Electrical corporation procurement of electricity.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. The Public Utilities Act imposes various duties and responsibilities on the commission with respect to the purchase of electricity 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 (RPS program) . Existing law requires that an electrical corporation's proposed procurement plan include certain elements, including a showing that the electrical corporation will, in order to fulfill its unmet resource needs, until a 20% renewable resources portfolio is achieved, procure renewable energy resources with the goal of ensuring that at least an additional 1% per year of the electricity sold by the electrical corporation is generated from eligible renewable energy resources, provided sufficient funds are made available to cover certain above-market costs. The RPS program requires, in order to fulfill unmet long-term resource needs, that the commission establish a renewables portfolio standard requiring all electrical corporations to procure a minimum quantity of electricity generated by eligible renewable energy resources as a specified percentage of total kilowatthours sold to their retail end-use customers each calendar year, subject to certain cost limitations, so that 20% of its retail sales are procured from eligible renewable energy resources no later than December 31, 2010. This bill would require than an electrical corporation's proposed procurement plan include a showing that the electrical corporation will, in order to fulfill its unmet resource needs, procure resources from eligible renewable energy resources in an amount sufficient to meet its procurement requirements pursuant to the renewables portfolio standard. The bill would additionally require that an electrical corporation's proposed procurement plan include a showing that the electrical corporation will, in order to fulfill its unmet resource needs, procure resources in a manner that complies with the requirements for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases adopted by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. The bill would require each electrical corporation to file with the commission a proposed fossil fuel procurement plan that complies with the requirements for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases adopted by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, require the commission to review and accept, modify, or reject each electrical corporation's fossil fuel procurement plan, and require each electrical corporation to review and update its fossil fuel procurement plan as the commission determines to be necessary. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill are within the act and require action by the commission to implement, a violation of these provisions 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.