Natural gas: customer credit.

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including gas corporations. The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms in regulating those emissions. The implementing regulations adopted by the state board provide for the direct allocation of greenhouse gas allowances to electrical corporations and gas corporations pursuant to a market-based compliance mechanism. This bill would require the commission to direct the balance of the revenues received by a gas corporation as a result of that allocation to be credited directly to the residential customers of the gas corporation, as specified. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because certain of the above-described provisions would be part of the act and a violation of a commission action implementing this bill's requirements would be a crime, the 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 a specified reason.