Electricity: self-generation incentive program.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission to administer, until January 1, 2016, a self-generation incentive program for distributed generation resources and to separately administer solar technologies pursuant to the California Solar Initiative. The Public Utilities Commission, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, may authorize electrical corporations to annually collect not more than the amount authorized for the program in the 2008 calendar year through December 31, 2014. This bill would extend the authority of the Public Utilities Commission to authorize electrical corporations to continue making the annual collections through December 31, 2017. The bill would extend the Public Utilities Commission's administration of the program to January 1, 2019. Existing law limits eligibility for incentives under the self-generation incentive program to distributed energy resources that the Public Utilities Commission, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, determines will achieve reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. This bill would further limit eligibility for incentives under the self-generation incentive program to distributed energy resource technologies that the Public Utilities Commission determines meet specified additional requirements. The bill would require the commission to determine a capacity factor for each distributed energy recourse technology. This bill would require the Public Utilities Commission to evaluate the self-generation incentive program's overall success and impact based on specified performance measures and to evaluate the self-generation incentive program's progress toward reducing barriers to the adoption of distributed energy resources and the self-generation incentive program's effectiveness in providing certain capabilities generally related to grid reliability. This bill would require the Public Utilities Commission, on or before July 1, 2015, to update the factor for avoided greenhouse gas emissions based on certain information. The bill would require the Public Utilities Commission, in allocating funds between eligible technologies, to consider the relative amount and cost of certain factors. The bill would require recipients of the self-generation incentive program funds to provide to the Public Utilities Commission and the State Air Resources Board relevant data and would subject them to inspection to verify equipment operation and performance. 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 the program that is extended under the provisions of this bill are within the act and a decision or order of the commission implements the program requirements, a violation of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the definition of a 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.