AB 1139

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires every electric utility, defined to include electrical corporations, local publicly owned electric utilities, and electrical cooperatives, to develop a standard contract or tariff for net energy metering, as defined, for generation by a renewable electrical generation facility, as defined, and to make this contract or tariff available to eligible customer-generators, as defined, upon request on a first-come-first-served basis until the time that the total rated generating capacity used by eligible customer generators exceeds 5% of the electric utility's aggregate customer peak demand. For a large electrical corporation, as defined, existing law requires the commission to have developed a 2nd standard contract or tariff to provide net energy metering to additional eligible customer-generators in the electrical corporation's service territory and imposes no limitation on the number of new eligible customer-generators entitled to receive service pursuant to this 2nd standard contract or tariff. Existing law requires the commission to ensure that the 2nd standard contract or tariff made available to eligible customer-generators by large electrical corporations ensures that customer-sited renewable distributed generation continues to grow sustainably. Existing law requires the commission, in developing this standard contract or tariff, to include specific alternatives designed for growth among residential customers in disadvantaged communities. This bill would require the commission, no later than August 1, 2022, to develop a replacement for the 2nd standard contract or tariff, which may include net energy metering, for an eligible customer-generator with a renewable electrical generation facility that is a customer of a large electrical corporation, and would require that large electrical corporations offer the standard contract or tariff to eligible customer-generators beginning no later than December 31, 2023. The bill would eliminate the requirement that the large electrical corporation tariff or contract ensure that customer-sited renewable distributed generation continues to grow sustainably. The bill would require that a customer-generator of a large electrical corporation that receives service pursuant to the existing statutory net energy metering tariffs be transferred to the replacement tariff no later than 10 years from the date that customer first received service pursuant to those tariffs, except as specified. If the commission fails to adopt a replacement net energy metering tariff for large electrical corporations by August 1, 2022, this bill would require the commission to develop a successor net energy metering tariff for large electrical corporations, to take effect no later than December 31, 2023, that does specified things, including having interconnection fees and monthly fixed charges based on the cost to interconnect and serve the eligible customer-generator and crediting the eligible customer-generator for any electricity exported to the electrical grid at a rate equal to the electrical corporation's avoided cost. The bill would require that an eligible customer-generator of a large electrical corporation that receives service pursuant to the existing statutory net energy metering tariffs be transferred to the successor tariff no later than 10 years from the date that customer first received service pursuant to those existing tariffs, except as specified. Existing law requires the PUC to submit various reports to the Legislature, as specified. This bill would require the PUC to annually report to the Legislature, by June 30, on progress made to grow use of distributed energy resources among residential customers in disadvantaged communities. 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 certain provisions of the bill would require an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission to implement, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating new crimes. 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.