Full Text of California SB843 as amended
Struck text includes proposed deletions to law or the previous version of the bill.(pdf version)
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 30, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 21, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 24, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator Wolk
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act to amend Sect ion 25019 of the Corporations
Code, and to amend Sections 216 and 218 of, to repeal Section
2826.5 of, and to repeal and add Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section
2830) of Part 2 of Division 1 of, the Public Utilities Code,
relating to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST
SB 843, as amended, Wolk. Energy: electrical corporations: City of
Davis PVUSA solar facility: Community-Based Renewable Energy
Self-Generation 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 would repeal these provisions and enact the
Community-Based Renewable Energy Self-Generation Program. The program
would authorize a retail customer of an electrical corporation
(participant) to purchase a subscription
acquire an interest , as defined, in a community
renewable energy facility, as defined, for the purpose of
receiving a bill credit, as defined, to offset all or a portion of
the customer’s participant’s
electricity usage, consistent with specified requirements.
Under
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.
The bill would provide that any corporation or person engaged
directly or indirectly in developing, producing, delivering,
participating in, or selling interests in, a community renewable
energy facility is not a public utility or electrical
corporation solely by reason of engaging in any of those activities.
(2) 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 (PVUSA solar facility) and requires the commission to
adopt a rate tariff for the benefiting account.
This bill would repeal these provisions relating to the City of
Davis.
(3) 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 25019 of the
Corporations Code is amended to read:
25019. (a) “Security” means any note;
stock; treasury stock; membership in an incorporated or
unincorporated association; bond; debenture; evidence of
indebtedness; certificate of interest or participation in any
profit-sharing agreement; collateral trust certificate;
preorganization certificate or subscription; transferable share;
investment contract; viatical settlement contract or a fractionalized
or pooled interest therein; life settlement contract or a
fractionalized or pooled interest therein; voting trust certificate;
certificate of deposit for a security; interest in a limited
liability company and any class or series of those interests
(including any fractional or other interest in that interest), except
a membership interest in a limited liability company in which the
person claiming this exception can prove that all of the members are
actively engaged in the management of the limited liability company;
provided that evidence that members vote or have the right to vote,
or the right to information concerning the business and affairs of
the limited liability company, or the right to participate in
management, shall not establish, without more, that all members are
actively engaged in the management of the limited liability company;
certificate of interest or participation in an oil, gas or mining
title or lease or in payments out of production under that title or
lease; put, call, straddle, option, or privilege on any security,
certificate of deposit, or group or index of securities (including
any interest therein or based on the value thereof); or any put,
call, straddle, option, or privilege entered into on a national
securities exchange relating to foreign currency; any beneficial
interest or other security issued in connection with a funded
employees’ pension, profit sharing, stock bonus, or similar benefit
plan; or, in general, any interest or instrument commonly known as a
“security”; or any certificate of interest or participation in,
temporary or interim certificate for, receipt for, guarantee of, or
warrant or right to subscribe to or purchase, any of the foregoing.
All of the foregoing are securities whether or not evidenced by a
written document. “Security”
(b) “Security” does not include:
(1) any beneficial interest in any voluntary inter vivos trust which
is not created for the purpose of carrying on any business or solely
for the purpose of voting, or (2) any beneficial interest in any
testamentary trust, or (3) any insurance or endowment policy or
annuity contract under which an insurance company admitted in this
state promises to pay a sum of money (whether or not based upon the
investment performance of a segregated fund) either in a lump sum or
periodically for life or some other specified period, or (4) any
franchise subject to registration under the Franchise Investment Law
(Division 5 (commencing with Section 31000)), or exempted from
registration by Section 31100 or 31101 , or (5) any right to a
bill credit or interest of a participant in a community renewable
energy facility pursuant to Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section
2830) of Part 2 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code
.
SECTION 1. SEC. 2. Section 216 of
the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:
216. (a) “Public utility” includes every common carrier, toll
bridge corporation, pipeline corporation, gas corporation, electrical
corporation, telephone corporation, telegraph corporation, water
corporation, sewer system corporation, and heat corporation, where
the service is performed for, or the commodity is delivered to, the
public or any portion thereof.
