BILL NUMBER: AB 1421 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 25, 1999
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 26, 1999
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 15, 1999
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 8, 1999
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Wright
FEBRUARY 26, 1999
An act to amend Section 331 of, to add Sections 328.1 and 328.2
to, and to repeal and add Sections 328 and 365.5 of, the Public
Utilities Code, relating to public utilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1421, as amended, R. Wright. Gas and electric service.
(1) Existing law permits the Public Utility
Utilities Commission to investigate the restructuring of
natural gas services, as specified, but prohibits the commission,
prior to January 1, 2000, from enacting any gas industry
restructuring decisions and from enforcing any natural gas
restructuring decisions for core customers as considered in
Rulemaking 98-01-011 enacted after July 1, 1998, but prior to August
25, 1998.
This bill would repeal that provision, and, instead, would require
the commission to require each gas corporation to provide bundled
basic gas service, as defined, to all core customers in its service
territory unless the customer chooses or contracts to have natural
gas purchased and supplied by another entity. The bill would specify
that a public utility gas corporation shall continue to be the
exclusive provider of revenue cycle services, as defined, in its
service territory, except as specified, and would require the
commission to require the distribution rate to continue to include
after-meter services, as defined. The bill would require
the commission to authorize gas corporations to offer optional
competitive rate schedules and tariffs. The bill would
make related legislative findings and declarations.
(2) Existing law relating to electrical restructuring states that
nothing in those provisions prevents the commission from exercising
its authority to investigate a process for the certification and
regulation of the rates, charges, terms, and conditions of default
service, and if the commission determines that a process for the
certification and regulation of default service is in the public
interest, existing law requires the commission to submit its findings
and recommendations to the Legislature for approval.
This bill would repeal that provision, and, instead, require the
commission to require each electrical corporation to provide bundled
basic electric service, as defined, to all customers in its service
territory unless the customer makes a positive declaration in
accordance with specified existing law to receive electric power
through a direct transaction with another electric service provider.
The bill would authorize an electric power supplier, if a customer
makes a positive declaration to receive electric power through a
direct transaction with an electric power supplier, to also provide
metering, billing, and collection service for that customer, but if a
positive declaration is not made, would require metering, billing,
and collection service to be provided by the existing public utility
electrical corporation. The bill would require the
commission to authorize each electrical corporation to offer all
customers rate alternatives to purchasing energy as part of basic
electric service, such as time-of-use based rates and other optional
competitive rates.
(3) Because a violation by a public utility of a requirement of
the commission is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated
local program by creating new crimes.
(4) 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.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 328 of the Public Utilities Code is repealed.
SEC. 2. Section 328 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
328. The Legislature finds and declares both of the following:
(a) In order to ensure that all core customers of a gas
corporation continue to receive safe basic gas service in a
competitive market, each existing gas corporation should continue to
provide this essential service.
(b) No customer should have to pay separate fees for utilizing
services that protect public or customer safety.
SEC. 3. Section 328.1 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
328.1. As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Basic gas service" includes transmission, storage for
reliability of service, and distribution of natural gas, purchasing
natural gas on behalf of a customer, revenue cycle services, and
after-meter services.
(b) "Revenue cycle services" means metering services, billing the
customer, collection, and related customer services.
(c) "After-meter services" includes, but is not limited to, leak
investigation, inspecting customer piping and appliances, carbon
monoxide investigation, pilot relighting, and high bill
investigation.
(d) "Metering services" includes, but is not limited to, gas meter
installation, meter maintenance, meter testing, collecting and
processing consumption data, and all related services associated with
the meter.
SEC. 4. Section 328.2 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
328.2. (a) The commission shall require each
gas corporation to provide bundled basic gas service to all core
customers in its service territory unless the customer chooses or
contracts to have natural gas purchased and supplied by another
entity. A public utility gas corporation shall continue to be the
exclusive provider of revenue cycle services to all customers in its
service territory, except that an entity purchasing and supplying
natural gas under the commission's core aggregation program may
perform billing and collection services for its customers. The
commission shall require the distribution rate to continue to include
after-meter services.
(b) The commission shall authorize gas corporations to offer
optional competitive rate schedules and tariffs.
SEC. 5. Section 331 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
331. The definitions set forth in this section shall govern the
construction of this chapter.
(a) "Aggregator" means any marketer, broker, public agency, city,
county, or special district, that combines the loads of multiple
end-use customers in facilitating the sale and purchase of electric
energy, transmission, and other services on behalf of these
customers.
(b) "Basic electric service" includes transmission and
distribution of electric power, purchasing electric power on behalf
of a customer, revenue cycle services such as metering customer
usage, billing the customer, and customer services.
(c) "Broker" means an entity that arranges the sale and purchase
of electric energy, transmission, and other services between buyers
and sellers, but does not take title to any of the power sold.
(d) "Direct transaction" means a contract between any one or more
electric generators, marketers, or brokers of electric power and one
or more retail customers providing for the purchase and sale of
electric power or any ancillary services.
(e) "Fire wall" means the line of demarcation separating
residential and small commercial customers from all other customers
as described in subdivision (e) of Section 367.
(f) "Marketer" means any entity that buys electric energy,
transmission, and other services from traditional utilities and other
suppliers, and then resells those services at wholesale or to an
end-use customer.
(g) "Microcogeneration facility" means a cogeneration facility of
less than one megawatt.
(h) "Restructuring trusts" means the two tax-exempt public benefit
trusts established by Decision D. 96-08-038 of the Public Utilities
Commission to provide for design and development of the hardware and
software systems for the Power Exchange and the Independent System
Operator, respectively, and that may undertake other activities, as
needed, as ordered by the commission.
(i) "Small commercial customer" means a customer that has a
maximum peak demand of less than 20 kilowatts.
SEC. 6. Section 365.5 of the Public Utilities Code is repealed.
SEC. 7. Section 365.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
365.5. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that in order to
ensure that all customers of an electrical corporation continue to
receive basic electric service in a competitive market, and to
protect good California jobs, each electrical corporation should
continue to provide this essential service utilizing employees of the
corporation.
(b) The commission shall require each electrical corporation to
provide bundled basic electric service to all customers in its
service territory unless the customer makes a positive declaration in
accordance with Section 366 to receive electric power through a
direct transaction with another electric service provider. If a
customer makes a positive declaration to receive electric power
through a direct transaction with an electric power supplier, the
electric power supplier may also provide metering, billing, and
collection service for that customer. If a positive declaration is
not made, metering, billing, and collection service shall be provided
by the existing public utility electrical corporation.
(c) The commission shall authorize each electrical corporation to
offer all customers rate alternatives to purchasing energy as part
of basic electric service, such as time-of-use based rates and other
optional competitive rates.
SEC. 8. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB 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 XIIIB of the California Constitution.