Today's Law As Amended


Bill PDF |Add To My Favorites | print page

SB-350 Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015.(2015-2016)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.
 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015.
SEC. 2.
 (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the Governor has called for a new set of objectives in clean energy, clean air, and pollution reduction for 2030 and beyond. Those objectives include the following:
(1) To increase from 33 percent to 50 percent, the procurement of our electricity from renewable sources.
(2) To double the energy efficiency savings in electricity and natural gas final end uses of retail customers through energy efficiency and conservation.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to codify the targets described under subdivision (a) to ensure they are permanent, enforceable, and quantifiable.

SEC. 3.

 Section 44258.5 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

44258.5.
 (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms mean the following:
(1) “Local publicly owned electric utility” has the same meaning as defined in Section 224.3 of the Public Utilities Code.
(2) “Retail seller” has the same meaning as set forth in Section 399.12 of the Public Utilities Code.
(3) “Transportation electrification” has the same meaning as set forth in Section 237.5 of the Public Utilities Code.
(b) The state board shall identify and adopt appropriate policies, rules, or regulations to remove regulatory disincentives preventing retail sellers and local publicly owned electric utilities from facilitating the achievement of greenhouse gas emission reductions in other sectors through increased investments in transportation electrification. Policies to be considered shall include, but are not limited to, an allocation of greenhouse gas emissions allowances to retail sellers and local publicly owned electric utilities, or other regulatory mechanisms, to account for increased greenhouse gas emissions in the electric sector from transportation electrification.

SEC. 4.

 Section 1720 of the Labor Code is amended to read:

1720.
 (a) As used in this chapter, “public works” means all of the following: means: 
(1) Construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work done under contract and paid for in whole or in part out of public funds, except work done directly by a any  public utility company pursuant to order of the Public Utilities Commission or other public authority. For purposes of this paragraph, “construction” includes work performed during the design, site assessment, feasibility study, and other  design and  preconstruction phases of construction, including, but not limited to, inspection and land surveying work, regardless of whether any further construction work is conducted,  and work performed during the postconstruction phases of construction, including, but not limited to, all cleanup work at the jobsite. For purposes of this paragraph, “installation” includes, but is not limited to, the assembly and disassembly of freestanding and affixed modular office systems.
(2) Work done for irrigation, utility, reclamation, and improvement districts, and other districts of this type. “Public works” work”  does not include the operation of the irrigation or drainage system of an any  irrigation or reclamation district, except as used in Section 1778 relating to retaining wages.
(3) Street, sewer, or other improvement work done under the direction and supervision or by the authority of an any  officer or public body of the state, or of a any  political subdivision or district thereof, whether the political subdivision or district operates under a freeholder’s charter or not.
(4) The laying of carpet done under a building lease-maintenance contract and paid for out of public funds.
(5) The laying of carpet in a public building done under contract and paid for in whole or in part out of public funds.
(6) Public transportation demonstration projects authorized pursuant to Section 143 of the Streets and Highways Code.
(7) (A) Infrastructure project grants from the California Advanced Services Fund pursuant to Section 281 of the Public Utilities Code.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the Public Utilities Commission is not the awarding body or the body awarding the contract, as defined in Section 1722.
(8) Tree removal work done in the execution of a project under paragraph (1).
(b) For purposes of this section, “paid for in whole or in part out of public funds” means all of the following:
(1) The payment of money or the equivalent of money by the state or political subdivision directly to or on behalf of the public works contractor, subcontractor, or developer.
(2) Performance of construction work by the state or political subdivision in execution of the project.
(3) Transfer by the state or political subdivision of an asset of value for less than fair market price.
(4) Fees, costs, rents, insurance or bond premiums, loans, interest rates, or other obligations that would normally be required in the execution of the contract, that are paid, reduced, charged at less than fair market value, waived, or forgiven by the state or political subdivision.
(5) Money loaned by the state or political subdivision that is to be repaid on a contingent basis.
(6) Credits that are applied by the state or political subdivision against repayment obligations to the state or political subdivision.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), all of the following apply: (b): 
(1) Private residential projects built on private property are not subject to the requirements of  this chapter unless the projects are built pursuant to an agreement with a state agency, a redevelopment agency, a successor agency to a redevelopment agency when acting in that capacity, or a  redevelopment agency, or  local public housing authority.
(2) If the state or a political subdivision requires a private developer to perform construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work on a public work of improvement as a condition of regulatory approval of an otherwise private development project, and the state or political subdivision contributes no more money, or the equivalent of money, to the overall project than is required to perform this public improvement work, and the state or political subdivision maintains no proprietary interest in the overall project, then only the public improvement work shall thereby become subject to this chapter.
(3) (A)  If the state or a political subdivision reimburses a private developer for costs that would normally be borne by the public, or provides directly or indirectly a public subsidy to a private development project that is de minimis in the context of the project, an otherwise private development project shall not thereby become subject to the requirements of  this chapter.
(B) (i) For purposes of subparagraph (A), a public subsidy is de minimis if it is both less than six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000) and less than 2 percent of the total project cost.
(ii) Notwithstanding clause (i), for purposes of subparagraph (A), a public subsidy for a project that consists entirely of single-family dwellings is de minimis if it is less than 2 percent of the total project cost.
(iii) This subparagraph shall not apply to a project that was advertised for bid, or a contract that was awarded, before July 1, 2021.
(4) The construction or rehabilitation of affordable housing units for low- or moderate-income persons pursuant to paragraph (5) or (7) of subdivision (e) of Section 33334.2 of the Health and Safety Code that are paid for solely with moneys from the Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund established pursuant to Section 33334.3 of the Health and Safety Code or that are paid for by a combination of private funds and funds available pursuant to Section 33334.2 or 33334.3 of the Health and Safety Code do not constitute a project that is paid for in whole or in part out of public funds.
(5) Unless otherwise required by a public funding program, the construction or rehabilitation of privately owned residential projects is not subject to the requirements of  this chapter if one or more of the following conditions are met:
(A) The project is a self-help housing project in which no fewer than 500 hours of construction work associated with the homes are to be performed by the home buyers.
(B) The project consists of rehabilitation or expansion work associated with a facility operated on a not-for-profit basis as temporary or transitional housing for homeless persons with a total project cost of less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000).
(C) Assistance is provided to a household as either mortgage assistance, downpayment assistance, or for the rehabilitation of a single-family home.
(D) The project consists of new construction, expansion, or rehabilitation work associated with a facility developed by a nonprofit organization to be operated on a not-for-profit basis to provide emergency or transitional shelter and ancillary services and assistance to homeless adults and children. The nonprofit organization operating the project shall provide, at no profit, not less than 50 percent of the total project cost from nonpublic sources, excluding real property that is transferred or leased. Total project cost includes the value of donated labor, materials, architectural,  and architectural and  engineering services.
(E) The public participation in the project that would otherwise meet the criteria of subdivision (b) is public funding in the form of below-market interest rate loans for a project in which occupancy of at least 40 percent of the units is restricted for at least 20 years, by deed or regulatory agreement, to individuals or families earning no more than 80 percent of the area median income.
(d) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, the following projects are shall  not, solely by reason of this section, be  subject to the requirements of  this chapter:
(1) Qualified residential rental projects, as defined by Section 142(d) of the Internal Revenue Code, financed in whole or in part through the issuance of bonds that receive allocation of a portion of the state ceiling pursuant to Chapter 11.8 (commencing with Section 8869.80) of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code on or before December 31, 2003.
(2) Single-family residential projects financed in whole or in part through the issuance of qualified mortgage revenue bonds or qualified veterans’ mortgage bonds, as defined by Section 143 of the Internal Revenue Code, or with mortgage credit certificates under a Qualified Mortgage Credit Certificate Program, as defined by Section 25 of the Internal Revenue Code, that receive allocation of a portion of the state ceiling pursuant to Chapter 11.8 (commencing with Section 8869.80) of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code on or before December 31, 2003.
(3) Low-income housing projects that are allocated federal or state low-income housing tax credits pursuant to Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code, Chapter 3.6 (commencing with Section 50199.4) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code, or Section 12206, 17058, or 23610.5 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, on or before December 31, 2003.
(e) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work on the electric transmission system located in California constitutes a public works project for the purposes of this chapter.
(f) If a statute, other than this section, or a regulation, other than a regulation adopted pursuant to this section, or an ordinance or a contract applies this chapter to a project, the exclusions set forth in subdivision (d) do not apply to that project.
(g) For purposes of this section, references to the Internal Revenue Code mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and include the corresponding predecessor sections of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended.
(h) The amendments made to this section by either Chapter 938 of the Statutes of 2001 or the act adding this subdivision shall not be construed to preempt local ordinances requiring the payment of prevailing wages on housing projects.

SEC. 5.

 Section 25302.2 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

25302.2.
 As part of the 2019 edition of the integrated energy policy report, the commission shall evaluate the actual energy efficiency savings, as defined in Section 25310, from negative therm interactive effects generated as a result of electricity efficiency improvements.

SEC. 6.

 Section 25310 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

25310.
 (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) “End use” means the purpose for which energy is used, including, but not limited to, heating, cooling, or lighting, or class of energy uses upon which an energy efficiency program is focused, typically categorized by equipment purpose, equipment energy use intensity, or building type.
(2) “Energy efficiency savings” means reduced electricity or natural gas usage produced either by the installation of an energy efficiency measure or the adoption of an energy efficiency practice that maintains at least the same level of end-use service or by conservation actions that reduce energy use by reducing the quantity of baseline energy services demanded.
(b) On or before November 1, 2007, and by November 1 of every third year thereafter, the commission in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission and local publicly owned electric utilities, in a public process that allows input from other stakeholders, shall develop a statewide estimate of all potentially achievable cost-effective electricity and natural gas efficiency savings and establish targets for statewide annual energy efficiency savings and demand reduction for the next 10-year period. The commission shall base its estimate at least in part on information developed pursuant to Sections 454.55, 454.56, 715, 9505, 9615, and 9615.5 of the Public Utilities Code. The commission shall, for each electrical corporation and each gas corporation, include in the integrated energy policy report, a comparison of the public utility’s annual targets established pursuant to Sections 454.55 and 454.56, and the public utility’s actual energy efficiency savings and demand reductions.
(c) (1) On or before November 1, 2017, the commission, in collaboration with the Public Utilities Commission and local publicly owned electric utilities, in a public process that allows input from other stakeholders, shall establish annual targets for statewide energy efficiency savings and demand reduction that will achieve a cumulative doubling of statewide energy efficiency savings in electricity and natural gas final end uses of retail customers by January 1, 2030. The commission shall base the targets on a doubling of the midcase estimate of additional achievable energy efficiency savings, as contained in the California Energy Demand Updated Forecast, 2015-2025, adopted by the commission, extended to 2030 using an average annual growth rate, and the targets adopted by local publicly owned electric utilities pursuant to Section 9505 of the Public Utilities Code, extended to 2030 using an average annual growth rate, to the extent doing so is cost effective, feasible, and will not adversely impact public health and safety.
(2) The commission may establish targets for the purposes of paragraph (1) that aggregate energy efficiency savings from both electricity and natural gas final end uses. Before establishing aggregate targets, the commission shall, in a public process that allows input from other stakeholders, adopt a methodology for aggregating electricity and natural gas final end-use energy efficiency savings in a consistent manner based on source of energy reduction and other relevant factors.
(3) In establishing the targets pursuant to paragraph (1), the commission shall assess the hourly and seasonal impact on statewide and local electricity demand.
(4) In assessing the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency savings for the purposes of paragraph (1), the commission and the Public Utilities Commission shall consider the results of energy efficiency potential studies that are not restricted by previous levels of utility energy efficiency savings.
(5) The energy efficiency savings and demand reduction reported for the purposes of achieving the targets established pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be measured taking into consideration the overall reduction in normalized metered electricity and natural gas consumption where these measurement techniques are feasible and cost effective.
(d) The targets established in subdivision (c) may be achieved through energy efficiency savings and demand reduction resulting from a variety of programs that include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Appliance and building energy efficiency standards developed and adopted pursuant to Section 25402.
(2) A comprehensive program to achieve greater energy efficiency savings in California’s existing residential and nonresidential building stock pursuant to Section 25943.
(3) Programs funded and authorized pursuant to the California Clean Energy Job Creation Act (Division 16.3 (commencing with Section 26200)).
(4) Programs funded by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund established pursuant to Section 16428.8 of the Government Code.
(5) Programs funded and authorized pursuant to this division.
(6) Programs of electrical or gas corporations, or community choice aggregators, that provide financial incentives, rebates, technical assistance, and support to their customers to increase energy efficiency, authorized by the Public Utilities Commission.
(7) Programs of local publicly owned electric utilities that provide financial incentives, rebates, technical assistance, and support to their customers to increase energy efficiency pursuant to Section 385 of the Public Utilities Code.
(8) Programs of electrical or gas corporations, local publicly owned electric utilities, or community choice aggregators, that achieve energy efficiency savings through operational, behavioral, and retrocommissioning activities.
(9) Programs that save energy in final end uses by reducing distribution feeder service voltage, known as conservation voltage reduction.
(10) Programs that save energy in final end uses by using cleaner fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as measured on a lifecycle basis from the provision of energy services.
(11) Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs.
(e) Beginning with the 2019 edition of the integrated energy policy report and every two years thereafter, the commission shall provide recommendations and an update on progress toward achieving a doubling of energy efficiency savings in electricity and natural gas final end uses of retail customers by January 1, 2030, pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c). The commission shall also include with the recommendations and update both of the following:
(1) An assessment of the effect of energy efficiency savings on electricity demand statewide, in local service territories, and on an hourly and seasonal basis.
(2) Specific strategies for, and an update on, progress toward maximizing the contribution of energy efficiency savings in disadvantaged communities identified pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code.

