BILL NUMBER: SBX1 8 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 25, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 16, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 15, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE FEBRUARY 13, 2001
INTRODUCED BY Senator Alarcon
(Coauthors: Senators Escutia, Soto, and Vincent)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Firebaugh, Koretz, and Washington)
JANUARY 18, 2001
An act to amend Sections 366 and 9601 of
Section 366 of, and to amend, repeal, and add Section 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 The Public Utilities Act
requires the Public Utilities Commission to take necessary
action to facilitate direct transactions between electricity
suppliers and end-use customers. Existing law
The act requires the commission to authorize all customer
classes to voluntarily aggregate their electrical loads.
Existing law The act 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 the bill would
authorize it do so upon written notice to the public agency and
pursuant to the opt out rules established by the public agency.
(2) 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 provide that the provisions described in (2) would
remain in effect for 18 months from the date of enactment of this
bill. After 18 months from the date of enactment of this bill, the
bill would prohibit 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 regulatory body of the first
utility has agreed to let the second utility make sales of electric
power to the retail customers of the first utility.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The multifaceted energy crisis that has California in its
grasp, needs multifaceted solutions. Many efforts are being made to
reduce the demand on the energy grid and ensure the people of
California a stable, reasonably priced supply of energy in as timely
a manner as possible, including efforts to increase public power in
California.
(b) One of the key factors making resolution of the energy crisis
more burdensome is the lack of control by Californians over various
aspects of energy pricing and supply. One way to increase control is
to increase access to public power in California.
(c) During this energy crisis, the electrical corporations have
not been in a position to provide a stable, reasonably priced supply
of energy to all of the customers in their service territory.
(d) Where a local publicly owned utility may be available to
provide retail sale of energy to customers in the service territory
of an electrical corporation, and the customers of that electrical
corporation choose to contract with the local publicly owned utility
for their energy supply, they should be permitted to do so in as
expeditious a manner as possible.
(e) Therefore, for a period of 18 months, the requirement that the
agreement of an electrical corporation that is currently serving
customers be obtained before those customers can contract with a
local publicly owned utility for retail sale of energy should be
waived.
SEC. 2. 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.
SEC. 3. 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.
(d) This section shall remain in effect for 18 months after the
effective date of the act amending this section, and as of that date
is repealed.
SEC. 4. Section 9601 is added to the Public Utilities Code, 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 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) 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 regulatory body of the first utility has
agreed to let the second utility make sales of electric power to the
retail customers of the first utility after making a finding that the
remaining retail customers of the first utility will not be harmed
by the transaction.
(d) This section shall become operative 18 months after the
effective date of the act adding this section.