Electricity: customer renewable energy subscription program.

The amendment to Section 768 of the Public Utilities Code (PUC's general authority over public utilities regarding health and safety) was entirely removed from the bill. The bill now only amends Sections 769.3 and 913.15.

New definitions added for 'affordable housing unit,' 'community renewable energy generator' (must use eligible renewable energy colocated with at least 4 hours of storage), 'distribution system' (feeder lines under 50 kV), 'eligible customer-generator,' 'load-serving entity,' and 'local reliability area.'

The definition of 'low-income customer' was expanded to include occupants or owners of affordable housing units as a new qualifying category, in addition to existing program participants and residents of underserved communities.

New capacity limits: each community renewable energy generator is capped at 5 MW of generation capacity and 5 MW of energy storage. Total program capacity is limited to 4 gigawatts, or enrollment closes after 7 years, whichever occurs first.

A new 'load modifying resource' framework was added: the Energy Commission must evaluate load modifying potential by December 1, 2027 and identify required attributes. The PUC must then establish a classification mechanism 90 days later. Bill credits are now tied to this classification - subscribers only receive avoided-cost bill credits if the generator is determined to be a load modifying resource.

New requirement that all community renewable energy generators must be sited within the same local reliability area as their subscribers, ensuring local grid benefit.

All key deadlines shifted from 2024 to 2027: program evaluation by March 31, 2027; program establishment by July 1, 2027; legislative report by March 31, 2027. The notification period for community choice aggregators changed from 180 to 190 days.

The reporting requirement in Section 913.15 now has an explicit sunset: the section remains in effect only until January 1, 2034, and is repealed as of that date (previously the report was simply inoperative on that date).

Financial incentives in excess of avoided costs for distributed energy resources may now be provided by nonratepayer funds, expanding the funding sources beyond legislative appropriations only.

New quarterly reporting requirement for the first two years of program operation, including megawatthours of usage, number of generators approved and completed, location, subscriber information, job training, local hiring, generator status and capacity, and low-income participation percentage. The PUC must also evaluate the program 2 years after the first generator is operational.

The bill's fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes' and state-mandated local program designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the amended bill now triggers fiscal analysis and local program reimbursement considerations.

The PUC's deadline to adopt or modify the customer renewable energy subscription program was extended from 90 days to 180 days following establishment of the mechanism and identification of attributes by the Energy Commission.

The PUC must now establish a mechanism to determine whether community renewable energy generators are load-modifying resources as part of adopting or modifying the program, limited in scope solely to attributes identified by the Energy Commission.

The Energy Commission's evaluation of load-modifying potential must now be conducted in a public process that includes opportunity for public comment, and must include an evaluation of whether subscriber location relative to the generator has a material bearing on the facility's ability to act as a load-modifying resource.

The Energy Commission's identification of attributes is now conditional: it only occurs if the evaluation finds that community renewable energy generators have load-modifying potential. The deadline for identifying attributes remains December 1, 2027.

In the load-modifying resource criteria, 'consistently generates energy' was changed to 'consistently dispatches energy,' which is a more specific technical term implying grid-directed operation rather than passive generation.

The definition of 'distribution system' (feeder lines rated as less than 50 kilovolts and their connected substations) was removed from the bill's definitions section.

A new paragraph (16) requires owners of operational community renewable energy generators to report quarterly to the PUC and Energy Commission, including hourly megawatt hours generated, charging and discharging information, hourly participant usage, generator status, and generating capacity of each component.

The bill's central action changed from establishing a new 'community renewable energy program' to adopting or modifying an existing 'customer renewable energy subscription program.' This reframes the PUC's obligation from creating something new to revising what already exists.

The fixed deadlines of March 31, 2027 (evaluation) and July 1, 2027 (program establishment) were removed. The new trigger is 90 days after the Energy Commission completes its load-modifying resource evaluation and the PUC establishes the corresponding mechanism under subdivision (f).

The deadline for community choice aggregators and electric service providers to notify the PUC of their participation decision was changed from 190 days to 180 days, and the trigger changed from 'establishment' of the program to 'adoption or modification' of the customer renewable energy subscription program.

Section 913.15 previously contained a separate subdivision (b) requiring the PUC to report to the Legislature by March 31, 2027 on its actions taken under Section 769.3(b) and its justification for terminating, modifying, or retaining each customer renewable energy subscription program. This reporting requirement was removed entirely in the Senate version.

The bill now amends Sections 769.3 and 913.15 of the Public Utilities Code in addition to Section 768, expanding its scope from a technical safety provision to comprehensive regulation of customer renewable energy subscription programs and a new community renewable energy program.

New definitions added for 'community choice aggregator,' 'customer renewable energy subscription program' (excluding net energy metering and Multifamily Affordable Housing Solar Roofs), 'low-income customer' (CARE, FERA, CalFresh, SNAP, LIHEAP recipients or residents of underserved communities), and 'underserved community' (low-income communities, top 25% most disadvantaged per CalEnviroScreen, and tribal lands).

The deadline for the PUC to evaluate customer renewable energy subscription programs was extended from March 31, 2024 to March 31, 2027.

The deadline for the PUC to establish a community renewable energy program (if determined beneficial) was extended from July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2027.

The inoperative date for the one-time reporting requirement was changed from January 1, 2028 to January 1, 2034.

The notification period for community choice aggregators and electric service providers to declare participation in the community renewable energy program was extended from 180 days to 190 days after establishment.

Prevailing wage requirements imposed on all construction workers for community renewable energy facilities, with enforcement through the Labor Commissioner via civil wage and penalty assessments within 18 months of project completion. An exemption applies if a project labor agreement with arbitration is in place.

The community renewable energy program must ensure at least 51 percent of its capacity serves low-income customers.

The program must provide bill credits to subscribers based on avoided costs using the PUC's distributed energy resource benefit calculation methods, and must prioritize maximizing state and federal incentives including ensuring eligibility for the enhanced federal investment tax credit for qualified low-income economic benefit projects under Section 48(e) of the Internal Revenue Code.

A new reimbursement provision (Section 3) states no state reimbursement is required under Article XIII B because costs arise only from a crime or infraction. The fiscal committee and state-mandated local program designations both changed from 'no' to 'yes.'

A new reporting requirement (Section 913.15) mandates the PUC to report to the Legislature within 24 months of establishing the program and annually thereafter on facilities deployed, customers subscribed, and low-income participation analysis. A one-time report on program evaluation actions is due by March 31, 2027.