BILL NUMBER: AB 1110 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 3, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 18, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 19, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ting
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
An act to amend Sections 398.1, 398.2, and 398.4 of the Public
Utilities Code, relating to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1110, as amended, Ting. Greenhouse gases emissions intensity
reporting: retail electricity suppliers.
Under existing law, entities offering electric services in
California are required to disclose information on the sources of
energy that are used to provide electric services. Existing law
requires every retail supplier, as defined, that makes an offer to
sell electricity that is consumed in California to disclose its
electricity sources for the previous calendar year. These disclosures
are required to be made to end-use customers and potential end-use
customers. Existing law requires a retail supplier to disclose its
electricity sources as a percentage of annual sales that is derived
from specified sources of energy, including eligible renewable energy
resources.
This bill would require a retail supplier, including an electrical
corporation, local publicly owned electric utility, electric service
provider, and community choice aggregator to also disclose the
greenhouse gases emissions intensity associated with its electricity
sources. The bill would prohibit an adjustment in the calculation of
emissions of greenhouse gases through the application of renewable
energy credits, carbon offset credits, or other environmental
attributes acquired from any facility not providing
the actual delivered electricity used to serve a retail customer.
generating the electricity procured by the retail
supplier and delivered to the balancing authority in which the
customers of the retail supplier are located. The bill would require
the Energy Commission, on or before January 1, 2017, to specify
guidelines for the reporting of greenhouse gas emissions intensity,
subject to public hearing. The bill would require retail
suppliers, beginning June 1, 20 19, to report to the
Energy Commission data on annual emissions of greenhouse gases
occurring after December 31, 2017, except as provided.
The Public Utilities Act makes any public utility and any
corporation other than a public utility, if the public utility or
corporation violates the act or fails to comply with any part of any
order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the
commission, guilty of 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 by an electrical corporation or
electric service provider would be a crime, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program by expanding what is a crime. By placing
additional reporting duties upon local publicly owned electric
utilities, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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 specified reasons.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 398.1 of the Public Utilities Code is amended
to read:
398.1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that there is a
need for reliable, accurate, and timely
timely, and consistent information regarding fuel sources for
electric generation offered for retail sale in California.
(b) The purpose of this article is to establish a program under
which entities offering electric services in California disclose
accurate, reliable, and simple to understand information on the
sources of energy, and the associated emissions of greenhouse gases,
that are used to provide electric services.
SEC. 2. Section 398.2 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
398.2. The definitions set forth in this section shall govern the
construction of this article.
(a) "Retail supplier" means an entity that offers an electricity
product for sale to retail consumers in California, including an
electrical corporation, local publicly owned electric utility,
electric service provider, and community choice aggregator.
(b) "System operator" means the Independent System Operator with
responsibility for the efficient use and reliable operation of the
transmission grid, as provided by Section 345, or a local publicly
owned electric utility that does not utilize the Independent System
Operator.
(c) "Specific purchases" means electricity transactions that are
traceable to specific generation sources by any auditable contract
trail or equivalent, such as a tradable commodity system, that
provides commercial verification that the electricity source claimed
has been sold once and only once to a retail consumer. Retail
suppliers may rely on annual data to meet this requirement, rather
than hour-by-hour matching of loads and resources.
(d) "Unspecified sources of power" means electricity that is not
traceable to specific generation sources by any auditable contract
trail or equivalent, including a tradable commodity system, that
provides commercial verification that the electricity source claimed
has been sold once, and only once, to a retail consumer.
SEC. 3. Section 398.4 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
398.4. (a) Every retail supplier that makes an offering to sell
electricity that is consumed in California shall disclose its
electricity sources and the associated greenhouse gases emissions
intensity for the previous calendar year.
(b) The disclosures required by this section shall be made to
potential end-use consumers in all product-specific written
promotional materials that are distributed to consumers by either
printed or electronic means, including the retail supplier's Internet
Web site, if one exists, except that advertisements and notices in
general circulation media shall not be subject to this requirement.
(c) The disclosures required by this section shall be made
annually to end-use consumers of the offered electricity. The annual
disclosure shall be made by the end of the first complete billing
cycle for the third quarter of the year, and shall be consistent with
information provided to the Energy Commission pursuant to Section
398.5.
(d) The disclosures required by this section shall be made
separately for each offering made by the retail supplier.
(e) On or before January 1, 1998, the Energy Commission shall
specify guidelines for the format and means for disclosure required
by Section 398.3 and this section, based on the requirements of this
article and subject to public hearing.
(f) The costs of making the disclosures required by this section
shall be considered to be generation related.
(g) The disclosures required by this section shall comply with the
following:
(1) A retail supplier's disclosure of its electricity sources
shall be expressed as a percentage of annual sales derived from each
of the following categories:
(A) Unspecified sources of electricity.
(B) Specific purchases.
