BILL NUMBER: AB 2228 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 23, 2002
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 11, 2002
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Negrete McLeod
FEBRUARY 20, 2002
An act to add and repeal Section 2827.9 of the Public Utilities
Code, relating to public utilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2228, as amended, Negrete McLeod. Public utilities: net
energy metering.
Under existing law, electric service providers, as defined, are
required to provide eligible customer-generators with net energy
metering, as defined. Until January 1, 2003, an "eligible
customer-generator" means a residential, small commercial,
commercial, industrial, or agricultural customer of an electric
service provider, who uses a solar or a wind turbine electrical
generating facility, or a hybrid system of both, with a capacity of
not more than one megawatt that is located on the customer's owned,
leased, or rented premises, is interconnected and operates in
parallel with the electric grid, and is intended primarily to offset
part or all of the customer's own electrical requirements. After
January 1, 2003, an "eligible customer-generator" means a residential
or small commercial customer of an electric service provider, who
uses a solar or a wind turbine electrical generating facility, or a
hybrid system of both, with a capacity of not more than 10 kilowatts
that is located on the customer's premises, is interconnected and
operates in parallel with the electric grid, and is intended
primarily to offset part or all of the customer's own electrical
requirements.
This bill would, until January 1, 2006, also require electric
service providers, as defined to mean electrical corporations
, to provide eligible customer-generators, as defined, with net
energy metering under a pilot program . The bill would
define an "eligible customer-generator" as a small commercial,
commercial, industrial, or agricultural customer of an electric
service provider, who uses a biogas electrical generating facility
with a capacity of not more than one megawatt and receives at least
part of its funding from government sources. The bill would
define an "eligible biogas digester customer-generator" as a customer
who is the recipient of local, state, or federal funds, or who
self-finances pilot projects designed to encourage the development of
biogas digestion power production technologies, and would prescribe
the conditions under which these customers may participate in the
pilot program established by the bill. The bill would provide
that an electric service provider is not obligated to provide net
energy metering to additional customer-generators in its service
territory when the combined total biogas generation in its service
territory equals 10 megawatts.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 2827.9 is added to the Public Utilities Code,
to read:
2827.9. (a) (1) The Legislature finds and declares
that a pilot program to provide net energy metering for eligible
dairy biogas generation projects would enhance the continued
diversification of California's energy resource mix and would
encourage the installation of livestock air emission controls that
the State Air Resources Board believes may produce multimedia
environmental benefits.
(2) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature in enacting
the act adding this section to accomplish both of the following:
(A) To enact a program in furtherance of Chapter 7 of the Statutes
of the 2001-02 First Extraordinary Session.
(B) To ensure the immediate implementation of energy efficiency
programs in order to reduce the consumption of energy and to assist
in reducing costs by reducing peak energy demand.
(b) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) "Electric service provider" means an electrical corporation,
as defined in Section 218 , a local publicly owned electric
utility, as defined in Section 9604, or an electrical cooperative, as
defined in Section 2776, or any other entity that offers electrical
service .
(2) (A) "Eligible biogas digester customer-generator" means a
customer who is the recipient of local, state, or federal funds, or
who self-finances pilot projects designed to encourage the
development of biogas digestion power production technologies, and
who has developed either a dairy manure methane power production
project or has reduced peak usage by revision of system operations to
produce replacement energy as a byproduct or anaerobic digestion of
biosolids and animal wastes. An eligible biogas digester
customer-generator shall be assigned a time-of-use meter.
(B) At the end of each monthly period, when the electricity
supplied during the period by the electric service provider exceeds
the electricity generated by the eligible biogas digester
customer-generator during that same period, the eligible biogas
digester customer-generator is a net electricity consumer and the
electric service provider is owed compensation for the net
kilowatthour consumption of the eligible biogas digester
customer-generator over that same period. The compensation owed for
the consumption of the eligible biogas digester customer-generator
shall be calculated in accordance with both of the following:
(i) The generator charges for any net monthly consumption of
electricity shall be calculated according to the terms of the
time-of-use tariff to which the same customer would be assigned.
