AB 1014,
as amended, Williams. Energy: electrical corporations: begin insertGreen Tariff and end insertShared Renewablebegin delete Energy Self-Generationend deletebegin insert Generationend insert Program.
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory jurisdiction over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. 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. Under existing law, the local government renewable energy self-generation program authorizes a local government, as defined, to receive a bill credit, as defined, to be applied to a designated benefiting account for electricity exported to the electrical grid by an eligible renewable generating facility, as defined, and requires the commission to adopt a rate tariff for the benefiting account.
This bill wouldbegin delete enact the Shared Renewable Energy Self-Generation Program. The program would authorize a retail customer of an electrical corporation, referred to as a participant, to acquire an interest, as defined, in a shared renewable energy facility, as defined, for the purpose of receiving a bill credit, as defined, to offset all or a portion of the participant’s electricity usage, consistent with specified requirementsend deletebegin insert
require specified electrical corporations to file with the commission, by March 1, 2014, an advice letter requesting the approval of a Green Tariff and Shared Renewable Generation Program. The bill would require the commission, by July 1, 2014, after notice and opportunity for public comment, to approve the advice letter if the commission finds that the proposed program is reasonable and consistent with specified findingsend insert.
The bill would provide that any corporation or person engaged directly or indirectly in developing, owning, producing, delivering, participating in, or selling interests in, a shared renewable energy facility is not a public utility or electrical corporation solely by reason of engaging in any of those activities.
end delete(2) Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.
Because the provisions of the bill would require action by the commission to implement its requirements, a violation of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the definition of a crime.
(3) Existing law authorizes the City of Davis to receive a bill credit, as defined, to a benefiting account, as defined, for electricity supplied to the electrical grid by a photovoltaic electricity generation facility located within, and partially owned by, the city, referred to as the PVUSA solar facility, and requires the commission to adopt a rate tariff for the benefiting account.
end deleteThis bill would repeal these provisions relating to the City of Davis, but would require a shared renewable energy facility to either be the PVUSA facility or a newly constructed renewable facility constructed pursuant to the Shared Renewable Energy Self-Generation Program that begins commercial operation on or after January 1, 2014.
end delete(4)
end deletebegin insert(end insertbegin insert3)end insert 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:
begin insertChapter 7.6 (commencing with Section 2832) is
2added to Part 2 of Division 1 of the end insertbegin insertPublic Utilities Codeend insertbegin insert, to read:end insert
3
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
8(a) The creation of renewable energy within California provides
9significant financial, health, environmental, and workforce benefits
10to the State of California.
11(b) The California Solar Initiative has been extremely successful,
12resulting in over 140,000 residential and commercial onsite
13installations of solar energy systems. However, it cannot reach all
14residents and businesses that want to participate and is limited to
15solar. The Green Tariff and Shared Renewable Generation
16Program seeks to build on this success by expanding access to
17renewable energy resources to all ratepayers who are currently
18unable to access the benefits of onsite
generation.
19(c) The Governor has proposed the Clean Energy Jobs Plan
20calling for the development of 20,000 megawatts of generation
21from renewable energy resources by 2020. There is widespread
22interest from many large institutional customers, including schools,
23colleges, universities, local governments, businesses, and the
24military, for development of renewable generation facilities to
25serve more than 33 percent of their energy needs. For these
26reasons, the Legislature agrees that the Governor’s Clean Energy
27Jobs Plan represents a desired policy direction for the state. It is
28the intent of the Legislature that renewable generation that comes
29online as part of the Green Tariff and Shared Renewable
30Generation Program is counted toward an electrical corporation’s
31efforts to implement the Governor’s Clean Energy Jobs Plan.
32(d) Properly designed, shared renewable energy programs can
33
provide access and long-term cost savings to underserved
P4 1communities, such as low- to moderate-income residents, and
2residential and commercial renters, while not shifting costs to
3nonbeneficiaries.
4(e) While municipal utilities already have the authority to create
5their own shared renewable energy programs, only an act of the
6Legislature can empower the vast majority of California residents
7to be able to enjoy the significant benefits of shared renewable
8energy systems while the state benefits from avoided transmission
9and distribution upgrades, avoided line loss, and cleaner air and
10water.
11(f) Public institutions will benefit from the Green Tariff and
12Shared Renewable Generation Program’s enhanced flexibility to
13participate in shared renewable energy facilities. Electricity usage
14is one of the most significant cost pressures facing public
15institutions at a time when they have
been forced to cut essential
16programs, increase classroom sizes, and lay off teachers. Schools
17may use the long-term savings for restoring funds for salaries,
18facility maintenance, and other budgetary needs.
19(g) Renewable generation creates jobs, reduces emissions of
20greenhouse gases, and promotes energy independence.
21(h) Many large energy users in California have pursued onsite
22renewable energy generation, but cannot achieve their goals due
23to rooftop or land space limitations, or size limits on net metering.
24The enactment of this chapter will create a mechanism whereby
25institutional customers such as military installations, universities,
26and local governments, as well as commercial customers and
27groups of individuals, can efficiently invest in generating electricity
28from renewable generation.
29(i) It is the intent
of the Legislature that the Green Tariff and
30Shared Renewable Generation Program be implemented in such
31a manner as to create a large, sustainable market for the purchase
32of an interest in offsite renewable generation, while fairly
33compensating electrical corporations for the services they provide.
34(j) It is the further intent of the Legislature to preserve a
35thriving, sustainable agricultural industry, and to ensure that the
36development of renewable energy does not remove prime farmland
37from productive use without a comprehensive public review
38process.
