to form either
outside the jurisdiction of a municipal utility district
(MUD), or within such a district if the MUD did not provide
electrical service as of May 14, 2001.
1)Requires the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to
authorize municipalities to file for a pro rata share of
energy efficiency funds collected from their customers by
electrical corporations and authorize the municipality to
spend the funds on energy efficiency measures that benefit its
customers.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes specified entities to aggregate electrical loads,
and defines an "aggregator" as one of those specified entities
that provides specified power supply services, including
combining the loads of multiple end-use customers and
facilitating the sale and purchase of electrical energy,
transmission, and other services on behalf of the end-use
customers.
2)Requires CPUC to order specified electrical corporations to
collect and spend certain funds for prescribed public benefit
programs, cost-effective energy efficiency, and conservation.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS :
In the electricity procurement market, aggregators of
AB 9 X2
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electricity purchases benefit from certainty of supply by
purchasing in large quantities directly from the wholesale
market. An additional benefit of purchasing on the wholesale
market is the elimination of pass through charges and padded
profits which may occur in retail prices for electricity. This
bill eliminates the current, narrow definition of aggregator
from Public Utilities Code Section 331 and adds a number of
different types of aggregators to this code section to enable
wholesale, bulk purchasing of electricity for end-use customers.
The broadened definition essentially allows for direct purchases
for end-use customers and electricity suppliers, and provides
for CPUC to facilitate these types of transactions. Under this
bill's provisions a municipal or private aggregator can purchase
electricity for residents and businesses absent a negative
declaration from any individual consumers. Individual consumers
may opt out of the aggregator group without any fee or penalty
if they wish, but if they choose to opt back into the aggregator
group they must pay a fee. Municipal aggregators may not
aggregate electrical load if that load is served by a local
publicly owned electric utility as defined in Public Utilities
Code Section 9604. This bill appears to protect existing
municipal utilities and existing local publicly owned utilities
from bypass, and instead has broad provisions for load
aggregation which would in part bypass investor owned utilities.
Analysis Prepared by : Kelly Boyd / E. C. & A. / (916) 319-2083
FN: 0000948