(b) Whenever any common carrier, toll bridge corporation, pipeline
corporation, gas corporation, electrical corporation, telephone
corporation, telegraph corporation, water corporation, sewer system
corporation, or heat corporation performs a service for, or delivers
a commodity to, the public or any portion thereof for which any
compensation or payment whatsoever is received, that common carrier,
toll bridge corporation, pipeline corporation, gas corporation,
electrical corporation, telephone corporation, telegraph corporation,
water corporation, sewer system corporation, or heat corporation, is
a public utility subject to the jurisdiction, control, and
regulation of the commission and the provisions of this part.
(c) When any person or corporation performs any service for, or
delivers any commodity to, any person, private corporation,
municipality, or other political subdivision of the state, that in
turn either directly or indirectly, mediately or immediately,
performs that service for, or delivers that commodity to, the public
or any portion thereof, that person or corporation is a public
utility subject to the jurisdiction, control, and regulation of the
commission and the provisions of this part.
(d) Ownership or operation of a facility that employs cogeneration
technology or produces power from other than a conventional power
source or the ownership or operation of a facility which employs
landfill gas technology does not make a corporation or person a
public utility within the meaning of this section solely because of
the ownership or operation of that facility.
(e) Any corporation or person engaged directly or indirectly in
developing, producing, transmitting, distributing, delivering, or
selling any form of heat derived from geothermal or solar resources
or from cogeneration technology to any privately owned or publicly
owned public utility, or to the public or any portion thereof, is not
a public utility within the meaning of this section solely by reason
of engaging in any of those activities.
(f) The ownership or operation of a facility that sells compressed
natural gas at retail to the public for use only as a motor vehicle
fuel, and the selling of compressed natural gas at retail from that
facility to the public for use only as a motor vehicle fuel, does not
make the corporation or person a public utility within the meaning
of this section solely because of that ownership, operation, or sale.
(g) Ownership or operation of a facility that is an exempt
wholesale generator, as defined in the Public Utility Holding Company
Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 16451(6)), does not make a corporation
or person a public utility within the meaning of this section, solely
due to the ownership or operation of that facility.
(h) The ownership, control, operation, or management of an
electric plant used for direct transactions or participation directly
or indirectly in direct transactions, as permitted by subdivision
(b) of Section 365, sales into a market established and operated by
the Independent System Operator or any other wholesale electricity
market, or the use or sale as permitted under subdivisions (b) to
(d), inclusive, of Section 218, shall not make a corporation or
person a public utility within the meaning of this section solely
because of that ownership, participation, or sale.
(i) A corporation or person engaged directly or indirectly in
developing, owning, producing, delivering, participating
in, or selling interests in, a community renewable energy
facility pursuant to Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 2830) of
Part 2, is not a public utility within the meaning of this section
solely by reason of engaging in any of those activities.
SEC. 2. SEC. 3. Section 218 of the
Public Utilities Code is amended to read:
218. (a) “Electrical corporation” includes every corporation or
person owning, controlling, operating, or managing any electric plant
for compensation within this state, except where electricity is
generated on or distributed by the producer through private property
solely for its own use or the use of its tenants and not for sale or
transmission to others.
(b) “Electrical corporation” does not include a corporation or
person employing cogeneration technology or producing power from
other than a conventional power source for the generation of
electricity solely for any one or more of the following purposes:
(1) Its own use or the use of its tenants.
(2) The use of or sale to not more than two other corporations or
persons solely for use on the real property on which the electricity
is generated or on real property immediately adjacent thereto, unless
there is an intervening public street constituting the boundary
between the real property on which the electricity is generated and
the immediately adjacent property and one or more of the following
applies:
(A) The real property on which the electricity is generated and
the immediately adjacent real property is not under common ownership
or control, or that common ownership or control was gained solely for
purposes of sale of the electricity so generated and not for other
business purposes.
(B) The useful thermal output of the facility generating the
electricity is not used on the immediately adjacent property for
petroleum production or refining.
(C) The electricity furnished to the immediately adjacent property
is not utilized by a subsidiary or affiliate of the corporation or
person generating the electricity.
(3) Sale or transmission to an electrical corporation or state or
local public agency, but not for sale or transmission to others,
unless the corporation or person is otherwise an electrical
corporation.
(c) “Electrical corporation” does not include a corporation or
person employing landfill gas technology for the generation of
electricity for any one or more of the following purposes:
(1) Its own use or the use of not more than two of its tenants
located on the real property on which the electricity is generated.
(2) The use of or sale to not more than two other corporations or
persons solely for use on the real property on which the electricity
is generated.
