Bill Text: CA AB162 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Disclosure of sources of electrical generation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2009-10-11 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 313, Statutes of 2009. [AB162 Detail]
Download: California-2009-AB162-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 162 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 313
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 11, 2009
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 11, 2009
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 24, 2009
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 27, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 9, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 1, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 16, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ruskin
JANUARY 27, 2009
An act to amend Sections 398.2, 398.4, and 398.5 of the Public
Utilities Code, relating to electrical suppliers.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 162, Ruskin. Disclosure of sources of electrical generation.
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has
regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical
corporations.
Existing law establishes a program under which retail suppliers of
electricity disclose accurate, reliable, and simple to understand
information on the sources of energy that are used to provide
electric services.
This bill would define the term "unspecified sources of power"
for purposes of the above-described disclosure requirements to mean
electricity generated that is not traceable to specific generation
sources by any auditable contract trail or equivalent that provides
commercial verification that the electricity source claimed has been
sold once, and only once, to a retail consumer. The bill would
additionally define the term "retail supplier." The bill would also
enumerate specific fuel types and energy sources that are required to
be disclosed by the retail supplier as a percentage of annual sales.
Further, this bill would change reporting requirements from
quarterly to annually and amend other details regarding disclosures
and eliminate certain reporting requirements.
(2) Under existing law, the governing board of a local publicly
owned electric utility, as defined, is responsible for implementing
and enforcing a renewables portfolio standard for the utility 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 requires the governing board
of a local publicly owned electric utility to report certain
information relative to renewable energy resources to its customers.
This bill would provide that compliance by a local publicly owned
electric utility with the program under which retail suppliers of
electricity disclose accurate, reliable, and simple to understand
information on the sources of energy that are used to provide
electric service, is compliance with the renewables portfolio
standard reporting requirements.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 398.2 of the Public Utilities Code is amended
to read:
398.2. The definitions set forth in this section shall govern the
construction of this article.
(a) "Retail supplier" means an entity that offers an electricity
product for sale to retail consumers in California.
(b) "System operator" means the Independent System Operator with
responsibility for the efficient use and reliable operation of the
transmission grid, as provided by Section 345, or a local publicly
owned electric utility that does not utilize the Independent System
Operator.
(c) "Specific purchases" means electricity transactions which are
traceable to specific generation sources by any auditable contract
trail or equivalent, such as a tradable commodity system, that
provides commercial verification that the electricity source claimed
has been sold once and only once to a retail consumer. Retail
suppliers may rely on annual data to meet this requirement, rather
than hour-by-hour matching of loads and resources.
(d) "Unspecified sources of power" means electricity that is not
traceable to specific generation sources by any auditable contract
trail or equivalent, including a tradable commodity system, that
provides commercial verification that the electricity source claimed
has been sold once, and only once, to a retail consumer.
SEC. 2. Section 398.4 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
398.4. (a) Every retail supplier that makes an offering to sell
electricity that is consumed in California shall disclose its
electricity sources for the previous calendar year.
(b) The disclosures required by this section shall be made to
potential end-use consumers in all product-specific written
promotional materials that are distributed to consumers by either
printed or electronic means, including the retail supplier's Internet
Web site, if one exists, except that advertisements and notices in
general circulation media shall not be subject to this requirement.
(c) The disclosures required by this section shall be made
annually to end-use consumers of the offered electricity. The annual
disclosure shall be made by the end of the first complete billing
cycle for the third quarter of the year, and shall be consistent with
information provided to the Energy Commission pursuant to Section
398.5.
(d) The disclosures required by this section shall be made
separately for each offering made by the retail supplier.
(e) On or before January 1, 1998, the Energy Commission shall
specify guidelines for the format and means for disclosure required
by Section 398.3 and this section, based on the requirements of this
article and subject to public hearing.
(f) The costs of making the disclosures required by this section
shall be considered to be generation related.
(g) The disclosures required by this section shall comply with the
following:
(1) A retail supplier's disclosure of its electricity sources
shall be expressed as a percentage of annual sales derived from each
of the following categories:
(A) Unspecified sources of electricity.
(B) Specific purchases.
(2) A retail supplier's disclosure of its electricity sources
shall also separately identify total California system electricity,
which is the sum of all in-state generation and net electricity
imports by fuel type.
(h) Each of the categories specified in subdivision (g) shall be
additionally identified as a percentage of annual sales that is
derived from the following fuels or sources of energy:
(1) Coal.
(2) Large hydroelectric (greater than 30 megawatts).
(3) Natural gas.
(4) Nuclear.
(5) Eligible renewable energy resources pursuant to the California
Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (Article 16 (commencing with
Section 399.11)), including any of the following:
(A) Biomass and biowaste.
(B) Geothermal.
(C) Eligible hydroelectric.
(D) Solar.
(E) Wind.
(6) Other categories as determined by the Energy Commission.
(i) All electricity sources disclosed as specific purchases shall
meet the requirements of subdivision (c) of Section 398.2.
(j) Specific purchases identified pursuant to this section shall
be from sources connected to the Western Electricity Coordinating
Council interconnected grid.
(k) Compliance with this section by a local publicly owned
electric utility shall constitute compliance with paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b) of Section 387.
(l) The provisions of this section shall not apply to generators
providing electric service onsite, under an over-the-fence
transaction as described in Section 218, or to an affiliate or
affiliates, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 372.
SEC. 3. Section 398.5 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
398.5. (a) Retail suppliers that disclose specific purchases
pursuant to Section 398.4 shall report on June 1, 2009, and annually
thereafter, to the Energy Commission, for each electricity offering
for the previous calendar year, each of the following:
(1) The kilowatthours purchased, by generator and fuel type during
the previous calendar year, consistent with the meter data,
including losses, reported to the system operator.
(2) For each electricity offering the kilowatthours sold at
retail.
(3) For each electricity offering the disclosures made to
consumers pursuant to Section 398.4.
(b) Information submitted to the Energy Commission pursuant to
this section that is a trade secret as defined in subdivision (d) of
Section 3426.1 of the Civil Code shall not be released except in an
aggregated form such that trade secrets cannot be discerned.
(c) On or before January 1, 1998, the Energy Commission shall
specify guidelines and standard formats, based on the requirements of
this article and subject to public hearing, for the submittal of
information pursuant to this article.
(d) In developing the rules and procedures specified in this
section, the Energy Commission shall seek to minimize the reporting
burden and cost of reporting that it imposes on retail suppliers.
(e) The provisions of this section shall not apply to generators
providing electric service onsite, under an over-the-fence
transaction as described in Section 218, or to an affiliate or
affiliates, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 372.
(f) The Energy Commission may verify the veracity of environmental
claims made by retail suppliers.
