BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1585
Page A
Date of Hearing: April 18, 2005
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Lloyd E. Levine, Chair
AB 1585 (Blakeslee) - As Proposed to be Amended: April 18,
2005
SUBJECT : Renewable energy resources: California Renewables
Portfolio Standard.
SUMMARY : Requires the California Energy Commission (CEC) to
review the feasibility of increasing the RPS target to 33% by
2017 and report to the Governor and the Legislature by July 1,
2007, with the results of this review.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires retail sellers of electricity, excluding local
publicly owned utilities, to increase their existing level of
renewable resources by 1% of sales per year such that 20% of
their retail sales are procured from eligible renewable
resources by 2017.
2)Allows the CEC to award Supplement Energy Payments (SEPs) to
generators of eligible renewable resources to cover above
market costs of renewable energy.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS : The purpose of this bill is to evaluate the
feasibility of accelerating the state's existing RPS
requirements so that at least 33% of retail sales of electricity
in California come from renewable resources by the year 2017.
1) Brief history : In 2002 the Legislature approved SB 1078
(Sher), Chapter 516, Statutes of 2002, which created
California's RPS. Under the RPS, the investor owned utilities
are required to increase their renewable procurement each year
by at least 1% of total sales, so that 20% of their sales are
from renewable energy sources by December 31, 2017. Once a 20%
portfolio is achieved, no further increase is required. The PUC
is required to adopt comparable requirements for direct access
providers and community choice aggregators.
AB 1585
Page B
2) Accelerated RPS Compliance: The "Energy Action Plan" adopted
by the PUC, the CEC and the Power Authority (PA) pledges that
the agencies will accelerate RPS implementation to meet the 20%
goal by 2010, instead of 2017. The Governor has also endorsed
"20% by 2010" and proposed an additional goal of 33% by 2020.
Currently, two of the three major IOUs appear to be able to meet
the 20% by 2010 goal. Pacific Gas & Electric's (PG&E) current
baseline of renewable power is at 13%, while Southern California
Edison (SCE) already has 18% of eligible renewable power in its
portfolio. San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) currently only
receives 5.5% of its electricity from renewable resources.
In the 2004 Update to the Integrated Energy Policy Report, the
CEC recommended further advancing the state's commitment to
renewable resources by requiring retail sellers of electricity
to achieve a 33% RPS by 2017. This bill addresses this
recommendation by requiring the CEC to further study the
feasibility of mandating that goal and reporting to the Governor
and the Legislature by July 1, 2007 with the results of this
review.
RELATED LEGISLATION :
SB 107 (Perata & Simitian) accelerates the RPS requirement to
require retail sellers to procure at least 20% of their
electricity from eligible renewable resources by 2010 and allows
RECs to be applied toward a retail seller's RPS obligation. This
bill is currently awaiting action in the Senate Energy,
Utilities and Communications Committee.
AB 1362 (Levine) accelerates the goal of the California
Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) to require retail sellers of
electricity to procure at least 20% of their retail sales from
renewable power by 2010 instead of 2017. Allows Renewable Energy
Credits (RECs) to be counted toward a retail electricity
provider's RPS requirement. This bill is set for hearing on
April 18, 2005, in the Assembly Utilities and Committee.
AB 1555 (La Malfa) allows electricity generated from an existing
hydroelectric facility that generates more than 30 megawatts of
electricity to count toward the California Renewable Portfolio
Standard (RPS). This bill is set for hearing on April 18, 2005,
in the Assembly Utilities and Committee.
AB 1585
Page C
SB 1478 (Sher) in the 2003-2004 session accelerated the RPS
requirement to require retail sellers to procure at least 20% of
their electricity from eligible renewable resources by 2010 and
allows RECs to be applied toward a retail seller's RPS
obligation. This bill was vetoed by the Governor.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Edward Randolph / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083