BILL NUMBER: AB 2523 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 16, 2002
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Canciamilla
FEBRUARY 21, 2002
An act to add Sections 367.2 and and
repeal Section 367.3 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to
public utilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2523, as amended, Canciamilla. Electrical corporations:
rates.
Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to
establish rates for public utilities, including electrical
corporations.
This bill would require the commission , until January 1,
2006, to establish, for the accounting purposes of the
electrical corporations, the Ratepayer Benefit Account with separate
accounts for each electrical corporation that serves more than
100,000 customers in the state. The bill would require that all
funds recovered by an electrical corporation from any litigation or
agreement relative to the charging, either directly or indirectly, of
excessive costs for power by electric power generators, suppliers,
and marketers, and excessive costs for natural gas charged either
directly or indirectly, to natural gas suppliers or marketers for
periods ending January 18, 2001, to be credited to the account. The
bill would require the commission to require the electrical
corporation to allocate moneys credited to a subaccount to ratepayers
as a rate refund when the subaccount exceeds an amount over
$10,000,000. The bill would also require the commission to impose a
rate reduction for designated customers, if the commission determines
that the revenue requirement of an electrical corporation should be
reduced ensure that any rate reduction for the retail
customer classes of the electrical corporation, and to the rate
schedules and rate options within those classes, occurs in the same
proportion as the percentage rate increases by class, rate schedule,
and rate option that were adopted in the commission's Decision
01-05-064, as amended or modified . Because under the Public
Utilities Act, a violation of an order of the commission is a crime,
the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the
definition of a 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. Section 367.2 is added to the Public Utilities
SECTION 1. Section 367.3 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
367.3. (a) If the commission determines that an electrical
corporation's rates, authorized by the commission's Decision
01-05-064, as amended or modified, to recover the electrical
corporation's and the Department of Water Resources' power
procurement costs, should be reduced for any reason consistent with
this code, the commission shall ensure that the rate reduction for
the retail customer classes of the electrical corporation, and to the
rate schedules and rate options within those classes, occurs in the
same proportion as the percentage rate increases by class, rate
schedule, and rate option that were adopted in Decision 01-05-064, as
amended or modified.
(b) 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. Code, to read:
367.2. (a) The commission shall, for the accounting purposes of
the electrical corporations, establish a Ratepayer Benefit Account
with a separate subaccount for each electrical corporation serving
more than 100,000 customers in the state.
(b) The funds credited to an electrical corporation's subaccount
shall be all funds recovered by an electrical corporation resulting
from any state or federal litigation or regulatory agreement relative
to the charging, either directly or indirectly, of excessive costs
for power by electric power generators, suppliers, and marketers and
excessive costs for natural gas charged either directly or indirectly
by natural gas suppliers or marketers, for periods ending January
18, 2001.
(c) Whenever the total funds credited to a subaccount of the
Ratepayer Benefit Account for an electrical corporation exceed ten
million dollars ($10,000,000), the commission shall require the
electrical corporation to allocate the money credited to the Ratepay
Benefit Account subaccount to all customers in the form of rate
refunds. The refunds shall be allocated among the several retail
customer classes of ratepayers of the electrical corporation in the
same proportion as the class percentage rate increases that were
adopted in the commission's Decision Number 01-05-064.
SEC. 2. Section 367.3 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
367.3. If the commission determines that the revenue requirement
of an electrical corporation should be reduced, consistent with this
code, the commission shall impose a corresponding rate reduction to
allocate the amount of the revenue requirement reduction among each
retail customer class of ratepayers of the electrical corporation in
the same proportion as the class percentage rate increases that were
adopted in the commission's Decision Number 01-05-064.
SEC. 3.
SEC. 2. 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.