Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission, on or before January 1, 2010, and biennially thereafter, in consultation with the Independent System Operator and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to study, and submit a report to the Legislature and the Governor on, the impacts of distributed energy generation on the states distribution and transmission grid.

This bill would instead require the report to be submitted annually to the Legislature. The bill would require the commission, in consultation with the California Workforce Investment Board and the Employment Training Panel, to include in the report an evaluation of the current use of, and opportunities for, green workforce training programs relating to the deployment of distributed energy resources.

The California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority Act establishes the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority to provide financial assistance for projects that promote the use of alternative energies. The act makes various findings and declarations.

This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those findings and declarations.

Date of Hearing: May 20, 2015

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Jimmy Gomez, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1132

Author:(Ting) – As Amended Ver:May 4, 2015

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to submit an annual report to the Legislature on distributed generation (DG), including an evaluation of the current use of green workforce training programs related to DG. This bill requires the report to be developed in consultation with the California Workforce Investment Board (CWIB) and the Employment Training Panel (ETP), and include the following:

1. An evaluation of the current use of, and opportunities for green workforce training programs relating to the deployment of distributed energy resources.

2. Data regarding DG employment disaggregated by technology and region within California including, but not limited to:

1. The number of full-time and part-time employees and the number of contract personnel.

2. The number of direct and indirect jobs.

3. The inventory of distributed generation training programs in California.

4. The number of students enrolled in training programs and the employment rate for graduates.

FISCAL EFFECT:

1. Increased annual costs of approximately $225,000 (Utilities Reimbursement Account) for PUC to expand the scope of the existing DG report and produce it annually.

2. Onetime increased costs of $350,000 (GF or special fund) for CWIB and ETP to develop the required data sets. Ongoing annual costs of $200,000 (GF or special fund).

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to the author, as the state works to advance greater renewable portfolio standards (RPS) goals, increasing the amount of renewable DG will be an important part of this strategy. It is also critical to ensure our workforce is adequately trained to install and maintain this new clean energy infrastructure.

The PUC currently publishes a biennial report on the impacts of DG on the state's distribution and transmission grid but does not include job and job training information.

According to the author, by requiring work force data to be annually collected and published annually, this bill will help inform public policy decisions and ensure green training programs are helping to meet our needs.

2. Background. The Legislature enacted AB 327 (Perea, Chapter 611, Statutes of 2013) to require electrical corporations regulated by the PUC are to file distribution resource plans by July 1, 2015, and identify optimal locations for the deployment of distributed resources. The PUC is required to review and modify or approve the plans in a manner that minimizes overall system cost, and maximizes ratepayer benefit from investments in distributed resources. The PUC is then authorized to approve proposed spending if it concludes that ratepayers would realize net benefits and the associated costs are just and reasonable.

The PUC currently has an open proceeding to implement the provisions of AB 327.

Analysis Prepared by: Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 27, 2015

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE

Anthony Rendon, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1132

Author:(Ting) – As Amended Ver:March 26, 2015

SUBJECT: Distributed generation: report: green workforce training programs

SUMMARY: Requires the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to submit an annual report on distributed generation to the Legislature and to include an evaluation of the current use of green workforce training programs related to distributed generation. Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires the CPUC submit a report to the Legislature annually on the impacts of distributed generation on the state's distribution and transmission grid.

2. Requires this report to include an evaluation of the current use of, and opportunities for green workforce training programs relating to the deployment of distributed energy resources.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires the CPUC to submit a report biennially, beginning January 2010, on the impacts of distributed energy generation on the state’s distribution and transmission grid. (Public Utilities Code Section 321.7)

2. Requires electrical corporations to submit a distribution resources plan proposal to the CPUC to identify optimal locations for the deployment of distributed resources by July 15, 2015. (Public Utilities Code Section 769)

3. Requires the CPUC to review each distribution resources plan proposal submitted by an electrical corporation and approve, or modify and approve, a distribution resources plan for the corporation. The commission may modify any plan as appropriate to minimize overall system costs and maximize ratepayer benefit from investments in distributed resources. (Public Utilities Code Section 769)

4. Requires the California Workforce Investment Board (CWIB) to establish a Green Collar Jobs Council (GCJC) comprised of the representatives from the CWIB existing membership, including the K–12 representative, the California Community Colleges representative, the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency representative, the Employment Development Department representative, and other appropriate members to identify and develop the framework, funding, strategies, programs, policies, partnerships, and opportunities necessary to address the growing need for a highly skilled and well-trained workforce to meet the needs of California’s emerging green economy. (Unemployment Insurance Code Section 15000)

5. Requires the CWIB to report annually on the status of GCJC activities and its development of a green workforce strategic initiative. (Unemployment Insurance Code Section 15003)

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.

COMMENTS:

1. Author's Statement. "Since 2001, the number of green jobs in California has grown exponentially, coinciding with the state’s investment in solar and other clean energy technologies. The Solar Foundation’s National Solar Jobs Census 2014 found that California remains the top solar state in terms of both installed capacity and employment. The report found that California employed 54,690 solar workers in 2014, representing a 15.8% increase in employment over the course of one year. Employment numbers for 2015 are expected to continue to grow 17.2%, translating into 9,400 new jobs. It is also important to note that solar installation jobs are a more ethnically and gender diverse sector than other energy sectors, such as coal mining. Nationally, 16,500 more Latinos, 4,400 more African-Americans, 5,700 more Asian Pacific Islanders, and 12,300 more women are employed in solar installation than coal mining.

