Assembly Bills Face Tough Time in Senate

In a hectic environment, a handful of energy bills were passed June 30 in the Senate Energy, Utilities and Commerce Committee as lawmakers shuffled to and from caucus meetings and other hearings. Those include amended legislation on renewables, power plant repowerings, resource adequacy, and public access to California Public Utilities Commission filings. An Assembly bill advancing the 20 percent renewables portfolio standard requirement from 2017 to 2010 passed only after all other provisions, including a section creating renewable energy trading credits, were stripped out. It was also joined to a similar Senate bill. At press time, the final votes were unavailable. San Diego Gas & Electric, which falls short of the green power supply mandate partly because of transmission constraints, opposed AB 1362 by Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys) after provisions engendering a green trading tag program were deleted. Other requirements, including those covering net metering, were also taken out to allow the bill to go forward, in conjunction with Joe Simitian?s (D-Palo Alto) RPS legislation, SB 107. AB 1547, a Levine bill that attempted to establish a template for dealing with new utility and telecommunications technology, including broadband over power lines, was nearly gutted. The approved bill includes only intent language to get a grasp on policy for new utility technology. Committee chair Senator Martha Escutia (D-Whittier) said she had a similar bill, but because the process for addressing new and developing technology was ?incredibly unwieldy,? she also agreed to strip it down to a bare-bones measure, stating only an intent to develop a policy framework. Escutia?s and Levine?s bills will be taken up in a conference committee. ?Going to conference does not mean delay but that we are damned serious about trying to figure out this issue once and for all,? Escutia said. She also noted that the issue will be discussed in committee hearings held all over the state and the subject of legislation in 2006. Levine?s AB 67, requiring the CPUC to issue an annual 10-year forecast report to the Legislature, passed. The bill attempts to improve the understanding on electricity rates but, according to the CPUC, the time frame is overly long to realistically assess rates down the road. Also passed was Assemblymember Ron Calderon?s (D-Montebello) AB 1182, easing the public?s access to CPUC information and informal filings. Two bills by speaker Fabian N??ez (D-Los Angeles) on resource adequacy and repowerings also advanced. AB 380 would place requirements for supply cushions as insurance against blackouts on all energy suppliers. Constellation and retail direct-access customers objected because they see the bill as a backdoor ratemaking move that will saddle them with unfair costs. N??ez?s AB 1576 sets specific contracting rules for repowering power plants and ?environmental concerns.? However, Escutia balked because it gave short shrift to the serious impacts of once-through cooling, insisting that the bill be amended. The deadline for passing energy bills out of the energy committees is the end of next week.

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Assembly Bills Face Tough Time in Senate

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