Zero-emissions buildings and sources of heat energy.

(1) The Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to adopt building design and construction standards and energy and water conservation standards for new residential and nonresidential buildings to reduce the wasteful, uneconomic, inefficient, or unnecessary consumption of energy, including energy associated with the use of water. Existing law requires the Energy Commission to take various actions, including the establishment of a formal process for certification of compliance options for new products, materials, and calculation methods for showing compliance with the above standards for new products, materials, or calculation methods. This bill would require the Energy Commission to provide compliance incentive credit for measures that result in reduced emissions of greenhouse gases beyond those the commission has determined to be cost effective. The bill would require the Energy Commission, for the year 2022 and thereafter, to require new residential and nonresidential buildings to be electric-ready buildings, as defined, and to develop standards pursuant to which emissions of greenhouse gases associated with new residential and nonresidential buildings could be reduced in a cost-effective manner. (2) Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to fix the rates and charges for every public utility, including electrical corporations, and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. This bill would require the PUC to require electrical corporations to develop a tariff offering optional residential and commercial rates that encourages the deployment of flexible electric loads, removes disincentives customers face to adopt low-emissions heating technologies, and helps integrate renewable energy to support achieving the goals of the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program in the most cost-effective manner. By requiring electrical corporations to develop the tariff, a violation of which would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the PUC, in a new proceeding, to identify barriers and adopt rules requiring electrical and gas corporations to make policy changes to their energy efficiency programs to support the adoption of space and water heating technologies that reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in new and existing buildings. The bill would require the PUC to (A) update its fuel substitution test, as specified, (B) include societal and environmental costs of energy use in determining the cost-effectiveness of programs under its jurisdiction, and (C) create or update incentive programs, including those specified, that encourage the transition to low-emissions heating technologies in residential and nonresidential buildings. (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.