(3) Sale or transmission to an electrical corporation or state or
local public agency.
(d) “Electrical corporation” does not include a corporation or
person employing digester gas technology for the generation of
electricity for any one or more of the following purposes:
(1) Its own use or the use of not more than two of its tenants
located on the real property on which the electricity is generated.
(2) The use of or sale to not more than two other corporations or
persons solely for use on the real property on which the electricity
is generated.
(3) Sale or transmission to an electrical corporation or state or
local public agency, if the sale or transmission of the electricity
service to a retail customer is provided through the transmission
system of the existing local publicly owned electric utility or
electrical corporation of that retail customer.
(e) “Electrical corporation” does not include an independent solar
energy producer, as defined in Article 3 (commencing with Section
2868) of Chapter 9 of Part 2.
(f) The amendments made to this section at the 1987 portion of the
1987-88 Regular Session of the Legislature do not apply to any
corporation or person employing cogeneration technology or producing
power from other than a conventional power source for the generation
of electricity that physically produced electricity prior to January
1, 1989, and furnished that electricity to immediately adjacent real
property for use thereon prior to January 1, 1989.
(g) A corporation or person engaged directly or indirectly in
developing, owning, producing, delivering, participating
in, or selling interests in, a community renewable energy
facility pursuant to Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 2830) of
Part 2, is not an electrical corporation within the meaning of this
section solely by reason of engaging in any of those activities.
SEC. 3. SEC. 4. Section 2826.5 of
the Public Utilities Code is repealed.
SEC. 4. SEC. 5. Chapter 7.5
(commencing with Section 2830) of Part 2 of Division 1 of the Public
Utilities Code is repealed.
SEC. 5. SEC. 6. Chapter 7.5
(commencing with Section 2830) is added to Part 2 of Division 1 of
the Public Utilities Code, to read:
CHAPTER 7.5. COMMUNITY-BASED RENEWABLE ENERGY SELF-GENERATION
PROGRAM
2830. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Despite the fact that all customers of California electrical
corporations fund current self-generation programs, residential and
commercial renters, small businesses, public entities, and low- and
moderate-income Californians usually do not have the ability to
participate fully in current self-generation programs. The purpose of
this chapter is to provide all Californians with the opportunity to
self-generate electricity utilizing renewable energy resources
through the Community-Based Renewable Energy Self-Generation Program.
It is in the public interest to promote broader participation in
self-generation by California residents, public agencies, and
businesses by the development of community renewable energy
self-generation facilities in which participants are entitled to
generate and receive electricity generated by renewable energy
resources through an over-the-fence transaction.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that public schools have
the authority to invest in renewable energy self-generation
facilities to generate electricity as provided in this chapter.
Energy usage is one of the most significant cost pressures facing
public schools at a time when schools have been forced to cut
essential programs, increase classroom sizes, and send pink slips to
teachers throughout the state. Schools may use the savings for
restoring funds for salaries, student achievement, facility
maintenance, and other budgetary needs. The renewable energy
self-generation projects that will go forward under this chapter
would create new green construction jobs, stimulate the economy,
generate funding, and provide more electricity generated by clean,
renewable sources to customers.
(c) Community-based renewable energy self-generation facilities
will contribute to the achievement of the 33 percent renewables
portfolio standard in a cost-effective manner and will assist in
meeting the state’s zero net energy buildings goals. This chapter
provides job creation, environmental protection, and school funding
for those who choose to make the investment in community-based
renewable energy self-generation facilities.
(a) The Governor has proposed a Clean Energy Jobs Plan calling for
the development of 12,000 megawatts of generation from distributed
eligible renewable energy resources of up to 20 megawatts in size by
2020. The Legislature recognizes the advantages of this proposal as
distributed generation provides benefits in addition to the
environmental benefits, including reduced electrical line losses,
decreased investment in transmission and distribution infrastructure,
easier permitting, and local economic benefits. There is widespread
interest from many large institutional customers, including schools,
colleges, universities, local governments, businesses, and the
military, for development of distributed energy facilities to serve
their needs. For these reasons the Legislature agrees that the
Governor’s distributed energy program represents a desired policy
direction for the state.
(b) Community-based renewable energy self-generation creates jobs,
reduces emissions of greenhouse gases, promotes energy independence,
and will assist in meeting the state’s zero net energy buildings
goals. Further, community-based renewable energy self-generation will
enable schools, colleges, universities, local governments,
businesses and consumers to save money on their electricity bills,
thereby helping to fund educational programs, social services, and
new hiring.