SEC. 7.

 Section 25327 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

25327.
 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) There is insufficient information available to fully realize the potential of solar photovoltaic energy generation to serve low-income customers, including those in disadvantaged communities.
(2) There is insufficient understanding of the barriers to access for low-income customers to all forms of renewable energy being generated in the state.
(3) There is insufficient understanding of the barriers to access for low-income customers to energy efficiency investments.
(4) There is insufficient understanding of the barriers to access for low-income customers to zero-emission and near-zero-emission transportation options.
(b) On or before January 1, 2017, the commission, with input from relevant state agencies and the public, shall conduct and complete a study on both of the following:
(1) Barriers to, and opportunities for, solar photovoltaic energy generation as well as barriers to, and opportunities for, access to other renewable energy by low-income customers.
(2) Barriers to contracting opportunities for local small businesses in disadvantaged communities.
(c) On or before January 1, 2017, the commission, with input from relevant state agencies and the public, shall develop and publish a study on barriers for low-income customers to energy efficiency and weatherization investments, including those in disadvantaged communities, as well as recommendations on how to increase access to energy efficiency and weatherization investments to low-income customers.
(d) On or before January 1, 2017, the State Air Resources Board, in consultation with the commission and with input from relevant state agencies and the public, shall develop and publish a study on barriers for low-income customers to zero-emission and near-zero-emission transportation options, including those in disadvantaged communities, as well as recommendations on how to increase access to zero-emission and near-zero-emission transportation options to low-income customers, including those in disadvantaged communities.

SEC. 8.

 Section 25943 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

25943.
 (a) (1) By March 1, 2010, the commission shall establish a regulatory proceeding to develop and implement a comprehensive program to achieve greater energy savings in California’s existing residential and nonresidential building stock. This program shall comprise a complementary portfolio of techniques, applications, and practices that will achieve greater energy efficiency in existing residential and nonresidential structures that fall significantly below the current standards in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, as determined by the commission.
(2) The comprehensive program may include, but need not be limited to, a broad range of energy assessments, building benchmarking, energy rating, cost-effective energy efficiency improvements, public and private sector energy efficiency financing options, public outreach and education efforts, and green workforce training.
(3) The commission shall adopt, implement, and enforce a responsible contractor policy for use across all ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs that involve installation or maintenance, or both installation and maintenance, by building contractors to ensure that retrofits meet high-quality performance standards and reduce energy savings lost or foregone due to poor-quality workmanship.
(4) The commission, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission, shall establish consumer protection guidelines for energy efficiency products and services.
(b) To develop and implement the program specified in subdivision (a), the commission shall do both of the following:
(1) Coordinate with the Public Utilities Commission and consult with representatives from the Bureau of Real Estate, the Department of Housing and Community Development, investor-owned and publicly owned utilities, local governments, real estate licensees, commercial and homebuilders, commercial property owners, small businesses, mortgage lenders, financial institutions, home appraisers, inspectors, energy rating organizations, consumer groups, environmental and environmental justice groups, and other entities the commission deems appropriate.
(2) Hold at least three public hearings in geographically diverse locations throughout the state.
(c) In developing the requirements for the program specified in subdivision (a), the commission shall consider all of the following:
(1) The amount of annual and peak energy savings, greenhouse gas emission reductions, and projected customer utility bill savings that will accrue from the program.
(2) The most cost-effective means and reasonable timeframes to achieve the goals of the program.
(3) The various climatic zones within the state.
(4) An appropriate method to inform and educate the public about the need for, benefits of, and environmental impacts of, the comprehensive energy efficiency program.
(5) The most effective way to report the energy assessment results and the corresponding energy efficiency improvements to the owner of the residential or nonresidential building, including, among other things, the following:
(A) Prioritizing the identified energy efficiency improvements.
(B) The payback period or cost-effectiveness of each improvement identified.
(C) The various incentives, loans, grants, and rebates offered to finance the improvements.
(D) Available financing options including all of the following:
(i) Mortgages or sales agreement components.
(ii) On-bill financing.
(iii) Contractual property tax assessments.
(iv) Home warranties.
(6) Existing statutory and regulatory requirements to achieve energy efficiency savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions.
(7) A broad range of implementation approaches, including both utility and nonutility administration of energy efficiency programs, especially the use of not-for-profit and community-based organizations that assist with deployment in disadvantaged communities identified pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code.
(8) Workforce development and job training for residents in disadvantaged communities, including veterans, at-risk youth, and members of the state and local community conservation corps.
(9) Any other considerations deemed appropriate by the commission.
(d) The program developed pursuant to this section shall do all of the following:
(1) Minimize the overall costs of establishing and implementing the comprehensive energy efficiency program requirements.
(2) Ensure, for residential buildings, that the energy efficiency assessments, ratings, or improvements do not unreasonably or unnecessarily affect the home purchasing process or the ability of individuals to rent housing. A transfer of property subject to the program implemented pursuant to this section shall not be invalidated solely because of the failure of a person to comply with a provision of the program.
(3) Ensure, for nonresidential buildings, that the energy improvements do not have an undue economic impact on California businesses.
(4) Determine, for residential buildings, the appropriateness of the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) program to support the goals of this section and whether there are a sufficient number of HERS-certified raters available to meet the program requirements.
(5) Determine, for nonresidential structures, the availability of an appropriate cost-effective energy efficiency assessment system and whether there are a sufficient number of certified raters or auditors available to meet the program requirements.
(6) Coordinate with the California Workforce Investment Board, the Employment Training Panel, the California Community Colleges, and other entities to ensure a qualified, well-trained workforce is available to implement the program requirements.
(7) Promote greater project penetration in disadvantaged communities identified pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code, including the deployment of energy efficiency surveys and audits, energy efficiency retrofits and upgrades, weatherization, and followup project inspections by state-certified community conservation corps and other community-based workforce development organizations that serve residents of disadvantaged communities, including veterans and disadvantaged youth.
(8) Coordinate with, and avoid duplication of, existing proceedings of the Public Utilities Commission and programs administered by utilities.
(e) A home energy rating or energy assessment service does not meet the requirements of this section unless the service has been certified by the commission to be in compliance with the program criteria developed pursuant to this section and is in conformity with other applicable elements of the program.
(f) (1) The commission shall periodically update the criteria and adopt any revision that, in its judgment, is necessary to improve or refine program requirements after receiving public input.
(2) On or before January 1, 2017, and at least once every three years thereafter, the commission shall adopt an update to the program in furtherance of achieving a cumulative doubling of statewide energy efficiency savings in electricity and natural gas final end uses of retail customers by January 1, 2030.
(g) Before implementing an element of the program developed pursuant to subdivision (a) that requires the expansion of statutory authority of the commission or the Public Utilities Commission, the commission and the Public Utilities Commission shall obtain legislative approval for the expansion of their authorities.
(h) The commission shall report on the status of the program in the integrated energy policy report pursuant to Section 25302.
(i) The commission shall fund activities undertaken pursuant to this section from the Federal Trust Fund consistent with the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5) or other sources of nonstate funds available to the commission for the purposes of this section.
(j) For purposes of this section, the following terms mean the following:
(1) “Energy assessment” means a determination of an energy user’s energy consumption level, relative efficiency compared to other users, and opportunities to achieve greater efficiency or improve energy resource utilization.
(2) “Energy efficiency” means delivering equal or more services with less energy input from an energy source.

SEC. 9.

 Section 237.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

237.5.
 “Transportation electrification” means the use of electricity from external sources of electrical power, including the electrical grid, for all or part of vehicles, vessels, trains, boats, or other equipment that are mobile sources of air pollution and greenhouse gases and the related programs and charging and propulsion infrastructure investments to enable and encourage this use of electricity.

SEC. 10.

 Section 337 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

337.
 (a) The Independent System Operator governing board shall be composed of a five-member independent governing board of directors appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the Senate. Any reference in this chapter or in any other provision of law to the Independent System Operator governing board means the independent governing board appointed under this subdivision.
(b) A member of the independent governing board appointed under subdivision (a) may not be affiliated with any actual or potential participant in any market administered by the Independent System Operator.
(c) (1) All appointments shall be for three-year terms.
(2) There is no limit on the number of terms that may be served by any member.
(d) The Oversight Board shall require the articles of incorporation and bylaws of the Independent System Operator to be revised in accordance with this section, and shall make filings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as the Oversight Board determines to be necessary.
(e) For the purposes of the initial appointments to the Independent System Operator governing board, as provided in subdivision (a), the Governor shall appoint one member to a one-year term, two members to a two-year term, and two members to a three-year term.
(f) This section becomes inoperative on the date on which the governance modifications set forth in Section 359.5 become effective and is repealed on January 1 of the following year.

SEC. 11.

 Section 352 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

352.
 (a) The Independent System Operator may not enter into a multistate entity or a regional organization as authorized in Section 359 unless that entry is approved by the Oversight Board.
(b) This section becomes inoperative on the date on which the governance modifications set forth in Section 359.5 become effective and is repealed on January 1 of the following year.

SEC. 12.

 Section 359 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

359.
 (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide for the evolution of the Independent System Operator into a regional organization to promote the development of regional electricity transmission markets in the western states and to improve the access of consumers served by the Independent System Operator to those markets.
(b) The preferred means by which the voluntary evolution described in subdivision (a) should occur is through the adoption of a regional compact or other comparable agreement among cooperating party states, the retail customers of which states would reside within the geographic territories served by the Independent System Operator.
(c) The agreement described in subdivision (b) should provide for all of the following:
(1) An equitable process for the appointment or confirmation by party states of members of the governing boards of the Independent System Operator.
(2) A respecification of the size, structure, representation, eligible membership, nominating procedures, and member terms of service of the governing boards of the Independent System Operator.
(3) Mechanisms by which each party state, jointly or separately, can oversee effectively the actions of the Independent System Operator as those actions relate to the assurance of electricity system reliability within the party state and to matters that affect electricity sales to the retail customers of the party state or otherwise affect the general welfare of the electricity consumers and the general public of the party state.
(4) The adherence by publicly owned and investor-owned utilities located in party states to enforceable standards and protocols to protect the reliability of the interconnected regional transmission and distribution systems.
(d) (1) Except for paragraphs (2) and (3), this section becomes inoperative on January 1, 2016.
(2) This section becomes operative on January 1, 2019, if Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 359.5) becomes inoperative on that date.
(3) If the governance modifications set forth in Section 359.5 become effective, this article is repealed on January 1 of the year following the effective date of the governance modifications.

SEC. 13.

 Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 359.5) is added to Chapter 2.3 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code, to read:

Article  5.5. Transformation of the Independent System Operator
359.5.
 (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide for the transformation of the Independent System Operator into a regional organization to promote the development of regional electricity transmission markets in the western states and to improve the access of consumers served by the Independent System Operator to those markets, and that the transformation should only occur where it is in the best interests of California and its ratepayers.
(b) The transformation of the Independent System Operator into a regional organization shall not alter its obligations to the state or to electricity consumers within the state or its obligations to comply with state laws. The Independent System Operator shall retain its obligations set forth in Section 345.5, shall maintain the standards for open meetings and public access to corporate records as set forth in Section 345.5, and shall facilitate effective tracking and reporting mechanisms in support of state enforcement of Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code.
(c) The voluntary transformation described in subdivision (a) shall occur through additional transmission owners joining the Independent System Operator with approval from their own state or local regulatory authorities, as applicable.
(d) Modifications to the Independent System Operator governance structure, through changes to its bylaws or other corporate governance documents, would be needed to allow this transformation.
(e) The Independent System Operator shall prepare the governance modifications needed as described in subdivision (d), but they shall not become effective until all of the following occur:
(1) The Independent System Operator conducts one or more studies of the impacts of a regional market enabled by the proposed governance modifications, including overall benefits to ratepayers, including the creation or retention of jobs and other benefits to the California economy, environmental impacts in California and elsewhere, impacts in disadvantaged communities, emissions of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants, and reliability and integration of renewable energy resources. The modeling, including all assumptions underlying the modeling, shall be made available for public review.
(2) The commission, Energy Commission, and State Air Resources Board jointly hold at least one public workshop where the Independent System Operator presents the proposed governance modifications and the results of the studies described in paragraph (1). The related Independent System Operator documents shall be made public before the workshop.
(3) The Independent System Operator submits to the Governor the studies described in paragraph (1) and revised bylaws or other corporate governance documents setting forth the proposed modifications to its governance structure.
(4) The Governor transmits to the Legislature the studies described in paragraph (1) and revised bylaws or other corporate governance documents setting forth the proposed modifications to its governance structure, no later than December 31, 2017.
(5) The Legislature enacts a statute implementing the revised governance changes.
(f) The Independent System Operator shall expeditiously adopt the modifications to its governance structure enacted by the Legislature pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (e) so that the modifications become effective before new transmission owners from outside California complete the process of joining the Independent System Operator.
(g) The revised governance structure shall not alter or abridge the contractual rights of a transmission owner to withdraw from participation in the Independent System Operator.
(h) One year after the seating of the new, revised governing board of the Independent System Operator pursuant to the modifications of its governance structure, and every two years thereafter, the Independent System Operator shall prepare a report to the states within the areas it serves documenting its furtherance of applicable state and federal laws and regulations affecting the electric industry.
(i) This article is repealed on January 1, 2019, if a statute implementing the governance modifications has not become effective on or before January 1, 2019.

SEC. 14.

 Section 365.2 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

365.2.
 The commission shall ensure that bundled retail customers of an electrical corporation do not experience any cost increases as a result of retail customers of an electrical corporation electing to receive service from other providers. The commission shall also ensure that departing load does not experience any cost increases as a result of an allocation of costs that were not incurred on behalf of the departing load.

SEC. 15.

 Section 366.3 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

366.3.
 Bundled retail customers of an electrical corporation shall not experience any cost increase as a result of the implementation of a community choice aggregator program. The commission shall also ensure that departing load does not experience any cost increases as a result of an allocation of costs that were not incurred on behalf of the departing load.

SEC. 16.

 Section 399.4 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

399.4.
 (a) (1) In order to ensure that prudent investments in energy efficiency continue to be made that produce cost-effective energy savings, reduce customer demand, and contribute to the safe and reliable operation of the electrical electric  distribution grid, it is the policy of this state and the intent of the Legislature that the commission shall supervise the administration of  continue to administer  cost-effective energy efficiency programs authorized pursuant to its statutory authority, including Sections 381, 381.1, 381.2, 381.5, 382, 384.5, 400, 454.5, 454.55, 454.56, 589, 701.1, 749, and 769, Article 10 (commencing with Section 890) of Chapter 4, and Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 2781) of Part 2. existing statutory authority. 
(2) As used in this section, the term “energy efficiency” includes, but is not limited to, cost-effective activities to achieve peak load reduction that improve end-use efficiency, lower customers’ bills, and reduce system needs.
(b) (1) If a customer or contractor is the recipient of a rebate or incentive  Any rebates or incentives  offered by a public utility for an energy efficiency improvement or installation of energy efficient components, equipment, or appliances in a building, the public utility shall provide the rebate or incentive  buildings shall be provided  only if the customer or contractor recipient of the rebate or incentive  certifies that the improvement or installation has complied with any applicable permitting requirements, including any applicable specifications or requirements set forth in the California Building Standards Code (Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations),  requirements  and, if a contractor performed the installation or improvement, that the contractor holds the appropriate license for the work performed.
(2) In addition to the requirements of paragraph (1), if a customer or contractor is the recipient of a rebate or incentive offered by a public utility for the purchase or installation of central air conditioning or a heat pump, and their related fans, the public utility shall provide the rebate or incentive only if the customer or contractor provides proof of permit closure. The public utility is not responsible for verifying the proof of permit closure documentation provided by the customer or contractor.
(3) (2)  This subdivision does not imply or create authority or responsibility, or expand existing authority or responsibility, of a public utility for the enforcement of the building energy and water efficiency standards adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 25402 of the Public Resources Code, or appliance efficiency standards and certification requirements adopted pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 25402 of the Public Resources Code.
(4) This subdivision does not limit the authority of the commission to impose any additional requirements on a recipient of any rebate or incentive.
(c) The commission, in evaluating energy efficiency investments under its existing  statutory authority, shall also ensure that local and regional interests, multifamily dwellings, and energy service industry capabilities are incorporated into program portfolio design and that local governments, community-based organizations, and energy efficiency service providers are encouraged to participate in program implementation where appropriate.
(d) The commission, in a new or existing proceeding, shall review and update its policies governing energy efficiency programs funded by utility customers to facilitate achieving the targets established pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 25310 of the Public Resources Code. In updating its policies, the commission shall, at a minimum, do all of the following:
(1) Authorize market transformation programs with appropriate levels of funding to achieve deeper energy efficiency savings.
(2) Authorize pay for performance programs that link incentives directly to measured energy savings. As part of pay for performance programs authorized by the commission, customers should be reasonably compensated for developing and implementing an energy efficiency plan, with a portion of their incentive reserved pending post project measurement results.
(3) Authorize programs to achieve deeper savings through operational, behavioral, and retrocommissioning activities.
(4) Ensure that customers have certainty in the values and methodology used to determine energy efficiency incentives by basing the amount of any incentives provided by gas and electrical corporations on the values and methodology contained in the executed customer agreement. Incentive payments shall be based on measured results.

SEC. 17.

 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, 2013, 33 percent by December 31, 2020, and  50 percent by December 31, 2026, and 60 percent by December 31,  2030, it is the intent of the Legislature that the commission and the Energy Commission implement the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program described in this article.
(b) Achieving the renewables portfolio standard through the procurement of various electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources is intended to provide unique benefits to California, including all of the following, each of which independently justifies the program:
(1) Displacing fossil fuel consumption within the state.
(2) Adding new electrical generating facilities in the transmission network within the WECC  Western Electricity Coordinating Council  service area.
(3) Reducing air pollution, particularly criteria pollutant emissions and toxic air contaminants,  pollution  in the state.
(4) Meeting the state’s climate change goals by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases associated with electrical generation.
(5) Promoting stable retail rates for electric service.
(6) Meeting the state’s need for a diversified and balanced energy generation portfolio.
(7) Assisting Assistance  with meeting the state’s resource adequacy requirements.
(8) Contributing to the safe and reliable operation of the electrical grid, including providing predictable electrical supply, voltage support, lower line losses, and congestion relief.
(9) Implementing the state’s transmission and land use planning activities related to development of eligible renewable energy resources.
(c) The California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program is intended to complement the Renewable Energy Resources Program administered by the Energy Commission and established pursuant to Chapter 8.6 (commencing with Section 25740) of Division 15 of the Public Resources Code.
(d) New and modified electric transmission facilities may be necessary to facilitate the state achieving its renewables portfolio standard targets.
(e) (1) Supplying electricity to California end-use customers that is generated by eligible renewable energy resources is necessary to improve California’s air quality and public health, particularly in disadvantaged communities identified pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code, and  and  the commission shall ensure rates are just and reasonable, and are not significantly affected by the procurement requirements of this article. This electricity may be generated anywhere in the interconnected grid that includes many states, and areas of both Canada and Mexico.
(2) This article requires generating resources located outside of California that are able to supply that electricity to California end-use customers to be treated identically to generating resources located within the state, without discrimination.
(3) California electrical corporations have already executed, and the commission has approved, power purchase agreements with eligible renewable energy resources located outside of California that will supply electricity to California end-use customers. These resources will fully count toward meeting the renewables portfolio standard procurement requirements.

SEC. 18.

