BILL ANALYSIS
Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
1478 (Sher)
Hearing Date: 5/17/2004 Amended: 5/4/04
Consultant: Lisa Matocq Policy Vote: E, U & C
5-1
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 1478 makes numerous changes to the
California Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) Program and
the Renewable Energy Program (REP), as specified.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2004-05 2005-06
2006-07 Fund
PUC $85 $44
$ 44 Special*
Costs should be offset by
fee revenues.
CEC ------ No increased
costs ------ Special**
Customer credits See comments
below General
*Public Utilities' Reimbursement Account (PURA)
**Energy Resources Program Account or Renewable Resources
Trust Fund
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill may meet the criteria for
referral to the Suspense File if the CEC would have
otherwise reinstated the direct access credit program in
the future, and if the University of California and/or
California State University would have been eligible to
receive the credits.
Current law establishes the RPS Program, which requires
investor-owned utilities (IOUs) to, among other things,
achieve a 20% renewable electricity portfolio by 2017.
This bill changes the deadline to 2010. Existing law also
requires the California Energy Commission (CEC) to certify
eligible energy resources, and design a system to verify
compliance with the RPS. This bill requires the CEC to
establish a system for tracking renewable energy credits.
According to CEC staff, there are no increased costs as
this codifies current practice.
Current law also establishes the public goods charge, which
is a surcharge imposed on electricity bills to fund various
programs, including the REP. $135 million is collected
annually, of which 10%, or $13.5 million, is required to be
used for credits to customers that entered into a direct
transaction, by a specified date, for the purchase of
renewable electricity. It appears that the University of
California (UC) and/or California State University (CSU)
have received such credits. Direct access was suspended,
first by AB 1X (Keeley, Ch. 4, St. of 2001) and later by
the PUC. As a result, the CEC suspended the customer
credits program in 2003 and reallocated the funds to other
accounts/programs. This bill repeals the direct access
customer credits program. It is unknown whether the CEC
would have otherwise reinstated the program at some point
in the future, or whether UC or CSU would have been
eligible to receive credits.
The bill also requires the PUC to adopt related rules.
Increased costs to the PUC are about $85,000 in 2004-05,
and $44,000 annually thereafter. PURA revenues are
derived from an annual fee imposed on public utilities.
Therefore, any increased costs should be offset by
increased fee revenues.