(a) On or before March 1, 2014, an electrical
40corporation with at least 100,000 customers shall file with the
P5 1commission an advice letter requesting approval of a Green Tariff
2and Shared Renewable Generation Program that it determines is
3consistent with the findings specified in Section 2832.
4(b) On or before July 1, 2014, the commission shall issue a
5resolution on the electrical corporation’s advice letter for a Green
6Tariff and Shared Renewable Generation Program, determining
7whether to approve or disprove it, with or without modifications.
8(c) After notice and an opportunity for public comment, the
9commission shall approve an advice letter by an electrical
10corporation for a
Green Tariff and Shared Renewable Generation
11Program if the commission determines that the program is
12reasonable and consistent with the findings specified in Section
132832.
14(d) This section does not apply to applications by electrical
15corporations for a Green Tariff and Shared Renewable Generation
16Program that are filed at the commission prior to May 1, 2013,
17and does not change the existing authority of the commission to
18approve those applications in accordance with its existing authority
19under the Public Utilities Code.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
21Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
22the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
23district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
24infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
25for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
26the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
27the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
28Constitution.
Section 25019 of the Corporations Code is
30amended to read:
(a) “Security” means any note; stock; treasury stock;
32membership in an incorporated or unincorporated association;
33bond; debenture; evidence of indebtedness; certificate of interest
34or participation in any profit-sharing agreement; collateral trust
35certificate; preorganization certificate or subscription; transferable
36share; investment contract; viatical settlement contract or a
37fractionalized or pooled interest therein; life settlement contract
38or a fractionalized or pooled interest therein; voting trust certificate;
39certificate of deposit for a security; interest in a limited liability
40company and any class or series of those interests (including any
P6 1fractional or other interest in that interest), except a membership
2interest
in a limited liability company in which the person claiming
3this exception can prove that all of the members are actively
4engaged in the management of the limited liability company;
5provided that evidence that members vote or have the right to vote,
6or the right to information concerning the business and affairs of
7the limited liability company, or the right to participate in
8management, shall not establish, without more, that all members
9are actively engaged in the management of the limited liability
10company; certificate of interest or participation in an oil, gas or
11mining title or lease or in payments out of production under that
12title or lease; put, call, straddle, option, or privilege on any security,
13certificate of deposit, or group or index of securities (including
14any interest therein or based on the value thereof); or any put, call,
15
straddle, option, or privilege entered into on a national securities
16exchange relating to foreign currency; any beneficial interest or
17other security issued in connection with a funded employees’
18pension, profit sharing, stock bonus, or similar benefit plan; or, in
19general, any interest or instrument commonly known as a
20“security”; or any certificate of interest or participation in,
21temporary or interim certificate for, receipt for, guarantee of, or
22warrant or right to subscribe to or purchase, any of the foregoing.
23All of the foregoing are securities whether or not evidenced by a
24written document.
25(b) “Security” does not include: (1) any beneficial interest in
26any voluntary inter vivos trust which is not created for the purpose
27of carrying on any business or solely for the purpose of voting, or
28(2) any beneficial
interest in any testamentary trust, or (3) any
29insurance or endowment policy or annuity contract under which
30an insurance company admitted in this state promises to pay a sum
31of money (whether or not based upon the investment performance
32of a segregated fund) either in a lump sum or periodically for life
33or some other specified period, or (4) any franchise subject to
34registration under the Franchise Investment Law (Division 5
35(commencing with Section 31000)), or exempted from registration
36by Section 31100 or 31101, or (5) any right to a bill credit or
37interest of a participant in a community renewable energy facility
38pursuant to Chapter 7.6 (commencing with Section
2832) of Part
392 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code.
Section 216 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
2read:
(a) “Public utility” includes every common carrier, toll
4bridge corporation, pipeline corporation, gas corporation, electrical
5corporation, telephone corporation, telegraph corporation, water
6corporation, sewer system corporation, and heat corporation, where
7the service is performed for, or the commodity is delivered to, the
8public or any portion thereof.
9(b) Whenever any common carrier, toll bridge corporation,
10pipeline corporation, gas corporation, electrical corporation,
11telephone corporation, telegraph corporation, water corporation,
12sewer system corporation, or heat corporation performs a service
13for, or delivers a commodity to, the public or any portion thereof
14for which any
compensation or payment whatsoever is received,
15that common carrier, toll bridge corporation, pipeline corporation,
16gas corporation, electrical corporation, telephone corporation,
17telegraph corporation, water corporation, sewer system corporation,
18or heat corporation, is a public utility subject to the jurisdiction,
19control, and regulation of the commission and the provisions of
20this part.
21(c) When any person or corporation performs any service for,
22or delivers any commodity to, any person, private corporation,
23municipality, or other political subdivision of the state, that in turn
24either directly or indirectly, mediately or immediately, performs
25that service for, or delivers that commodity to, the public or any
26portion thereof, that person or corporation is a public utility subject
27to the jurisdiction, control, and regulation of the commission
and
28the provisions of this part.
29(d) Ownership or operation of a facility that employs
30cogeneration technology or produces power from other than a
31conventional power source or the ownership or operation of a
32facility which employs landfill gas technology does not make a
33corporation or person a public utility within the meaning of this
34section solely because of the ownership or operation of that facility.
35(e) Any corporation or person engaged directly or indirectly in
36developing, producing, transmitting, distributing, delivering, or
37selling any form of heat derived from geothermal or solar resources
38or from cogeneration technology to any privately owned or publicly
39owned public utility, or to the public or any portion thereof, is not
P8 1a public utility within the meaning of this
section solely by reason
2of engaging in any of those activities.