"In his inaugural address, Governor Brown set ambitious goals to further reduce California’s energy consumption over the next 15 years, including increasing from 33% to 50% our electricity derived from renewable sources. As the state works to advance greater RPS goals, all options need to be on the table in order to procure more clean energy, and increasing the amount of renewable DG will be an important part of this strategy. It is also critical to ensure our workforce is adequately trained to install and maintain this new clean energy infrastructure.

"Current law requires the CPUC to publish a report about the impacts of distributed energy generation on the state’s distribution and transmission grid. In order to fully evaluate and understand the impacts of distributive energy generation on the state’s workforce and ensure that green workforce training programs are helping to meet this need, it is important that this data is collected and published by the CPUC to help inform public policy decisions moving forward. "

2. Jobs Data is Lacking. Jobs data, such as the Solar Foundation's report referenced by the author, provides data derived from a sampling of companies on direct and induced jobs in the solar industry. The report does not provide information on how many of those jobs are full-time or part time, or whether these are direct employment or contract positions. In addition, the jobs survey does not break out data on job classifications in the professional positions, such as legal, finance, engineering, management, and boards of directors, and the extent of diversity within those job classifications. Last, the Solar Foundation's report focuses solely on solar industry jobs. There are other distributed generation technologies, including solar thermal, wind energy, renewably fueled on-site generation, and advanced energy storage for which job data is not available. New distributed generation technologies are also likely to be introduced into the market as the market for distributed generation increases. It would be useful to have accurate and reliable job data on distributed generation technologies so that growth and changes in the workforce can be better understood.

3. Green Job Training Programs. According to a 2011 report published by Environment California, it documented nearly 300 green job training programs at over 130 institutions throughout the state with up to 15,000 students enrolled annually. Data on these programs and tracking to understand how many of these students successfully find employment in green job industries would be useful to understand. It would also be useful to understand the extent to which the training programs provide support for the full complement of potential employment opportunities. For example, it appears from a review of this report that many of the jobs focus on building and construction. This could lead to missed opportunities to train students for other types of green jobs, such as legal, finance, management, and sales. It would be useful to understand whether the types of training programs provide for non-construction green jobs.

4. Distributed Generation Growth Trajectory. The Governor announced a greenhouse gas goal in his 2015 Inaugural Address that included distributed generation. Specifically the Governor's goal is to, within the next 15 years:

• Increase from one-third to 50 percent our electricity derived from renewable sources,

• Reduce today’s petroleum use in cars and trucks by up to 50 percent, and

• Double the efficiency of existing buildings and make heating fuels cleaner.

The Governor went on to say that he envisions a wide range of initiatives: more distributed power, expanded rooftop solar, micro-grids, an energy imbalance market, battery storage, the full integration of information technology and electrical distribution, and millions of electric and low-carbon vehicles.

In addition to the Governor's goal, the Legislature enacted AB 327 (Perea, Chapter 611, Statutes of 2013). AB 327 specified that electrical corporations regulated by the CPUC are to file distribution resource plans by July 1, 2015 and identify optimal locations for the deployment of distributed resources. The CPUC is required to review and modify or approve the plans in a manner that minimizes overall system cost, and maximizes ratepayer benefit from investments in distributed resources. The CPUC is then authorized to approve proposed spending if it concludes that ratepayers would realize net benefits and the associated costs are just and reasonable.

The CPUC has an open proceeding to implement the provisions of AB 327. Thus, is it reasonable to expect that there will be an increase in the amount of distributed generation used in California.

5. Suggested amendments.

The author may wish to consider amendments to specify the type of information that is to be included in the distributed generation report.

321.7. (a) On or before January 1, 2010, and annually thereafter, the commission, in consultation with the Independent System Operator and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, shall study, and submit a report to the Legislature and the Governor on, the impacts of distributed energy generation on the state’s distribution and transmission grid. The study shall evaluate all of the following:

(1) Reliability and transmission issues related to connecting distributed energy generation to the local distribution networks and regional grid.

(2) Issues related to grid reliability and operation, including interconnection, and the position of federal and state regulators toward distributed energy accessibility.

(3) The effect on overall grid operation of various distributed energy generation sources.

(4) Barriers affecting the connection of distributed energy to the state’s grid.

(5) Emerging technologies related to distributed energy generation interconnection.

(6) Interconnection issues that may arise for the Independent System Operator and local distribution companies.

(7) The effect on peak demand for electricity.

(b) In addition, the commission shall specifically assess the impacts of the California Solar Initiative program, specified in Section 2851 and Section 25783 of the Public Resources Code, the self-generation incentive program authorized by Section 379.6, and the net energy metering pilot program authorized by Section 2827.9.

(c) The commission shall, in consultation with the California Workforce Investment Board and the Employment Training Panel, include in the report required pursuant to subdivision (a) an evaluation of the current use of, and opportunities for, green workforce training programs relating to the deployment of distributed energy resources. The evaluation shall include, but not be limited to data about distributed generation employment disaggregated, by technology and region within California, as follows: number of full-time employees; number of part-time employees; number of contract personnel; total direct jobs; total indirect jobs; inventory of distributed generation training programs available in California focusing on construction, finance, legal, management, sales, or other employment areas within this field; total number of students enrolled in these programs; and rate at employment for graduates from each of these training programs.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

None on file.

Opposition

None on file.

Analysis Prepared by: Sue Kateley / U. & C. / (916) 319-2083