BILL NUMBER: AB 1348 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 19, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 7, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Sharon Runner
FEBRUARY 22, 2005
An act to add Section 761 379.7 to
the Public Utilities Code, relating to electricity.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1348, as amended, Sharon Runner. Electricity:
voluntary time-of-use tariff rates. Antelope Valley
Fairgrounds EE and PV Synergy Demonstration Project.
Existing law requires the commission, in consultation with the
Energy Commission, to administer, until January 1, 2008, a
self-generation incentive program for distributed generation
resources in the same form that exists on January 1, 2004.
This bill would require the Public Utilities Commission to
establish the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds EE and PV Synergy
Demonstration Project, as specified.
Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to fix the
rates and charges for every public utility, and requires that those
rates and charges be just and reasonable. Existing law requires
electrical corporations furnishing electricity to an agricultural
producer to prepare and file tariffs providing for optional off-peak
demand service, including the availability of time-differentiating
meters or other measurement devices.
This bill would require the commission to require every electrical
corporation to file tariffs by March 1, 2006, that provide a
voluntary unbundled time-of-use tariff rate, as defined, for eligible
customers, as defined.
Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or an
order or direction of the commission is a crime.
The provisions of this bill would be part of the act and an order
or other action of the commission would be required to implement its
provisions. Because a violation of the bill's provisions or of an
implementing order or decision of the commission would be a crime,
this bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating new
crimes.
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 no .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares that voluntary
time-of-use rates for commercial and industrial
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Investment in cost-effective energy efficiency produces energy
savings, reduces customer demand, and contributes to the safe and
reliable operation of the electric distribution grid.
(b) Investment in solar technology that generates electricity
directly from sunlight produces on-peak generating capacity, reduces
dependence on fossil fuels, and can increase system reliability.
(c) Investment in cost-effective energy efficiency and solar
technology on the same site in a location with above-average solar
incidence on an annual basis could provide synergies that optimize
ratepayer benefits.
(d) A demonstration project, if properly structured, would provide
empirical data by which to evaluate synergies between energy
efficiency and solar technology. A properly structured demonstration
project would provide for all of the following:
(1) The installation of cost-effective energy efficient equipment
and fixtures.
(2) The installation of solar generating capacity to optimize
operating efficiency.
(3) The adoption of an incentive rate to support investment in,
and test durability of, solar generating capacity.
(4) On-going monitoring of performance to test efficiency,
durability, and synergy.
(e) The Antelope Valley Fairgrounds, recently completed the
construction of a complex, including exhibition halls, administration
building, cattle and sheep barn, swine barn, show arena, and clock
tower. The Antelope Valley Fairgrounds is located in Climate Zone 14,
and enjoys more than "300" days of sunshine on an average annual
basis.
(f) An energy audit performed on that site on July 27, 2004, found
that cost-effective energy efficient heating, ventilation, and air
conditioning (HVAC) equipment and cost-effective energy efficient
lighting fixtures had been installed, along with a state of the art
energy management system (EMS).
(g) The Antelope Valley Fairgrounds has applied through the
Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) for incentives to install an
onsite photovoltaic solar system to provide cost-effective energy
savings.
SEC. 2. Section 379.7 is added to the Public
Utilities Code , to read:
379.7. The commission shall establish a demonstration
project at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds to be referred to as the
Antelope Valley Fairgrounds EE and PV Synergy Demonstration Project,
that would require all of the following:
(a) The calibration of energy management system (EMS) settings,
the installation of variable speed drive on exhaust fans, the
relocation of compressor-condenser units, the installation of
occupancy sensors for lighting control, and the inclusion of all
cost-effective energy efficient equipment in future expansions of
fair facilities.
(b) The installation of an onsite 630kW photovoltaic (PV)solar
system, for which an incentive application has been made through the
Self-Generation Incentive Program, in a manner that optimizes
operating efficiency, including appropriate siting. Authorized
incentives shall recognize the energy efficiency synergy of the
project. All components of the solar energy system shall be new and
unused and shall have a warranty of not less than 10 years to protect
against defects and undue degradation of electrical generation
output.
(c) The establishment of incentive rate that provides rate
stability and certainty over a 10-year period in an amount and in a
manner that would support investment in, and test the durability of,
the photovoltaic solar system to be established. The incentive rate
together with an SGIP incentive that recognizes the energy efficiency
investments made in the project, as authorized pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 379.6, shall provide for a 10-year payback
period.
(d) The performance of annual energy
audits conducted by the electrical corporation providing electrical
service to further calibrate the EMS, the ongoing monitoring of PV
systems conducted to determine performance, operating efficiencies,
and durability, the installation of meters to track actual demand and
actual energy production on a time-of-use basis, and the preparation
of biennial reports to be submitted to the commission.
customers is one means to reduce electricity consumption
during periods of peak demand, to reward private investment in solar
and other renewable energy technologies, to stabilize California's
electrical infrastructure, reduce air pollution, increase energy
independence, and enhance the diversification of California's energy
mix.
SEC. 2. Section 761 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
761. (a) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Eligible customer" means a commercial or industrial customer
of an electrical corporation with a billed electricity usage of less
than 1,000 kilowatts for three consecutive months and a commercial or
industrial customer that generates 25 percent or more of the
electricity used by the customer from a solar energy system or other
ultraclean and low-emission distributed generation source.
(2) "Solar energy system" means a photovoltaic solar collector or
other photovoltaic solar energy device that has a primary purpose of
providing for the collection, and distribution of solar energy for
the generation of electricity.
(3) "Ultraclean and low-emission distributed generation" means an
electricity generation source that uses technology that meets the
definition of an "ultra-clean and low-emission distributed generation"
in subdivision (a) of Section 353.2.
(4) "Unbundled time-of-use tariff rate" means a rate that
allocates the cost of electricity and distribution costs on a per
kilowatthour basis for different time periods, without a demand
charge.
(b) The commission shall require that every electrical corporation
by March 1, 2006, file tariffs that provide a voluntary unbundled
time-of-use tariff rate for eligible customers that shall be net
revenue neutral on a per kilowatthour basis.
(c) Eligible customers that elect to take service under a
voluntary time-of-use tariff rate of an electrical corporation shall
have a meter that measures electricity usage on a real time basis.
(d) Eligible customers that generate electricity using a solar
energy system or using ultraclean and low-emission distributed
generation are eligible for net energy metering. Eligible customers
that generate electricity using a solar energy system or using
ultraclean and low-emission distributed generation shall have a
metering system capable of separately measuring electricity flow in
both directions. Eligible customers that generate electricity using a
solar energy system or using ultraclean and low-emission distributed
generation shall be credited for the electricity and distribution
components of the time-of-use tariff rates, for the net amount of
electricity contributed during periods when the eligible customer
contributes electricity to the electrical distribution system, up to
the limits established by the commission in an approved net metering
tariff.
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.