Bill Text: CA SB581 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Hetch Hetchy Water and Power: renewable generation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2009-10-11 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 598, Statutes of 2009. [SB581 Detail]

Download: California-2009-SB581-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 581	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Leno

                        FEBRUARY 27, 2009

   An act to amend Section 2828 of the Public Utilities Code,
relating to electricity.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 581, as introduced, Leno. Hetch Hetchy Water and Power:
renewable generation.
   Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations,
as defined. Existing law authorizes the City and County of San
Francisco to elect to designate specific photovoltaic electricity
generation facilities meeting specified conditions as Hetch Hetchy
Water and Power (HHWP) at-site solar generation, as defined, and HHWP
remote solar generation, as defined. Existing law requires that upon
election and the filing and acceptance of an advice letter with the
commission establishing rates, Pacific Gas and Electric Company
(PG&E) is required on a monthly basis, to credit the City and County
of San Francisco for certain electricity generated and delivered to
the electric grid by HHWP at-site solar generation in accordance with
specified rate criteria. Existing law additionally authorizes the
City and County of San Francisco to elect to designate specific
photovoltaic electricity generation facilities as HHWP remote solar
generation to supply electricity to qualifying remote load by
designating those facilities to be served by HHWP remote solar
generation. Existing law requires that PG&E accept any electricity
exported to the grid by HHWP remote solar generation, up to the
amount of electricity contemporaneously being used by the qualifying
remote load, and treat the electricity accepted as behind the meter
generation that offsets the electrical usage of qualifying remote
load. Existing law requires that where the separate or remote sites
are outside the City and County of San Francisco, they be located
within 20 miles of the City and County of San Francisco or within 20
miles of an HHWP remote solar generation facility.
   This bill would authorize the City and County of San Francisco to
elect to designate specific renewable electricity generation
facilities, as defined, as HHWP at-site renewable generation and HHWP
remote renewable generation. The bill would authorize the City and
County of San Francisco to elect to designate specific renewable
electricity generation facilities or a portion of specific renewable
electricity generation facilities as HHWP remote renewable generation
to supply electricity to qualifying remote load by designating those
facilities to be served by HHWP remote renewable generation. The
bill would require that PG&E accept any electricity exported to the
grid by HHWP remote renewable generation, up to the amount of
electricity being used during the corresponding time period by the
qualifying remote load, and to treat the electricity accepted as
behind the meter generation that offsets the electrical usage of
qualifying remote load. The bill would delete the existing
requirement that where the separate or remote sites are outside the
City and County of San Francisco, they be located within 20 miles of
the City and County of San Francisco or within 20 miles of a HHWP
remote renewable generation facility.
   The bill would declare that, due to the special circumstances
applicable only to HHWP renewable generation facilities, a general
statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of
Article IV of the California Constitution, and the enactment of a
special statute is therefore necessary.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 2828 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   2828.  (a) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (1) "Appropriate TOU tariff" means the Time-of-Use tariff that
would be applicable to the City and County of San Francisco account
at the  photovoltaic   renewable 
electricity generation facility site if the facility at the site were
a Pacific Gas and Electric Company bundled customer, as determined
by Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
   (2) "Environmental attributes" associated with the Hetch Hetchy
Water and Power (HHWP) at-site  solar  
renewable  generation and HHWP remote  solar 
 renewable  generation include, but are not limited to, the
credits, benefits, emissions reductions, environmental air quality
credits, and emissions reduction credits, offsets, and allowances,
however entitled, resulting from the avoidance of the emissions of
any gas, chemical, or other substance attributable to the Hetch
Hetchy Water and Power  photovoltaic   renewable
 electricity generation facility owned by the City and County
of San Francisco.
   (3) "HHWP at-site  solar   renewable 
generation" means the electricity generated by  Hetch Hetchy
Water and Power photovoltaic   renewable 
electricity generation facilities  owned by the City and
County of San Francisco,  designated by the City and County
of San Francisco pursuant to subdivision (b).
   (4) "HHWP remote  solar   renewable 
generation" means the electricity generated by  Hetch Hetchy
Water and Power photovoltaic   renewable 
electricity generation facilities  owned by the City and
County of San Francisco,  designated by the City and County
of San Francisco pursuant to subdivision (h), to provide electricity
to qualifying remote load.
   (5) "Interconnection Agreement" means the 1987 agreement between
Pacific Gas and Electric Company and the City and County of San
Francisco, as filed with and accepted by the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC), and as amended from time to time with
FERC approval, which provides for rates for transmission,
distribution, and sales of supplemental electricity to the City and
County of San Francisco. Nothing in this section shall waive or
modify the rights of parties under the Interconnection Agreement or
the jurisdiction of the FERC over rates set forth in the
Interconnection Agreement.
   (6) "Qualifying remote load" means the electricity demand of the
City and County of San Francisco for load served under the
Interconnection Agreement, at sites that are separate from, and not
adjacent to, the sites where the  photovoltaic  
renewable  electricity generation facility is located, and
serviced through a meter or multiple meters other than those serving
the sites where the  photovoltaic   renewable
 electricity generation facility is located. The separate or
remote sites may be designated by the City and County of San
Francisco, both inside and outside of the City and County of San
Francisco.  Where the separate or remote sites are outside of
the City and County of San Francisco, they shall be located within
20 miles of the City and County of San Francisco or within 20 miles
of a HHWP remote solar generation facility.  There is no
wattage limit on qualifying remote load. 
   (7) "Renewable electricity generation facility" means a facility
for the generation of electricity that satisfies both of the
following requirements:  
   (A) The facility meets the technology and fuel source attributes
required to be an eligible renewable energy resource pursuant to the
California Renewable Portfolio Standards Program (Article 16
(commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1 of Division
1), but does not necessarily meet other eligibility attributes of
that program relative to ownership, location, or date of operation.
 