(2) A retail supplier's disclosure of its electricity sources
shall also separately identify total California system electricity,
which is the sum of all in-state generation and net electricity
imports by fuel type.
(h) Each of the categories specified in subdivision (g) shall be
additionally identified as a percentage of annual sales that is
derived from the following fuels or sources of energy:
(1) Coal.
(2) Large hydroelectric (greater than 30 megawatts).
(3) Natural gas.
(4) Nuclear.
(5) Eligible renewable energy resources pursuant to the California
Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (Article 16 (commencing with
Section 399.11)), including any of the following:
(A) Biomass and biowaste.
(B) Geothermal.
(C) Eligible hydroelectric.
(D) Solar.
(E) Wind.
(6) Other categories as determined by the Energy Commission.
(i) All electricity sources disclosed as specific purchases shall
meet the requirements of subdivision (c) of Section 398.2.
(j) Specific purchases identified pursuant to this section shall
be from sources connected to the Western Electricity Coordinating
Council interconnected grid.
(k) (1) The greenhouse gases emissions intensity associated with a
retail supplier's electricity sources shall be reported by the
retail supplier to the customer as the sum of all annual
emissions of greenhouse gases divided by annual retail electric
sales. Emissions of greenhouse gases shall be calculated using the
emissions reported for electricity supplied by entities required to
report emissions of greenhouse gases pursuant to Article 2
(commencing with Section 95100) of Subchapter 10 of Chapter 1 of
Division 3 of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations.
Emissions of greenhouse gases shall include any emissions otherwise
attributable to any first deliverer, as defined in paragraph (178) of
subdivision (a) of Section 95102 of Title 17 of the California Code
of Regulations, supplying electricity directly or indirectly to the
retail supplier.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, no adjustment shall be made
to the calculation of emissions of greenhouse gases assigned to any
retail supplier through the application of the following:
(A) Renewable energy credits, as defined in subdivision (h) of
Section 399.12.
(B) Offset credits issued pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with
Section 95801) of Subchapter 10 of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of Title
17 of the California Code of Regulations.
(C) Other environmental attributes acquired from any
facility not providing the actual delivered electricity used
to serve a retail customer. generating the
electricity procured by the retail supplier and delivered to the
balancing authority in which the customers of the retail supplier are
located.
(3) The Energy Commission shall ensure that the calculation of
greenhouse gas emissions attributed to a retail supplier is
consistent with treatment under the market-based compliance mechanism
adopted by the State Air Resources Board for the following:
(A) Procurement from electric generation without a compliance
obligation pursuant to Section 95852.2 of Title 17 of the California
Code of Regulations.
(B) Procurement satisfying the requirements of paragraph (4) of
subdivision (b) of Section 95852 of Title 17 of the California Code
of Regulations.
(4) For purposes of determining greenhouse gas intensity pursuant
to this section, the Energy Commission shall determine the
appropriate treatment for production from any electricity source
located behind the meter of a customer served by a retail supplier.
At a minimum, any reported electricity production shall be verified
using a revenue grade meter and added to the calculation of the
retail electric sales for the retail supplier.
(5) The calculation of greenhouse gas emissions intensity shall
not be determined based upon whether the procurement is either
assigned to any particular portfolio content category under
subdivision (b) of Section 399.16 or classified as counting in full
pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 399.16.
(6) The Energy Commission shall, in consultation with the State
Air Resources Board and consistent with the requirements of this
subdivision, establish emissions intensity factors for electricity
sources reported by retail suppliers.
(3)
(7) Each retail supplier shall separately identify the
greenhouse gases emissions intensity associated with statewide retail
electricity sales in the same year. The commission,
Energy Commission, in consultation with the
State Air Resources Board, shall calculate the greenhouse gases
emissions intensity associated with statewide retail electricity
sales based on the emissions of greenhouse gases for total California
system electricity.
(8) (A) On or before January 1, 2017, the Energy Commission shall
specify guidelines for the reporting and disclosure of greenhouse gas
emissions intensity, based on the requirements of this subdivision
and subject to public hearing. Beginning June 1, 2019, retail
suppliers shall be required to report to the Energy Commission data
on annual emissions of greenhouse gases occurring after December 31,
2017.
(B) Any new community choice aggregator formed after January 1,
2016, shall not be required to report to the Energy Commission data
on annual emissions of greenhouse gases occurring until at least 24
months, but no later than 36 months, after serving its first retail
customer.
(9) Any marketing or retail product claims relating to the
greenhouse gas emissions intensity of the electricity sources of a
retail supplier shall be consistent with the methodology required
under this section. Retail suppliers may provide additional
information to customers describing other actions relating to
greenhouse gas emissions.
(l) The provisions of this section shall not apply to generators
providing electric service onsite, under an over-the-fence
transaction as described in Section 218, or to an affiliate or
affiliates, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 372.
SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a
local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
level of service mandated by this act or because 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.