3(f) The ownership or operation of a facility that sells compressed
4natural gas at retail to the public for use only as a motor vehicle
5fuel, and the selling of compressed natural gas at retail from that
6facility to the public for use only as a motor vehicle fuel, does not
7make the corporation or person a public utility within the meaning
8of this section solely because of that ownership, operation, or sale.
9(g) Ownership or operation of a facility that is an exempt
10wholesale generator, as defined in the Public Utility Holding
11Company Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 16451(6)), does not make
12a corporation or person a public utility within the meaning of this
13section, solely due to the ownership or operation of that
facility.
14(h) The ownership, control, operation, or management of an
15electric plant used for direct transactions or participation directly
16or indirectly in direct transactions, as permitted by subdivision (b)
17of Section 365, sales into a market established and operated by the
18Independent System Operator or any other wholesale electricity
19market, or the use or sale as permitted under subdivisions (b) to
20(d), inclusive, of Section 218, shall not make a corporation or
21person a public utility within the meaning of this section solely
22because of that ownership, participation, or sale.
23(i) The ownership, control, operation, or management of a
24facility that supplies electricity to the public only for use to charge
25light duty plug-in electric vehicles does not make the corporation
26or person a
public utility within the meaning of this section solely
27because of that ownership, control, operation, or management. For
28purposes of this subdivision, “light duty plug-in electric vehicles”
29includes light duty battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric
30vehicles. This subdivision does not affect the commission’s
31authority under Section 454 or 740.2 or any other applicable statute.
32(j) A corporation or person engaged directly or indirectly in
33developing, owning, producing, delivering, participating in, or
34selling interests in a shared renewable energy facility pursuant to
35Chapter 7.6 (commencing with Section
2832) of Part 2, is not a
36public utility within the meaning of this section solely by reason
37of engaging in any of those activities.
Section 218 of the Public Utilities Code is amended
39to read:
(a) “Electrical corporation” includes every corporation
2or person owning, controlling, operating, or managing any electric
3plant for compensation within this state, except where electricity
4is generated on or distributed by the producer through private
5property solely for its own use or the use of its tenants and not for
6sale or transmission to others.
7(b) “Electrical corporation” does not include a corporation or
8person employing cogeneration technology or producing power
9from other than a conventional power source for the generation of
10electricity solely for any one or more of the following purposes:
11(1) Its own use or the use of its tenants.
12(2) The use of or sale to not more than two other corporations
13or persons solely for use on the real property on which the
14electricity is generated or on real property immediately adjacent
15thereto, unless there is an intervening public street constituting the
16boundary between the real property on which the electricity is
17generated and the immediately adjacent property and one or more
18of the following applies:
19(A) The real property on which the electricity is generated and
20the immediately adjacent real property is not under common
21ownership or control, or that common ownership or control was
22gained solely for purposes of sale of the electricity so generated
23and not for other business purposes.
24(B) The useful thermal output of the facility generating the
25electricity is not used on the immediately adjacent property for
26
petroleum production or refining.
27(C) The electricity furnished to the immediately adjacent
28property is not utilized by a subsidiary or affiliate of the corporation
29or person generating the electricity.
30(3) Sale or transmission to an electrical corporation or state or
31local public agency, but not for sale or transmission to others,
32unless the corporation or person is otherwise an electrical
33corporation.
34(c) “Electrical corporation” does not include a corporation or
35person employing landfill gas technology for the generation of
36electricity for any one or more of the following purposes:
37(1) Its own use or the use of not more than two of its tenants
38located
on the real property on which the electricity is generated.
P10 1(2) The use of or sale to not more than two other corporations
2or persons solely for use on the real property on which the
3electricity is generated.
4(3) Sale or transmission to an electrical corporation or state or
5local public agency.
6(d) “Electrical corporation” does not include a corporation or
7person employing digester gas technology for the generation of
8electricity for any one or more of the following purposes:
9(1) Its own use or the use of not more than two of its tenants
10located on the real property on which the electricity is generated.
11(2) The use of or sale to not more than two other corporations
12or persons solely for use on the real property on which the
13electricity is generated.
14(3) Sale or transmission to an electrical corporation or state or
15local public agency, if the sale or transmission of the electricity
16service to a retail customer is provided through the transmission
17system of the existing local publicly owned electric utility or
18electrical corporation of that retail customer.
19(e) “Electrical corporation” does not include an independent
20solar energy producer, as defined in Article 3 (commencing with
21Section 2868) of Chapter 9 of Part 2.
22(f) The amendments made to this section at the 1987 portion of
23the 1987-88 Regular Session of the
Legislature do not apply to
24any corporation or person employing cogeneration technology or
25producing power from other than a conventional power source for
26the generation of electricity that physically produced electricity
27prior to January 1, 1989, and furnished that electricity to
28immediately adjacent real property for use thereon prior to January
291, 1989.
30(g) A corporation or person engaged directly or indirectly in
31developing, owning, producing, delivering, participating in, or
32selling interests in, a shared renewable energy facility pursuant to
33Chapter 7.6 (commencing with Section
2832) of Part 2, is not an
34electrical corporation within the meaning of this section solely by
35reason of engaging in any of those activities.
Section 2826.5 of the Public Utilities Code is repealed.
Chapter 7.6 (commencing with Section
2832) is added
38to Part 2 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code, to read:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
5(a) The creation of renewable energy within California provides
6significant financial, health, environmental, and workforce benefits
7to the state of California.
8(b) The California Solar Initiative has been extremely successful,
9resulting in over 140,000 residential and commercial onsite
10installations of solar energy systems. However, it cannot reach all
11residents and businesses that want to participate
and is limited to
12solar. The Shared Renewable Energy Self-Generation Program
13seeks to build on this success by expanding access to renewable
14energy resources to all ratepayers who are currently unable to
15access the benefits of onsite generation.
