LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 920, as amended, Huffman. Solar and wind distributed
generation.
The existing Public Utilities Act imposes various duties and
responsibilities on the Public Utilities Commission with respect to
the purchase of electricity and requires the commission to review and
adopt a procurement plan and a renewable energy procurement plan for
each electrical corporation pursuant to the California Renewables
Portfolio Standard Program. The program requires that a retail seller
of electricity, including electrical corporations, community choice
aggregators, and electric service providers, but not including local
publicly owned electric utilities, purchase a specified minimum
percentage of electricity generated by eligible renewable energy
resources, as defined, in any given year as a specified percentage of
total kilowatthours sold to retail end-use customers each calendar
year. Under existing law the governing board of a local publicly
owned electric utility is responsible for implementing and enforcing
a renewables portfolio standard that recognizes the intent of the
Legislature to encourage renewable resources, while taking into
consideration the effect of the standard on rates, reliability, and
financial resources and the goal of environmental improvement.
Existing law relative to private energy producers requires every
electric distribution utility or cooperative, as defined, upon
request, to make available to an eligible customer-generator, as
defined, a standard contract or tariff for net energy metering on a
first-come-first-served basis until the time that the total rated
generating capacity used by eligible customer-generators exceeds a
specified amount. Existing law provides that where the electricity
generated by the eligible customer-generator exceeds the electricity
supplied by the electric distribution utility or cooperative during a
12-month period, the eligible customer-generator is a net
electricity producer and the electric distribution utility or
cooperative retains any excess kilowatthours generated and the
customer-generator is not owed compensation for those excess
kilowatthours unless the electric distribution utility or cooperative
enters into a purchase agreement with the eligible
customer-generator for those excess kilowatthours.
This bill would replace the definition of "electric distribution
utility or cooperative" in existing law relative to private energy
producers with a definition of "electric utility." The bill would
require the ratemaking authority, as defined, for the electric
utility to adopt, by January 1, 2011, a net surplus electricity
compensation valuation to compensate a net surplus
customer-generator, as defined, for the value of net surplus
electricity, as defined, generated by an eligible customer-generator
and delivered to the grid that is in excess of the amount of
electricity that is delivered from the grid to the eligible
customer-generator. The bill would require the electric utility to
offer a standard contract or tariff to eligible customer-generators
that includes compensation for the value of net surplus electricity.
The bill would require the electric utility, upon an affirmative
election by the eligible customer-generator to receive service
pursuant to this contract or tariff, to either: (1) provide net
surplus electricity compensation for any net surplus electricity
generated in the 12-month period, or (2) allow the eligible
customer-generator to apply the net surplus electricity as a credit
for kilowatthours subsequently supplied by the electric utility to
the surplus customer-generator. The bill would, for an electric
utility that is an electrical corporation or electrical cooperative,
authorize the commission to adopt requirements for providing notice
and the manner by which eligible customer-generators may elect to
receive net surplus electricity compensation. The bill would provide
that upon adoption of the net surplus electricity compensation rate
and the eligible customer-generator electing to receive net surplus
electricity compensation, any renewable energy credit, as defined,
for net surplus electricity belongs to the electric utility
purchasing the electricity and that net surplus electricity counts
toward the electric utility's renewables portfolio standard
purchasing requirements. This bill would incorporate additional
changes in Section 2827 of the Public Utilities Code, proposed by AB
560, to be operative only if AB 560 and this bill are chaptered and
become effective on or before January 1, 2010, and this bill is
chaptered last.
Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule,
direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.
Because this bill would require action by the commission to
implement certain of its requirements that expand the existing
obligations of electrical corporations, a violation of these
provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding
the definition of a crime.
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.

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Comments/questions on AB 920 (Huffman): Solar and wind distributed generation.