BILL NUMBER: SBX1 27 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 28, 2001
INTRODUCED BY Senator Bowen
JANUARY 31, 2001
An act to amend Section 80110 of , and to add Section 80111
to, the Water Code, relating to electric power, and declaring
the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 27, as amended, Bowen. Electric power
Department of Water Resources: power .
Existing law imposes various duties and responsibilities on the
Department of Water Resources with respect to the sale of water and
power.
This bill would, after a period of time that the bill would
require the Public Utilities Commission to determine, suspend the
right of a retail end use customer to acquire service from other
providers until the department no longer supplies power, as
specified.
(1) Existing law authorizes the Department of Water Resources to
enter into contracts for the purchase of electric power, to sell
power to retail end use customers and, with certain exceptions, to
local publicly owned electric utilities at not more than the
department's acquisition costs. Existing law specifies that the
department retains title to all power sold by it to the retail end
use customers. After the passage of a specified period of time,
existing law suspends the right of retail end use customers to
acquire service from other providers until the department no longer
supplies power under these provisions.
This bill would delete the provision that suspends the right of
retail end use customers to acquire service from other providers
until the department no longer supplies power under these provisions
after the passage of a specified period of time. The bill would make
various clarifying, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
The bill would specify that the right of a retail end use customer
who has not purchased power from an electrical corporation, as
defined, on or after January 17, 2001, to purchase power from an
alternate provider, as defined, may not be limited by these
provisions. The bill would authorize the Public Utilities Commission
to limit the right of a retail end use customer who purchases power
from an electrical corporation to purchase power from an alternate
provider to the extent the commission determines is necessary,
however, a customer may elect service from an alternate provider at
any time, upon payment of a fee, as specified, to the department.
The bill would authorize the department, in certain circumstances, to
impose a specified fee if a retail end use customer previously
served by an alternate provider acquires service from an electrical
corporation. The bill would require the commission to notify each
customer of an electrical corporation of the conditions of purchasing
power from an alternate provider within 90 days of the effective
date of these provisions. Because a violation of an order of the
commission is a crime under existing provisions of law, the bill
would create a state-mandated local program by expanding the
definition of a crime.
(2) 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.
The
(3) The bill would declare that it is to take effect
immediately as an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this
act, to establish a policy to govern the circumstances under which
retail end use customers may choose to acquire service from energy
providers other than the Department of Water Resources. The goal of
that policy is to provide retail end use customers the greatest
possible flexibility in procuring power while preventing any negative
consequences for those customers who continue to be served by the
Department of Water Resources.
SEC. 2. Section 80110 of the Water Code, as proposed by Assembly
Bill No. 1 of the 2001-02 First Extraordinary Session, is amended to
read:
80110. The department shall retain title to all power sold by it
to the retail end use customers. The department shall be entitled to
recover, as a revenue requirement, amounts and at the times necessary
to enable it to comply with Section 80134, and shall advise the
commission as the department determines to be appropriate. Such
revenue requirements may also include any advances made to the
department hereunder or hereafter for purposes of this division, or
from the Department of Water Resources Electric Power Fund, and
General Fund moneys expended by the department pursuant to the
Governor's Emergency Proclamation dated January 17, 2001. For
purposes of this division and except as otherwise provided in this
section, the Public Utility Commission's authority as set forth in
Section 451 of the Public Utilities Code shall apply, except any just
and reasonable review under Section 451 shall be conducted and
determined by the department. The commission may enter into an
agreement with the department with respect to charges under Section
451 for purposes of this division, and that agreement shall have the
force and effect of a financing order adopted in accordance with
Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 840) of Chapter 4 of Part 1 of
Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code, as determined by the
commission. In no case shall the commission increase the electricity
charges in effect on the date that the act that adds this section
becomes effective for residential customers for existing baseline
quantities or usage by those customers of up to 130 percent of
existing baseline quantities. After the passage of such period of
time after the effective date of this section as shall be determined
by the commission, the right of retail end use customers pursuant to
Article 6 (commencing with Section 360) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1 of
Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code to acquire service from other
providers shall be suspended until the department no longer supplies
power under this division. The department shall have the same rights
with respect to the payment by retail end use customers for power
sold by the department as do providers of power to such customers.
