BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                          AB 811
                                                          Page  1

Date of Hearing:   April 12, 1999

          ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE 
                     Roderick Wright, Chair
           AB 811 (Keeley) - As Amended:  April 7, 1999

  SUBJECT  :   Electrical restructuring

  SUMMARY  :   Requires the California Public Utilities Commission  
(CPUC) to establish a Power Exchange (PX) credit based on actual  
energy usage, as specified.  Specifically,  this bill  :  

1)Requires CPUC to:

   a)   Implement a methodology whereby the Power Exchange (PX)  
     energy credit for a customer with a meter capable of  
     recording hourly data is calculated based on the actual  
     hourly data for that customer; and

   b)   Specify that the energy credit shall consist of the PX  
     energy costs and the actual hourly recorded usage of the  
     customer for each hour in the billing period.

  EXISTING LAW  :

1)Requires that all rules made by a public utility affecting or  
  pertaining to its charges or services to the public shall be  
  just and reasonable;

2)Requires CPUC to recover uneconomic costs associated with  
  electric restructuring, including transition costs, as  
  defined, to be allocated as prescribed; and

3)Requires that individual customers not experience rate  
  increases as a result of the allocation of transition costs.

  FISCAL EFFECT  :   Unknown

  COMMENTS  :   

1.The PX credit is calculated based on the average load profiles  
  of each customer rate class.  The statistical load profiles  
  are determined based on average historical data updated on a  
  regular basis.  The load profile is an estimate of how much  
  energy is purchased at any given hour by each customer class.








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2.This bill would require CPUC to establish a PX credit for  
  customers with real-time meters based on actual hourly data  
  recorded by the customer's meter.  This would create a PX  
  credit based on actual usage rather than customer class  
  averages.  Real-time, or time-of-use meters, measures energy  
  usage      as it is being used, enabling an exact reading of  
  how much energy was used at any given time.  More traditional  
  meters, used by the vast majority of customers, indicate total  
  energy consumption but do not indicate when the energy was  
  consumed. 

3.According to the California Manufacturers Association (CMA),  
  the existing PX credit adopted by the Commission "creates  
  winner and losers by using a rate class average" which  
  penalizes businesses "that have no option but to operate  
  during peak times of the day."

4.According to Southern California Edison (SCE), this bill  
  "appropriately provides for the proper methodology for  
  calculating the PX energy credit for customers with hourly  
  meters."

5.Existing law requires that rates charged to customers must "be  
  just and reasonable."  CPUC has broad authority to set rates  
  for customers of public utilities.  This bill would establish  
  a rate-making methodology for customers using real-time energy  
  meters.  While the Legislature should be at the forefront of  
  setting public policy, is it prudent to statutorily prescribe  
  rate-making methodologies?  

  REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

  Support  

California Retailers Association (sponsor)
California Manufacturers Association
Southern California Edison (SCE)

  Opposition  

None on file
  
Analysis Prepared by  :    Joseph Lyons / U. & C. / (916) 319-2083  









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