California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program: local publicly owned electric utilities: electrical corporations: geothermal, biogas, and biomass energy resources.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, while local publicly owned electric utilities are under the direction of their governing boards. The California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program requires the commission to establish a renewables portfolio standard requiring all retail sellers, as defined, to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources, as defined, so that the total number of kilowatthours of those products sold to their retail end-use customers achieves 25% of retail sales by December 31, 2016, then incrementally increases for specified compliance periods to 33% of retail sales by December 31, 2020, 40% by December 31, 2024, 45% by December 31, 2027, and 50% by December 31, 2030. The program additionally requires each local publicly owned electric utility to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources to achieve the procurement requirements established by the program. This bill would require that not less than an unspecified percentage of the incremental procurement requirements for each compliance period be satisfied with geothermal, biogas, or biomass energy resources procured on or after July 1, 2017, until either an unspecified percentage of the total electricity products procured to satisfy the overall procurement requirements are from those energy resources or December 31, 2030, whichever occurs first. The bill would require an unspecified portion of this increment to be procured from the Salton Sea Known Geothermal Resources Area. Under existing law, a violation of the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would expand that program, a violation of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the definition of a crime. By placing additional requirements upon local publicly owned electric utilities, this 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. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Salton Sea Known Geothermal Resource Area.