BILL ANALYSIS
SB183
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 30, 2003
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Sarah Reyes, Chair
SB 183 (Sher) - As Amended: June 27, 2003
SENATE VOTE : 35-1
SUBJECT : Energy: renewable technologies.
SUMMARY : Makes substantive and non-substantive changes to the
provisions governing renewable energy programs. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Repeals two code sections in the Public Utilities Code
relating to the funding and administration of renewable energy
programs at the California Energy Commission (CEC) and recast
the same language in multiple code sections in the Public
Resources Code.
2)Requires CEC to annually publish the balance of consumer
incentive programs funds available to emerging renewable
energy resources.
3)Eliminates CEC discretion to award grants for the development
of new renewable electrical generation facilities to
out-of-state renewable electricity generators.
4)Eliminates a requirement that CEC obtain Legislative approval
before spending money collected and deposited in the Renewable
Resources Trust Fund for renewable energy programs.
5)Allows out-of-state renewable energy facilities to qualify as
eligible renewable energy resources for procurement under the
Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) if:
a) It will be connected to the Western Electricity
Coordinating Council transmission system, and
b) It participates in a renewable energy certificate based
tracking system.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Imposes a separate rate component on utility bills to fund
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programs to promote, develop and operate renewable energy
resources.
2)Requires CEC to grant specified percentages of these funds to
these programs.
3)Requires IOUs to buy renewable resources from statutorily
defined eligible renewable energy resources to increase their
existing level of renewable power by one percent per year with
twenty percent of their total portfolio coming from renewable
resources by 2017.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS :
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 programs administered by the investor owned utilities would
continue in the restructured electric industry.
Among these programs are grants to promote operation and
development of existing, new, and emerging renewable energy
sources. The programs were original codified by SB 90 (Sher),
Chapter 905, Statutes of 1997 and were extended by SB 1194
(Sher), Chapter 1050, Statutes of 2000, and SB 1038 (Sher),
Chapter 515, Statutes of 2002. Under the programs CEC
distributes grant and rebate money to develop renewable energy.
The code section that creates these programs is unwieldy and
difficult to follow. This bill recast this section as a series
of short sections that are easier to apply.
The requirement in this bill that CEC publish the balance of the
funds available to use for consumer incentive programs is
intended to ensure that companies that provide renewable
technologies can keep tabs on the availability of funding.
Under SB 1038, CEC is allowed to grant awards to out of state
renewable energy providers if those providers are under contract
to sell electricity to California utility customers. This bill
eliminates that discretion out of concerns that California
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ratepayer money should not be used to subsidizes out of state
generators.
SB 1078 (Sher), Chapter 516, Statutes of 2002 created the RPS,
requiring IOUs to buy renewable resources with the goal of
increasing their existing level of renewable resources by one
percent per year to achieved a twenty percent renewable
resources portfolio by 2017. Under SB 1078 IOUs are required to
buy all qualifying renewable power from generation located
within California. The prohibition against purchasing renewable
generation from out-of-state providers has raised concerns that
RPS may violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution by
interfering with interstate commerce. The provision to allow
out-of-state- renewable generation to count toward RPS standard
is intended to assure that RPS does not violate the U.S.
Constitution.
Other Legislation
This bill deletes a requirement that CEC obtain Legislative
approval before spending money in the Renewable Resources Trust
Fund. Allowing CEC to make ongoing appropriations from this
fund eliminates an important oversight tool and reduces the
ability of the Legislature review CEC actions. The Committee
may want to consider deleting this section .
Technical Amendments
In recasting existing codes into new sections, this bill
contains language requiring CEC to file a report to the
Legislature by March 31, 2003. This report has already been
completed. The committee and the author may wish to consider
deleting this outdated section.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on File.
Opposition
Sempra Energy
SB183
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Analysis Prepared by : Edward Randolph / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083