Energy: appliance standards and State Water Project assessment.

(1) Existing law requires the Natural Resources Agency every 3 years to update the state's climate adaptation strategy to identify vulnerabilities to climate change by sector, including, among others, water and energy. Existing law requires the agency to annually report to the Legislature on actions taken by each applicable agency to implement the state's climate adaptation strategy. Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , at least every 2 years, to conduct assessments and forecasts of all aspects of energy industry supply, production, transportation, delivery and distribution, demand, and prices to develop and evaluate energy policies and programs that conserve resources, protect the environment, ensure energy reliability, enhance the state's economy, and protect public health and safety. Under existing law, the Department of Water Resources operates the State Water Resources Development System, known as the State Water Project, in accordance with the California Water Resources Development Bond Act to supply water to persons and entities in the state. This bill would require the Natural Resources Agency, in collaboration with the Energy Commission and the Department of Water Resources, to assess the opportunities and constraints for potential operational and structural upgrades to the State Water Project to aid California in achieving its climate and energy goals, and to provide associated recommendations consistent with specified purposes and California's energy goals. The bill would require that the assessment and recommendations include specified elements, including recommendations for state, federal, and other applicable funding sources, as specified. The bill would require that the assessment and recommendations be provided to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature before January 1, 2022. (2) Existing law authorizes the Energy Commission to prescribe, by regulation, energy efficiency standards, including appliance efficiency standards, to reduce the wasteful, uneconomic, inefficient, or unnecessary consumption of energy, including the energy associated with the use of water, as specified. This bill would require that those energy efficiency standards also manage energy loads to help maintain electrical grid reliability. The bill would require the Energy Commission to adopt, by regulation, and periodically update, standards for appliances to facilitate the deployment of flexible demand technologies, as specified, and would require that those standards be cost effective and prioritize appliances with specified attributes. The bill would require that the flexible demand appliance standards become effective no sooner than one year after the date of their adoption or updating. The bill would require the Energy Commission to consult with the Public Utilities Commission and load-serving entities to better align the flexible demand appliance standards with demand response programs administered by the state and load-serving entities and to incentivize flexible demand appliances. The bill would authorize the Energy Commission to establish an administrative enforcement process to enforce the flexible demand appliance standards with an administrative civil penalty not to exceed $2,500 for each violation, or to refer a violation to the Attorney General for an enforcement action in a court. The bill would require the Energy Commission, on or before January 1, 2021, and as necessary thereafter, to include as part of each integrated energy policy report a description of any actions it has taken relating to flexible demand appliance standards and the standards' cost to consumers.