(c) The California Solar Initiative has been extremely successful,
resulting in over 100,000 residential and commercial on-site
installations of solar energy systems. The Community-Based Renewable
Energy Self-Generation Program seeks to build on this success by
dramatically expanding the market for eligible renewable energy
resources to include residential and commercial renters, residential
and commercial buildings with shaded or improperly oriented roofs,
and other groups who are unable to access the benefits of onsite
generation. It is in the public interest to promote broader
participation in self-generation by California residents, public
agencies, and businesses by the development of community renewable
energy self-generation facilities in which participants are entitled
to generate electricity and receive credit for that electricity on
their utility bills.
(d) Many institutional customers in California have been focused
on distributed energy programs of their own. For example, the
Secretary of the Navy established as policy that 50 percent of the
on-shore electricity for naval and Marine Corps installations in the
United States be from renewable sources by 2020. To implement this
policy the Navy and Marine Corps have been working on a variety of
renewable generation projects within the 1 megawatt to 20 megawatt
range. The military installations, and other institutional users,
have identified a number of regulatory barriers to implementing
distributed generation projects. The enactment of this chapter will
create a mechanism whereby institutional customers such as military
installations, universities, and local governments, as well as groups
of individuals, can efficiently invest in generating electricity
from eligible renewable energy resources.
(e) It is the intent of the Legislature that public schools have
the authority to invest in community renewable energy facilities to
generate electricity as provided in this chapter. Electricity usage
is one of the most significant cost pressures facing public schools
at a time when schools have been forced to cut essential programs,
increase classroom sizes, and send pink slips to teachers throughout
the state. Schools may use the savings for restoring funds for
salaries, student achievement, facility maintenance, and other
budgetary needs. The community renewable energy facility projects
that go forward pursuant to this chapter will create new construction
jobs, stimulate the economy, generate funding, and provide more
electricity generated by clean, renewable sources to customers.
(f) It is the further intent of the Legislature that as the
commission works to implement this chapter, that the commission
carefully consider regulatory barriers to distributed generation
projects already identified and those not yet identified, and quickly
address those barriers in a manner that is conducive to the
development of distributed generation projects consistent with
appropriate ratepayer protections.
2831. As used in this chapter, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) “Allocated credit” means the percentage of the gross credit
that will be further allocated to an individual benefiting account.
(b)
(a) “Benefiting account” means one or more accounts
designated to receive a bill credit pursuant to Section 2832.
(c)
(b) “Bill credit” means an amount of money credited
each month, or in an otherwise applicable billing period,
to one or more benefiting accounts based on the percentage share of
the community renewable energy facility that is assigned
to the account pursuant to the methodology described in Section
2832 .
(d)
(c) “Community renewable energy facility”
means a facility for the generation of electricity that meets all of
the following requirements:
(1) Has a generating capacity of no more than 20 megawatts.
(2) Is an eligible renewable energy resource pursuant to
Article the California Renewables Portfolio Standard
Program (Article 16 (commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter
2.3 of Part 1. 1).
(3) The electrical output of the facility is measured by a
production meter capable of recording production
electrical generation in real time.
(4) Sells subscriptions to the electrical output of the facility.
(5)
(4) Is located within the service territory of an
electrical corporation having 100,000 or more service
connections in California.
(e) “Gross credit” means the metered kilowatthours of electrical
output of the community facility exported to the grid, as measured at
the point of common coupling.
(5) If it is to interconnect to the electrical grid at the
transmission level of the grid, it has applied for interconnection
through the Independent System Operator’s generation interconnection
process.
(6) Unless the facility has a bill credit arrangement in place by
December 31, 2012, it achieves initial commercial operation on
January 1, 2013, or thereafter.
(d) “Facility rate” means the per kilowatthour rate, or some other
unit of measurement that the commission determines to be superior to
kilowatthours, established by the commission that is used to
calculate the bill credit for a particular community renewable energy
facility. The applicable facility rate for each community renewable
energy facility shall be computed pursuant to Section 2832.
(e) “Interest” means a direct or indirect ownership, lease,
subscription, or financing interest in a community renewable energy
facility that enables the participant to receive a bill credit for a
retail account with the electrical corporation.
(f) “Local government” means a city, county, city and county,
special district, school district, county office of education,
political subdivision, or other local governmental entity.
