Energy: financing: rental properties.

(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations, as defined. Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. This bill would authorize the commission to require an electrical or gas corporation with 250,000 or more service connections to develop and implement an on-bill repayment program providing financial assistance for energy efficiency improvements for rental properties by allowing for the repayment of the financial assistance to be included in the utility customer's utility bill. Because a violation of any part of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the Public Utilities Commission is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Decisions of the Public Utilities Commission adopted the California Solar Initiative, which is administered by the state's electrical corporations pursuant to the regulatory supervision of the commission. The commission is authorized, pursuant to the initiative, to award monetary incentives for solar thermal and solar water heating devices in a total amount up to $100,800,000. The Solar Water Heating and Efficiency Act of 2007 requires the Public Utilities Commission, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to establish eligibility criteria for solar water heating systems receiving gas customer funded incentives under the act. The act requires the criteria to include eligibility requirements for residential solar water heating systems or solar collectors used in systems for multifamily residential, commercial, government, nonprofit, educational, or industrial water heating systems, as specified. This bill would provide that residential solar water heating devices shall be eligible for any energy efficiency rebate program or financing program, or both, offered by a gas corporation for purposes of reducing natural gas demand for water heating. (3) 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.