BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1389
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Date of Hearing: June 17, 2002
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Roderick D. Wright, Chair
SB 1389 (Bowen) - As Amended: June 13, 2002
SENATE VOTE : 26-5
SUBJECT : Energy: planning and forecasting.
SUMMARY : Consolidates and modifies the California Energy
Commission's (CEC) reporting requirements into one integrated
report, and requires the reporting of the energy data needed
from new market participants. Specifically, this bill :
1)Repeals the provisions of law requiring reports on alternative
fuel vehicle infrastructure, energy conservation and energy
technology development.
2)Requires CEC to prepare an integrated energy policy report on
or before November 1, 2003, and every 2 years thereafter,
consisting of 3 volumes:
a) Electricity and natural gas markets;
b) Public interest energy strategies; and
c) Transportation fuels, technologies and infrastructure.
3)Establishes a process for CEC to collect data from energy
market participants to support its planning and forecasting
duties, to maintain the confidentiality of data, and to impose
penalties for noncompliance.
4)Specifies that CEC is to continue to collect data for
petroleum fuel pursuant to existing law, but allows CEC to
also collect information about consumers' petroleum fuel use
from consumers' participation in surveys and other research
techniques.
EXISTING LAW requires CEC to prepare various reports, including:
a) A draft and final electricity report based on reporting
and forecasting required to be submitted by electric
utilities;
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b) A report regarding emerging trends in energy
availability and use;
c) A report related to energy conservation, and
d) A report regarding emerging trends in use, availability,
and price of transportation fuels, among other things.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS :
Purpose of the bill
The author's intent is to consolidate CEC's reporting
requirements into one timely, integrated report, to require
reporting of the energy data necessary to support this report
from new market participants, and to develop the capability to
produce the required analyses.
Background
This bill repeals and re-enacts the Planning and Forecasting
chapter of the Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Act, which among other things
created CEC in 1974. That law requires CEC to develop long-term
forecasts of state energy needs, primarily to serve as the basis
for the planning and certification of individual power plants.
The changing electrical market has affected the direct
relationship between CEC's planning and siting functions.
SB 110 (Peace), Chapter 581, Statutes of 1996, required CEC to
recommend ways to consolidate and clarify CEC's policy reporting
obligations, and to revise its authority to collect data.
This bill would apply recommendations contained in the report.
Similarly, CEC is adopting revisions to its regulations. This
bill repeals obsolete reporting and data collection requirements
and clarifies CEC's authority to collect data from new market
participants. This bill also grants enforcement authority to
CEC so that data collection according to CEC regulations can be
certain.
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Confidentiality provisions
This bill also enacts provisions intended by the author to
protect customer privacy and commercially sensitive data that
would be collected under the new reporting regime. CEC has
current regulations governing confidentiality of data<1> under
the Warren-Alquist and the Public Records Act,<2> which CEC does
not intend to repeal. Both the regulations and this bill
contain provision governing both the designation of public
records and the circumstances under which they will be
disclosed, but the process is different. This could lead to
difficulty in applying the provisions the regulations and this
bill to the same set of records. In addition, confidentiality
of data pertaining to petroleum fuel is subject to yet a
different statutory scheme in existing law.
Because this bill incorporates some of CEC regulations by
reference, and also contains operative provisions that closely
track CEC regulations, the author and the committee may wish to
consider amendments to this bill. An amendment that simply
incorporates by reference the existing CEC regulations governing
both designation and disclosure of confidential records would
clarify confidentiality, as well as reporting and forecasting,
in this bill.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Energy Commission
Office of Ratepayer Advocates
Independent Energy Producers Association
Opposition
Sempra Energy (oppose unless amended)
Analysis Prepared by : Paul Donahue / U. & C. / (916) 319-2083
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<1> 20 Cal. Code of Regs. 2503 et seq.
<2> Government Code 6250 et seq.
SB 1389
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