BILL NUMBER: AB 67 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 562
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 6, 2005
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 6, 2005
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 8, 2005
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 8, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 1, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 24, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 14, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 2, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Levine and Oropeza
DECEMBER 21, 2004
An act to amend Section 2827.10 of, and to add Section 747 to, the
Public Utilities Code, relating to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 67, Levine Energy: rates: report to the Legislature: fuel cell
customer-generators.
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has
regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical
corporations and gas corporations, as defined. Under existing law, a
public utility has a duty to serve, including furnishing and
maintaining adequate, efficient, just and reasonable service,
instrumentalities, equipment, and facilities as are necessary to
promote the safety, health, comfort, and convenience of its patrons
and the public. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the
rates and charges for every public utility, and requires that those
rates and charges be just and reasonable.
This bill would require the president of the commission to
annually report to the appropriate policy committees of the
Legislature on the costs of programs and activities conducted by an
electrical corporation or gas corporation that have more than a
specified number of customers in California, including activities
conducted to comply with their duty to serve.
(2) Existing law, until January 1, 2006, requires every electrical
corporation, as defined, to file with the Public Utilities
Commission a standard tariff to provide for net energy metering, as
defined, for eligible fuel cell customer-generators, as defined,
until the total cumulative rated generating capacity used by the
eligible fuel cell customer-generators equals 45 megawatts within the
service territory of the electrical corporation for an electrical
corporation with a peak demand above 10,000 megawatts, or equals 22.5
megawatts within the service territory of the electrical corporation
for an electrical corporation with a peak demand of 10,000 megawatts
or below. Existing law prohibits the combined statewide cumulative
rated generating capacity used by the eligible fuel cell
customer-generators in the service territories of all electrical
corporations from exceeding 112.5 megawatts.
This bill would remove the January 1, 2006, repeal date, thereby
making that tariff requirement operative indefinitely. Under the
bill, a fuel cell electrical generating facility, as defined, would
not be eligible for participation in the tariff unless it commenced
operation before January 1, 2010, and a fuel cell customer-generator
would be eligible for the tariff only for the operating life of the
eligible fuel cell electrical generating facility. Because a
violation of these provisions is a crime under existing law, this
bill, by changing the definition of a crime, would impose a
state-mandated local program.
(3) 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 PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 747 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
747. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the commission
reduce rates for electricity and natural gas to the lowest amount
possible.
(b) The president of the commission shall annually appear before
the appropriate policy committees of the Senate and Assembly to
report on the costs of programs and activities conducted by each
electrical corporation and gas corporation that is subject to this
section, including activities conducted to comply with their duty to
serve. The report shall identify, clearly and concisely, all of the
following:
(1) Each program mandated by statute and its annual cost to
ratepayers.
(2) Each program mandated by the commission and its annual cost to
ratepayers.
(3) Energy purchase contract costs and bond-related costs incurred
pursuant to Division 27 (commencing with Section 80000) of the Water
Code.
(4) All other aggregated categories of costs currently recovered
in retail rates as determined by the commission.
(c) As used in this section, the reporting requirements apply to
electrical corporations with at least 1,000,000 retail customers in
California and gas corporations with at least 500,000 retail
customers in California.
SEC. 2. Section 2827.10 of the Public Utilities Code, as added by
Section 2 of Chapter 661 of the Statutes of 2003, is amended to read:
2827.10. (a) As used in this section, the following terms have
the following meanings:
(1) "Electrical corporation" means an electrical corporation, as
defined in Section 218.
(2) "Eligible fuel cell electrical generating facility" means a
facility that includes the following:
(A) Integrated powerplant systems containing a stack, tubular
array, or other functionally similar configuration used to
electrochemically convert fuel to electric energy.
(B) An inverter and fuel processing system where necessary.
(C) Other plant equipment, including heat recovery equipment,
necessary to support the plant's operation or its energy conversion.
(3) "Eligible fuel cell customer-generator" means a customer of an
electrical corporation that meets all the following criteria:
(A) Uses a fuel cell electrical generating facility with a
capacity of not more than one megawatt that is located on or adjacent
to the customer's owned, leased, or rented premises, is
interconnected and operates in parallel with the electric grid while
the grid is operational or in a grid independent mode when the grid
is nonoperational, and is sized to offset part or all of the eligible
fuel cell customer-generator's own electrical requirements.
(B) Is the recipient of local, state, or federal funds, or who
self-finances projects designed to encourage the development of
eligible fuel cell electrical generating facilities.
(C) Uses technology that meets the definition of an "ultra-clean
and low-emission distributed generation" in subdivision (a) of
Section 353.2.
(4) "Net energy metering" has the same meaning as that term is
defined in Section 2827.9.
(b) Every electrical corporation shall, not later than March 1,
2004, file with the commission a standard tariff providing for net
energy metering for eligible fuel cell customer-generators,
consistent with this section. Every electrical corporation shall make
this tariff available to eligible fuel cell customer-generators upon
request, on a first-come-first-served basis, until the total
cumulative rated generating capacity used by the eligible fuel cell
customer-generators equals 45 megawatts within the service territory
of the electrical corporation for an electrical corporation with a
peak demand above 10,000 megawatts, or equals 22.5 megawatts within
the service territory of the electrical corporation for an electrical
corporation with a peak demand of 10,000 megawatts or below. The
combined statewide cumulative rated generating capacity used by the
eligible fuel cell customer-generators in the service territories of
all electrical corporations in the state may not exceed 112.5
megawatts.
(c) In determining the eligibility for the cumulative rated
generating capacity within an electrical service area, preference
shall be given to facilities which, at the time of installation, are
located in a community with significant exposure to air contaminants
or localized air contaminants, or both, including, but not limited
to, communities of minority populations or low-income populations, or
both, based on the ambient air quality standards established
pursuant to Section 39607 of the Health and Safety Code.
(d) Each net energy metering contract or tariff shall be
identical, with respect to rate structure, all retail rate
components, and any monthly charges, to the contract or tariff to
which the customer would be assigned if the customer was not an
eligible fuel cell customer-generator. Any new or additional demand
charge, standby charge, customer charge, minimum monthly charge,
interconnection charge, or other charge that would increase an
eligible fuel cell customer-generator's costs beyond those of other
customers in the rate class to which the eligible fuel cell
customer-generator would otherwise be assigned are contrary to the
intent of the Legislature in enacting the act adding this section,
and may not form a part of net energy metering tariffs.
(e) The net metering calculation shall be carried out in
accordance with Section 2827.9.
(f) A fuel cell electrical generating facility shall not be
eligible for participation in the tariff established pursuant to this
section unless it commenced operation before January 1, 2010. A fuel
cell customer-generator shall be eligible for the tariff established
pursuant to this section only for the operating life of the eligible
fuel cell electrical generating facility.
SEC. 3. 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.