SB 1453

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, while local publicly owned electric utilities are under the direction of their governing boards. Existing law authorizes the PUC to fix the rates and charges for every public utility, and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. Existing law prohibits any load-serving entity, consisting of electrical corporations, electric service providers, and community choice aggregators serving end-use customers in the state, and any local publicly owned electric utility, from entering into a long-term financial commitment, as defined, for baseload generation, as defined, unless that baseload generation complies with a greenhouse gases emission performance standard. Existing law requires the PUC, through a rulemaking proceeding and in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) and the State Air Resources Board (state board) , to establish the greenhouse gases emission performance standard for all baseload generation of load-serving entities. Existing law requires the Energy Commission, at a duly noticed public hearing and in consultation with the PUC and the state board, to establish the greenhouse gases emission performance standard for all baseload generation of local publicly owned electric utilities. This bill would require the PUC to review any capital expenditure proposed by an electrical corporation for baseload generation that does not comply with the greenhouse gases emission performance standard established by the PUC and to not permit those costs to be recovered in rates if it finds (1) the proposed capital expenditure will materially extend the service life of the baseload generation, (2) cost-effective alternative resources not already owned or contracted for by the electrical corporation would provide superior long-term value to customers and satisfy the greenhouses gases emission performance standard, or (3) the accelerated retirement of the baseload generation unit would promote state and regional goals for the reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases. Under existing law, an electrical corporation that provides electric service to 75,000 or fewer retail end-use customers in California may file with the PUC a proposal for alternative compliance with the greenhouse gases emission performance standard, which the PUC is authorized to accept upon a showing by the electrical corporation that (1) a majority of the electrical corporation's retail end-use customers for electric service are located outside of California and (2) the emissions of greenhouse gases to generate electricity for the retail end-use customers of the electrical corporation are subject to a review by the utility regulatory commission of at least one other state in which the electrical corporation provides regulated retail electric service. This bill would eliminate this alternative compliance option.