BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 185|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 185
Author: Sher (D)
Amended: 4/22/03
Vote: 21
SENATE ENERGY, U.&C. COMMITTEE : 8-1, 4/8/03
AYES: Bowen, Morrow, Alarcon, Battin, Dunn, Murray, Sher,
Vasconcellos
NOES: McClintock
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Electricity: source disclosure
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill makes changes in the disclosure
requirements for retail suppliers of electricity.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires retail sellers of
electricity to disclose their sources of electricity, but
allows sellers who don't make any claims about their
sources to report statewide averages, rather than their
actual sources. Existing law requires renewable resources
to be separately identified according to specified fuel
types (biomass and waste, geothermal, small hydroelectric,
solar, and wind).
This bill requires retail sellers to disclose their actual
purchases by source and repeals the provision allowing
sellers to report statewide averages. This bill conforms
CONTINUED
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the definition of a renewable electricity resource to that
established by SB 1078 (Sher), Chapter 516, Statutes of
2002* and repeals the requirement that renewable resources
be separately identified according to fuel type. The bill
does require that any renewable resource fuel type that is
used to generate one percent or more of annual retail
electricity sales shall be identified according to the
percentage of annual retail sales derived from that fuel
type.
* Under SB 1078, "eligible renewable energy resources" are
biomass, solar thermal, photovoltaic, wind, geothermal,
renewable fuel cells, hydroelectric 30 megawatts or less,
digester gas, municipal solid waste conversion, landfill
gas, ocean wave, ocean thermal, and tidal current.
Background
SB 1305 (Sher), Chapter 796, Statutes of 1997, requires,
among other things, retail sellers of electricity to tell
their customers the sources of the electricity they
provide. SB 1305 resulted in the "Power Content Label"
periodically included in utility bills, which indicates the
percentages of various types of renewable, coal, large
hydroelectric, and natural gas resources in the retail
seller's portfolio. Retail sellers making no specific
product claims are permitted to report system averages,
rather than their actual portfolio.
With the demise of the Power Exchange, the system average
portfolio is harder to discern and less relevant. With the
passage of the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS),
individual sellers' electricity sources are more
significant to their customers. By conforming the
definition of renewable resources for the purpose of the
Power Content Label to the definition that applies to the
RPS, this bill will ensure that customers can easily track
their supplier's progress toward meeting the RPS 20 percent
renewable goal.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/1/03)
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Southern California Edison
NC:nl 5/5/03 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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