16(c) The Governor has proposed the Clean Energy Jobs Plan
17calling for the development of 12,000 megawatts of generation
18from distributed renewable energy resources of up to 20 megawatts
19in size by 2020. There is widespread interest from many large
20institutional customers, including schools, colleges, universities,
21local governments, businesses, and the military, for development
22of renewable generation facilities to serve more than 33 percent
23of their energy needs. For these reasons, the Legislature agrees
24that the Governor’s Clean Energy Jobs Plan represents a desired
25policy direction for the
state. It is the intent of the Legislature that
26renewable generation that comes online as part of the Shared
27Renewable Energy Self-Generation Program is counted toward an
28electrical corporation’s efforts to implement the Governor’s Clean
29Energy Jobs Plan.
30(d) Properly designed, shared renewable energy programs can
31provide access and cost savings to underserved communities, such
32as low- to moderate-income residents, and residential and
33commercial renters, while not shifting costs to nonbeneficiaries.
34(e) While municipal utilities already have the authority to create
35their own shared renewable energy programs, only an act of the
36Legislature can empower the vast majority of California residents
37to be able to enjoy the significant benefits of shared renewable
38energy
systems, while the state benefits from avoided transmission
39and distribution upgrades, avoided line loss, and cleaner air and
40water.
P12 1(f) Public institutions will benefit from the Shared Renewable
2Energy Self-Generation Program’s enhanced flexibility to
3participate in shared renewable energy facilities. Electricity usage
4is one of the most significant cost pressures facing public
5institutions at a time when they have been forced to cut essential
6programs, increase classroom sizes, and lay off teachers. Schools
7may use the savings for restoring funds for salaries, facility
8maintenance, and other budgetary needs.
9(g) Shared renewable energy self-generation creates jobs,
10reduces emissions of greenhouse gases, and promotes energy
11independence.
12(h) Many large energy users in California have pursued onsite
13renewable energy generation, but cannot achieve their goals due
14to rooftop or land space limitations, or size limits on net metering.
15The enactment of this chapter will create a mechanism whereby
16institutional customers such as military installations, universities,
17and local governments, as well as commercial customers and
18groups of individuals, can efficiently invest in generating electricity
19from renewable generation.
20(i) Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature that this program
21be implemented in such a manner as to create a large, sustainable
22market for the purchase of an interest in offsite renewable
23generation, while fairly compensating electrical corporations for
24the services they provide.
25(j) It is the further intent of the Legislature to preserve a thriving,
26sustainable agricultural industry, and to ensure that the
27development of renewable energy does not remove prime farmland
28from productive use without a comprehensive public review
29process.
30(k) It is further the intent of the Legislature that the commission
31minimize the rate impact the Shared Renewable Energy
32Self-Generation Program has on nonbeneficiaries, with a goal of
33ratepayer indifference. To the extent that the program imposes
34incremental increases in rates, the commission shall determine the
35appropriate way to allocate costs, which may include equitable
36allocation of costs to all customers on a nonbypassable basis.
As used in this chapter, the following terms have the
38following meanings:
39(a) ”Benefiting account” means one or more electricity accounts
40designated to receive a bill credit pursuant to Section 2834 and
P13 1mutually agreed upon by the facility provider and an electrical
2corporation.
3(b) “Bill credit” means an amount of money credited each
4month, or in an otherwise applicable billing period, to one or more
5benefiting accounts based on the amount of the electrical output
6of a shared renewable energy facility that is assigned to the account
7pursuant to the methodology described in Section 2834.
8(c) “Default load aggregation point price” means a
9commission-determined day-ahead price for electricity.
10(d) “Energy component” means the generation portion of a
11customer’s otherwise applicable tariff and any other portion of the
12customer’s charges that the commission determines
may be
13 appropriate to offset without resulting in a net cost shift to
14nonbeneficiaries.
15(e) “Facility rate” means the per kilowatthour rate assigned to
16each facility built under the program, used to calculate the bill
17credit pursuant to the method described in
paragraphs (1) to (3),
18inclusive, of subdivision (b) of Section 2834.
19(f) “Interest” means a direct or indirect ownership, lease,
20subscription, or financing interest in a shared renewable energy
21facility that enables the participant to receive a bill credit for a
22retail account with the electrical corporation.
23(g) “Local government” means a city, county, city and county,
24special district, school district, public water district, public
25irrigation district, county office of education, political subdivision,
26or other local governmental entity. For the purposes of this chapter,
27“water district” has the same meaning as defined in Section 20200
28of the Water Code, and “irrigation district” means an entity formed
29pursuant to the Irrigation District Law set
forth in Division 11
30(commencing with Section 20500) of the Water Code.
31(h) “Participant” means a retail customer of an electrical
32corporation who owns, leases, finances, or subscribes to an interest
33in a shared renewable energy facility and who has designated one
34or more of its own retail accounts as a benefiting account to which
35the interest shall be attributed.
36(i) “Participant account” means a retail customer account with
37an electrical corporation to which a participant’s interest in a shared
38renewable energy facility shall be attributed.
39(j) “Provider” means any entity whose purpose is to beneficially
40own or operate a shared renewable energy facility for the
P14 1participants or owners of that facility, or to market an interest in
2the facility.
3(k) “Program” means the Shared Renewable Energy
4Self-Generation Program established pursuant to this chapter.
5(l) “Project” means the cumulative activities to build and make
6operational a shared renewable energy facility.
