Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission is vested with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. The Public Utilities Act imposes various duties and responsibilities on the commission with respect to the purchase of electricity by electrical corporations and requires the commission to review and adopt a procurement plan and a renewable energy procurement plan for each electrical corporation pursuant to the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program. The program requires that a retail seller of electricity, including electrical corporations, purchase a specified minimum percentage of electricity generated by eligible renewable energy resources, as defined, in any given year as a specified percentage of total kilowatthours sold to retail end-use customers each calendar year (renewables portfolio standard).

Existing law requires every electrical corporation to file with the commission a standard tariff for renewable energy output produced at an electric generation facility, as defined, that is an eligible renewable energy resource and meets other size, deliverability, and interconnection requirements. Existing law requires the electrical corporation to make this tariff available to public water or wastewater agencies that own and operate an electric generation facility within the service territory of the electrical corporation, upon request, on a first-come, first-served basis, until the combined statewide cumulative rated generating capacity of those electric generation facilities equals 250 megawatts. Existing law requires that the electric generation facility be located on property owned or under the control of the public water or wastewater agency and be sized to offset part or all of the generator’s electricity demand. Existing law provides that the renewable energy output of an electric generation facility counts toward the electrical corporation’s renewables portfolio standard and resource adequacy requirements.

This bill would require every electrical corporation to file with the commission a standard feed-in tariff, as defined, for the electricity delivered to the grid that is generated by a renewable electric generation facility, as defined, that is an eligible renewable energy resource and meets other size, deliverability, and interconnection requirements. The bill would require the commission to consult with the Energy Commission and the Independent System Operator in approving feed-in tariffs develop a methodology for determining a base rate to be paid for electricity that is generated by a renewable electric generation facility and to adjust the base rate to be paid in future years so that the base rate declines over time to reflect improvements in technology and operational practices. The bill would authorize an electrical corporation to make adjustments to the base rate to incentivize the generation of electricity to meet load within the electrical corporation’s individual service territory, including generation of electricity to match peak demand and regional adjustments to match deliverability of electricity to load centers. The bill would require the commission to reduce the tariff rate to reflect federal and state tax and other credits, subsidies, or other incentives received for a renewable electric generation facility. The bill would require the electrical corporation to make the feed-in tariff available to any customer of the electrical corporation, upon request, on a first-come, first-served basis, until the electrical corporation meets its renewables portfolio standard. The

The bill would require the commission to ensure that a customer’s eligibility to receive service pursuant to the feed-in tariff is determined in advance so that a customer can invest in a renewable electric generation facility knowing that the customer will be eligible to receive service pursuant to the feed-in tariff and the market tariff price that will be applicable to that customer. The bill would authorize the commission to place time limitations upon a customer for completion of the renewable electric generation facility to remain eligible for the feed-in tariff at the applicable market tariff price and to establish reasonable operation and reliability standards for a renewable electric generation facility to remain eligible for the feed-in tariff at the applicable market tariff price. The

The bill would provide that any renewable energy credit, as defined, for electricity delivered to the grid and purchased by the electrical corporation belongs to the electrical corporation, and that any renewable energy credit associated with electricity generated by the customer that is utilized by the customer and not delivered to the grid remains the property of the customer. The bill would provide that the electricity generated by the renewable electric generation facility, including generation used to offset the customer’s own usage of electricity, counts toward the electrical corporation’s renewables portfolio standard and resource adequacy requirements. The bill would authorize prohibit a customer receiving electrical service pursuant to an alternative net metering program, as defined, to elect from electing to receive service pursuant to the feed-in tariff filed by an electrical corporation pursuant to the bill’s requirements and would provide that a customer electing to receive receiving service pursuant to the feed-in tariff waives any right the customer otherwise has to thereafter receive service pursuant to an alternative net metering program.

This bill would require the commission, in consultation with the Energy Commission, to develop feed-in tariffs for eligible renewable energy resources of more than 20 megawatts that value a diverse mix of sources of renewable energy based upon the most successful feed-in tariffs utilized in Europe. The bill would require the commission, in consultation with the Independent System Operator, to establish tariff provisions that facilitate both the renewables portfolio standard program and the reliable operation of the grid.

Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or an order or direction of the commission is a crime. Because this bill would require an order or other action of the commission to implement its provisions and a violation of that order or action 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.