BILL NUMBER: SB 770 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 5, 2003
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 21, 2003
INTRODUCED BY Senator Chesbro
FEBRUARY 21, 2003
An act to add and repeal Section 2826.7 of the Public
Utilities Code, relating to electricity. An act
relating to electricity.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 770, as amended, Chesbro. Pacific Union College
Facility : electric service reliability .
(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 , including
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 require the commission to
require Pacific Gas & Electric Company to perform a reliability study
on the electric service provided to the Pacific Union College and
surrounding areas. The bill would require the commission, if it
determines, based on that study, that the electric service quality
fails to meet existing service quality standards, to order the
company to make timely and appropriate system upgrades .
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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
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
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Concerns have been raised about the quality of electric
service provided by the Pacific Gas & Electric Company to rural areas
of northern Napa County, in particular the area surrounding the
Pacific Union College.
(b) While the Pacific Union College has agreed to be served under
an interruptible electric service tariff, the college believes that
it has been subject to an unreasonable number of interruptions in
excess of those permitted by the tariff.
(c) The Pacific Union College believes that these service
interruptions could have been avoided if Pacific Gas & Electric
Company made improvements to its electric distribution system.
(d) The Pacific Union College is considering installation of its
own natural-gas fueled electric generation equipment as a way of
ensuring reliable electric service.
SEC. 2. The Public Utilities Commission shall require Pacific Gas
& Electric Company to perform a reliability study on the electric
service provided to the Pacific Union College and surrounding areas.
If the Public Utilities Commission determines, based on that study,
that the electric service quality fails to meet existing service
quality standards, it shall order Pacific Gas & Electric Company to
make timely and appropriate system upgrades.
SEC. 3. 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.
SEC. 4. 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.