(g) “Subscriber” “Participant” means
a retail customer of an electrical corporation who owns a
subscription , leases, finances, or subscribes to an
interest in a community renewable energy facility and who has
designated one or more of its own retail accounts as a
benefiting accounts account to which
the subscription shall be attributed , including a local
government, the California Community Colleges, the California State
University, and the University of California .
(h) “Subscriber “Participant
organization” means any for-profit or nonprofit organization
or business, created and operating pursuant to law,
entity whose purpose is to beneficially own or operate a
community renewable energy facility for the
subscribers to the community participants or owners of
that facility.
(i) “Subscription” means an interest in a community facility.
2832. (a) (1) A retail customer of an electrical utility
corporation having 100,000 or more service
connections within the state may purchase a
subscription acquire an interest in a community
renewable energy facility for the purpose of
self-generation becoming a participant and receiving a
bill credit to offset all or a portion of the customer’s bill fo
r electrical service . The subscriber
participant shall designate one or more
benefiting accounts to which the subscription
interest shall be attributed.
(2) To be eligible to be designated as a benefiting account, the
account shall be for service to premises located within the
geographical boundaries of the service territory of the electrical
corporation containing the community renewable energy
facility, or within the geographical boundaries of a contiguous
service territory, if the electrical corporation or local publicly
owned electric utility for that service territory have entered into
an agreement enabling the connection of the benefiting account to the
community renewable energy facility.
(b) (1) Each subscription shall be sized to represent at least one
kilowatt of the community facility’s generating capacity.
(3) A participant organization may beneficially own or operate a
community renewable energy facility for the participants of that
facility. A community renewable energy facility may be built, owned,
or operated by a third party under contract with a participant
organization.
(4) (A) The combined statewide cumulative rated generating
capacity of community renewable energy facilities under this program
shall not exceed 2 gigawatts, except as provided by in subparagraph
(B).
(B) The commission shall maintain a publicly available database of
existing and proposed community renewable energy facilities.
Proposed community renewable energy facilities shall report their
expected size, location, and commercial operation date no less than
six months prior to their commercial operation date. Once the
statewide cumulative rated generation capacity of existing and
proposed community renewable energy facilities reaches one gigawatt,
the commission shall establish a process for allocating the remaining
one gigawatt of capacity to ensure the cap established in
subparagraph (A) is not exceeded. When the statewide cumulative rated
generation capacity of community renewable energy facilities reaches
one and one-half gigawatts, the commission shall begin a process to
determine if the gigawatt limitation in subparagraph (A) is
necessary. Unless the commission determines that removal of the
gigawatt limitation in subparagraph (A) would have a significant
negative effect on electrical
corporation ratepayers, the commission shall order that the
gigawatt limitation is no longer applicable. If the commission
decides that the removal of the gigawatt limitation in subparagraph
(A) would have a significant negative effect on the ratepayers of an
electrical corporation, the commission shall decide if the limitation
should remain at two gigawatts or if it should be raised to some
other level. For the purposes of this subparagraph, the rated
generating capacity of a community renewable energy facility shall,
where available, use the Energy Commission’s alternating current
rating for the facility.
(5) (A) The commission shall maintain a public database of
annualized average generation rates for each customer class and tier.
(B) The tariff applicable to a participant shall be identical,
with respect to rate structure, all retail rate components, and any
monthly charges, to the charges that the participant would be
assigned if the participant did not receive a bill credit.
Participants shall not be assessed standby charges on the community
renewable energy facility or the kilowatthour generation of a
community renewable energy facility. Any new or additional demand
charge, standby charge, customer charge, minimum monthly charge,
interconnection charge, or any other charge that would increase a
participant’s costs beyond those of other customers who are not
participants in the rate class to which the participant would
otherwise be assigned if the participant did not receive a bill
credit is contrary to the intent of this chapter, and shall not form
a part of the participant’s tariff.
(6) The commission shall establish a facility rate base for each
community renewable energy facility utilizing either the renewables
portfolio standard (RPS) solicitation method or added value method,
to be computed as follows:
(A) Beginning January 1, 2013, the RPS solicitation method shall
be used for computing the facility rate. Pursuant to this method, the
facility rate shall be set at the weighted average time-of-delivery
adjusted cost of electricity delivered from an eligible renewable
energy resource of comparable size that utilizes the same generating
technology as employed by the community renewable energy facility,
calculated for the most recent year for each electrical corporation
for purposes of the report made to the Legislature pursuant to
Section 911. Where data is not available for a comparable resource
and facility size for the previous year, the most recent data shall
be used. The facility rate shall be calculated on the basis of the
price paid for a kilowatthour of electricity, unless the commission
determines that some other unit of measurement is superior to using
kilowatthours, in which case that unit of measurement will be used.