 Section 399.12 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

399.12.
 For purposes of this article, the following terms have the following meanings:
(a) “Conduit hydroelectric facility” means a facility for the generation of electricity that uses only the hydroelectric potential of an existing pipe, ditch, flume, siphon, tunnel, canal, or other manmade conduit that is operated to distribute water for a beneficial use.
(b) “Balancing authority” means the responsible entity that integrates resource plans ahead of time, maintains load-interchange generation balance within a balancing authority area, and supports interconnection frequency in real time.
(c) “Balancing authority area” means the collection of generation, transmission, and loads within the metered boundaries of the area within which the balancing authority maintains the electrical load-resource balance.
(d) “California balancing authority” is a balancing authority with control over a balancing authority area primarily located in this state and operating for retail sellers and local publicly owned electric utilities subject to the requirements of this article and includes the Independent System Operator (ISO) and a local publicly owned electric utility operating a transmission grid that is not under the operational control of the ISO. A California balancing authority is responsible for the operation of the transmission grid within its metered boundaries which is not limited by the political boundaries of the State of California.
(e) “Eligible renewable energy resource” means an electrical generating facility that meets the definition of a “renewable electrical generation facility” in Section 25741 of the Public Resources Code, subject to the following:
(1) (A) An existing small hydroelectric generation facility of 30 megawatts or less shall be eligible only if a retail seller or local publicly owned electric utility procured the electricity from the facility as of December 31, 2005. A new hydroelectric facility that commences generation of electricity after December 31, 2005, is not an eligible renewable energy resource if it will cause an adverse impact on instream beneficial uses or cause a change in the volume or timing of streamflow.
(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a conduit hydroelectric facility of 30 megawatts or less that commenced operation before January 1, 2006, is an eligible renewable energy resource. A conduit hydroelectric facility of 30 megawatts or less that commences operation after December 31, 2005, is an eligible renewable energy resource so long as it does not cause an adverse impact on instream beneficial uses or cause a change in the volume or timing of streamflow.
(C) A facility approved by the governing board of a local publicly owned electric utility prior to June 1, 2010, for procurement to satisfy renewable energy procurement obligations adopted pursuant to former Section 387, shall be certified as an eligible renewable energy resource by the Energy Commission pursuant to this article, if the facility is a “renewable electrical generation facility” as defined in Section 25741 of the Public Resources Code.
(D) (i) A small hydroelectric generation unit with a nameplate capacity not exceeding 40 megawatts that is operated as part of a water supply or conveyance system is an eligible renewable energy resource only for the retail seller or local publicly owned electric utility that procured the electricity from the unit as of December 31, 2005. No unit shall be eligible pursuant to this subparagraph if an application for certification is submitted to the Energy Commission after January 1, 2013. Only one retail seller or local publicly owned electric utility shall be deemed to have procured electricity from a given unit as of December 31, 2005.
(ii) Notwithstanding clause (i), a local publicly owned electric utility that meets the criteria of subdivision (j) of Section 399.30 may sell to another local publicly owned electric utility electricity from small hydroelectric generation units that qualify as eligible renewable energy resources under clause (i), and that electricity may be used by the local publicly owned electric utility that purchased the electricity to meet its renewables portfolio standard procurement requirements. The total of all those sales from the utility shall be no greater than 100,000 megawatthours of electricity.
(iii) The amendments made to this subdivision by the act adding this subparagraph are intended to clarify existing law and apply from December 10, 2011.
(2) (A) A facility engaged in the combustion of municipal solid waste shall not be considered an eligible renewable energy resource.
(B) Subparagraph (A) does not apply to generation  contracts entered into  before January 1, 2017, for the procurement of renewable energy resources  from a facility located in Stanislaus County that was operational prior to September 26, 1996.  
(f) “Procure” means to acquire through ownership or contract.
(g) “Procurement entity” means any person or corporation authorized by the commission to enter into contracts to procure eligible renewable energy resources on behalf of customers of a retail seller pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 399.13.
(h) (1) “Renewable energy credit” means a certificate of proof associated with the generation of electricity from an eligible renewable energy resource, issued through the accounting system established by the Energy Commission pursuant to Section 399.25, that one unit of electricity was generated and delivered by an eligible renewable energy resource.
(2) “Renewable energy credit” includes all renewable and environmental attributes associated with the production of electricity from the eligible renewable energy resource, except for an emissions reduction credit issued pursuant to Section 40709 of the Health and Safety Code and any credits or payments associated with the reduction of solid waste and treatment benefits created by the utilization of biomass or biogas fuels.
(3) (A) Electricity generated by an eligible renewable energy resource attributable to the use of nonrenewable fuels, beyond a de minimis quantity used to generate electricity in the same process through which the facility converts renewable fuel to electricity, shall not result in the creation of a renewable energy credit. The Energy Commission shall set the de minimis quantity of nonrenewable fuels for each renewable energy technology at a level of no more than 2 percent of the total quantity of fuel used by the technology to generate electricity. The Energy Commission may adjust the de minimis quantity for an individual facility, up to a maximum of 5 percent, if it finds that all of the following conditions are met:
(i) The facility demonstrates that the higher quantity of nonrenewable fuel will lead to an increase in generation from the eligible renewable energy facility that is significantly greater than generation from the nonrenewable fuel alone.
(ii) The facility demonstrates that the higher quantity of nonrenewable fuels will reduce the variability of its electrical output in a manner that results in net environmental benefits to the state.
(iii) The higher quantity of nonrenewable fuel is limited to either natural gas or hydrogen derived by reformation of a fossil fuel.
(B) Electricity generated by a small hydroelectric generation facility shall not result in the creation of a renewable energy credit unless the facility meets the requirements of subparagraph (A) or (D) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (e).
(C) Electricity generated by a conduit hydroelectric generation facility shall not result in the creation of a renewable energy credit unless the facility meets the requirements of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (e).
(D) Electricity generated by a facility engaged in the combustion of municipal solid waste shall not result in the creation of a renewable energy credit. This subparagraph does not apply to renewable energy credits that were generated before January 1, 2017, by a facility engaged in the combustion of municipal solid waste located in Stanislaus County that was operational prior to September 26, 1996, and sold pursuant to contacts entered into before January 1, 2017.
(i) “Renewables portfolio standard” means the specified percentage of electricity generated by eligible renewable energy resources that a retail seller or a local publicly owned electric utility is required to procure pursuant to this article.
(j) “Retail seller” means an entity engaged in the retail sale of electricity to end-use customers located within the state, including any of the following:
(1) An electrical corporation, as defined in Section 218.
(2) A community choice aggregator. A community choice aggregator shall participate in the renewables portfolio standard program subject to the same terms and conditions applicable to an electrical corporation.
(3) An electric service provider, as defined in Section 218.3. The electric service provider shall be subject to the same terms and conditions applicable to an electrical corporation pursuant to this article. This paragraph does not impair a contract entered into between an electric service provider and a retail customer prior to the suspension of direct access by the commission pursuant to Section 80110 of the Water Code.
(4) “Retail seller” does not include any of the following:
(A) A corporation or person employing cogeneration technology or producing electricity consistent with subdivision (b) of Section 218.
(B) The Department of Water Resources acting in its capacity pursuant to Division 27 (commencing with Section 80000) of the Water Code.
(C) A local publicly owned electric utility.
(k) “WECC” means the Western Electricity Coordinating Council of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, or a successor to the corporation.

SEC. 19.

 Section 399.13 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

399.13.
 (a) (1) The commission shall direct each electrical corporation to annually prepare a renewable energy procurement plan that includes the elements specified  matter  in paragraph (6), (5),  to satisfy its obligations under the renewables portfolio standard. To the extent feasible, this procurement plan shall be proposed, reviewed, and adopted by the commission as part of, and pursuant to, a general procurement plan process. The commission shall require each electrical corporation to review and update its renewable energy procurement plan as it determines to be necessary. The commission shall require all other retail sellers to prepare and submit renewable energy procurement plans that address the requirements identified in paragraph (6). (5). 
(2) (A)  Every electrical corporation that owns electrical transmission facilities shall annually prepare, as part of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Order 890 process, and submit to the commission, a report identifying any electrical transmission facility, upgrade, or enhancement that is reasonably necessary to achieve the renewables portfolio standard procurement requirements of this article. Each report shall look forward at least five years and, to ensure that adequate investments are made in a timely manner, shall include a preliminary schedule when an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity will be made, pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 1001), for any electrical transmission facility identified as being reasonably necessary to achieve the renewable energy resources procurement requirements of this article. Each electrical corporation that owns electrical transmission facilities shall ensure that project-specific interconnection studies are completed in a timely manner.
(B) Each electrical corporation that owns electrical transmission facilities shall annually prepare, and submit to the commission, a report on any changes to previously reported in-service dates of transmission and interconnection facilities necessary to provide transmission deliverability to eligible renewable energy resources or energy storage resources that have executed interconnection agreements. The report shall be provided concurrently with each electrical corporation’s annual renewable energy procurement plan and identify the reason for any changes to the status of in-service dates.
(3) The commission shall direct each retail seller to prepare and submit an annual compliance report that includes all of the following:
(A) The current status and progress made during the prior year toward procurement of eligible renewable energy resources as a percentage of retail sales, including, if applicable, the status of any necessary siting and permitting approvals from federal, state, and local agencies for those eligible renewable energy resources procured by the retail seller, and the current status of compliance with the portfolio content requirements of subdivision (c) of Section 399.16, including procurement of eligible renewable energy resources located outside the state and within the WECC and unbundled renewable energy credits.
(B) If the retail seller is an electrical corporation, the current status and progress made during the prior year toward construction of, and upgrades to, transmission and distribution facilities and other electrical system components it owns to interconnect eligible renewable energy resources and to supply the electricity generated by those resources to load, including the status of planning, siting, and permitting transmission facilities by federal, state, and local agencies.
(C) Recommendations to remove impediments to making progress toward achieving the renewable energy resources procurement requirements established pursuant to this article.
(4) The commission shall review each annual compliance report filed by a retail seller. The commission shall notify a retail seller if the commission has determined, based upon its review, that the retail seller may be at risk of not satisfying the renewable energy procurement requirements for the then-current or a future compliance period and shall provide recommendations in that circumstance regarding satisfying those requirements.
(5) (4)  The commission shall adopt, by rulemaking, all of the following:
(A) A process that provides criteria for the rank ordering and selection of least-cost and best-fit eligible renewable energy resources to comply with the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program obligations on a total cost and best-fit basis. This process shall take into account all of the following:
(i) Estimates of indirect costs associated with needed transmission investments.
(ii) The cost impact of procuring the eligible renewable energy resources on the electrical corporation’s electricity portfolio.
(iii) The viability of the project to construct and reliably operate the eligible renewable energy resource, including the developer’s experience, the feasibility of the technology used to generate electricity, and the risk that the facility will not be built, or that construction will be delayed, with the result that electricity will not be supplied as required by the contract.
(iv) Workforce recruitment, training, and retention efforts, including the employment growth associated with the construction and operation of eligible renewable energy resources and goals for recruitment and training of women, minorities, and disabled veterans.
(v) (I) Estimates of electrical corporation expenses resulting from integrating and operating eligible renewable energy resources, including, but not limited to, any additional wholesale energy and capacity costs associated with integrating each eligible renewable resource.
(II) No later than December 31, 2015, the commission shall approve a methodology for determining the integration costs described in subclause (I).
(vi) Consideration of any statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit established pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code).
(vii) Consideration of capacity and system reliability of the eligible renewable energy resource to ensure grid reliability.
(B) Rules permitting retail sellers to accumulate, beginning January 1, 2011, excess procurement in one compliance period to be applied to any subsequent compliance period. The rules shall apply equally to all retail sellers. In determining the quantity of excess procurement for the applicable compliance period, the commission shall retain the rules adopted by the commission and in effect as of January 1, 2015, for the compliance period specified in subparagraphs (A) to (C), inclusive, of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 399.15. For any subsequent compliance period, the rules shall allow the following:
(i) For electricity products meeting the portfolio content requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 399.16, contracts of any duration may count as excess procurement.
(ii) Electricity products meeting the portfolio content requirements of paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 399.16 shall not be counted as excess procurement. Contracts of any duration for electricity products meeting the portfolio content requirements of paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 399.16 that are credited towards a compliance period shall not be deducted from a retail seller’s procurement for purposes of calculating excess procurement.
(iii) If a retail seller notifies the commission that it will comply with the provisions of subdivision (b) for the compliance period beginning January 1, 2017, the provisions of clauses (i) and (ii) shall take effect for that retail seller for that compliance period.
(C) Standard terms and conditions to be used by all electrical corporations in contracting for eligible renewable energy resources, including performance requirements for renewable generators. A contract for the purchase of electricity generated by an eligible renewable energy resource, at a minimum, shall include the renewable energy credits associated with all electricity generation specified under the contract. The standard terms and conditions shall include the requirement that, no later than six months after the commission’s approval of an electricity purchase agreement entered into pursuant to this article, the following information about the agreement shall be disclosed by the commission: party names, resource type, project location, and project capacity.
(D) An appropriate minimum margin of procurement above the minimum procurement level necessary to comply with the renewables portfolio standard to mitigate the risk that renewable projects planned or under contract are delayed or canceled. This paragraph does not preclude an electrical corporation from voluntarily proposing a margin of procurement above the appropriate minimum margin established by the commission.
(6) (5)  Consistent with the goal of increasing California’s reliance on eligible renewable energy resources, the renewable energy procurement plan shall include all of the following:
(A) An assessment of annual or multiyear portfolio supplies and demand to determine the optimal mix of eligible renewable energy resources with deliverability characteristics that may include peaking, dispatchable, baseload, firm, and as-available capacity.
(B) Potential compliance delays related to the conditions described in paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 399.15.
(C) A bid solicitation setting forth the need for eligible renewable energy resources of each deliverability characteristic, required online dates, and locational preferences, if any.
(D) A status update on the development schedule of all eligible renewable energy resources currently under contract.
(E) Consideration of mechanisms for price adjustments associated with the costs of key components for eligible renewable energy resource projects with online dates more than 24 months after the date of contract execution.
(F) An assessment of the risk that an eligible renewable energy resource will not be built, or that construction will be delayed, with the result that electricity will not be delivered as required by the contract.
(7) (6)  In soliciting and procuring eligible renewable energy resources, each electrical corporation shall offer contracts of no less than 10 years duration, unless the commission approves of a contract of shorter duration.
(8) (7)  (A)  In soliciting and procuring eligible renewable energy resources for California-based projects, each electrical corporation shall give preference to renewable energy projects that provide environmental and economic benefits to communities afflicted with poverty or high unemployment, or that suffer from high emission levels of toxic air contaminants, criteria air pollutants, and greenhouse gases.
(B) Subparagraph (A) applies to all procurement of eligible renewable energy resources for California-based projects, whether the procurement occurs through all-source requests for offers, eligible renewable resources only requests for offers, or other procurement mechanisms. This subparagraph is declaratory of existing law.
(9) (8)  In soliciting and procuring eligible renewable energy resources, each retail seller shall consider the best-fit attributes of resource types that ensure a balanced resource mix to maintain the reliability of the electrical grid.  
(b) (1)  A retail seller may enter into a combination of long- and short-term contracts for electricity and associated renewable energy credits. Beginning January 1, 2021, at least 65 percent of the procurement a retail seller counts toward the renewables portfolio standard requirement of each compliance period shall be from its contracts of 10 years or more in duration or in its ownership or ownership agreements for eligible renewable energy resources.
(2) In demonstrating compliance with paragraph (1), a retail seller may rely on contracts of 10 years or more in duration or ownership agreements entered into before January 1, 2019, directly by its direct access, as described in Section 365.1, nonprofit educational institution end-use customer for eligible renewable energy resources located in front of the customer meter to satisfy the portion of the compliance requirement attributable to the retail sales to that end-use customer. A retail seller shall furnish to the commission documentation deemed necessary by the commission to verify compliance with this paragraph.
(c) The commission shall review and accept, modify, or reject each electrical corporation’s renewable energy resource procurement plan prior to the commencement of renewable energy procurement pursuant to this article by an electrical corporation. The commission shall assess adherence to the approved renewable energy resource procurement plans in determining compliance with the obligations of this article.
(d) Unless previously preapproved by the commission, an electrical corporation shall submit a contract for the generation of an eligible renewable energy resource to the commission for review and approval consistent with an approved renewable energy resource procurement plan. If the commission determines that the bid prices are elevated due to a lack of effective competition among the bidders, the commission shall direct the electrical corporation to renegotiate the contracts or conduct a new solicitation.
(e) If an electrical corporation fails to comply with a commission order adopting a renewable energy resource procurement plan, the commission shall exercise its authority to require compliance.
(f) (1) The commission may authorize a procurement entity to enter into contracts on behalf of customers of a retail seller for electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources to satisfy the retail seller’s renewables portfolio standard procurement requirements. The commission shall not require any person or corporation to act as a procurement entity or require any party to purchase eligible renewable energy resources from a procurement entity.
(2) Subject to review and approval by the commission, the procurement entity shall be permitted to recover reasonable administrative and procurement costs through the retail rates of end-use customers that are served by the procurement entity and are directly benefiting from the procurement of eligible renewable energy resources.
(g) Procurement and administrative costs associated with contracts entered into by an electrical corporation for eligible renewable energy resources pursuant to this article and approved by the commission are reasonable and prudent and shall be recoverable in rates.
(h) Construction, alteration, demolition, installation, and repair work on an eligible renewable energy resource that receives production incentives pursuant to Section 25742 of the Public Resources Code, including work performed to qualify, receive, or maintain production incentives, are “public works” for the purposes of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1720) of Part 7 of Division 2 of the Labor Code.