When those eligible biogas digester customer-generators are net
generators during any discrete time-of-use period, the net
kilowatthours produced shall be valued at the same generation price
per kilowatthour as the electric service provider would charge for
retail kilowatthour sales during that same time-of-use period.
(ii) All charges other than the generation charges described in
clause (i) shall be calculated in accordance with the applicable
tariff of the eligible biogas digester customer-generator, based on
the total monthly consumption of electricity by the eligible biogas
digester customer-generator.
(C) A project shall be sized to offset part or all of the
electrical requirements of the eligible biogas digester
customer-generators, but in no event shall the project specific load
exceed one megawatt.
(3) "Eligible customer-generator" means a small commercial
customer, as defined in subdivision (h) of Section 331, commercial,
industrial, or agricultural customer of an electric service provider,
who uses a biogas electrical generating facility with a capacity of
not more than one megawatt that is located on the customer's owned,
leased, or rented premises, is interconnected and operates in
parallel with the electric grid, and is intended primarily to offset
part or all of the customer's own electrical requirements. An
"eligible customer-generator" shall receive part or all of its
funding from state or federal government sources.
(3)
(4) "Net energy metering" means measuring the difference
between the electricity supplied through the electric grid and the
difference between the electricity generated by an eligible
customer-generator and fed back to the electric grid over a 12-month
period as described in subdivision (e). Net energy metering shall be
accomplished using a single meter capable of registering the flow of
electricity in two directions. An additional meter or meters to
monitor the flow of electricity in each direction may be installed
with the consent of the eligible customer-generator, at the expense
of the electric service provider, and the additional metering shall
be used only to provide the information necessary to accurately bill
or credit the eligible customer-generator pursuant to subdivision
(e), or to collect biogas electric generating system performance
information for research purposes. If the existing electrical meter
of an eligible customer-generator is not capable of measuring the
flow of electricity in two directions, the eligible
customer-generator shall be responsible for all expenses involved in
purchasing and installing a meter that is able to measure electricity
flow in two directions. If an additional meter or meters are
installed, the net energy metering calculation shall yield a result
identical to that of a single meter.
(c) (1) Every electric service provider shall develop a standard
contract or tariff providing for net energy metering, and shall make
this contract available to eligible customer-generators, upon
request.
(2) If a customer participates in direct transactions pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 365 with an electric
supplier that does not provide distribution service for the direct
transactions, the service provider that provides distribution service
for an eligible customer-generator is not obligated to provide net
energy metering to the customer.
(3) If a customer participates in direct transactions pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 365 with an electric
supplier, and the customer is an eligible customer-generator, the
service provider that provides distribution service for the direct
transactions may recover from the customer's electric service
provider the incremental costs of metering and billing service
related to net energy metering in an amount set by the commission.
(d) Each net energy metering contract or tariff shall be
identical, with respect to rate structure, all retail rate
components, and any monthly charges, to the contract or tariff to
which the same customer would be assigned if the customer was not an
eligible customer-generator, except that eligible customer-generators
shall not be assessed standby charges on the electrical generating
capacity or the kilowatthour production of a biogas electrical
generating facility. The charges for all retail rate components for
eligible customer-generators shall be based exclusively on the
customer-generator's net kilowatthour consumption over a 12-month
period, without regard to the customer-generator's choice of electric
service provider. Any new or additional demand charge, standby
charge, customer charge, minimum monthly charge, interconnection
charge, or other charge that would increase an eligible
customer-generator's costs beyond those of other customers in the
rate class to which the eligible customer-generator would otherwise
be assigned are contrary to the intent of this legislation, and shall
not form a part of net energy metering contracts or tariffs.
(e) The net energy metering calculation shall be made by measuring
the difference between the electricity supplied to the eligible
customer-generator and the electricity generated by the eligible
customer-generator and fed back to the electric grid over a 12-month
period. The following rules shall apply to the annualized net
metering calculation:
(1) The eligible customer-generator shall, at the end of each
12-month period following the date of final interconnection of the
eligible customer-generator's system with an electric service
provider, and at each anniversary date thereafter, be billed for
electricity used during that period. The electric service provider
shall determine if the eligible customer-generator was a net consumer
or a net producer of electricity during that period.