The RPS solicitation method for computing the facility rate shall be
determined as of the time that the community renewable energy
facility becomes operational.
(B) Not later than December 31, 2014, the commission shall
determine the added value method for calculating a facility rate.
Pursuant to the added value method, the facility rate shall be set at
the monetary value of the benefits a community renewable energy
facility brings to the electrical corporation, other nonparticipating
ratepayers, and the grid. In determining the added value, the
commission shall analyze the benefits, including avoided transmission
line loss, avoided transmission and distribution infrastructure
costs, any reduction in fixed operations and maintenance costs, the
offset of peak demand or shifting load, and the reduction of
environmental compliance costs, including costs that would otherwise
be incurred for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. The value of
these benefits shall be added to the otherwise applicable generation
component of the participant’s electric service rate. The commission
shall reevaluate the facility rate using the added value method every
three years, and shall establish a new added value if the commission
determines that there has been a material change in the added value
of the community renewable energy facility.
(7) (A) Prior to January 1, 2015, the RPS solicitation method
shall be used to compute the facility rate.
(B) Beginning January 1, 2015, the added value method shall be
used to compute the facility rate if both of the following are true:
(i) The commission has determined a facility rate for the
community renewable energy facility using the added value method.
(ii) The bill credit that will be provided using the added value
method is greater than the credit provided by continued use of the
RPS solicitation method.
(8) The electrical corporation shall provide a monthly bill
credit, valued in dollars, to each benefiting account. The bill
credit amount shall be calculated as the volumetric quantity of
generation allocated to the benefiting account multiplied by the
facility rate. The volumetric quantity of generation shall be
expressed in kilowatthours, unless the commission determines that
another unit of measurement is superior to use in place of
kilowatthours.
(2)
(b) (1) A subscriber
participant shall not purchase more
than 2 megawatts of capacity in any single acquire an
interest in a community renewable energy facility
that represents more than 2 megawatts of generating capacity
. This subdivision limitation
does not apply to a federal, state, or local government
, school, school district, county office of
education, the California Community Colleges, the California State
University, or the University of California .
(3) A subscriber organization may beneficially own or operate a
community facility for the subscribers to the community facility. A
community facility may be built, owned, or operated by a third party
under contract with a subscriber organization.
(4) Prior to a sale of a subscription, the subscriber organization
shall provide a disclosure to the customer that, at a minimum,
includes all of the following:
(A) A good faith estimate of the annual kilowatthours to be
delivered by the community facility based on the size of the
subscription.
(B) A plain language explanation of the terms under which the bill
credits will be calculated.
(C) A plain language explanation of the contract provisions
regulating the disposition or transfer of the subscription.
(5)
(2) The commission shall not regulate the prices paid
for the shares of an interest in a
community renewable energy facility , but may enforce
the required disclosures .
(c) Local governments
(3) Participants may aggregate
their loads for the purpose of participating in a community
renewable energy facility pursuant to this section.
(4) For a participant that elects to aggregate its loads for the
purpose of acquiring an interest in a community renewable energy
facility, the participant shall designate the benefitting accounts
and the allocation of the bill credit to those accounts.
(d)
( c) (1) A subscriber
participant organization shall provide to the electrical
corporation information on the identity of the benefiting accounts
that will receive a bill credit pursuant to this section not less
then 30 days prior to the commencement of the operations of
the community facility billing cycle for which the
participant’s account will receive a bill credit. The
participant organization shall provide the electrical corporation
with not less than 30 days ‘ notice whenever a participant’
s facility rate changes from the RPS solicitation method to the added
value method .
(2) For a local government that elects to aggregate its loads for
the purpose of purchasing a subscription, if the local government has
more than one benefiting account, the owner or operator of the
facility shall designate the specific accounts and percentage
allocations to which the bill credit shall apply.
(3) A subscriber organization shall be responsible for all costs
of metering and shall retain production data for a period of 36
months. The subscriber organization shall provide real-time meter
data to the electrical corporation and shall make the data available
to the subscribers upon request.