SEC. 3. This act shall become operative only if Assembly Bill No.
1 of the 2001-02 First Extraordinary Session is enacted and becomes
operative.
SEC. 4.
SEC. 2. Section 80110 of the Water Code is amended to read:
80110. The department shall retain title to all power sold by it
to the retail end use customers. The department shall be entitled to
recover, as a revenue requirement, amounts and at the times
necessary to enable it to comply with Section 80134, and shall advise
the commission of those revenue requirements as the
department determines to be appropriate. Such revenue requirements
may also include any advances made to the department hereunder or
hereafter for purposes of this division, or from the Department of
Water Resources Electric Power Fund, and General Fund moneys expended
by the department pursuant to the Governor's Emergency Proclamation
dated January 17, 2001. For purposes of this division and except as
otherwise provided in this section, the Public Utility
Utilities Commission's authority , as
set forth in the first paragraph of Section 451 of the
Public Utilities Code , shall apply, except any just and
reasonable review under Section 451 shall be conducted and determined
by the department to ensure that the department's charges, in
the aggregate, do not exceed the revenue requirements of the
department . The commission , under the first paragraph
of Section 451 , of the Public
Utilities Code, may enter into an agreement with the department
with respect to charges under Section 451 for
purposes of this division, and that agreement shall have the force
and effect of a financing order adopted in accordance with Article
5.5 (commencing with Section 840) of Chapter 4 of Part 1 of Division
1 of the Public Utilities Code , as determined by the
commission . In no case shall may
the commission increase the electricity charges in effect on
the date that the act that adds this section becomes effective for
residential customers for existing baseline quantities or usage by
those customers of up to 130 percent of existing baseline quantities,
until such time as the department has recovered the costs of power
it has procured for the electrical corporation's
retail end use customers as provided in this division.
After the passage of such period of time after the effective date of
this section as shall be determined by the commission, the right of
retail end use customers pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with
Section 360) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public
Utilities Code to acquire service from other providers shall be
suspended until the department no longer supplies power hereunder.
The department shall have the same rights with
respect to enforce and collect the payment by
retail end use customers for power sold by the department as do
other providers of power to such customers.
SEC. 3. Section 80111 is added to the Water Code, to read:
80111. (a) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Electrical corporation" means an electrical corporation, as
defined in Section 218 of the Public Utilities Code, serving the
customers for which the department is procuring power pursuant to
this division.
(2) "Alternate provider" means an entity, other than an electrical
corporation, supplying electrical power within the service territory
of an electrical corporation.
(b) The right of a retail end use customer who has not purchased
power from an electrical corporation on or after January 17, 2001, to
purchase power from an alternate provider may not be limited by this
section.
(c) The commission may limit the right of a retail end use
customer who purchases power from an electrical corporation to
purchase power from an alternate provider to the extent the
commission determines is necessary to ensure satisfaction of any
power purchase obligation or bond obligation incurred by the
department under this division to procure power to serve that
customer.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (c), a customer may elect service
from an alternate provider at any time, upon payment of a fee to the
department equivalent to the department's net unavoidable cost of
power procurement, including any financing costs, attributable to
that customer, as determined by the department.
(e) If a retail end use customer previously served by an alternate
provider acquires service from an electrical corporation, the
department may impose a fee equivalent to any unavoidable costs
imposed on the department's portfolio attributable to the load of
that customer, if the fee is necessary to avoid imposing costs on
other customers of the electrical corporation, or on the state.
(f) Within 90 days of the effective date of this section, the
commission shall require each electrical corporation customer to be
notified of conditions for purchasing power from an alternate
provider imposed by this section.
SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB 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 XIIIB of the California Constitution.
SEC. 5. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to establish, at the earliest possible time, a policy to
govern the circumstances under which retail end use customers may
choose to acquire service from energy providers other than the
Department of Water Services, it is necessary that this act take
effect immediately.