7(m) “Renewable energy credit” has the same meaning as defined
8in Section 399.12.
9(n) “Shared renewable energy facility” means a facility for the
10generation of electricity that meets all of the following
11requirements:
12(1) Has a nameplate generating capacity of no more than 20
13megawatts of alternating current.
14(2) Is an eligible renewable energy resource pursuant to the
15California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (Article 16
16(commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1).
17(3) Has its electrical output measured by a production meter
18owned by the electrical corporation, that meets the tariff
19requirements of the electrical corporation and the Independent
20System Operator, and that independently measures the electricity
21delivered to the grid by the facility.
22(4) Is located within the service territory of a California electrical
23corporation.
24(5) Has been interconnected with the electrical grid in
25compliance with the tariffs of the applicable interconnection
26authority.
27(6) Is either the PVUSA facility, meaning the photovoltaic
28electricity generation facility selected by the City of Davis and
29located at 24662 County Road, Davis, California, or is a newly
30constructed renewable facility constructed pursuant to this chapter,
31beginning commercial operation on or after January 1, 2014.
32(7) The provider has, where applicable, complied with all
33program rules and written notice procedures that may be required
34by the commission.
(a) (1) A retail customer of an electrical corporation
36having 100,000 or more service connections within the state may
37acquire an interest in a shared renewable energy facility for the
38purpose of becoming a participant and shall designate one or more
39benefiting accounts to which the interest shall be attributed.
P15 1(2) To be eligible to be designated as a
benefiting account, the
2account shall be for service to premises located within the
3geographical boundaries of the service territory of the electrical
4corporation containing the shared renewable energy facility.
5(3) The participating customer’s bill credit may be used to offset
6all or a portion of the energy component of that customer’s
7electrical service, as provided in this chapter and in accordance
8with those rules that the commission may adopt.
9(4) A participant shall not acquire an interest in a shared
10renewable energy facility that represents more than two megawatts
11of generating capacity or the equivalent amount, as denominated
12in kilowatt hours of energy. This limitation does not apply to a
13federal, state, or local government, school, school district,
county
14office of education, the California Community Colleges, the
15California State University, or the University of California.
16(b) The commission shall establish a facility rate for all shared
17renewable energy facilities, as follows:
18(1) The commission shall undertake a comprehensive analysis
19of the costs and benefits associated with shared renewable energy
20
generation to determine a facility rate for all facilities participating
21in the program that shall be based on the full value that the shared
22renewable energy generation provides. No later than December
2331, 2014, the commission shall adopt a methodology to calculate
24a facility rate for shared renewable energy.
25(2) In order to ensure that the program becomes effective on
26January 1, 2014, an interim facility rate shall be set at the market
27price referent, as currently determined by the commission.
28(3) The facility rate shall be set annually as a price per
29kilowatthour of electricity and shall be applied at the time the
30provider receives an award of capacity. Once established, a facility
31rate shall be applicable to that facility for the operational life of
32the
facility, except as allowed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c).
33(4) The commission shall publish tariffs applicable to all
34participants per electrical corporation, as necessary, no later than
3590 days following the addition of this section.
36(5) Any subsequent facility or a subsequent expansion of a
37facility placed in service on or after the initial award of rated
38generating capacity pursuant to paragraph (3) that results in an
39increase in the facility’s capacity to produce electricity shall be
40subject to the facility rate in effect on the date the provider applied
P16 1for an award of rated generating capacity for the subsequent facility
2or increase in the facility’s capacity.
3(6) The electrical corporation shall assign a monthly bill credit
4equal
to the facility rate for each kilowatt hour of energy received
5to the benefiting account, as directed by the provider. The bill
6credit shall be applied to the energy component of the benefiting
7account.
8(c) (1) The commission may revise the methodology for
9calculating facility rates at any time that it concludes that the
10existing mechanism does not provide program participants with
11the fair value of electricity and other benefits produced by the
12shared
renewable energy facility or overvalues the benefits to
13nonparticipating customers of the electrical corporation for the
14electricity generated by a shared renewable energy facility. Any
15revision to the methodology for calculating the facility rate shall
16apply to all new program capacity and shall also apply to existing
17program capacity provided the change results in an increase to the
18facility rate.
19(2) Any renewable energy credits associated with an interest
20shall be retired by either the provider or electrical corporation, as
21they may agree, on behalf of the participant or transferred to the
22Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System
23account of that participant, for the purpose of demonstrating the
24purchase of renewable energy. Those renewable energy credits
25shall not be further sold, transferred, or otherwise monetized by a
26
party for any purpose. Renewable energy credits associated with
27electricity paid for by the electrical corporation shall be counted
28toward meeting that electrical corporation’s renewables portfolio
29standard. For purposes of this subdivision, “renewable energy
30credit” and “renewables portfolio standard” have the same
31meanings as defined in Section 399.12.
32(3) For energy that is unallocated to a benefiting account during
33the previous billing period, the recipient electrical corporation
34shall pay the provider the current default load aggregation point
35price plus the renewable energy credit value and receive any
36renewable energy credits associated with that energy.
37(d) (1) A pilot program of 1000 megawatts of alternating current
38rated nameplate generating capacity of shared renewable energy
39facilities shall be made available during the 18-month period
40beginning January 1, 2014, and ending July, 1 2015. Each electrical
P17 1corporation’s proportionate share of the program’s total capacity
2shall be calculated based on the ratio of the electrical corporation’s
3peak demand compared to the total statewide peak demand.