(e) (1) Not more frequently than once per month, and upon
providing the electrical corporation with a minimum of 30 days’
notice, the subscriber organization may change, add, or remove a
benefiting account. If the owner of a benefiting account transfers
service to a new benefiting account, the electrical corporation shall
transfer any credit remaining from the previous account to the new
account.
(2) A subscriber organization shall be responsible for providing
to the electrical corporation, on a monthly basis, the percentage
shares to be used to determine the bill credit to each benefiting
account.
(2) Prior to the sale of an interest in a community renewable
energy facility, the participant organization shall provide a
disclosure to the potential participant that, at a minimum, includes
all of the following:
(A) A good faith estimate of the annual kilowatthours to be
delivered by the community renewable energy facility based on the
size of the interest.
(B) A plain language explanation of the terms under which the bill
credits will be calculated.
(C) A plain language explanation of the contract provisions
regulating the disposition or transfer of the interest.
(D) A plain language explanation of the costs and benefits to the
potential participant based on their current usage and applicable
tariff, for the term of the proposed contract.
(3) Not more frequently than once per month, and upon providing
the electrical corporation with a minimum of 30 days’ notice, the
participant organization may change, add, or remove a benefiting
account. If the owner of a benefiting account transfers service to a
new address or benefiting account, the electrical corporation shall
transfer any credit remaining from the previous account to the new
account.
(4) A participant organization shall be responsible for providing
to the electrical corporation, on a monthly basis, a statement of the
percentage shares to be used to determine the bill credit to each
benefiting account and the names and account numbers of those
participants who’s facility rate is to be changed from the RPS
solicitation method to the added value method. If there has been no
change in the allocations from the previous submission or in the
method of calculating the facility rate of participants, the
participant organization is not required to submit a new statement.
(5) The participant organization shall provide real-time meter
data to the electrical corporation and shall make the data available
to a participant upon request. A participant organization shall be
responsible for all costs of metering and shall retain production
data for a period of 36 months.
(6) A participant organization shall provide not less than 120
days’ notice to the electrical corporation and the commission prior
to the date the community renewable energy facility becomes
operational.
(7) The participant organization shall establish an account and
register the community renewable energy facility with the Western
Renewable Energy Generation Information System or its successor.
(8) The participant organization shall be responsible for all
costs of interconnection at either the distribution or transmission
level of the electrical grid.
(d) (1) An electrical corporation shall ensure that requests for
establishment of bill credits and changes to benefiting accounts are
processed in a time period not to exceed 30 days from the date it
receives the request.
(2) An electrical corporation shall cooperate fully with community
renewable energy facilities to implement this chapter.
(3) An electrical corporation shall comply with the requirements
applicable to protection of the right to commercial free speech
described in Commission Decision 10-05-050 as applied to the
development, sale of subscriptions, and operation of community
renewable energy facilities. Community renewable energy facilities
may file a complaint with the commission for violation of this
paragraph.
(4) For capacity that is unallocated to a benefitting account
during the previous billing period, the recipient electrical
corporation shall pay the facility operator the current default load
aggregation point.
(f)
(e) The following billing process
shall be used when billing and creating a benefiting
account:
(1) The subscriber shall be billed and is responsible for paying
all charges of the subscriber’s otherwise applicable tariff,
including any cost-responsibility surcharge or other cost recovery
mechanism, as determined by the commission, to reimburse the
Department of Water Resources for purchases of electricity pursuant
to Division 27 (commencing with Section 80000) of the Water Code.
Community facilities shall not be subject to any other departing load
charge.
(2) Each month the subscriber organization shall determine the
allocated credits, in kilowatthours, that shall be applied to a
subscriber’s benefiting account and provide that information to the
electrical corporation.
(3) The electrical corporation shall subtract the kilowatthours of
the allocated credit from the subscriber’s metered usage to
determine the bill credit to be applied to the subscriber’s bill. The
electrical corporation’s charges shall apply to the kilowatthour
difference based upon the subscriber’s otherwise applicable tariff.
Nongeneration charges shall additionally be applied to the allocated
credit, except that for community facilities that are interconnected
at the distribution level, the transmission component of the
subscriber’s otherwise applicable tariff shall not be applied to the
allocated credits. The bill may reflect either a charge or a credit.