SEC. 20.

 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 retail sellers to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources as a specified percentage of total kilowatthours sold to their retail end-use customers each compliance period to achieve the targets established under this article. For any retail seller procuring at least 14 percent of retail sales from eligible renewable energy resources in 2010, the deficits associated with any previous renewables portfolio standard shall not be added to any procurement requirement pursuant to this article.
(b) The commission shall implement renewables portfolio standard procurement requirements only as follows:
(1) Each retail seller shall procure a minimum quantity of eligible renewable energy resources for each of the following compliance periods:
(A) January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2013, inclusive.
(B) January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2016, inclusive.
(C) January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2020, inclusive.
(D) January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2024, inclusive.
(E) January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2027, inclusive.
(F) January 1, 2028, to December 31, 2030, inclusive.
(2) (A) No later than January 1, 2017, the commission shall establish the quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources to be procured by the retail seller for each compliance period. These quantities shall be established in the same manner for all retail sellers and result in the same percentages used to establish compliance period quantities for all retail sellers.
(B) In establishing quantities for the compliance period from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2013, inclusive, the commission shall require procurement for each retail seller equal to an average of 20 percent of retail sales. For the following compliance periods, the quantities shall reflect reasonable progress in each of the intervening years sufficient to ensure that the procurement of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources achieves 25 percent of retail sales by December 31, 2016, 33 percent by December 31, 2020, 44 40  percent by December 31, 2024, 52 45  percent by December 31, 2027, and 60 50  percent by December 31, 2030. The commission shall establish appropriate three-year compliance periods for all subsequent years that require retail sellers to procure not less than 60 50  percent of retail sales of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources.
(C) Retail sellers shall be obligated to procure no less than the quantities associated with all intervening years by the end of each compliance period. Retail sellers shall not be required to demonstrate a specific quantity of procurement for any individual intervening year.
(3) The commission may require the procurement of eligible renewable energy resources in excess of the quantities specified in paragraph (2).
(4) Only for purposes of establishing the renewables portfolio standard procurement requirements of paragraph (1) and determining the quantities pursuant to paragraph (2), the commission shall include all electricity sold to retail customers by the Department of Water Resources pursuant to Division 27 (commencing with Section 80000) of the Water Code in the calculation of retail sales by an electrical corporation.
(5) The commission shall waive enforcement of this section if it finds that the retail seller has demonstrated any of the following conditions are beyond the control of the retail seller and will prevent compliance:
(A) There is inadequate transmission capacity to allow for sufficient electricity to be delivered from proposed eligible renewable energy resource projects using the current operational protocols of the Independent System Operator. In making its findings relative to the existence of this condition with respect to a retail seller that owns transmission lines, the commission shall consider both of the following:
(i) Whether the retail seller has undertaken, in a timely fashion, reasonable measures under its control and consistent with its obligations under local, state, and federal laws and regulations, to develop and construct new transmission lines or upgrades to existing lines intended to transmit electricity generated by eligible renewable energy resources. In determining the reasonableness of a retail seller’s actions, the commission shall consider the retail seller’s expectations for full-cost recovery for these transmission lines and upgrades.
(ii) Whether the retail seller has taken all reasonable operational measures to maximize cost-effective deliveries of electricity from eligible renewable energy resources in advance of transmission availability.
(B) Permitting, interconnection, or other circumstances that delay procured eligible renewable energy resource projects, or there is an insufficient supply of eligible renewable energy resources available to the retail seller. In making a finding that this condition prevents timely compliance, the commission shall consider whether the retail seller has done all of the following:
(i) Prudently managed portfolio risks, including relying on a sufficient number of viable projects.
(ii) Sought to develop one of the following: its own eligible renewable energy resources, transmission to interconnect to eligible renewable energy resources, or energy storage used to integrate eligible renewable energy resources. This clause shall not require an electrical corporation to pursue development of eligible renewable energy resources pursuant to Section 399.14.
(iii) Procured an appropriate minimum margin of procurement above the minimum procurement level necessary to comply with the renewables portfolio standard to compensate for foreseeable delays or insufficient supply.
(iv) Taken reasonable measures, under the control of the retail seller, to procure cost-effective distributed generation and allowable unbundled renewable energy credits.
(C) Unanticipated curtailment of eligible renewable energy resources if the waiver would not result in an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
(D) Unanticipated increase in retail sales due to transportation electrification. In making a finding that this condition prevents timely compliance, the commission shall consider both all  of the following:
(i) Whether transportation electrification significantly exceeded forecasts in that retail seller’s service territory based on the best and most recently available information filed with the State Air Resources Board, the Energy Commission, or another other  state agency.
(ii) Whether the retail seller has taken reasonable measures to procure sufficient resources to account for unanticipated increases in retail sales due to transportation electrification.
(6) If the commission waives the compliance requirements of this section, the commission shall establish additional reporting requirements on the retail seller to demonstrate that all reasonable actions under the control of the retail seller are taken in each of the intervening years sufficient to satisfy future procurement requirements.
(7) The commission shall not waive enforcement pursuant to this section, unless the retail seller demonstrates that it has taken all reasonable actions under its control, as set forth in paragraph (5), to achieve full compliance.
(8) If a retail seller fails to procure sufficient eligible renewable energy resources to comply with a procurement requirement pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) and fails to obtain an order from the commission waiving enforcement pursuant to paragraph (5), the commission shall assess penalties for noncompliance. A schedule of penalties shall be adopted by the commission that shall be comparable for electrical corporations and other retail sellers. For electrical corporations, the cost of any penalties shall not be collected in rates. Any penalties collected under this article shall be deposited into the Electric Program Investment Charge Fund and used for the purposes described in Chapter 8.1 (commencing with Section 25710) of Division 15 of the Public Resources Code.  
(9) Deficits associated with the compliance period shall not be added to a future compliance period.
(c) The commission shall establish a limitation for each electrical corporation on the procurement expenditures for all eligible renewable energy resources used to comply with the renewables portfolio standard. This limitation shall be set at a level that prevents disproportionate rate impacts.
(d) If the cost limitation for an electrical corporation is insufficient to support the projected costs of meeting the renewables portfolio standard procurement requirements, the electrical corporation may refrain from entering into new contracts or constructing facilities beyond the quantity that can be procured within the limitation, unless eligible renewable energy resources can be procured without exceeding a de minimis increase in rates, consistent with the long-term procurement plan established for the electrical corporation pursuant to Section 454.5.
(e) (1) The commission shall monitor the status of the cost limitation for each electrical corporation in order to ensure compliance with this article.
(2) If the commission determines that an electrical corporation may exceed its cost limitation prior to achieving the renewables portfolio standard procurement requirements, the commission shall do both of the following within 60 days of making that determination:
(A) Investigate and identify the reasons why the electrical corporation may exceed its annual cost limitation.
(B) Notify the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature that the electrical corporation may exceed its cost limitation, and include the reasons why the electrical corporation may exceed its cost limitation.
(f) 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).

SEC. 21.

 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 (5) (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 either 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.
(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 for each compliance period 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 for each compliance period 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 period obligation after December 31, 2016.

SEC. 22.

 Section 399.18 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

399.18.
 (a) This section applies to an electrical corporation that as of January 1, 2010, met either of the following conditions:
(1) Served 30,000 or fewer customer accounts in California and had issued at least four solicitations for eligible renewable energy resources prior to June 1, 2010.
(2) Had 1,000 or fewer customer accounts in California and was not connected to any transmission system or to the Independent System Operator.
(b) For an electrical corporation or its successor, electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources may be used for compliance with this article, notwithstanding any procurement content limitation in Section 399.16, provided that all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The electrical corporation or its successor participates in, and complies with, the accounting system administered by the Energy Commission pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 399.25.
(2) The Energy Commission verifies that the electricity generated by the facility is eligible to meet the requirements of Section 399.15.
(3) The electrical corporation continues to satisfy either of the conditions described in subdivision (a).

SEC. 23.

 Section 399.21 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

399.21.
 (a) The commission, by rule, shall authorize the use of renewable energy credits to satisfy the renewables portfolio standard procurement requirements established pursuant to this article, subject to the following conditions:
(1) The commission and the Energy Commission shall ensure that the tracking system established pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 399.25, is operational, is capable of independently verifying that electricity earning the credit is generated by an eligible renewable energy resource, and can ensure that renewable energy credits shall not be double counted by any seller of electricity within the service territory of the WECC.
(2) Each renewable energy credit shall be counted only once for compliance with the renewables portfolio standard of this state or any other state, or for verifying retail product claims in this state or any other state.
(3) All revenues received by an electrical corporation for the sale of a renewable energy credit shall be credited to the benefit of ratepayers.
(4) Renewable energy credits shall not be created for electricity generated pursuant to any electricity purchase contract with a retail seller or a local publicly owned electric utility executed before January 1, 2005, unless the contract contains explicit terms and conditions specifying the ownership or disposition of those credits. Procurement under those contracts shall be tracked through the accounting system described in subdivision (b) of Section 399.25 and included in the quantity of eligible renewable energy resources of the purchasing retail seller pursuant to Section 399.15.
(5) Renewable energy credits shall not be created for electricity generated under any electricity purchase contract executed after January 1, 2005, pursuant to the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 2601 et seq.). Procurement under the electricity purchase contracts shall be tracked through the accounting system implemented by the Energy Commission pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 399.25 and count toward the renewables portfolio standard procurement requirements of the purchasing retail seller.
(6) Nothing in the amendments to this article made by the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015 (Senate Bill 350 of the 2015–16 Regular Session) is intended to change commission Decision 11-12-052 regarding the classification of renewable energy credits from generation on the customer side of the meter.
(7) A renewable energy credit shall not be eligible for compliance with a renewables portfolio standard procurement requirement unless it is retired in the tracking system established pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 399.25 by the retail seller or local publicly owned electric utility within 36 months from the initial date of generation of the associated electricity.
(b) The commission shall allow an electrical corporation to recover the reasonable costs of purchasing, selling, and administering renewable energy credit contracts in rates.

SEC. 24.