4(2) On or before March 1, 2014, each electrical corporation
5shall submit a proposal to the commission for how to allocate the
6initial available capacity. Within 60 days of receipt of these
7proposals, the commission shall adopt rules for the allocation of
8the initial available capacity amongst the electrical
corporations
9and to establish a transparent process for evaluating and ranking
10applications for shared renewable energy facility projects and
11awarding the initial capacity to those projects.
12(3) Of the initial pilot program capacity:
13(A) Twenty percent shall be reserved for projects of a size no
14greater than one megawatt of alternating current, constructed in
15areas previously identified by the California Environmental
16Protection Agency as the most impacted and disadvantaged
17communities for opportunities related to this chapter. These
18communities shall be identified as census tracts that are identified
19within the top 20 percent of results from the best available
20cumulative impact screening methodology by considering the
21following categories:
22(i) Areas disproportionately affected by environmental pollution
23and other hazards that can lead to negative public health effects,
24exposure, or environmental degradation.
25(ii) Areas with socioeconomic vulnerability.
26(B) Twenty percent shall be reserved for initial subscription by
27residential customers.
28(4) No shared renewable energy facilities under this program
29may be sited on lands that have held, within the previous five years,
30a land use designation of prime farmland as defined by the
31Department of Conservation’s Farmland Mapping and Monitoring
32Program pursuant to Section 65570 of the Government Code,
33except when the designation has been reclassified to
one congruent
34to the use of the site for the purposes of this chapter by either the
35Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program, or via a public
36process conducted by the relevant local land use management
37planning authority.
38(e) Each electrical corporation shall make awards allocating
39rated generating capacity pursuant to the program in the following
40manner:
P18 1(1) (A) Each electrical corporation shall, by March 1, 2014,
2submit a proposed standard contract with providers for commission
3approval. The commission shall utilize the Tier 2 advice letter
4procedure for approval of a standard contract submitted by an
5electrical corporation.
6(B) The proposed standard contract shall be based on the
7electrical
corporation’s standard contract used for the commission’s
8most recently approved renewable auction mechanism program.
9Each electrical corporation shall modify the contract to eliminate
10language irrelevant to this program, including, but not limited to,
11compensation and monthly payments, operating and development
12security, and time-of-day periods.
13(2) A provider wishing to build a shared renewable energy
14facility shall remit a nonrefundable administrative fee of one dollar
15and fifty cents ($1.50) per kilowatt of rated generating capacity to
16the electrical corporation with its application for an allocation of
17capacity. At any time, the commission shall have the authority to
18modify the rated generating capacity allocation mechanism,
19including, but not limited to, creating project ranking criteria,
20setting deposit requirements, and creating an
award allocation
21methodology for prospective projects.
22(3) A provider shall meet the following benchmarks and
23timelines for construction and operation of a shared renewable
24energy facility. Failure to do so shall result in the provider
25forfeiting the rated generating capacity awarded to it.
26(A) The provider shall issue an unrestricted notice to proceed
27with construction of the shared renewable energy facility within
28180 days of the provider receiving an award allocating rated
29generating capacity from the electrical corporation.
30(B) The shared renewable energy facility shall achieve
31commercial operation within 24 months of receiving an award
32allocating rated generating capacity pursuant to this subdivision.
33(C) A provider shall receive an extension because of
34interconnection delays that are outside the provider’s control, for
35a maximum extension of six months.
36(D) A provider may receive a six-month extension for
37noninterconnection factors outside the control of the provider.
38(4) The electrical corporation shall ensure that no single entity
39or its affiliates or subsidiaries is awarded more than 20 percent of
P19 1any single calendar year’s total cumulative rated generating
2capacity made available pursuant to this program.
3(5) The commission shall maintain a public database of facility
4rates for shared renewable energy facilities that have achieved
5commercial operation.
6(f) (1) Once the initial 1000 megawatts of cumulative rated
7generating capacity has been awarded for shared renewable energy
8facility projects, the commission shall evaluate the functioning of
9the program.
10(2) By July 1, 2015, the commission shall conclude an evaluation
11of the program to date, to determine if the goals of the program
12are being met, including, but not limited to, the goals of increasing
13access to renewable power and ensuring nonbeneficiary ratepayer
14indifference.
15(3) Unless the commission determines that the program goals
16are not being met per the goals and timetable identified in
17paragraph (1) of subdivision (d), the commission shall authorize
18additional capacity to be made
available under this program in
19keeping with the stated legislative intent, and determine the
20capacity allocation and manner of participation by residential
21customers specified in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) of
22subdivision (d) and the capacity allocation for developing projects
23in areas specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of
24subdivision (d).
25(4) If the commission determines that one or more of the goals
26are not being met, the commission shall revise the program prior
27to authorizing additional capacity. Revisions may include
28increasing customer disclosure information or other safeguards to
29ensure customer protection, revising capacity set-asides for
30customer classes or project sizes to increase customer access to
31the
program, alterations in the bill credit mechanism in paragraph
32(1) of subdivision (c) to ensure shared renewable energy facilities
33are financially viable through this program while ensuring that all
34ratepayers are paying for the benefits they receive from this
35program, or other revisions the commission deems necessary to
36ensure the program goals can be met. After the commission has
37revised the program, the commission may authorize additional
38capacity to be released provided in accordance with paragraph (2)
39of subdivision (d).
P20 1(5) Following completion of the pilot program, the commission
2may evaluate the program at any time, either on its own motion
3or upon motion by an interested party, and may modify or adopt
4any rules it determines to be necessary or convenient to ensure
5that program goals can be met.
6(6) An electrical corporation shall comply with the requirements
7applicable to protection of the right to commercial free speech
8described in Commission Decision 10-05-050 as applied to the
9development, sale of subscriptions, and operation of shared
10renewable energy facilities. Shared renewable energy facilities
11may file a complaint with the commission for violation of this
12paragraph.
