BILL NUMBER: SB 770 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 21, 2003
INTRODUCED BY Senator Chesbro
FEBRUARY 21, 2003
An act to add Section 80110.1 to the Water
and repeal Section 2826.7 of the Public Utilities Code,
relating to electricity.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 770, as amended, Chesbro. Nonprofit cogeneration
facilities Pacific Union College Facility .
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission is vested
with regulatory authority over public utilities and is required to
establish requirements for the administration of power purchase
contracts between electrical corporations and private energy
producers.
This bill would, until January 1, 2009, authorize Pacific Union
College to receive a bill credit, as defined, to a benefiting
account, as defined, for electricity supplied to the electric grid by
a cogeneration facility located at Pacific Union College in Angwin,
California (the Pacific Union College Facility), and the bill would
require the commission to adopt a rate tariff for the benefiting
account. Because a violation of the Public Utilities Act, a filed
tariff, or an order of the commission is a crime under existing law,
the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a
new crime. The bill would declare that, due to the special
circumstances applicable only to the Pacific Union College Facility,
a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of
Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution, and the
enactment of a special statute is therefore necessary.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission regulates
electrical corporations. The Public Utilities Act requires the
commission to authorize direct transactions between electricity
suppliers and end-use customers. However, other existing law
suspends the right of retail end-use customers to acquire direct
access service from certain electricity suppliers after a period of
time to be determined by the commission until the Department of Water
Resources no longer supplies electricity under that law.
This bill, notwithstanding that suspension, would authorize a
nonprofit cogeneration facility, as defined, to serve related
electric load, as defined. The bill would prohibit the commission
from imposing certain charges on such a transaction.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 80110.1 is added to the Water Code, to
SECTION 1. Section 2826.7 is added to the Public Utilities Code,
to read:
2826.7. (a) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Benefiting account" means an electricity account, or more
than one account, mutually agreed upon by Pacific Gas and Electric
Company and Pacific Union College.
(2) "Bill credit" means credits calculated based upon the
electricity generation component of the rate schedule applicable to a
benefiting account, as applied to the net metered quantities of
electricity.
(3) "Pacific Union College Facility" means the combined heat and
power cogeneration facility located at Pacific Union College in
Angwin, California, that supplies up to 4.5 megawatts, using natural
gas, steam and solar, to the electric grid owned by Pacific Gas and
Electric Company.
(4) "Net metered" means the electricity output from the Pacific
Union College Facility in the excess of that required by the Pacific
Union College.
(b) Pacific Union College may elect to designate a benefiting
account, or more than one account, to receive bill credit for the
electricity generated by the Pacific Union College Facility, if all
of the following conditions are met:
(1) A benefiting account receives service under a time-of-use rate
schedule.
(2) The electricity output of the Pacific Union College Facility
is metered for time of use to allow allocation of each bill credit to
correspond to the time-of-use period of a benefiting account.
(3) All costs associated with the metering requirements of
paragraphs (1) and (2) are the responsibility of Pacific Union
College.
(4) All electricity delivered to the electric grid by the Pacific
Union College Facility is the property of Pacific Gas and Electric
Company.
(5) The Pacific Union College Facility does not sell electricity
delivered to the electric grid to a third party.
(6) The benefiting account is a related nonprofit community
education or health care facility.
(c) A benefiting account shall be billed on a monthly basis, as
follows:
(1) For all electricity usage, the rate schedule applicable to the
benefiting account shall be the rate schedule of the benefiting
account, including any surcharge, exit fee, or other cost recovery
mechanism, as determined by the Public Utilities Commission, to
reimburse the Department of Water Resources for purchases of
electricity, pursuant to Division 27 (commencing with Section 80000)
of the Water Code.
(2) The rate schedule for the benefiting account shall also
provide credit for the generation component of the time-of-use rates
for the electricity generated by the Pacific Union College Facility
that is delivered to the electric grid. The generation component
credited to the benefiting account may not include the surcharge,
exit fee, or other cost recovery mechanism, as determined by the
Public Utilities Commission, to reimburse the Department of Water
Resources for purchases of electricity, pursuant to Division 27
(commencing with Section 80000) of the Water Code.
(3) If in any billing cycle, the charge pursuant to paragraph (1)
for electricity usage exceeds the billing credit pursuant to
paragraph (2), Pacific Union College shall be charged for the
difference.
(4) If in any billing cycle, the billing credit pursuant to
paragraph (2), exceeds the charge for electricity usage pursuant to
paragraph (1), the difference shall be carried forward as a credit to
the next billing cycle.
(5) After the electricity usage charge pursuant to paragraph (1)
and the credit pursuant to paragraph (2) are determined for the last
billing cycle of a calendar year, any remaining credit resulting from
the application of this section shall be reset to zero.
(d) Not more frequently than once per year, and upon providing
Pacific Gas and Electric Company with a minimum of 60 days notice,
Pacific Union College may elect to change a benefiting account. Any
credit resulting from the application of this section earned prior to
the change in a benefiting account that has not been used as of the
date of the change in the benefit account, shall be applied, and may
only be applied, to a benefiting account as changed.
(e) Pacific Gas and Electric Company shall file an advice letter
with the Public Utilities Commission, that complies with this
section, not later than January 11, 2004, proposing a rate tariff for
a benefiting account. The commission, within 30 days of the date of
filing, shall approve the proposed tariff, or specify conforming
changes to be made by Pacific Gas and Electric Company to be filed in
a new advice letter.
(f) Pacific Union College may terminate its election pursuant to
subdivision (b), upon providing Pacific Gas and Electric Company with
a minimum of 60 days notice. If Pacific Union College sells its
interest in the Pacific Union College Facility, or sells the
electricity generated by the Pacific Union College Facility, in a
manner other than required by this section, upon the date of either
event, and the earliest date if both events occur, no further bill
credit pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) may be earned.
Only credit earned prior to that date shall be made to a benefiting
account.
(g) The Legislature finds and declares that credit for a
benefiting account for the electricity output from the Pacific Union
College Facility is in the public interest in order to allow a
nonprofit education institution located in a rural area subject to
power distribution capacity constraints, including power curtailments
during peak periods and inclement weather, to replace an inefficient
energy source with a clean, adequately sized combined heat and power
cogeneration facility and credit excess power to its affiliated
community public education or health facilities. Because of the
unique circumstances applicable only to the Pacific Union College
Facility, a statute of general applicability cannot be enacted within
the meaning of subdivision (b) of Section 16 of Article IV of the
California Constitution. Therefore, this special statute is
necessary.
(h) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2009,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that is enacted before January 1, 2009, deletes or extends that date.
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. read:
80110.1. (a) As used in this section, the following terms have
the following meanings:
(1) "Nonprofit cogeneration facility" is a facility that meets the
criteria in Section 218.5 of the Public Utilities Code and which
generates not more than 6 megawatts of power, a total of at least 4.5
megawatts of which are consumed onsite by a nonprofit entity in
combination with its related electric load.
(2) "Related electric load" is up to 3.5 megawatts of electricity
generated by a nonprofit cogeneration facility and transmitted to,
and consumed by, an offsite affiliate of the onsite nonprofit
cogeneration facility.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 80110, a nonprofit cogeneration
facility may serve related electric load.
(c) The commission may not impose either of the following on a
transaction pursuant to this section:
(1) Cost recovery surcharges under commission Decision 02-11-022,
or any subsequent commission decision, order, or regulation.
(2) A competition transition charge to pay costs as provided in
Sections 367, 368, 375, and 376 of the Public Utilities Code.