 Section 399.30 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

399.30.
 (a) (1) To fulfill unmet long-term generation resource needs, each local publicly owned electric utility shall adopt and implement a renewable energy resources procurement plan that requires the utility to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources, including renewable energy credits, as a specified percentage of total kilowatthours sold to the utility’s retail end-use customers, each compliance period, to achieve the targets of subdivision (c).
(2) Beginning January 1, 2019, a local publicly owned electric utility subject to Section 9621 shall incorporate the renewable energy resources procurement plan required by this section as part of a broader integrated resource plan developed and adopted pursuant to Section 9621.  
(b) The governing board shall implement procurement targets for a local publicly owned electric utility that require the utility to procure a minimum quantity of eligible renewable energy resources for each of the following compliance periods:
(1) January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2013, inclusive.
(2) January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2016, inclusive.
(3) January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2020, inclusive.
(4) January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2024, inclusive.
(5) January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2027, inclusive.
(6) January 1, 2028, to December 31, 2030, inclusive.
(c) The governing board of a local publicly owned electric utility shall ensure all of the following:
(1) The quantities of eligible renewable energy resources to be procured for the compliance period from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2013, inclusive, are equal to an average of 20 percent of retail sales.
(2) The quantities of eligible renewable energy resources to be procured for all other compliance periods reflect reasonable progress in each of the intervening years sufficient to ensure that the procurement of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources achieves 25 percent of retail sales by December 31, 2016, 33 percent by December 31, 2020, 44 40  percent by December 31, 2024, 52 45  percent by December 31, 2027, and 60 50  percent by December 31, 2030. The Energy Commission shall establish appropriate multiyear compliance periods for all subsequent years that require the local publicly owned electric utility to procure not less than 60 50  percent of retail sales of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources.
(3) A local publicly owned electric utility shall adopt procurement requirements consistent with Section 399.16.
(4) Beginning January 1, 2014, in calculating the procurement requirements under this article, a local publicly owned electric utility may exclude from its total retail sales the kilowatthours generated by an eligible renewable energy resource that is credited to a participating customer pursuant to a voluntary green pricing or shared renewable generation program. Any exclusion shall be limited to electricity products that do not meet the portfolio content criteria set forth in paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 399.16. Any renewable energy credits associated with electricity credited to a participating customer shall not be used for compliance with procurement requirements under this article, shall be retired on behalf of the participating customer, and shall not be further sold, transferred, or otherwise monetized for any purpose. To the extent possible for generation that is excluded from retail sales under this subdivision, a local publicly owned electric utility shall seek to procure those eligible renewable energy resources that are located in reasonable proximity to program participants.
(d) (1) The governing board of a local publicly owned electric utility shall adopt procurement requirements consistent with subparagraph (B) of paragraph (5) (4)  of subdivision (a) of, and paragraph (1) of  subdivision (b) of, Section 399.13.
(2) The governing board of a local publicly owned electric utility may adopt the following measures:
(A) Conditions that allow for delaying timely compliance consistent with subdivision (b) of Section 399.15.
(B) Cost limitations for procurement expenditures consistent with subdivision (c) of Section 399.15.
(e) The governing board of the local publicly owned electric utility shall adopt a program for the enforcement of this article. The program shall be adopted at a publicly noticed meeting offering all interested parties an opportunity to comment. Not less than 30 days’ notice shall be given to the public of any meeting held for purposes of adopting the program. Not less than 10 days’ notice shall be given to the public before any meeting is held to make a substantive change to the program.
(f) (1)  Each local publicly owned electric utility shall annually post notice, in accordance with the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter  Chapter  9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code), Code,  whenever its governing body will deliberate in public on its renewable energy resources procurement plan.
(2) Contemporaneous with the posting of the notice of a public meeting to consider the renewable energy resources procurement plan, the local publicly owned electric utility shall notify the Energy Commission of the date, time, and location of the meeting in order to enable the Energy Commission to post the information on its Internet Web site. This requirement is satisfied if the local publicly owned electric utility provides the uniform resource locator (URL) that links to this information.
(3) Upon distribution to its governing body of information related to its renewable energy resources procurement status and future plans, for its consideration at a noticed public meeting, the local publicly owned electric utility shall make that information available to the public and shall provide the Energy Commission with an electronic copy of the documents for posting on the Energy Commission’s Internet Web site. This requirement is satisfied if the local publicly owned electric utility provides the uniform resource locator (URL) that links to the documents or information regarding other manners of access to the documents.
(g) A public utility district that receives all of its electricity pursuant to a preference right adopted and authorized by the United States Congress pursuant to Section 4 of the Trinity River Division Act of August 12, 1955 (Public Law 84-386), 84-386)  shall be in compliance with the renewable energy procurement requirements of this article.
(h) For a local publicly owned electric utility that was in existence on or before January 1, 2009, that provides retail electric service to 15,000 or fewer customer accounts in California, and is interconnected to a balancing authority located outside this state but within the WECC, an eligible renewable energy resource includes a facility that is located outside California that is connected to the WECC transmission system, if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The electricity generated by the facility is procured by the local publicly owned electric utility, is delivered to the balancing authority area in which the local publicly owned electric utility is located, and is not used to fulfill renewable energy procurement requirements of other states.
(2) The local publicly owned electric utility participates in, and complies with, the accounting system administered by the Energy Commission pursuant to this article.
(3) The Energy Commission verifies that the electricity generated by the facility is eligible to meet the renewables portfolio standard procurement requirements.
(i) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), for a local publicly owned electric utility that is a joint powers authority of districts established pursuant to state law on or before January 1, 2005, that furnishes furnish  electric services other than to residential customers, and is formed pursuant to the Irrigation District Law (Division 11 (commencing with Section 20500) of the Water Code), the percentage of total kilowatthours sold to the district’s retail end-use customers, upon which the renewables portfolio standard procurement requirements in subdivision (b) are calculated, shall be based on the authority’s average retail sales over the previous seven years. If the authority has not furnished electric service for seven years, then the calculation shall be based on average retail sales over the number of completed years during which the authority has provided electric service.
(j) A local publicly owned electric utility in a city and county that only receives greater than 67 percent of its electricity sources from hydroelectric generation located within the state that it owns and operates, and that does not meet the definition of a “renewable electrical generation facility” pursuant to Section 25741 of the Public Resources Code, shall be required to procure eligible renewable energy resources, including renewable energy credits, to meet only the electricity demands unsatisfied by its hydroelectric generation in any given year, in order to satisfy its renewable energy procurement requirements.
(k) (1) A local publicly owned electric utility that receives greater than 50 percent of its annual retail sales from its own hydroelectric generation that is not an eligible renewable energy resource shall not be required to procure additional eligible renewable energy resources in excess of either of the following:
(A) The portion of its retail sales not supplied by its own hydroelectric generation. For these purposes, retail sales supplied by an increase in hydroelectric generation resulting from an increase in the amount of water stored by a dam because the dam is enlarged or otherwise modified after December 31, 2012, shall not count as being retail sales supplied by the utility’s own hydroelectric generation.
(B) The cost limitation adopted pursuant to this section.
(2) For the purposes of this subdivision, “hydroelectric generation” means electricity generated from a hydroelectric facility that satisfies all of the following:
(A) Is owned solely and operated by the local publicly owned electric utility as of 1967.
(B) Serves a local publicly owned electric utility with a distribution system demand of less than 150 megawatts.
(C) Involves a contract in which an electrical corporation receives the benefit of the electric generation through June of 2014, at which time the benefit reverts back to the ownership and control of the local publicly owned electric utility.
(D) Has a maximum penstock flow capacity of no more than 3,200 cubic feet per second and includes a regulating reservoir with a small hydroelectric generation facility producing fewer than 20 megawatts with a maximum penstock flow capacity of no more than 3,000 cubic feet per second.
(3) This subdivision does not reduce or eliminate any renewable procurement requirement for any compliance period ending prior to January 1, 2014.
(4) This subdivision does not require a local publicly owned electric utility to purchase additional eligible renewable energy resources in excess of the procurement requirements of subdivision (c).
(k) (l)  (1) (A)  For purposes of this subdivision, “large hydroelectric generation” means electricity generated from an existing  a  hydroelectric facility located within the state that does not qualify as  that is not  an eligible renewable energy resource and, as of January 1, 2018, was owned by  and provides electricity to  a local publicly owned electric utility,  utility from facilities owned by  the federal government as a part of the federal Central Valley Project, Project  or a joint powers agency formed and created pursuant to the Joint Exercise of Powers Act (Chapter  Chapter  5 (commencing with Section 6500) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code). Code. 
(B) Large hydroelectric generation does not include any resource that meets the definition of hydroelectric generation set forth in subdivision (k).
(2) If, during a year within a compliance period set forth in subdivision (b), a local publicly owned electric utility receives more greater  than 40 50  percent of its retail sales from large hydroelectric generation under an ownership agreement or contract in effect as of January 1, 2018,  generation,  it is not required to procure eligible renewable energy resources that exceed the lesser of the following for that year:
(A) The portion of the local publicly owned electric utility’s utility  retail sales unsatisfied by the local publicly owned electric utility’s large hydroelectric generation.
(B) The soft target adopted by the Energy Commission for the intervening years year  of the relevant compliance period.
(3) An  Except for an existing agreement effective as of January 1, 2015, or  extension or renewal of a procurement agreement that agreement, any new procurement commitment  shall not be eligible to count towards the determination that the local publicly owned electric utility receives more than 40 50  percent of its retail sales from large hydroelectric generation in any year. This paragraph shall not apply to any agreement in effect on January 1, 2015, between a local publicly owned electric utility and the Western Area Power Administration or federal government as part of the federal Central Valley Project. 
(4) The Energy Commission shall adjust the total quantities of eligible renewable energy resources to be procured by a local publicly owned electric utility for a compliance period to reflect any reductions required pursuant to paragraph (2).
(5) This subdivision does not modify the compliance obligation of a local publicly owned electric utility to satisfy the requirements of subdivision (c) of Section 399.16.
(l) (m)  (1) (A) For purposes of this subdivision, “unavoidable long-term contracts and ownership agreements” means commitments for electricity from a coal-fired powerplant, located outside the state, originally entered into by a local publicly owned electric utility before June 1, 2010, that is not subsequently modified to result in an extension of the duration of the agreement or result in an increase in total quantities of energy delivered during any compliance period set forth in subdivision (b).
(B) The governing board of a local publicly owned electric utility shall demonstrate in its renewable energy resources procurement plan required pursuant to subdivision (a) (f)  that any cancellation or divestment of the commitment would result in significant economic harm to its retail customers that cannot be substantially mitigated through resale, transfer to another entity, early closure of the facility, or other feasible measures.
(2) For the compliance period set forth in paragraph (4) of subdivision (b), a local publicly owned electric utility meeting the requirement of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) may adjust its renewable energy procurement targets to ensure that the procurement of additional electricity from eligible renewable energy resources, in combination with the procurement of electricity from unavoidable long-term contracts and ownership agreements, does not exceed the total retail sales of the local publicly owned electric utility during that compliance period. The local publicly owned electric utility may limit its procurement of eligible renewable energy resources for that compliance period to no less than an average of 33 percent of its retail sales.
(3) The Energy Commission shall approve any reductions in procurement targets proposed by a local publicly owned electric utility if it determines that the requirements of this subdivision are satisfied.
(m) (n)  A local publicly owned electric utility shall retain discretion over both of the following:
(1) The mix of eligible renewable energy resources procured by the utility and those additional generation resources procured by the utility for purposes of ensuring resource adequacy and reliability.
(2) The reasonable costs incurred by the utility for eligible renewable energy resources owned by the utility.
(n) (o)  The Energy Commission shall adopt regulations specifying procedures for enforcement of this article. The regulations shall include a public process under which the Energy Commission may issue a notice of violation and correction against a local publicly owned electric utility for failure to comply with this article, and for referral of violations to the State Air Resources Board for penalties pursuant to subdivision (o). (n).  
(o) (p)  (1) Upon a determination by the Energy Commission that a local publicly owned electric utility has failed to comply with this article, the Energy Commission shall refer the failure to comply with this article to the State Air Resources Board, which may impose penalties to enforce this article consistent with Part 6 (commencing with Section 38580) of Division 25.5 of the Health and Safety Code. Any penalties imposed shall be comparable to those adopted by the commission for noncompliance by retail sellers.
(2) Any penalties collected by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to this article shall be deposited in the Air Pollution Control Fund and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, shall be expended for reducing emissions of air pollution or greenhouse gases within the same geographic area as the local publicly owned electric utility.

SEC. 25.

