Electricity net energy metering.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law, relative to private energy producers, requires every electric utility, as defined, to make available to an eligible customer-generator, as defined, a standard contract or tariff for net energy metering 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. This bill would specify that an electric utility is also not obligated to provide net energy metering to additional eligible customer-generators that are public agencies whose facilities have a total capacity of more than one megawatt if the collective state-wide capacity of these customers exceeds 100 megawatts. The existing definition of an eligible customer-generator requires that the generator be a residential, small commercial, commercial, industrial, or agricultural customer of the electric utility, that the generating facility use a renewable source listed in the definition of a renewable electricity generation facility that is used for purposes of the Renewable Energy Resources Program administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, that the generating facility have a total capacity of not more than one megawatt, and that it meet certain locational and operational requirements. Existing law authorizes a local publicly owned electric utility to elect to provide co-energy metering, as defined, rather than net energy metering. This bill would include in the definition of an eligible customer-generator, a public agency customer, as defined, meeting the existing requirements applicable to residential, small commercial, commercial, industrial, or agricultural customers, except that that generation facility have a total capacity of not more than 2 megawatts. This bill would also require an eligible customer-generator that is a public agency whose facility or facilities has a total capacity of more than one megawatt to pay for an interconnection study associated with that customer, as well as any distribution grid upgrades found to be necessary by that study. 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 an order of the commission would be required to implement certain of the bill's requirements and a violation of an order or decision of the commission implementing its requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. Because the bill would expand the net energy metering or co-energy meeting requirements for 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.