Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission, on or before December 31, 2018, and biennially thereafter, as part of a specified report, to identify and report to the Legislature on electrical and gas corporation ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs that are similar to programs administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, the State Air Resources Board, and the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority. This bill would instead require the commission to identify and report to the Legislature on those programs on an annual basis.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory jurisdiction over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations. Existing law prohibits an electrical or gas corporation from disconnecting service for nonpayment by a residential customer receiving a medical baseline allowance, financially unable to pay for service within the normal payment period, willing to enter into an amortization agreement with the corporation with respect to all charges that the customer is unable to pay, and meets certain other requirements. This bill would prohibit an electrical or gas corporation from disconnecting service of a customer for 3 months, if the customer meets certain requirements, as provided. The bill would require the corporation to grant that customer a 3-month deferment for any and all payments due from the date that the deferment is granted. Upon the expiration of the deferment period, the bill would require the customer to enroll in the electrical or gas corporation's arrearage management program or be enrolled in an available payment plan for which the customer is eligible, if the customer is not eligible for the arrearage management plan, for any and all debts on the customer's account. The bill would prohibit a customer who participates in the payment deferral from being eligible for a subsequent 3-month payment deferral within 18 months of their participation in the payment deferral. The bill would authorize the commission to adopt rules to implement these provisions. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act, a violation of which, or a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission implementing those provisions, would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. 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. This bill would prohibit an electrical corporation from proposing a rate increase above the rate of inflation, as defined, as a systemwide average for any general rate case cycle, except the bill would expressly authorize the commission to approve a rate increase above the rate of inflation if the commission determines that the costs underlying the rate increase are directly related to safety enhancements and modernization or to higher commodity or fuel costs. 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 above prohibition would be a part of the act, and because a violation of a commission action implementing the above prohibition would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. 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. This bill would require the commission to generate a report outlining recommendations to decrease the kilowatt-per-hour rate for electricity charged to ratepayers by not less than 30% by January 1, 2027. The bill would require the commission, in making those reduction recommendations, to take certain actions, as specified.
Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to evaluate each customer renewable energy subscription program to determine if the program meets certain goals and determine whether it would be beneficial to ratepayers to establish a new tariff or program or modify an existing tariff or program to establish a community renewable energy program consistent with certain requirements, including a requirement that the program provides bill credits to subscribers based on the avoided costs of the program's facilities, as provided. Pursuant to this requirement, the PUC has adopted a community renewable energy program. This bill would revise and recast the requirements for the customer renewable energy subscription program to, among other things, specify that the avoided costs include certain avoided cost values. The bill would impose additional requirements that the program is required to meet, including requiring facilities participating in the program to have no more than 5 megawatts of generation capacity and no more than 5 megawatts of storage, and capping the total program capacity at 5 gigawatts or ending program subscription after 7 years, when either limit is first reached. The bill would require the PUC, on or before September 1, 2026, to adopt or modify the community renewable energy program to ensure consistency with certain requirements, as provided. The bill would require each community choice aggregator and electric service provider, within 180 days of the adoption or modification of the program, to notify the PUC regarding whether it will participate in the program. The bill would authorize a community choice aggregator or electric service provider to begin participating in, or end its participation in, the program at any time by notifying the PUC. The bill would require the PUC, beginning 2 years from the adoption or modification of the program, to evaluate the program to ensure consistency with the program's requirements and would require the PUC to authorize the termination or modification of the program if the PUC determines that the program does not meet those requirements. The bill would require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to evaluate community solar and storage projects as a load-modifying resource so that those projects may be counted as a load-modifying resource. The bill would require the Energy Commission to undertake the evaluation and issue a determination on or before September 1, 2026, as provided. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime. Because the above provisions would be part of the act and a violation of a PUC action implementing this bill's requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires electrical corporations to submit information to the commission for various purposes, as provided. This bill would require the commission, on or before December 31, 2026, to produce a report identifying opportunities and needs to provide for local and system reliability with firm zero-carbon resources over the short term, midterm, and long term, as provided. The bill would require the report to include, among other things, characterization of the resource attributes vital for local and system reliability and identification of barriers, including market barriers, to deploying firm zero-carbon resources to enhance local and system reliability. 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 this bill would be a part of the act and because a violation of a commission action implementing those provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms in regulating those emissions. The implementing regulations adopted by the state board provide for the direct allocation of greenhouse gas allowances to electrical corporations and gas corporations pursuant to a market-based compliance mechanism. Existing law, except as provided, requires revenues received by an electrical corporation as a result of the direct allocation of greenhouse gas allowances to electrical distribution utilities to be credited directly to residential, small business, and emissions-intensive trade-exposed retail customers of the electrical corporation, commonly known as the electric California Climate Credit. Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory jurisdiction over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations. Under its regulatory authority, the commission requires, except as provided, revenues received by a gas corporation as a result of the direct allowance of greenhouse gas allowances to natural gas suppliers to be credited directly to residential customers of the gas corporation, commonly known as the natural gas California Climate Credit. This bill would require that the electric California Climate Credit be provided to the residential and small business retail customers of electrical corporations on the bills of those customers for the months of August and September of each year, and to the emissions-intensive trade-exposed retail customers of electrical corporations on the bills of those customers for the month of August of each year, unless otherwise directed by the commission, as specified. The bill would require that the natural gas California Climate Credit be provided to residential customers on the bills of those customers for the month of February of each year unless otherwise directed by the commission, as specified. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the above provisions would be part of the act and a violation of a commission action implementing this bill's requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires all charges demanded or received by a public utility for a product or commodity furnished or to be furnished or a service rendered or to be rendered to be just and reasonable. Existing law, except as provided, prohibits a public utility from changing a rate unless there is a showing before the PUC and a finding by the PUC that the new rate is justified. Existing law requires the PUC to publish and maintain on its internet website particular documents regarding the PUC's agendas, actions, decisions, resolutions, rules, and other information. This bill would prohibit the PUC from placing the consideration of a decision in a ratesetting proceeding that would result in an increase in rates to customers of an electrical corporation that has a revenue requirement that exceeds $1,000,000,000 on its consent agenda. The bill would, except as provided, require the PUC to provide, at a meeting to vote on a decision of a ratesetting proceeding that increases the rates of an electrical corporation's customers by more than 5%, before its vote on the decision, a public comment period of at least 30 minutes on the decision. Under existing law, the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program requires retail sellers and local publicly owned electric utilities to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources during certain compliance periods up to December 31, 2030. Existing law provides that a local publicly owned electric utility is not required to procure a certain amount of eligible renewable energy resources if, during a year within those compliance periods, the local publicly owned electric utility receives more than 40% of its retail sales from large hydroelectric generation under an ownership agreement or contract in effect as of January 1, 2018. Existing law authorizes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to establish appropriate multiyear compliance periods for local publicly owned electric utilities beyond December 31, 2030. This bill would provide that the provision related to the procurement of eligible renewable energy resources by local publicly owned electric utilities also applies to the compliance periods established by the Energy Commission.