 Article 17 (commencing with Section 400) is added to Chapter 2.3 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code, to read:

Article  17. Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction
400.
 The commission and the Energy Commission shall do all of the following in furtherance of meeting the state’s clean energy and pollution reduction objectives:
(a) Take into account the use of distributed generation to the extent that it provides economic and environmental benefits in disadvantaged communities as identified pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code.
(b) Take into account the opportunities to decrease costs and increase benefits, including pollution reduction and grid integration, using renewable and nonrenewable technologies with zero or lowest feasible emissions of greenhouse gases, criteria pollutants, and toxic air contaminants onsite in proceedings associated with meeting the objectives.
(c) Where feasible, authorize procurement of resources to provide grid reliability services that minimize reliance on system power and fossil fuel resources and, where feasible, cost effective, and consistent with other state policy objectives, increase the use of large- and small-scale energy storage with a variety of technologies, targeted energy efficiency, demand response, including, but not limited to, automated demand response, eligible renewable energy resources, or other renewable and nonrenewable technologies with zero or lowest feasible emissions of greenhouse gases, criteria pollutants, and toxic air contaminants onsite to protect system reliability.
(d) Review technology incentive, research, development, deployment, and market facilitation programs overseen by the commission and the Energy Commission and make recommendations to advance state clean energy and pollution reduction objectives and provide benefits to disadvantaged communities as identified pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code.
(e) To the extent feasible, give first priority to the manufacture and deployment of clean energy and pollution reduction technologies that create employment opportunities, including high wage, highly skilled employment opportunities, and increased investment in the state.
(f) Establish a publicly available tracking system to provide up-to-date information on progress toward meeting the clean energy and pollution reduction goals of the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015.
(g) Establish an advisory group consisting of representatives from disadvantaged communities identified in Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code. The advisory group shall review and provide advice on programs proposed to achieve clean energy and pollution reduction and determine whether those proposed programs will be effective and useful in disadvantaged communities.

SEC. 26.

 Section 454.51 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

454.51.
 The commission shall do all of the following:
(a) Identify a diverse and balanced portfolio of resources needed to ensure a reliable electricity supply that provides optimal integration of renewable energy in a cost-effective manner. The portfolio shall rely upon zero carbon-emitting resources to the maximum extent reasonable and be designed to achieve any statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit established pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code) or any successor legislation.
(b) Direct each electrical corporation to include, as part of its proposed procurement plan, a strategy for procuring best-fit and least-cost resources to satisfy the portfolio needs identified by the commission pursuant to subdivision (a).
(c) Ensure that the net costs of any incremental renewable energy integration resources procured by an electrical corporation to satisfy the need identified in subdivision (a) are allocated on a fully nonbypassable basis consistent with the treatment of costs identified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 365.1.
(d) Permit community choice aggregators to submit proposals for satisfying their portion of the renewable integration need identified in subdivision (a). If the commission finds this need is best met through long-term procurement commitments for resources, community choice aggregators shall also be required to make long-term commitments for resources. The commission shall approve proposals pursuant to this subdivision if it finds all of the following:
(1) The resources proposed by a community choice aggregator will provide equivalent integration of renewable energy.
(2) The resources proposed by a community choice aggregator will promote the efficient achievement of state energy policy objectives, including reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
(3) Bundled customers of an electrical corporation will be indifferent from the approval of the community choice aggregator proposals.
(4) All costs resulting from nonperformance will be borne by the electrical corporation or community choice aggregator responsible for them.

SEC. 27.

 Section 454.52 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

454.52.
 (a) (1) Commencing in 2017, and to be updated regularly thereafter, the commission shall adopt a process for each load-serving entity, as defined in Section 380, to file an integrated resource plan, and a schedule for periodic updates to the plan, to ensure that load-serving entities do the following:
(A) Meet the greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets established by the State Air Resources Board, in coordination with the commission and the Energy Commission, for the electricity sector and each load-serving entity that reflect the electricity sector’s percentage in achieving the economywide greenhouse gas emissions reductions of 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2030.
(B) Procure at least 50 percent eligible renewable energy resources by December 31, 2030, consistent with Article 16 (commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3.
(C) Enable each electrical corporation to fulfill its obligation to serve its customers at just and reasonable rates.
(D) Minimize impacts on ratepayers’ bills.
(E) Ensure system and local reliability.
(F) Strengthen the diversity, sustainability, and resilience of the bulk transmission and distribution systems, and local communities.
(G) Enhance distribution systems and demand-side energy management.
(H) Minimize localized air pollutants and other greenhouse gas emissions, with early priority on disadvantaged communities identified pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) (A) The commission may authorize all source procurement for electrical corporations that includes various resource types including demand-side resources, supply side resources, and resources that may be either demand-side resources or supply side resources, taking into account the differing electrical corporations’ geographic service areas, to ensure that each load-serving entity meets the goals set forth in paragraph (1).
(B) The commission may approve procurement of resource types that will reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector and meet the other goals specified in paragraph (1), but due to the nature of the technology or fuel source may not compete favorably in price against other resources over the time period of the integrated resource plan.
(b) (1) Each load-serving entity shall prepare and file an integrated resource plan consistent with paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) on a time schedule directed by the commission and subject to commission review.
(2) Each electrical corporation’s plan shall follow the provisions of Section 454.5.
(3) The plan of a community choice aggregator shall be submitted to its governing board for approval and provided to the commission for certification, consistent with paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 366.2, and shall achieve the following:
(A) Economic, reliability, environmental, security, and other benefits and performance characteristics that are consistent with the goals set forth in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).
(B) A diversified procurement portfolio consisting of both short-term and long-term electricity and electricity-related and demand reduction products.
(C) The resource adequacy requirements established pursuant to Section 380.
(4) The plan of an electric service provider shall achieve the goals set forth in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) through a diversified portfolio consisting of both short-term and long-term electricity, electricity-related, and demand reduction products.
(c) To the extent that additional procurement is authorized for the electrical corporation in the integrated resource plan or the procurement process authorized pursuant to Section 454.5, the commission shall ensure that the costs are allocated in a fair and equitable manner to all customers consistent with 454.51, that there is no cost-shifting among customers of load-serving entities, and that community choice aggregators may self-provide renewable integration resources consistent with Section 454.51.
(d) In order to eliminate redundancy and increase efficiency, the process adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall incorporate, and not duplicate, any other planning processes of the commission.

SEC. 28.

 Section 454.55 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

454.55.
 (a) (1)  The commission, in consultation with the Energy Commission, shall identify all potentially achievable cost-effective electricity efficiency savings and establish efficiency targets for an electrical corporation to achieve, pursuant to Section 454.5, consistent with the targets established pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 25310 of the Public Resources Code.
(2) (1)  By July 1, 2018, and every four years thereafter, each electrical corporation shall report on its progress toward achieving the targets established pursuant to paragraph (1). subdivision (a). 
(2) By July 1, 2019, and every four years thereafter, the commission shall, pursuant to Section 9795 of the Government Code, report to the Legislature on the progress toward achieving the targets established pursuant to subdivision (a). The commission shall include specific strategies for, and an update on, progress toward maximizing the contribution of electricity efficiency savings in disadvantaged communities identified pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code.
(b) (1) By December 31, 2023, the commission shall, in a new or existing proceeding, undertake a comprehensive review of the feasibility, costs, barriers, and benefits of achieving a cumulative doubling of energy efficiency savings and demand reduction by 2030 pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 25310 of the Public Resources Code.
(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 25310 of the Public Resources Code, if the commission concludes the targets established for electrical corporations to achieve pursuant to subdivision (a) are not cost effective, feasible, or pose potential adverse impacts to public health and safety, the commission shall revise the targets to the level that optimizes the amount of energy efficiency savings and demand reduction and shall modify, revise, or update its policies as needed to address barriers preventing achievement of those targets.
(c) The commission shall ensure that there are sufficient moneys available to electrical corporations to meet the efficiency targets established pursuant to subdivision (a). This subdivision shall not be construed to authorize the commission to impose or increase any tax.

SEC. 29.

 Section 454.56 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

454.56.
 (a) The commission, in consultation with the Energy Commission, shall identify all potentially achievable cost-effective natural gas efficiency savings and establish efficiency targets for the gas corporation to achieve, consistent with the targets established pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 25310 of the Public Resources Code.
(b) A gas corporation shall first meet its unmet resource needs through all available natural gas efficiency and demand reduction resources that are cost effective, reliable, and feasible.
(c) By July 1, 2018, and every four years thereafter, each gas corporation shall report on its progress toward achieving the targets established pursuant to subdivision (a).
(d) By July 1, 2019, and every four years thereafter, the commission shall, pursuant to Section 9795 of the Government Code, report to the Legislature on the progress toward achieving the targets establish pursuant to subdivision (a). The commission shall include specific strategies for, and an update on, progress toward maximizing the contribution of energy efficiency savings in disadvantaged communities identified pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code.
(d) (e)  Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 25310 of the Public Resources Code, if the commission concludes in its review pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 454.55 that the targets established for gas corporations to achieve pursuant to subdivision (a) are not cost effective, feasible, or pose potential adverse impacts to public health and safety, the commission shall revise the targets to the level that maximizes the amount of energy efficiency savings and demand reduction and shall modify, revise, or update its policies as needed to address barriers preventing achievement of those targets.
(e) The commission shall ensure that there are sufficient moneys available to gas corporations to meet the efficiency targets established pursuant to subdivision (a). This subdivision shall not be construed to authorize the commission to impose or increase any tax.

SEC. 30.

 Section 701.1 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

701.1.
 (a) (1) The Legislature finds and declares that, in addition to other ratepayer protection objectives, a principal goal of electric and natural gas utilities’ resource planning and investment shall be to minimize the cost to society of the reliable energy services that are provided by natural gas and electricity, and to improve the environment and to encourage the diversity of energy sources through improvements in energy efficiency, the  development of renewable energy resources, such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal energy, and widespread transportation electrification.
(2) The amendment made to this subdivision by the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015 (Chapter 547 of the Statutes of 2015)  does not expand the authority of the commission beyond that provided by other law.
(b) The Legislature further finds and declares that, in addition to any appropriate investments in energy production, electrical and natural gas utilities should seek to exploit all practicable and cost-effective conservation and improvements in the efficiency of energy use and distribution that offer equivalent or better system reliability reliability,  and that which  are not being exploited by any other entity.
(c) In calculating the cost-effectiveness of energy resources, including conservation and load management options, the commission shall include, in addition to other ratepayer protection objectives, a value for any costs and benefits to the environment, including air quality. The commission shall ensure that any values it develops pursuant to this section are consistent with values developed by the Energy  State Energy Resources Conservation and Development  Commission pursuant to Section 25000.1 of the Public Resources Code. However, if the commission determines that a value developed pursuant to this subdivision is not consistent with a value developed by the Energy  State Energy Resources Conservation and Development  Commission pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 25000.1 of the Public Resources Code, the commission may nonetheless use this value if, in the appropriate record of its proceedings, it states its reasons for using the value it has selected.
(d) In determining the emission values associated with the current operating capacity of existing electric powerplants pursuant to subdivision (c), the commission shall adhere to the following protocol in determining values for air quality costs and benefits to the environment. If the commission finds that an air pollutant that is subject to regulation is a component of residual emissions from an electric powerplant and that the owner of that powerplant is either of the following:
(1) Using a tradable emission allowance, right, or offset for that pollutant, which (A) has been approved by the air quality district regulating the powerplant, (B) is consistent with federal and state law, and (C) has been obtained, authorized, or acquired in a market-based system.
(2) Paying a tax per measured unit of that pollutant.
The commission shall not assign a value or cost to that residual pollutant for the current operating capacity of that powerplant because the alternative protocol for dealing with the pollutant operates to internalize its cost for the purpose of planning for and acquiring new generating resources.
(e) (1) The values determined pursuant to subdivision (c) to represent costs and benefits to the environment shall not be used by the commission, in and of themselves, to require early decommissioning or retirement of an electric utility powerplant that complies with applicable prevailing environmental regulations.
(2) Further, the environmental values determined pursuant to subdivision (c) shall not be used by the commission in a manner that, which,  when those values are aggregated, will result in advancing an electric utility’s need for new powerplant capacity by more than 15 months.
(f) This subdivision shall apply whenever a powerplant bid solicitation is required by the commission for an electric utility and a portion of the amount of new powerplant capacity, which is the subject of the bid solicitation, is the result of the commission’s use of environmental values to advance that electric utility’s need for new powerplant capacity in the manner authorized by paragraph (2) of subdivision (e). The affected electric utility may propose to the commission any combination of alternatives to that portion of the new powerplant capacity that is the result of the commission’s use of environmental values as authorized by paragraph (2) of subdivision (c). The commission shall approve an alternative in place of the new powerplant capacity if it finds all of the following:
(1) The alternative has been approved by the relevant air quality district.
(2) The alternative is consistent with federal and state law.
(3) The alternative will result in needed system reliability for the electric utility at least equivalent to that which would result from bidding for new powerplant capacity.
(4) The alternative will result in reducing system operating costs for the electric utility over those that which  would result from the process of bidding for new powerplant capacity.
(5) The alternative will result in equivalent or better environmental improvements at a lower cost than would result from bidding for new powerplant capacity.
(g) This section does not require an electric utility to alter the dispatch of its powerplants for environmental purposes.
(h) This section does not preclude an electric utility from submitting to the commission any combination of alternatives to meet a commission-identified need for new capacity, if the submission is otherwise authorized by the commission.
(i) This section does not change or alter any provision of commission Decision 92-04-045 (April 22, 1992), Application of Pacific Gas and Electric Company for an Ex Parte Order Approving Settlement Agreements Between Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Certain Winning Bidders in Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Biennial Resource Plan Update Auction. decision 92-04-045, dated April 22, 1992. 

