Bills

AB 2256: Net energy metering.

  • Session Year: 2023-2024
  • House: Assembly

Current Status:

Failed

(2024-05-16: Joint Rule 62(a), file notice suspended. (Page 5215.))

Introduced

First Committee Review

First Chamber

Second Committee Review

Second Chamber

Enacted

Version:

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires every electric utility, defined to include electrical corporations, local publicly owned electric utilities, and electrical cooperatives, to develop a standard contract or tariff for net energy metering, as defined, for generation by a renewable electrical generation facility, as defined, and to make this contract or tariff available to eligible customer-generators, as defined, upon request on a first-come-first-served basis until the time that the total rated generating capacity used by eligible customer-generators exceeds 5% of the electric utilitys aggregate customer peak demand.

Existing law requires the commission to have developed a 2nd standard contract or tariff for each large electrical corporation, as defined, to provide net energy metering to additional eligible customer-generators in the electrical corporations service territory and imposes no limitation on the number of new eligible customer-generators entitled to receive service pursuant to this 2nd standard contract or tariff. Existing law requires the commission, in developing the 2nd standard contract or tariff, to ensure that customer-sited renewable distributed generation continues to grow sustainably and to include specific alternatives designed for growth among residential customers in disadvantaged communities. Existing law authorizes the commission to revise the 2nd standard contract or tariff as appropriate. Pursuant to that authorization, the commission has instituted rulemakings and issued decisions relating to the 2nd standard contract or tariff.

This bill would require the commission, as appropriate, to revise the above-described standard contract or tariff to, among other things: ensure that customer-sited renewable distributed generation continues to grow at a pace identified by the state as needed to meet the states climate goals, rather than sustainably; ensure that the standard contract or tariff is based on an independent assessment of the cost of service analysis and the total benefits of the renewable electrical generation facility, including quantifiable nonenergy benefits, as defined; and, ensure that the total benefits of the standard contract or tariff to all customers and the electrical system are approximately equal to or greater than the total costs. The bill would prohibit that cost consideration from compromising the states climate goals or quantifiable nonenergy benefits, as specified. The bill would require every large electrical corporation to make the standard contract or tariff, as revised, available to all new eligible customer-generators upon that revision.Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.Because this bill would require a commission action to implement its requirements, the violation of which is 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.

This bill would require the commission to conduct an independent cost-of-service analysis evaluating the standard contract or tariff developed by the commission in a specified decision.

Discussed in Hearing

Assembly Standing Committee on Utilities and Energy9MIN
Apr 24, 2024

Assembly Standing Committee on Utilities and Energy

View Older Hearings

News Coverage:

AB 2256: Net energy metering. | Digital Democracy