BILL NUMBER: SB 1201 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 26, 2004
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 23, 2004
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 9, 2004
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 26, 2004
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 30, 2004
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 15, 2004
INTRODUCED BY Senator Torlakson
FEBRUARY 10, 2004
An act to amend Section 701.8 of the Public Utilities Code,
relating to electrical restructuring, and declaring the urgency
thereof, to take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1201, Torlakson. Electrical restructuring: BART.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations.
The Public Utilities Act requires the commission to authorize direct
transactions between electricity suppliers and retail end-use
customers. However, other existing law suspends the right of retail
end-use customers to acquire 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. Existing law authorizes the San
Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District's (BART) system to elect to
obtain electricity from multiple sources, including (1) preference
power purchased from a federal power marketing agency or its
successor, (2) electricity supplied by one or more direct
transactions, and (3) electricity supplied by any electric utility
regulated by the commission that owns and operates transmission and
distribution facilities that deliver electricity at one or more
locations to the BART District's system. Existing law requires any
electrical corporation that owns and operates transmission and
distribution facilities that deliver electricity to BART, upon
request by BART, to deliver preference power purchased from a federal
power marketing agency or its successor, without discrimination or
delay.
This bill would additionally require any electrical corporation
that owns and operates transmission and distribution facilities that
deliver electricity to BART, upon request by BART, to deliver
electricity purchased from a local publicly owned electric utility,
as defined, without discrimination or delay.
Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act is a
crime.
Certain provisions of the bill would be a part of the act.
Because a violation of those provisions would be a crime, 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 BART District, 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.
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.
The bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an
urgency statute.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District
provides essential public transit services that are funded by fares
and taxes.
(b) The BART District has qualified under the Reclamation Project
Act of 1939 as amended and supplemented as a preference entity for
purposes of purchasing electricity from federal power marketing
agencies (preference power).
(c) The BART system has been continuously served by preference
power, a publicly owned electricity supply, since before electrical
restructuring and before the energy crisis of 2000-01, pursuant to
the terms and conditions established by the enactment of Senate Bill
184 (Chapter 681 of the Statutes of 1995).
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act, to
authorize the BART District to receive electric service from another
publicly owned supplier of electricity on the same terms authorized
by Chapter 206 of the Statutes of 1998.
SEC. 2. Section 701.8 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
701.8. (a) To ensure that the commission regulated electric
utilities do not operate their transmission and distribution
monopolies in a manner that impedes the ability of the San Francisco
Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART District) to reduce its
electricity cost through the purchase and delivery of preference
power, electrical corporations shall meet the requirements of this
section.
(b) Any electric utility regulated by the commission that owns and
operates transmission and distribution facilities that deliver
electricity at one or more locations to the BART District's system
shall, upon request by the BART District, and without discrimination
or delay, use the same facilities to deliver preference power
purchased from a federal power marketing agency or its successor, or
electricity purchased from a local publicly owned electric utility,
as defined in Section 9604.
(c) Where the BART District purchases electric power at more than
one location, at any voltage, from an electric utility under tariffs
regulated by the commission, the utility shall bill the BART District
for usage as though all the electricity purchased at transmission
level voltages were metered by a single meter at one location and all
the electricity purchased at subtransmission voltages were metered
by a single meter at one location, provided that any billing for
demand charges would be based on the coincident demand of
transmission and distribution metering.
(d) If, on or after January 1, 1996, the BART District leases or
has agreed to lease, as special facilities, utility plants for the
purpose of receiving power at transmission level voltages, an
electric utility regulated by the commission may not terminate the
lease without concurrence from the BART District.
(e) When the BART District elects to have electricity delivered
pursuant to subdivision (b), neither Sections 365 and 366, and any
commission regulations, orders, or tariffs, that implement direct
transactions, are applicable, nor is the BART District an electricity
supplier. Neither the commission, nor any electric utility that
delivers the federal power or electricity purchased from a local
publicly owned electric utility to the BART District, shall require
that an electricity supplier be designated as a condition of the
delivery of that power.
(f) The BART District may elect to obtain electric power from the
following multiple sources at the same time:
(1) Electric power delivered pursuant to subdivision (b).
(2) Electric power supplied by one or more direct transactions.
(3) Electric power from any electric utility regulated by the
commission that owns and operates transmission and distribution
facilities that deliver electricity at one or more locations to the
BART District's system.
SEC. 3. The Legislature finds and declares that, because of the
unique circumstances applicable only to the San Francisco Bay Area
Rapid Transit District, 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.
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.
SEC. 5. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to ensure the continued delivery of electricity to the
San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District at an affordable rate,
it is necessary for this act to take effect immediately.