BILL NUMBER: SB 67 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Bowen
JANUARY 17, 2003
An act to amend Section 399.14 of the Public Utilities Code,
relating to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 67, as introduced, Bowen. Energy: California Renewables
Portfolio Standard Program.
Existing law establishes the California Renewables Portfolio
Standard Program. The program requires that a retail seller of
electricity, including electrical corporations, community choice
aggregators, and electric service providers, purchase a specified
minimum percentage of electricity generated by eligible renewable
energy resources, as defined, in any given year as a specified
percentage of total kilowatthours sold to retail end-use customers
each calendar year (renewables portfolio standard). Under existing
law, the Public Utilities Commission may not require an electrical
corporation to conduct procurement to fulfill the renewables
portfolio standard until it is deemed creditworthy by the commission.
Existing law requires the commission to direct electrical
corporations to prepare, within 90 days of being deemed creditworthy,
and to review and update as necessary, renewable energy procurement
plans that are sufficient to satisfy its obligations under the
renewables portfolio standard. Existing law requires the commission
to allow an electrical corporation to recover, in rates, electricity
procurement and administrative costs associated with long-term
contracts reasonably incurred consistent with a renewable energy
procurement plan approved by the commission.
This bill would instead require that the Public Utilities
Commission not require an electrical corporation to conduct
procurement to fulfill the renewables portfolio standard until the
commission determines either that the electrical corporation has
attained an investment grade credit rating or that the electrical
corporation is able to procure eligible renewable energy resources on
reasonable terms, those resources can be financed if necessary, and
the procurement will not impair the restoration of an electrical
corporation's creditworthiness. The bill would clarify that the
provision allowing an electrical corporation to recover, in rates,
electricity procurement and administrative costs associated with
long-term contracts applies to contracts entered into pursuant to the
California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 399.14 of the Public Utilities Code is amended
to read:
399.14. (a) The commission shall direct each electrical
corporation to prepare renewable energy procurement plans as
described in paragraph (3) to satisfy its obligations under the
renewables portfolio standard. To the extent feasible, this
procurement plan shall be proposed, reviewed, and adopted by the
commission as part of, and pursuant to, a general procurement plan
process. The commission shall require each electrical corporation to
review and update its renewable energy procurement plan as it
determines to be necessary.
(1) (A) The commission shall not require an electrical
corporation to conduct procurement to fulfill the renewables
portfolio standard until it is deemed creditworthy by the
commission upon it having the commission determines
either of the following:
(i) The electrical corporation has attained an investment
grade credit rating as determined by at least two major
rating agencies. Within
(ii) The electrical corporation is able to procure eligible
renewable energy resources on reasonable terms, those resources can
be financed if necessary, and the procurement will not impair the
restoration of an electrical corporation's creditworthiness.
(B) Within 90 days of being deemed creditworthy as
provided in subparagraph (A) , an electrical corporation shall
conduct solicitations to implement a renewable energy procurement
plan. The creditworthiness determination required by this paragraph
shall apply only to the requirements established pursuant to this
article. The requirements established for an electrical corporation
pursuant to Section 454.5 shall be governed by that section.
(2) Not later than six months after the effective date of this
section, the commission shall adopt, by rule, for all electrical
corporations, all of the following:
(A) A process for determining market prices pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 399.15. The commission shall make
specific determinations of market prices after the closing date of a
competitive solicitation conducted by an electrical corporation for
eligible renewable energy resources. In order to ensure that the
market price established by the commission pursuant to subdivision
(c) of Section 399.15 does not influence the amount of a bid
submitted through the competitive solicitation in a manner that would
increase the amount ratepayers are obligated to pay for renewable
energy, and in order to ensure that the bid price does not influence
the establishment of the market price, the electrical corporation
shall not transmit or share the results of any competitive
solicitation for eligible renewable energy resources until the
commission has established market prices pursuant to subdivision (c)
of Section 399.15.
(B) A process that provides criteria for the rank ordering and
selection of least-cost and best-fit renewable resources to comply
with the annual California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program
obligations on a total cost basis. This process shall consider
estimates of indirect costs associated with needed transmission
investments and ongoing utility expenses resulting from integrating
and operating eligible renewable energy resources.
(C) Flexible rules for compliance including, but not limited to,
permitting electrical corporations to apply excess procurement in one
year to subsequent years or inadequate procurement in one year to no
more than the following three years.
(D) Standard terms and conditions to be used by all electrical
corporations in contracting for eligible renewable energy resources,
including performance requirements for renewable generators.
(3) Consistent with the goal of procuring the least-cost and
best-fit eligible renewable energy resources, the renewable energy
procurement plan submitted by an electrical corporation shall
include, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(A) An assessment of annual or multiyear portfolio supplies and
demand to determine the optimal mix of renewable generation resources
with deliverability characteristics that may include peaking,
dispatchable, baseload, firm, and as-available capacity.
(B) Provisions for employing available compliance flexibility
mechanisms established by the commission.
(C) A bid solicitation setting forth the need for renewable
generation of each deliverability characteristic, required online
dates, and locational preferences, if any.
(4) In soliciting and procuring eligible renewable energy
resources, each electrical corporation shall offer contracts of no
less than 10 years in duration, unless the commission approves of a
contract of shorter duration.
(5) In soliciting and procuring eligible renewable energy
resources, each electrical corporation may give preference to
projects that provide tangible demonstrable benefits to communities
with a plurality of minority or low-income populations.
(b) The commission shall review and accept, modify, or reject each
electrical corporation's renewable procurement plan 90 days prior to
the commencement of renewable procurement pursuant to this article
by the electrical corporation.
(c) The commission shall review the results of a renewable energy
resources solicitation submitted for approval by an electrical
corporation and accept or reject proposed contracts with eligible
renewable energy resources based on consistency with the approved
renewable procurement plan. If the commission determines that the
bid prices are elevated due to a lack of effective competition
amongst the bidders, the commission shall direct the electrical
corporation to renegotiate such contracts or conduct a new
solicitation.
(d) If an electrical corporation fails to comply with a commission
order adopting a renewable procurement plan, the commission shall
exercise its authority pursuant to Section 2113 to require
compliance.
(e) Upon application by an electrical corporation, the commission
may authorize another entity to enter into contracts on behalf of
customers of the electrical corporation for deliveries of eligible
renewable energy resources to satisfy the annual portfolio standard
obligations, subject to similar terms and conditions applicable to an
electrical corporation. The commission shall allow the procurement
entity to recover reasonable costs through retail rates subject to
review and approval.
(f) Procurement and administrative costs associated with long-term
contracts entered into by an electrical corporation for eligible
renewable energy resources pursuant to this article
, at or below the market price determined by the commission
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 399.15, shall be deemed
reasonable per se, and shall be recoverable in rates.
(g) For purposes of this article, "procure" means that a utility
may acquire the renewable output of electric generation facilities
that it owns or for which it has contracted. Nothing in this article
is intended to imply that the purchase of electricity from third
parties in a wholesale transaction is the preferred method of
fulfilling a retail seller's obligation to comply with this article.
(h) Construction, alteration, demolition, installation, and repair
work on an eligible renewable energy resource that receives
production incentives or supplemental energy payments pursuant to
Section 383.5, including, but not limited to, work performed to
qualify, receive, or maintain production incentives or supplemental
energy payments is "public works" for the purposes of Chapter 1
(commencing with Section 1720) of Part 7 of Division 2 of the Labor
Code.
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.