   (B) The facility is owned, or under lease or contract to, the City
and County of San Francisco for at least a five-year term and for
the full output of electricity from the facility. 
   (b) The City and County of San Francisco may elect to designate
specific  photovoltaic   renewable 
electricity generation facilities as HHWP at-site  solar
  renewable  generation, if all of the following
conditions are met:
   (1) Total peak generating capacity does not exceed 15 megawatts.
   (2) The  photovoltaic   renewable 
electricity generation facility utilizes a meter, or multiple meters,
capable of separately measuring electricity flow in both directions.
All meters shall provide "time-of-use" measurement information. If
the existing meter at the site of the facility is not capable of
providing time-of-use information or is not capable of separately
measuring total flow of energy in both directions, the City and
County of San Francisco is responsible for all expenses involved in
purchasing and installing a meter or meters that are both capable of
providing time-of-use information and able to separately measure
total electricity flow in both directions.
   (3) The amount of all electricity delivered to the electric grid
by the designated HHWP at-site  solar  
renewable  generation is the property of Pacific Gas and
Electric Company.
   (4) The City and County of San Francisco does not sell electricity
delivered to the electric grid from the designated HHWP at-site
 solar   renewable  generation to a third
party.
   (c) For each site of a  photovoltaic  
renewable  electricity generation facility that comprises the
HHWP at-site  solar   renewable 
generation, Pacific Gas and Electric Company shall identify the
appropriate TOU tariff for that site. Any electricity exported to the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company grid at that site that is not
generated from HHWP remote  solar   renewable
 generation pursuant to subdivision (h) shall, for each
time-of-use period, result in a monetary credit to be applied monthly
as a credit or offset against the invoice created pursuant to the
Interconnection Agreement and shall be valued at the generation
component of the appropriate TOU tariff. The commission shall
determine if it is appropriate to increase the credit to reflect any
additional value derived from the location or the environmental
attributes of, the designated HHWP at-site  solar 
 renewable  generation.
   (d) Monthly charges and credit amounts for HHWP at-site 
solar   renewable  generation are interim and
subject to an accounting true-up, consistent with commission policies
and practices. The true-up shall be performed annually or upon the
termination, for any reason, of the Interconnection Agreement. The
true-up shall accomplish the following:
   (1) If the total electricity delivered to the site by Pacific Gas
and Electric Company since the previous true-up equals or exceeds the
total electricity exported to the grid by the HHWP at-site 
solar   renewable  generation facility at the site,
the City and County of San Francisco is a net electricity consumer
at that site. For any HHWP at-site  solar  
renewable  generation site where the City and County of San
Francisco is a net electricity consumer, a credit or offset shall be
applied to reduce the obligations of the City and County of San
Francisco to an invoice prepared pursuant to the Interconnection
Agreement. If there is no invoiced obligation to be reduced, there is
no applicable credit.
   (2) If the total electricity delivered to the site by Pacific Gas
and Electric Company since the previous true-up is less than the
total electricity exported to the grid by the HHWP at-site 
solar   renewable  generation facility at the site,
the City and County of San Francisco is a net electricity producer
at that site. For any HHWP at-site  solar  
renewable  generation site where the City and County of San
Francisco is a net electricity producer, the City and County of San
Francisco shall receive no credit or offset for the electricity
exported to the grid in excess of the electricity delivered to the
site from the grid. For any site where the City and County of San
Francisco is a net electricity producer, the City and County of San
Francisco shall receive a credit or offset up to the amount of
electricity delivered to the site from the grid. The credit or offset
shall be applied to reduce the obligations of the City and County of
San Francisco to an invoice prepared pursuant to the Interconnection
Agreement. If there is no invoiced obligation to be reduced, there
is no applicable credit or offset. Pacific Gas and Electric Company
shall use the last-in, first-out method to determine what electricity
delivered to the grid from the site will not earn a credit or
offset.
   (e) Pursuant to this section, the offset to charges under the
Interconnection Agreement is the medium to convey credits earned
under this section. Nothing in this section shall be construed to
affect in any way the rights and obligations of the City and County
of San Francisco and Pacific Gas and Electric Company under the
Interconnection Agreement. If the Interconnection Agreement
terminates, the City and County of San Francisco and Pacific Gas and
Electric Company shall develop an alternative mechanism to convey
credits earned under this section  for HHWP at-site  
renewable generation and for HHWP remote renewable generation  ,
in a manner that accomplishes the same result as that accomplished
pursuant to the Interconnection Agreement.
   (f) (1) Pacific Gas and Electric Company shall file an advice
letter with the commission, that complies with this section, not
later than 10 days after the City and County of San Francisco first
designates the specific  photovoltaic  
renewable  electricity generation facilities that will comprise
HHWP at-site  solar   renewable generation.

