BILL NUMBER: SBX1 8 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 15, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE FEBRUARY 13, 2001
INTRODUCED BY Senator Alarcon
(Coauthors: Senators Soto and Vincent)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Firebaugh and Koretz)
JANUARY 18, 2001
An act to amend Sections 366 and 9601 of the Public Utilities
Code, relating to public utilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 8, as amended, Alarcon. Electric power: retail sales.
(1) Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission to take
necessary action to facilitate direct transactions between
electricity suppliers and end-use customers. Existing law requires
the commission to authorize all customer classes to voluntarily
aggregate their electrical loads. Existing law requires a public
agency that seeks to serve as a community aggregator on behalf of
residential customers to offer the opportunity to purchase
electricity to all residential customers within its jurisdiction.
This bill would permit a public agency that seeks to serve as a
community aggregator for direct access customers to provide
aggregation service to all of the customers within its jurisdiction
after a majority vote of its elected governing body. If a customer
of the public agency desires to receive service from a different
service provider, it may do so upon written notice to the public
agency and pursuant to the opt-out opt out
rules established by the public agency.
(2) The Public Utilities Act Existing law
prohibits a local publicly owned electric utility or electrical
corporation from selling electric power to the retail customers of
another local publicly owned electric utility or electrical
corporation unless the first utility has agreed to let the second
utility make sales of electric power to the retail customers of the
first utility.
This bill would exempt from that prohibition a local publicly
owned electric utility that proposes to sell electric power to the
current retail customers of an electrical corporation if certain
criteria are satisfied. The bill would require a local
publicly owned electric utility that proposes to sell electricity to
the retail customers of an electrical corporation in accordance that
exemption, to give priority to new service areas that have a higher
percentage of low-income residential and small business customers as
compared with other potential service areas. Since a violation of
the act is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local
program by creating a new crime.
(3) 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 no . State-mandated local program:
yes no .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 366 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
366. (a) The commission shall take actions as needed to
facilitate direct transactions between electricity suppliers and end
use customers. Customers shall be entitled to aggregate their
electric loads on a voluntary basis, provided that each customer does
so by a positive written declaration. If no positive declaration is
made by a customer, that customer shall continue to be served by the
existing electrical corporation or its successor in interest.
(b) Aggregation of customer electrical load shall be authorized by
the commission for all customer classes, including, but not limited
to , small commercial or residential customers.
Aggregation may be accomplished by private market aggregators,
cities, counties, special districts or on any other basis made
available by market opportunities and agreeable by positive written
declaration by individual consumers.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including, but not
limited to, this Chapter, a public agency that seeks to serve as a
community aggregator for direct access customers of the electrical
corporation may, after a majority vote of its elected governing body,
provide aggregation service to all of the customers within its
jurisdiction. If a customer of the public agency desires to receive
service from a different service provider it may do so upon written
notice to the public agency and pursuant to the opt-out rules
established by the public agency. Chapter 3 (commencing with Section
56100) of Part 1 of Division 3 of the Government Code does not apply
to aggregation service provided by a public agency under this
section.
SEC. 2. Section 9601 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
9601. (a) Except with respect to supply options of the nature
specified in Section 218, with the exception of paragraph (3) of
subdivision (b) of that section, as it existed on December 20, 1995,
no person, corporation, electrical corporation, or local publicly
owned electric utility or other governmental entity other than a
retail customer's existing electric service provider as of December
20, 1995, shall provide partial or full electric service to a retail
customer of a local publicly owned electric utility unless the
customer first confirms in writing an obligation to pay, through
tariff or otherwise, to the utility currently providing electric
service, a nonbypassable generation-related severance fee or
transition charge established by the regulatory body for that
utility. The severance fee or transition charge shall be paid
directly to the local publicly owned electric utility
providing electricity service in the service area in which the
consumer is located.
(b) Except as provided in subdivision (a) of Section 374, no local
publicly owned electric utility or other governmental entity shall
provide partial or full electric service to a retail customer of an
electrical corporation unless the customer of that electrical
corporation first confirms in writing an obligation to pay, through
tariff or otherwise, to the electrical corporation currently
providing electric service, a nonbypassable generation-related
transition charge established by the regulatory body for that
electrical corporation. The charge shall be paid directly to the
electrical corporation providing electricity in the service area in
which the consumer is located.
(c) (1) Except as specified in paragraph (2), no local publicly
owned electric utility or electrical corporation shall sell electric
power to the retail customers of another local publicly owned
electric utility or electrical corporation unless the first utility
has agreed to let the second utility make sales of electric power to
the retail customers of the first utility.
(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a local publicly owned
electric utility that proposes to sell electric power to the current
retail customers of an electrical corporation, if both of the
following criteria are satisfied:
(A) The retail customers in the service area of the electrical
corporation agree to switch to the local publicly owned electric
utility.
(B) The local publicly owned electric utility that proposes to
sell electric power to the retail customers of an electrical
corporation provides low-income public benefit programs that provide
benefits that are equal to or greater than those provided by the
electrical corporation.
(3) A local publicly owned electric utility that proposes to sell
electricity to the retail customers of an electrical corporation in
accordance with paragraph (2) shall give priority to new service
areas that have a higher percentage of low-income residential and
small business customers as compared with other potential service
areas.
SEC. 3. 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.