BILL NUMBER: AB 1144 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Rendon
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
An act to amend Section 399.16 of the Public Utilities Code,
relating to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1144, as amended, Rendon. California Renewables Portfolio
Standard Program: unbundled renewable energy credits.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations.
The existing definition of an electrical corporation excludes from
that definition a corporation or person employing landfill gas
technology or digester gas technology for the generation of
electricity for (1) its own use or the use of not more than 2 of its
tenants located on the real property on which the electricity is
generated, (2) the use of or sale to not more than 2 other
corporations or persons solely for use on the real property on which
the electricity is generated, or (3) the 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.
The California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program requires the
Public Utilities Commission to establish a renewables portfolio
standard requiring all retail sellers, as defined, to procure a
minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable
energy resources, as defined, at specified percentages of the total
kilowatthours sold to their retail end-customers during specified
compliance periods. The program additionally requires each local
publicly owned electric utility, as defined, to procure a minimum
quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy
resources to achieve the targets established by the program. The
program, consistent with the goals of procuring the least-cost and
best-fit eligible renewable energy resources that meet project
viability principles, requires that all retail sellers procure a
balanced portfolio of electricity products from eligible renewable
energy resources, as specified, referred to as the portfolio content
requirements.
This bill would provide that unbundled renewable energy credits
may be used to meet the first category of the portfolio content
requirements if (1) the credits are earned by electricity that is
generated by an entity that, if it were a person or corporation,
would be excluded from the definition of an electrical corporation by
operation of the exclusions for a corporation or person employing
landfill gas technology or digester gas technology, (2) the entity
employing the landfill gas technology or digester gas technology has
a first point of interconnection with a California balancing
authority, a first point of interconnection with distribution
facilities used to serve end users within a California balancing
authority area, or are scheduled from the eligible renewable energy
resource into a California balancing authority without substituting
electricity from another source, and (3) where the electricity
generated that earned the credit is used at a wastewater
treatment facility that is owned by a public
entity. entity and first put into service on
or after January 1, 2016.
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 399.16 of the Public Utilities Code is amended
to read:
399.16. (a) Various electricity products from eligible renewable
energy resources located within the WECC transmission network service
area shall be eligible to comply with the renewables portfolio
standard procurement requirements in Section 399.15. These
electricity products may be differentiated by their impacts on the
operation of the grid in supplying electricity, as well as, meeting
the requirements of this article.
(b) Consistent with the goals of procuring the least-cost and
best-fit electricity products from eligible renewable energy
resources that meet project viability principles adopted by the
commission pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section
399.13 and that provide the benefits set forth in Section 399.11, a
balanced portfolio of eligible renewable energy resources shall be
procured consisting of the following portfolio content categories:
(1) Eligible renewable energy resource electricity products that
meet any of the following criteria:
(A) Have a first point of interconnection with a California
balancing authority, have a first point of interconnection with
distribution facilities used to serve end users within a California
balancing authority area, or are scheduled from the eligible
renewable energy resource into a California balancing authority
without substituting electricity from another source. The use of
another source to provide real-time ancillary services required to
maintain an hourly or subhourly import schedule into a California
balancing authority shall be permitted, but only the fraction of the
schedule actually generated by the eligible renewable energy resource
shall count toward this portfolio content category.
(B) Have an agreement to dynamically transfer electricity to a
California balancing authority.
(C) Unbundled renewable energy credits that are earned by
electricity that is generated by an entity that, if it were a person
or corporation, would be excluded from the definition of an
electrical corporation by operation of subdivision (c) or (d) of
Section 218, that meets the criteria of subparagraph (A), and where
the electricity generated that earned the credit is used at a
wastewater treatment facility that is owned by a
public entity. entity and first put into
service on or after January 1, 2016.
(2) Firmed and shaped eligible renewable energy resource
electricity products providing incremental electricity and scheduled
into a California balancing authority.
(3) Eligible renewable energy resource electricity products, or
any fraction of the electricity generated, including unbundled
renewable energy credits, that do not qualify under the criteria of
paragraph (1) or (2).
(c) In order to achieve a balanced portfolio, all retail sellers
shall meet the following requirements for all procurement credited
toward each compliance period:
(1) Not less than 50 percent for the compliance period ending
December 31, 2013, 65 percent for the compliance period ending
December 31, 2016, and 75 percent thereafter of the eligible
renewable energy resource electricity products associated with
contracts executed after June 1, 2010, shall meet the product content
requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b).
(2) Not more than 25 percent for the compliance period ending
December 31, 2013, 15 percent for the compliance period ending
December 31, 2016, and 10 percent thereafter of the eligible
renewable energy resource electricity products associated with
contracts executed after June 1, 2010, shall meet the product content
requirements of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b).
(3) Any renewable energy resources contracts executed on or after
June 1, 2010, not subject to the limitations of paragraph (1) or (2),
shall meet the product content requirements of paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b).
(4) For purposes of electric service providers only, the
restrictions in this subdivision on crediting eligible renewable
energy resource electricity products to each compliance period shall
apply to contracts executed after January 13, 2011.
(d) Any contract or ownership agreement originally executed prior
to June 1, 2010, shall count in full toward the procurement
requirements established pursuant to this article, if all of the
following conditions are met:
(1) The renewable energy resource was eligible under the rules in
place as of the date when the contract was executed.
(2) For an electrical corporation, the contract has been approved
by the commission, even if that approval occurs after June 1, 2010.
(3) Any contract amendments or modifications occurring after June
1, 2010, do not increase the nameplate capacity or expected
quantities of annual generation, or substitute a different renewable
energy resource. The duration of the contract may be extended if the
original contract specified a procurement commitment of 15 or more
years.
(e) A retail seller may apply to the commission for a reduction of
a procurement content requirement of subdivision (c). The commission
may reduce a procurement content requirement of subdivision (c) to
the extent the retail seller demonstrates that it cannot comply with
that subdivision because of conditions beyond the control of the
retail seller as provided in paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of
Section 399.15. The commission shall not, under any circumstance,
reduce the obligation specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c)
below 65 percent for any compliance obligation after December 31,
2016.