Bill Text: CA SB1367 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Renewable energy: 20% procurement attainment date.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-04-20 - Hearing canceled at the request of author. [SB1367 Detail]

Download: California-2009-SB1367-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 1367	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Wyland

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2010

   An act to amend Section 25740 of the Public Resources Code, and to
amend Sections 399.11 and 399.15 of the Public Utilities Code,
relating to renewable energy.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1367, as introduced, Wyland. Renewable energy: 20% procurement
attainment date.
   Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations,
as defined. The California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program
requires, among other things, the Public Utilities Commission to
implement annual procurement targets for each retail seller, which is
defined to include these electrical corporations but does not
include local publicly owned electrical utilities, to increase its
total procurement of electricity generated by eligible renewable
energy resources by at least an additional 1% of retail sales per
year so that 20% of its retail sales of electricity are procured from
eligible renewable energy resources by no later than December 31,
2010.
   This bill would extend the target date for a retail seller to
procure 20% of its retail sales from eligible renewable energy
resources from December 31, 2010, to December 31, 2020.
   The existing Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation
and Development Act establishes the State Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission). Existing
law establishes the Renewable Resource Trust Fund in the State
Treasury as a fund that is continuously appropriated, with certain
exceptions for administrative expenses requires that certain moneys
collected to support renewable energy resources through the public
goods charge are deposited into the fund, and authorizes the Energy
Commission to expend the moneys pursuant to the Renewable Energy
Resources Program. The program states the intent of the Legislature
to increase the amount of electricity generated from eligible
renewable energy resources per year so that amount equals at least
20% of total retail sales of electricity in California per year by
December 31, 2010.
   The bill would similarly extend the attainment goal date, under
the Renewable Energy Resources Program, for at least 20% of total
retail sales of electricity to be generated from eligible renewable
energy resources per year from December 31, 2010, to December 31,
2020.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 25740 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:
   25740.  It is the intent of the Legislature in establishing this
program, to increase the amount of electricity generated from
eligible renewable energy resources per year, so that it equals at
least 20 percent of total retail sales of electricity in California
per year by December 31,  2010   2020  .
  SEC. 2.  Section 399.11 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   399.11.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (a) In order to attain a target of generating 20 percent of total
retail sales of electricity in California from eligible renewable
energy resources by December 31,  2010   2020
 , and for the purposes of increasing the diversity,
reliability, public health and environmental benefits of the energy
mix, it is the intent of the Legislature that the commission and the
State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission
implement the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program
described in this article.
   (b) Increasing California's reliance on eligible renewable energy
resources may promote stable electricity prices, protect public
health, improve environmental quality, stimulate sustainable economic
development, create new employment opportunities, and reduce
reliance on imported fuels.
   (c) The development of eligible renewable energy resources and the
delivery of the electricity generated by those resources to
customers in California may ameliorate air quality problems
throughout the state and improve public health by reducing the
burning of fossil fuels and the associated environmental impacts and
by reducing in-state fossil fuel consumption.
   (d) The California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program is
intended to complement the Renewable Energy Resources Program
administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission and established pursuant to Chapter 8.6
(commencing with Section 25740) of Division 15 of the Public
Resources Code.
   (e) New and modified electric transmission facilities may be
necessary to facilitate the state achieving its renewables portfolio
standard targets.
  SEC. 3.  Section 399.15 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   399.15.  (a) In order to fulfill unmet long-term resource needs,
the commission shall establish a renewables portfolio standard
requiring all electrical corporations to procure a minimum quantity
of electricity generated by eligible renewable energy resources as a
specified percentage of total kilowatthours sold to their retail
end-use customers each calendar year, subject to limits on the total
amount of costs expended above the market prices determined in
subdivision (c), to achieve the targets established under this
article.
   (b) The commission shall implement annual procurement targets for
each retail seller as follows:
   (1) Each retail seller shall, pursuant to subdivision (a),
increase its total procurement of eligible renewable energy resources
by at least an additional 1 percent of retail sales per year so that
20 percent of its retail sales are procured from eligible renewable
energy resources no later than December 31,  2010 
 2020  . A retail seller with 20 percent of retail sales
procured from eligible renewable energy resources in any year shall
not be required to increase its procurement of renewable energy
resources in the following year.
   (2) For purposes of setting annual procurement targets, the
commission shall establish an initial baseline for each retail seller
based on the actual percentage of retail sales procured from
eligible renewable energy resources in 2001, and to the extent
applicable, adjusted going forward pursuant to Section 399.12.
   (3) Only for purposes of establishing these targets, the
commission shall include all electricity sold to retail customers by
the Department of Water Resources pursuant to Section 80100 of the
Water Code in the calculation of retail sales by an electrical
corporation.
   (4) In the event that a retail seller fails to procure sufficient
eligible renewable energy resources in a given year to meet any
annual target established pursuant to this subdivision, the retail
seller shall procure additional eligible renewable energy resources
in subsequent years to compensate for the shortfall, subject to the
limitation on costs for electrical corporations established pursuant
to subdivision (d).
   (c) The commission shall establish a methodology to determine the
market price of electricity for terms corresponding to the length of
contracts with eligible renewable energy resources, in consideration
of the following:
   (1) The long-term market price of electricity for fixed price
contracts, determined pursuant to an electrical corporation's general
procurement activities as authorized by the commission.
   (2) The long-term ownership, operating, and fixed-price fuel costs
associated with fixed-price electricity from new generating
facilities.
   (3) The value of different products including baseload, peaking,
and as-available electricity.
   (d) The commission shall establish, for each electrical
corporation, a limitation on the total costs expended above the
market prices determined in subdivision (c) for the procurement of
eligible renewable energy resources to achieve the annual procurement
targets established under this article.
   (1) The cost limitation shall be equal to the amount of funds
transferred to each electrical corporation by the Energy Commission
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 25743 of the Public Resources
Code and the 51.5 percent of the funds which would have been
collected through January 1, 2012, from the customers of the
electrical corporation based on the renewable energy public goods
charge in effect as of January 1, 2007.
   (2) The above-market costs of a contract selected by an electrical
corporation may be counted toward the cost limitation if all of the
following conditions are satisfied:
   (A) The contract has been approved by the commission and was
selected through a competitive solicitation pursuant to the
requirements of subdivision (d) of Section 399.14.
   (B) The contract covers a duration of no less than 10 years.
   (C) The contracted project is a new or repowered facility
commencing commercial operations on or after January 1, 2005.
   (D) No purchases of renewable energy credits may be eligible for
consideration as an above-market cost.
   (E) The above-market costs of a contract do not include any
indirect expenses including imbalance energy charges, sale of excess
energy, decreased generation from existing resources, or transmission
upgrades.
   (3) If the cost limitation for an electrical corporation is
insufficient to support the total costs expended above the market
prices determined in subdivision (c) for the procurement of eligible
renewable energy resources satisfying the conditions of paragraph
(2), the commission shall allow the electrical corporation to limit
its procurement to the quantity of eligible renewable energy
resources that can be procured at or below the market prices
established in subdivision (c).
   (4) Nothing in this section prevents an electrical corporation
from voluntarily proposing to procure eligible renewable energy
resources at above-market prices that are not counted toward the cost
limitation. Any voluntary procurement involving above-market costs
shall be subject to commission approval prior to the expense being
recovered in rates.
   (e) The establishment of a renewables portfolio standard shall not
constitute implementation by the commission of the federal Public
Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-617).
   (f) The commission shall consult with the Energy Commission in
calculating market prices under subdivision (c) and establishing
other renewables portfolio standard policies.
                      
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