SEC. 31.

 Section 740.8 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

740.8.
 As used in Section 740.3 or 740.12, “interests” of ratepayers, short- or long-term, mean direct benefits that are specific to ratepayers, consistent with both of the following:
(a) Safer, more reliable, or less costly gas or electrical service, consistent with Section 451, including electrical service that is safer, more reliable, or less costly due to either improved use of the electric system or improved integration of renewable energy generation.
(b) Any one of the following:
(1) Improvement in energy efficiency of travel.
(2) Reduction of health and environmental impacts from air pollution.
(3) Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions related to electricity and natural gas production and use.
(4) Increased use of alternative fuels.
(5) Creating high-quality jobs or other economic benefits, including in disadvantaged communities identified pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code.

SEC. 32.

 Section 740.12 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

740.12.
 (a) (1) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(A) Advanced clean vehicles and fuels are needed to reduce petroleum use, to meet air quality standards, to improve public health, and to achieve greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals.
(B) Widespread transportation electrification is needed to achieve the goals of the Charge Ahead California Initiative (Chapter 8.5 (commencing with Section 44258) of Part 5 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code).
(C) Widespread transportation electrification requires increased access for disadvantaged communities, low- and moderate-income communities, and other consumers of zero-emission and near-zero-emission vehicles, and increased use of those vehicles in those communities and by other consumers to enhance air quality, lower greenhouse gases emissions, and promote overall benefits to those communities and other consumers.
(D) Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050 will require widespread transportation electrification.
(E) Widespread transportation electrification requires electrical corporations to increase access to the use of electricity as a transportation fuel.
(F) Widespread transportation electrification should stimulate innovation and competition, enable consumer options in charging equipment and services, attract private capital investments, and create high-quality jobs for Californians, where technologically feasible.
(G) Deploying electric vehicles should assist in grid management, integrating generation from eligible renewable energy resources, and reducing fuel costs for vehicle drivers who charge in a manner consistent with electrical grid conditions.
(H) Deploying electric vehicle charging infrastructure should facilitate increased sales of electric vehicles by making charging easily accessible and should provide the opportunity to access electricity as a fuel that is cleaner and less costly than gasoline or other fossil fuels in public and private locations.
(I) According to the State Alternative Fuels Plan analysis by the Energy Commission and the State Air Resources Board, light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicle electrification results in approximately 70 percent fewer greenhouse gases emitted, over 85 percent fewer ozone-forming air pollutants emitted, and 100 percent fewer petroleum used. These reductions will become larger as renewable generation increases.
(2) It is the policy of the state and the intent of the Legislature to encourage transportation electrification as a means to achieve ambient air quality standards and the state’s climate goals. Agencies designing and implementing regulations, guidelines, plans, and funding programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions shall take the findings described in paragraph (1) into account.
(b) The commission, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board and the Energy Commission, shall direct electrical corporations to file applications for programs and investments to accelerate widespread transportation electrification to reduce dependence on petroleum, meet air quality standards, achieve the goals set forth in the Charge Ahead California Initiative (Chapter 8.5 (commencing with Section 44258) of Part 5 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code), and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Programs proposed by electrical corporations shall seek to minimize overall costs and maximize overall benefits. The commission shall approve, or modify and approve, programs and investments in transportation electrification, including those that deploy charging infrastructure, via a reasonable cost recovery mechanism, if they are consistent with this section, do not unfairly compete with nonutility enterprises as required under Section 740.3, include performance accountability measures, and are in the interests of ratepayers as defined in Section 740.8.
(c) The commission shall review data concerning current and future electric transportation adoption and charging infrastructure utilization prior to authorizing an electrical corporation to collect new program costs related to transportation electrification in customer rates. If market barriers unrelated to the investment made by an electric corporation prevent electric transportation from adequately utilizing available charging infrastructure, the commission shall not permit additional investments in transportation electrification without a reasonable showing that the investments would not result in long-term stranded costs recoverable from ratepayers.
(d) This section applies to an application to the commission for transportation electrification programs and investments if one of the following conditions is met:
(1) The application is filed on or after January 1, 2016.
(2) The application is filed before January 1, 2016, but has an evidentiary hearing scheduled on or after July 1, 2016.

SEC. 33.

 Section 9505 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

9505.
 (a) By March 15, 2013, and by March 15 of each year thereafter, each local publicly owned electric utility shall report to the Energy Commission and to its customers all of the following:
(1) Its investments in energy efficiency and demand reduction programs.
(2) A description of each energy efficiency and demand reduction program, program expenditures, the cost-effectiveness of each program, and expected and actual energy efficiency savings and demand reduction results that reflect the intent of the Legislature to encourage energy savings and reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases resulting from providing service to existing residential and nonresidential buildings, while taking into consideration the effect of the program on rates, reliability, and financial resources.
(3) The sources for funding of its energy efficiency and demand reduction programs.
(4) The methodologies and input assumptions used to determine the cost-effectiveness of its energy efficiency and demand reduction programs.
(5) A comparison of the local publicly owned electric utility’s annual targets established pursuant to subdivision (b) and the local publicly owned electric utility’s reported electricity efficiency savings and demand reductions.
(b) By March 15, 2013, and by March 15 of every fourth year thereafter, each local publicly owned electric utility shall identify all potentially achievable cost-effective electricity efficiency savings and shall establish annual targets for energy efficiency savings and demand reduction for the next 10-year period, consistent with the annual targets established by the Energy Commission pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 25310 of the Public Resources Code. A local publicly owned electric utility’s determination of potentially achievable cost-effective electricity efficiency savings shall be made without regard to previous minimum investments undertaken pursuant to Section 385. A local publicly owned electric utility shall treat investments made to achieve energy efficiency savings and demand reduction targets as procurement investments.
(c) Within 60 days of establishing annual targets pursuant to subdivision (b), each local publicly owned electric utility shall report those targets to the Energy Commission, and the basis for establishing those targets.
(d) Each local publicly owned electric utility shall make available to its customers and to the Energy Commission the results of any independent evaluation that measures and verifies the energy efficiency savings and the reduction in energy demand achieved by its energy efficiency and demand reduction programs.

SEC. 34.

 Section 9620 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

9620.
 (a) Each local publicly owned electric utility serving end-use customers customers,  shall prudently plan for and procure resources that are adequate to meet its planning reserve margin and peak demand and operating reserves, sufficient to provide reliable electric service to its customers. Customer generation located on the customer’s site or providing electric service through arrangements authorized by Section 218, shall not be subject to these requirements if the customer generation, or the load it serves, meets one of the following criteria:
(1) It takes standby service from the local publicly owned electric utility on a rate schedule that provides for adequate backup planning and operating reserves for the standby customer class.
(2) It is not physically interconnected to the electric transmission or distribution grid, so that, if the customer generation fails, backup power is not supplied from the electricity grid.
(3) There is physical assurance that the load served by the customer generation will be curtailed concurrently and commensurately with an outage of the customer generation.
(b) Each local publicly owned electric utility serving end-use customers shall, at a minimum, meet the most recent minimum planning reserve and reliability criteria approved by the Board of Trustees of the Western Systems Coordinating Council or the Western Electricity Coordinating Council.
(c) Each local publicly owned electric utility shall prudently plan for and procure energy storage systems that are adequate to meet the requirements of Section 2836.
(d) A local publicly owned electric utility serving end-use customers shall, upon request, provide the Energy Commission with any information the Energy Commission determines is necessary to evaluate the progress made by the local publicly owned electric utility in meeting the requirements of this section, consistent with the annual targets established pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 25310 of the Public Resources Code.
(e) The Energy Commission shall report to the Legislature, to be included in each integrated energy policy report prepared pursuant to Section 25302 of the Public Resources Code, regarding the progress made by each local publicly owned electric utility serving end-use customers in meeting the requirements of this section.
(f) A local publicly owned electric utility may meet its minimum planning reserve margin through individual contractual procurement or through an aggregated or pooled portfolio of resources if that aggregation or pooling is defined in a contractual arrangement and each participating local publicly owned electric utility meets its individual minimum planning reserve margin based on its share of the resource portfolio pool.

SEC. 35.

 Section 9621 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

9621.
 (a) This section shall apply to a local publicly owned electric utility with an annual electrical demand exceeding 700 gigawatthours, as determined on a three-year average commencing January 1, 2013.
(b) On or before January 1, 2019, the governing board of a local publicly owned electric utility shall adopt an integrated resource plan and a process for updating the plan at least once every five years to ensure the utility achieves all of the following:
(1) Meets the greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets established by the State Air Resources Board, in coordination with the commission and the Energy Commission, for the electricity sector and each local publicly-owned electric utility that reflect the electricity sector’s percentage in achieving the economywide greenhouse gas emissions reductions of 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2030.
(2) Ensures procurement of at least 50 percent eligible renewable energy resources by 2030 consistent with Article 16 (commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3.
(3) Meets the goals specified in subparagraphs (C) to (H), inclusive, of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 454.52.
(c) (1) The integrated resource plan shall address procurement for the following:
(A) Energy efficiency and demand response resources pursuant to Section 9615.
(B) Energy storage requirements pursuant to Chapter 7.7 (commencing with Section 2835) of Part 2 of Division 1.
(C) Transportation electrification.
(D) A diversified procurement portfolio consisting of both short-term and long-term electricity, electricity-related, and demand response products.
(E) The resource adequacy requirements established pursuant to Section 9620.
(2) (A) The governing board of the local publicly owned electric utility may authorize all source procurement that includes various resource types, including demand-side resources, supply side resources, and resources that may be either demand-side resources or supply side resources, to ensure that the local publicly owned electric utility procures the optimum resource mix that meets the objectives of subdivision (b).
(B) The governing board may authorize procurement of resource types that will reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector and meet the other goals specified in subdivision (b), but due to the nature of the technology or fuel source may not compete favorably in price against other resources over the time period of the integrated resource plan.
(d) A local publicly owned electric utility shall satisfy the notice and public disclosure requirements of subdivision (f) of Section 399.30 with respect to any integrated resource plan or plan update it considers.

SEC. 36.

 Section 9622 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

9622.
 (a) Integrated resource plans and plan updates adopted pursuant to Section 9621 shall be submitted to the Energy Commission.
(b) The Energy Commission shall review the integrated resource plans and plan updates. If the Energy Commission determines an integrated resource plan or plan update is inconsistent with the requirements of Section 9621, the Energy Commission shall provide recommendations to correct the deficiencies.
(c) The Energy Commission may adopt guidelines to govern the submission of information and data and reports needed to support the Energy Commission’s review of the utility’s integrated resource plan pursuant to this section at a publicly noticed meeting offering all interested parties an opportunity to comment. The Energy Commission shall provide written public notice of not less than 30 days for the initial adoption of guidelines and not less than 10 days for the subsequent adoption of substantive changes. Notwithstanding any other law, any guidelines adopted pursuant to this section shall be exempt from the requirements of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
SEC. 37.
 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.
SEC. 38.
 The provisions of this act are severable. If any provision of this act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.