(2) At the end of each 12-month period, where the electricity
supplied during the period by the electric service provider exceeds
the electricity generated by the eligible customer-generator during
that same period, the eligible customer-generator is a net
electricity consumer and the electric service provider shall be owed
compensation for the eligible customer-generator's net kilowatthour
consumption over that same period. The compensation owed for the
eligible customer-generator's consumption shall be calculated as
follows:
(A) For eligible customer-generators taking service under tariffs
employing "baseline" and "over baseline" rates, any net monthly
consumption of electricity shall be calculated according to the terms
of the contract or tariff to which the same customer would be
assigned to or be eligible for if the customer was not an eligible
customer-generator. If those eligible customer-generators are net
generators over a billing period the net kilowatthours generated will
be valued at the same price per kilowatthour as the electric service
provider would charge for the baseline quantity of electricity
during that billing period, and if the number of kilowatthours
generated exceeds baseline quantity, the excess shall be valued at
the same price per kilowatthour as the electric service provider
would charge for electricity over the baseline quantity during that
billing period.
(B) For eligible customer-generators taking service under tariffs
employing "time of use" rates, any net monthly consumption of
electricity shall be calculated according to the terms of the
contract or tariff to which the same customer would be assigned to or
be eligible for if the customer was not an eligible
customer-generator. When those eligible customer-generators are net
generators during any discrete time of use period, the net
kilowatthours produced shall be valued at the same price per
kilowatthour as the electric service provider would charge for retail
kilowatthour sales during that same time of use period. If the
eligible customer-generator's time of use electrical meter is unable
to measure the flow of electricity in two directions, paragraph (3)
of subdivision (b) shall apply.
(C) The net balance of moneys owed shall be paid in accordance
with the electric service providers normal billing cycle, except that
if the eligible customer-generator is a net electricity producer
over a normal billing cycle, any excess kilowatthours generated
during the billing cycle shall be carried over to the following
billing period, valued according to the procedures set forth in this
section, and appear as a credit on the eligible customer-generator's
account until the end of the annual period when paragraph (3) shall
apply.
(3) At the end of each 12-month period, where the electricity
generated by the eligible customer-generator during the 12-month
period exceeds the electricity supplied by the electric service
provider during that same period, the eligible customer-generator is
a net electricity producer and the electric service provider shall
retain any excess kilowatthours generated during the prior
12-mouth 12-month period. The eligible
customer-generator shall not be owed any compensation for those
excess kilowatthours unless the electric service provider enters into
a purchase agreement with the eligible customer-generator for those
excess kilowatthours.
(4) The electric service provider shall provide every eligible
customer-generator with net electricity consumption information with
each regular bill. That information shall include the current
monetary balance owed the electric service provider for net
electricity consumed since the last 12-month period ended.
Notwithstanding subdivision (e), an electric service provider shall
permit that customer to pay monthly for net energy consumed.
(5) If an eligible customer-generator terminates the customer
relationship with the electric service provider, the electric service
provider shall reconcile the eligible customer-generator's
consumption and production of electricity during any part of a
12-month period following the last reconciliation according to the
requirements set forth in this subdivision, except that those
requirements shall apply only to the months since the most recent
12-month bill.
(6) If an electric service provider providing net metering to an
eligible customer-generator ceases providing that electrical service
to that customer during any 12-month period, and the eligible
customer-generator enters into a new net metering contract or tariff
with a new electric service provider, the 12-month period, with
respect to that new electric service provider, shall commence on the
date on which the new electric service provider first supplies
electric service to the customer-generator.
(7) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), an electric
service provider is not obligated to provide net energy metering to
additional eligible customer-generators in its service territory when
the combined total biogas generation provided by eligible
customer-generators in its service territory equals 10 megawatts.
(f) The cumulative load in the service territories of all
electrical corporations participating in the pilot project
established by this section shall not exceed 15 megawatts, and the
load for which the netting of the generation charges of eligible
biogas digester customer-generators shall not exceed 5 megawatts
within the service territory of each electrical corporation.
(g) This section shall remain in effect only until January
1, 2006, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2006, deletes or extends
that date.