   (2) The commission, within 30 days of the date of filing of the
advice letter, shall approve the advice letter or specify conforming
changes to be made by Pacific Gas and Electric Company to be filed in
an amended advice letter within 30 days.
   (g) The City and County of San Francisco may terminate its
election pursuant to subdivisions (b), (c), (d), and (h), upon
providing Pacific Gas and Electric Company with a minimum of 60 days'
written notice.
   (h) (1) The City and County of San Francisco may elect to
designate specific  photovoltaic   renewable
 electricity generation facilities  or a portion of specific
renewable electricity generation facilities  as HHWP remote
 solar  renewable  generation and may use
HHWP remote  solar   renewable  generation
to supply electricity to specific facilities designated as qualifying
remote load up to the amount of electricity being used by the
qualifying remote load.
   (2) The City and County of San Francisco shall receive no credit
or offset for the electricity exported to the grid from HHWP remote
 solar   renewable  generation, in excess
of the electricity delivered from the grid to qualifying remote load.

   (3) Pacific Gas and Electric Company shall accept any electricity
exported to the grid  by   as  HHWP remote
 solar   renewable  generation, up to the
amount of electricity  contemporaneously  being used
 during the corresponding time period  by the qualifying
remote load, and treat the electricity accepted as behind the meter
generation that offsets the electrical usage of qualifying remote
load. Additional rates may apply pursuant to paragraph (6).
   (4) The City and County of San Francisco shall be responsible for
scheduling the electricity exported to the grid from HHWP remote
 solar   renewable  generation.
   (5) Both HHWP remote  solar   renewable 
generation sites and qualifying remote load sites shall have meters
capable of measuring exports and usage of electricity that will
support determination of credits or offsets pursuant to paragraph
(2). The City and County of San Francisco shall be responsible for
the costs of the meters required pursuant to this section.
   (6) To compensate Pacific Gas and Electric Company for the use of
its facilities, the City and County of San Francisco shall pay
applicable distribution rates, transmission rates, or distribution
and transmission rates, at rate levels determined by the
Interconnection Agreement, for all energy delivered to qualifying
remote load that comes from HHWP remote  solar  
renewable  generation. When HHWP remote  solar
  renewable  generation and the qualifying remote
load it serves are located within the City and County of San
Francisco and are interconnected at distribution voltage, the
applicable rate for delivery of energy from HHWP remote 
solar   renewable  generation shall be reduced as
negotiated pursuant to the Interconnection Agreement.
   (7) The appropriate regulatory agency shall ensure that the
delivery of electricity by HHWP remote  solar  
renewable  generation to qualifying remote load, and the
granting of offsets to the City and County of San Francisco pursuant
to this subdivision, do not result in a shifting of costs to bundled
service customers, either immediately or over time. 
   (i) Hetch Hetchy Water and Power shall reimburse Pacific Gas and
Electric Company for its reasonable study costs associated with HHWP
remote solar generation to address interconnection, consistent with
applicable regulatory rules, and impacts upon the electric system
resulting from the HHWP remote solar generation. If the studies
identify improvements necessary for the protection of the Pacific Gas
and Electric Company electric system, for the protection of its
employees, or to ensure reliable delivery of the electricity
generated by the HHWP remote solar generation facility to qualifying
remote load, Hetch Hetchy Water and Power shall pay the reasonable
costs of the improvements if it elects to designate the HHWP remote
solar generation facility to provide electricity for qualifying
remote load.  
   (i) The interconnection of HHWP at-site renewable generation and
HHWP remote renewable generation will be accomplished through one or
more generator interconnection agreements pursuant to applicable
regulatory rules and generator interconnection procedures. 
   (j)  Ownership and use of the   The City and
County of San Francisco shall own the  environmental attributes
associated with the electricity delivered to the electric grid by
HHWP at-site  solar   renewable  generation
and HHWP remote  solar   renewable 
generation  shall be determined by the commission in
accordance with Article 16 (commencing with Section 399.11) of
Chapter 2.3 of Part 1   unless it contracts otherwise
 .
  SEC. 2.  The Legislature finds and declares that, because of the
unique circumstances applicable only to Hetch Hetchy Water and Power
renewable generation of electricity, a statute of general
applicability cannot be enacted within the meaning of subdivision (b)
of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution.
Therefore, this special statute is necessary.