(4) For a subscriber with an otherwise applicable tariff with
tiered rates, the subscriber organization shall first subtract
allocated credits from the highest tier of usage, and upon exhaustion
of that tier of usage, to the next highest tier, until all of the
allocated credit has been subtracted.
(5) For a subscriber with an otherwise applicable tariff with
time-of-use rates, the subscriber organization shall subtract
allocated credits for each time-of-use period from the energy usage
for that same time-of-use period.
(6) A subscriber shall pay their bill, if charges are owed, on a
monthly basis. Bill credits, if any, shall be carried over to the
following billing period.
(g) A subscriber organization shall provide not less than 120 days’
notice to the electrical corporation prior to the date the community
facility becomes operational.
(h) An electrical corporation shall ensure that requests for
establishment of bill credits and changes to benefiting accounts are
processed in a time period not to exceed 30 days from the date it
receives the request.
(i) If a subscriber sells or cancels its interest in, or contract
with the owner or operator of, the community facility, or sells the
electricity generated by the community facility in a manner that is
not authorized by this section, upon the date of that event, no
further bill credit may be earned pursuant to this section, and only
credit earned prior to that date may be assigned by the subscriber
organization to a new benefiting account.
(j) In lieu of departing load charges and charges for applying the
bill credits and to ensure that no costs are shifted from
subscribers to nonparticipating retail customers, the electrical
corporation shall own the renewable energy credits generated by a
community facility and the electricity generated by community
facilities shall be taken into account when determining if the
electrical corporation has met its renewables portfolio standard
procurement requirements pursuant to Article 16 (commencing with
Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1.
(k) This section does not require an electrical corporation to
purchase electricity from a community facility.
(l) (1) A community facility may elect to provide electricity only
or electricity and capacity. An electrical corporation shall ensure
that a request for a distribution level interconnection agreement
from a community facility is processed in a time period not to exceed
90 working days from the date the electrical corporation receives a
completed application for interconnection.
(2) All costs associated with interconnection are the
responsibility of the owner or operator of the community facility.
The community facility shall apply for transmission level
interconnections through the Independent System Operator’s generation
interconnection process.
(m) An electrical utility shall cooperate fully with community
facilities to implement this section.
(n) An electrical utility shall comply with the requirements
applicable to commercial speech described in Public Utilities
Commission Decision 10-05-050 as applied to the development, sale of
subscriptions, and operation of community facilities. Community
facilities may file a complaint with the commission for violation of
this subdivision.
(1) An electrical corporation shall bill a benefiting account for
all electricity usage, and for each applicable bill component,
including but not limited to transmission and distribution charges,
at the rate schedule applicable to the benefiting account, including
any cost-responsibility surcharge or other cost recovery mechanism,
as determined by the commission, to reimburse the Department of Water
Resources for purchases of electricity pursuant to Division 27
(commencing with Section 80000) of the Water Code. Participants shall
not be subject to any departing load charge.
(2) An electrical corporation shall subtract the bill credit
applicable to the benefiting account. The electrical corporation
shall ensure that the subscriber receives the full bill credit to
which it is entitled. The information and line items on a participant’
s bill statement will be unchanged, except one or more entries
detailing the bill credit shall be added to a participant’s bill.
(3) If, at the end of each billing cycle, the total otherwise
applicable bill exceeds the bill credit, the benefiting account shall
be billed for the difference.
(4) If, at the end of a billing cycle, the bill credit exceeds the
total amount billed to the account, the difference shall be carried
forward as a dollar credit to the next billing cycle.
(f) Unless specifically provided otherwise in the contract between
the participant organization and the participant, any renewable
energy credits associated with an interest shall be retired by the
participant organization on behalf of the participant. Renewable
energy credits generated at a facility owned by an electrical
corporation shall be counted toward that electrical corporation’s
renewables portfolio standard. For purposes of this subdivision,
“renewable energy credit” and “renewables portfolio standard” have
the same meanings as defined in Section 399.12.
(g) In calculating its procurement requirements to meet the
requirements of the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program
(Article 16 (commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part
1), an electrical corporation may exclude from total retail sales the
kilowatthours generated by a community renewable energy facility.
(h) A community renewable energy facility that is interconnected
at the distribution level shall be treated as being deliverable to
load for the purposes of Section 380. The generating capacity of a
community renewable energy facility shall be counted toward meeting
the resource adequacy requirements adopted by the commission pursuant
to Section 380.
SEC. 6. SEC. 7. 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.