13(7) If requested by a city, county, or city and county, an
14electrical corporation shall annually provide the city, county, or
15city and county with the annual total generation of each shared
16renewable energy facility in that local jurisdiction and the annual
17aggregated total generation, by fuel type, allocated to
benefiting
18accounts in that local jurisdiction from all shared renewable energy
19facilities, regardless of their location. The benefiting account data
20shall be aggregated in a manner determined by the commission to
21protect customer privacy and to provide a city, county, or city and
22county with the information necessary to calculate greenhouse gas
23emissions from energy consumption within its jurisdiction supplied
24by shared renewable energy facilities. The commission may
25develop alternative methods to enable the sharing of annual total
26generation information.
27(g) (1) The tariff applicable to a participant shall remain the
28same,
with respect to rate structure, all retail rate components, and
29any monthly charges, to the charges that the participant would be
30assigned if the participant did not receive a bill credit. Participants
31shall not be assessed standby charges on the shared renewable
32energy facility or the kilowatthour generation of a shared renewable
33energy facility.
34(2) Prior to the sale or resale of an interest in a shared renewable
35energy facility, the provider or the participant, or both, shall
36provide a disclosure to the potential participant that, at a minimum,
37includes all of the following:
38(A) A good faith estimate of the annual kilowatthours to be
39delivered by the shared renewable energy facility based on the size
40of the interest.
P21 1(B) A plain language explanation of the terms under which the
2bill credits will be calculated.
3(C) A plain language explanation of the contract provisions
4regulating the disposition or transfer of the interest.
5(D) A plain language explanation of the costs and benefits to
6the potential participant based on its current usage and applicable
7tariff, for the term of the proposed contract.
8(3) Not more frequently than once per month, and upon
9providing the electrical corporation with a minimum of 30 days’
10notice, the participant organization may change, add, or remove a
11
benefiting account. If the owner of a benefiting account transfers
12service to a new address or benefiting account, the electrical
13corporation shall transfer any credit remaining from the previous
14account to the new account.
15(4) A provider shall be responsible for providing to the electrical
16corporation, on a monthly basis, a statement of the kilowatthours
17allocated to each participant to be used to determine the bill credit
18to each
benefiting account. If there has been no change in the
19allocations from the previous submission, the provider is not
20required to submit a new statement. An electrical corporation may
21rely on the statement of kilowatthours allocated to each participant,
22as provided by the provider, in implementing the requirements of
23this chapter.
24(5) The provider shall provide real-time meter data to the
25electrical corporation and shall make the data available to a
26participant upon request. A provider shall be responsible for all
27costs of metering and shall retain production data for a period of
2836 months.
29(6) A provider shall provide to the electrical corporation
30information on the identity of the
benefiting accounts that will
31receive a bill credit pursuant to this section not less than 30 days
32prior to the billing cycle for which the participant’s account will
33receive a bill credit.
34(7) A provider shall provide not less than 60 days’ notice to the
35electrical corporation prior to the date the shared renewable energy
36facility becomes operational and shall execute all necessary
37interconnection agreements, participation, and surplus sale
38agreements with the electrical corporation and the Independent
39System Operator on a schedule required by those entities.
P22 1(8) Unless the electrical corporation will be registering
2renewable energy credits on behalf of the participant, the provider
3shall establish an account and register the shared renewable energy
4
facility with the Western Renewable Energy Generation
5Information System or its successor.
6(9) The provider’s interconnection process and cost allocation
7for facilities built under this section shall be determined by
8applicable rules for interconnection established by the commission
9and the Independent System Operator.
10(10) An electrical corporation shall ensure that requests for
11establishment of bill credits and changes to benefiting accounts
12are processed in a time period not to exceed 30 days from the date
13it receives the request.
14(11) An electrical corporation shall cooperate fully with shared
15renewable energy facilities to implement this chapter.
16(12) The commission shall not regulate the prices paid by the
17participant for an interest in a shared renewable energy facility,
18but may enforce the required disclosures, and may establish rules
19applicable to providers to ensure consumer protection. Any
20interested person or corporation may file a complaint with the
21commission contending that a provider or electrical corporation
22is not complying with any requirement of this chapter and seek an
23order of the commission to enforce the requirements of this chapter
24and to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure consumer
25protection and compliance with the requirements of this chapter.
26(h) (1) The electrical corporation may petition the commission
27to incorporate in its bill those charges by the provider to
28participants, provided that the electrical corporation recovers all
29incremental costs of providing that service and provided that the
30provider elects to use this service.
31(2) Unless the electrical corporation elects to provide the service
32of incorporating in its bill those charges by the provider to the
33participant pursuant to paragraph (3), the following process shall
34be used when billing and crediting a benefiting account:
35(A) An electrical corporation shall bill a
benefiting account for
36all electricity usage, and for each applicable bill component,
37including, but not limited to, transmission and distribution charges,
38at the rate schedule applicable to the benefiting account, including
39any cost-responsibility surcharge or other cost recovery mechanism,
40as determined by the commission, to reimburse the Department
P23 1of Water Resources for purchases of electricity pursuant to Division
227 (commencing with Section 80000) of the Water Code.
3Participants shall not be subject to any departing
load charge.
4(B) An electrical corporation shall subtract the bill credit
5applicable to the benefiting account monthly. The electrical
6corporation shall ensure that the participant receives the full bill
7credit to which it is entitled. The information and line items on a
8participant’s bill statement will be unchanged, except one or more
9entries detailing the bill credit that shall be added to a participant’s
10bill.
