SB 350: Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015.

(1)Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory jurisdiction over public utilities, including electrical corporations, community choice aggregators, and electric service providers, while local publicly owned electric utilities are under the direction of their governing boards. Existing law imposes various regulations on public utilities and local publicly owned electric utilities. Existing law establishes the California Renewables Portfolio Standards (RPS) Program, which is codified in the Public Utilities Act, with the target to increase the amount of electricity generated per year from eligible renewable energy resources to an amount that equals at least 33% of the total electricity sold to retail customers per year by December 31, 2020. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act is a crime.

This bill would require that the amount of electricity generated and sold to retail customers per year from eligible renewable energy resources be increased to 50% by December 31, 2030, as provided. The bill would make other revisions to the RPS Program and to certain other requirements on public utilities and publicly owned electric utilities.

Because certain of the above provisions are codified in the Public Utilities Act, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the definition of a crime or establishing a new crime.

(2)Existing law requires the PUC to identify cost-effective electricity efficiency savings and establish efficiency targets for an electrical corporation to achieve, and to identify cost-effective natural gas efficiency savings and establish efficiency targets for a gas corporation to achieve. Existing law requires a local publicly owned electric utility to identify all potential achievable cost-effective electricity efficiency savings and to establish annual targets for energy efficiency savings and demand reduction for the next 10-year period.

This bill would require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to establish annual targets for statewide energy efficiency savings and demand reduction that will achieve a cumulative doubling of statewide energy efficiency savings in electricity and natural gas final end uses of retail customers by January 1, 2030. The bill would require the PUC to establish efficiency targets for electrical and gas corporations consistent with this goal. The bill would require local publicly owned electric utilities to establish annual targets for energy efficiency savings and demand reduction consistent with this goal.

(3)The existing restructuring of the electrical industry within the Public Utilities Act provides for the establishment of the Independent System Operator (ISO) and requires the ISO to ensure efficient and reliable operation of the electrical transmission grid. Existing law prohibits the ISO from entering into a multistate entity or regional organization unless the ISO receives approval from the Electricity Oversight Board. Existing law states the intent of the Legislature to provide for the evolution of the ISO into a regional organization to promote the development of regional electricity transmission markets in the western states.

This bill would provide for the transformation of the ISO into a regional organization, with the approval of the Legislature, pursuant to a specified process.

(4)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.