Public utilities: renewables portfolio standard: publicly owned electric utility.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined, while local publicly owned electric utilities, as defined, are under the direction of their governing boards. The existing California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (RPS program) requires a retail seller of electricity, as defined, and local publicly owned electric utilities to purchase specified minimum quantities of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources, as defined, for specified compliance periods, sufficient to ensure that the procurement of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources achieves 20% of retail sales for the period January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2013, inclusive, 25% of retail sales by December 31, 2016, and 33% of retail sales by December 31, 2020, and in all subsequent years. The RPS program, consistent with the goals of procuring the least-cost and best-fit eligible renewable energy resources that meet project viability principles, requires that all retail sellers procure a balanced portfolio of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources, as specified (portfolio content requirements) . For electrical corporations meeting specified conditions, existing law provides that electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources may be used for compliance with the portfolio content requirements if specified conditions are met. This bill would additionally provide that, for a publicly owned electric utility in existence on or before January 1, 2010, that provides 200,000 megawatt-hours or fewer of electricity to retail end-use consumers in its service territory during a calender year, electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources may be used for compliance with the portfolio content requirements.