11(C) If, at the end of each billing cycle, the total otherwise
12applicable energy component of the bill exceeds the bill credit,
13the
benefiting account shall be billed for the difference.
14(D) If, at the end of a billing cycle, the bill credit exceeds the
15energy component of the amount billed to the account, the
16difference shall be carried forward as a dollar credit to the next
17billing cycle. Any earned credit that exceeds the energy component
18of the bill shall roll over to the subsequent billing period and shall
19continue to roll over until used or until the annual anniversary date
20of the participant’s initial bill credit, whichever occurs first. On
21the annual anniversary date of the participant’s initial bill credit,
22any remaining bill credit earned during the previous year and that
23remains after the application of bill credits to the energy component
24of a participant’s bills shall cease to roll over and will be subject
25to a default load aggregation point
price true-up. The default load
26aggregation point price true-up shall be calculated by converting
27the remaining unused bill credits to kilowatthours, by dividing the
28unused bill credits by the monetary value of a bill credit, and then
29multiplying the kilowatthours by the default load aggregation point
30price. The amount calculated doing the default load aggregation
31point price true-up is owed by the electrical corporation to the
32participant. The commission shall determine whether the default
33load aggregation point price true-up is to be paid to participants
34or credited to future billings and, if so, the manner of crediting.
35(3) If the electrical corporation elects to incorporate in its bill
36those charges by the provider to the participant, the following
37process shall be used for the bundled electric service customers
38of the electrical
corporation:
39(A) The provider shall convey ownership of the electricity
40generated by the shared renewable energy facility that passes
P24 1through the meter and is delivered to the transmission or
2distribution grid (delivered electricity) to the electrical corporation
3under terms and conditions determined between the provider and
4the electrical corporation, pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision
5(e).
6(B) Unsubscribed delivered
electricity shall be sold to the
7electrical corporation at the default load aggregation point price
8plus the renewable energy credit value. The electrical corporation
9shall receive credit under the California Renewable Portfolio
10Standard Program (Article 16 (commencing with Section 399.11)
11of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1) for all delivered electricity purchased
12pursuant to this subparagraph, without the need for further
13qualifying action.
14(C) The electrical corporation shall charge the participant for
15service under each benefiting account at the electrical corporation’s
16otherwise applicable tariff.
17(D) The electrical corporation shall provide the participant with
18a bill credit based on the allocated share of delivered electricity
19and shall collect revenue from the participant commensurate with
20the participant’s contract with the provider.
21(E) The electrical corporation, within 60 days, shall remit to the
22participant organization the revenue collected from participants
23through billings pursuant to subparagraph (D).
24(4) Nothing in paragraph (3) requires a particular bill format or
25the inclusion of any specific separate billing line items.
26(5) The commission shall, by January 1, 2015, determine
27whether customers participating in direct transactions may receive
28bill credits equivalent to what would be provided to bundled
29electric service customers of a participating electrical corporation
30pursuant to this chapter, and, if so, shall implement rules and
31procedures for enabling those transactions. These particular
32transactions may include those with an electric service provider
33that does not provide distribution services, customers receiving
34electric service through a shared choice aggregation program, and
35customers of a local publicly owned utility that receive distribution
36service from an electrical corporation having 100,000 or more
37service connections in California.
38(i) (1) To ensure the maximum systemic benefit from shared
39renewable energy
facilities under this chapter, electrical
40corporations shall provide to the commission, prior to the release
P25 1of capacity, maps indicating locations in their service territory
2where the addition of capacity would reduce line loss, lower
3transmission capacity constraints, and defer or avoid transmission
4and distribution network upgrades and construction. The
5commission may adopt guidance in determining criteria for the
6awarding of capacity in a manner as to reflect these benefits.
7(2) Before December 31, 2015, the commission shall complete
8an evaluation of whether the program causes any incremental rate
9impacts. If the commission finds rate impacts, it will determine
10whether and how to allocate these costs equitably to all program
11participants, or instead recover on a fully nonbypassable basis
12from all customers receiving distribution service
from an electrical
13corporation, including ratepayers with rates that are otherwise
14subject to rate increase limitations pursuant to Section 739.9, but
15excluding customers in the California Alternate Rates for Energy
16(CARE) or family electric rate assistance (FERA) programs.
17(3) On or before February 1, 2016, the commission shall require
18each electrical corporation to file with the commission, for its
19approval, any revisions to its tariffs, rates, and rate design as are
20necessary to ensure an equitable allocation to all customers,
21consistent with the commission’s evaluation.
22(4) The commission shall ensure full and timely recovery of all
23reasonable costs incurred by an electrical corporation to implement
24the program, including reasonable expenses for changes to its
25billing system
and handling of collections, and shall determine the
26appropriate method of allocating those costs. The commission
27shall approve a memorandum account to track billing system and
28implementation costs, as well as revenue from provider project
29applications, and may not direct an electrical corporation to conduct
30any billing system work prior to approval of the memorandum
31account.
32(5) In calculating its procurement requirements to meet the
33requirements of the California Renewables Portfolio Standard
34Program (Article 16 (commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter
352.3 of Part 1), an electrical corporation may exclude from total
36retail sales the kilowatthours generated by a shared renewable
37energy facility commencing with the point in time at which the
38facility achieves commercial operation.
39(6) The local and system resource adequacy value attributable
40to a shared renewable energy facility, as determined by the
P26 1commission pursuant to Section 380, shall be assigned to the
2electrical corporation to which the facility is interconnected.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
4Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
5the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
6district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
7infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
8for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
9the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
10the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
11Constitution.
O
96