BILL ANALYSIS 1
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SENATE ENERGY, UTILITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
DEBRA BOWEN, CHAIRWOMAN
SB 183 - Sher Hearing Date: April 22, 2003
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As Proposed to be Amended FISCAL B
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DESCRIPTION
This bill requires the California Energy Commission (CEC) to
publish information on available funds in the Emerging Renewable
Resources Account.
This bill repeals one very long section of the Public Utilities
Code governing funding of in-state renewable resources and
reenacts it as 11 separate sections in the Public Resources
Code.
As proposed to be amended, this bill eliminates the CEC's
discretion to make awards to out-of-state renewable resources
and requires biomass facilities to report their fuel mixes to
the CEC to be eligible for awards.
BACKGROUND
AB 1890 (Brulte), Chapter 854, Statutes of 1996, required
ratepayers to fund a variety of system reliability, in-state
benefit and low-income customer programs at specified levels
from 1998 through 2001. This funding was intended to ensure
that these "public goods" programs continued (at least in the
short term) in the restructured electric industry.
Among the public goods programs are in-state operation and
development of existing, new, and emerging renewable energy
sources. Prior to awarding any of the money collected from
ratepayers, the CEC was required to submit a report to the
Legislature describing the programs it would support and the
levels of support those programs would receive. This original
CEC investment plan was codified by SB 90 (Sher), Chapter 905,
Statutes of 1997.
SB 1194 (Sher), Chapter 1050, Statutes of 2000, extended the
collection of a public goods charge from ratepayers until 2012
and again required the CEC to develop investment plans for
renewable energy and public interest research, development, and
demonstration. The second CEC investment plan, covering
2002-2007, was codified by SB 1038 (Sher), Chapter 515, Statutes
of 2002. Utility ratepayers contribute $135 million annually to
the renewable energy program.
COMMENTS
1.In-state renewables? Under SB 1038, the CEC may award funds
to a new renewable electricity generation facility located
anywhere within the western grid (Western U.S., British
Columbia and Baja), if that electricity is sold under contract
to customers in California.
When this committee approved the CEC investment plan as SB
1524 (Sher) on April 23, 2002, the bill was amended to
eliminate out-of-state awards, given that the rationale for
funding by California ratepayers is to secure in-state
environmental, economic and reliability benefits provided by
in-state operation of renewable resources. The provision
authorizing the CEC to award funds to out-of-state renewable
resources was later amended back into the bill, ultimately
enacted as SB 1038. The proposed amendments to this bill
eliminate the CEC's discretion to fund out-of-state projects,
as authorized by SB 1038.
2.Biomass fuel mix report. Under SB 1038, biomass generators
are eligible for funding, provided their fuel is limited to
agricultural waste, urban wood waste, or forest waste meeting
specified environmental criteria. However, the CEC does not
monitor the fuel use of biomass generators it funds, nor are
the generators required to report their fuel use to the CEC.
The proposed amendments require biomass generators to report
their fuel mixes to the CEC to be eligible for awards.
3.Is it worth the trouble? Repealing Section 383.5 of the
Public Utilities Code and reenacting it in 11 new sections of
the Public Resources Code is intended to make the very long
section more digestible, simplify future amendments to these
provisions and place them in a more appropriate context - the
Warren-Alquist Act which governs the CEC.
However, to accomplish a coherent restructuring of Section
383.5, this bill will also need to amend all other existing
code sections which reference provisions of Section 383.5 to
update those references. In addition, the bill requires
technical amendments to reflect the change of existing
subdivisions to sections, paragraphs to subdivisions, and
subparagraphs to paragraphs. If the author and the committee
determine that restructuring Section 383.5 is appropriate,
more comprehensive amendments are necessary to update external
and internal cross references.
POSITIONS
Sponsor:
Author
Support:
AMECO
EcoEnergies
Light Energy Systems
Performance Solar Inc.
POCO Solar Energy
Shell Solar
Six Rivers Solar, Inc.
SoCal Solar Energy
Southern California Edison (with amendments)
Oppose:
None on file
Lawrence Lingbloom
SB 183 Analysis
Hearing Date: April 22, 2003