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SB-881 Load-serving entities: integrated resource plans.(2021-2022)

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Date Published: 01/26/2022 09:54 PM
SB881:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 881


Introduced by Senator Min
(Principal coauthor: Senator Becker)

January 26, 2022


An act to amend Section 454.52 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to electricity.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 881, as introduced, Min. Load-serving entities: integrated resource plans.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires the commission to adopt a process for each load-serving entity, defined as including electrical corporations, electric service providers, and community choice aggregators, to file an integrated resource plan and a schedule for periodic updates to the plan to ensure that load-serving entities accomplish specified objectives. Existing law requires each load-serving entity to prepare and file an integrated resource plan consistent with certain requirements on a time schedule directed by the commission and subject to commission review.
This bill would require the commission to require each load-serving entity to undertake sufficient procurement to achieve a diverse, balanced, and reliable statewide portfolio and realize specified electricity sector greenhouse gas emissions reductions, as provided.
Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.
Because the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and because a violation of an order or decision of the commission implementing its requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 454.52 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

454.52.
 (a) (1) Beginning 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, and shall ensure that load-serving entities do the following:
(A) Meet the greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets established by the State Air Resources Board, Board scoping plan, 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. required pursuant to Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code.
(B) Procure at least 60 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 on both a near-term and long-term basis, including meeting the near-term and forecast long-term resource adequacy requirements of Section 380.
(F) Comply with paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 399.13.
(G) Strengthen the diversity, sustainability, and resilience of the bulk transmission and distribution systems, and local communities.
(H) Enhance distribution systems and demand-side energy management.
(I) 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.
(3) In furtherance of the requirements of paragraph (1), the commission shall consider the role of existing renewable generation, grid operational efficiencies, energy storage, and distributed energy resources, including energy efficiency, in helping to ensure each load-serving entity meets energy needs and reliability needs in hours to encompass the hour of peak demand of electricity, excluding demand met by variable renewable generation directly connected to a California balancing authority, as defined in Section 399.12, while reducing the need for new electricity generation resources and new transmission resources in achieving the state’s energy goals at the least cost to ratepayers.
(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) (1) The commission shall require each load-serving entity to undertake sufficient procurement, in combination with other load-serving entities, to achieve a diverse, balanced, and reliable statewide portfolio and realize the electricity sector greenhouse gas emissions reductions described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).
(2) The commission may assess penalties on any load-serving entity that fails to satisfy its obligations pursuant to this section and may authorize additional procurement to satisfy unmet needs resulting from this failure. Any additional procurement to satisfy unmet needs may occur pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 454.51 with the costs allocated to the customers of the load-serving entity that failed to meet its obligations.

(c)

(d) 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 Section 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)

(e) 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.

(e)

(f) This section applies to an electrical cooperative, as defined in Section 2776, only if the electrical cooperative has an annual electrical demand exceeding 700 gigawatthours, as determined based on a three-year average commencing with January 1, 2013.

SEC. 2.

 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.