TO:
FROM:
Staff Report Item 11
East Bay Community Energy Board of Directors
Melissa Brandt, Vice President of Public Policy and Deputy General Counsel
SUBJECT: Approval of Legislative Position (Action Item) DATE: February 16, 2022
__________________________________________________________________ Recommendation
Take a “support” position on Assembly Bill (“AB”) 1814 (Grayson).
Background and Discussion
In July 2018 the EBCE Board approved a Legislative Program which outlined three general legislative principles and five more specific public policy positions, as well as guidance for legislative policy coordination. The following recommended bill position aligns with the guidance in EBCE’s Legislative Program.
SUPPORT: AB 1814 (Grayson) would expand existing statutory language to authorize community choice aggregators (“CCAs”) to file applications at the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) for programs and investments to accelerate widespread transportation electrification (“TE”). Under existing law, electrical corporations are required to file TE applications, with costs being recovered from all customers (including EBCE’s) through utility distribution rates. In addition to enabling CCAs to file TE applications, the bill would require the electrical corporations to reimburse CCAs for any CCA TE programs approved by the CPUC by collecting the charges through utility distribution rates in the same manner as their own approved costs. In this manner, CCAs are not competitively disadvantaged and their customers are not unfairly burdened with additional costs when the CCA administers a CPUC-approved TE program.
AB 1814 aligns well with EBCE’s legislative principle of Accelerating Decarbonization, as the legislation is designed to enable higher levels of and more effective TE by enabling CCAs to offer programs using TE funds under CPUC oversight. AB 1814 also aligns with EBCE’s legislative principle of promoting local development, since Agenda Item: 11
transportation electrification funds that EBCE would be eligible to apply for would enable increased investment in local zero-emission transportation. Furthermore, AB 1814 would enable a level playing field between CCAs and electrical corporations, which aligns with EBCE’s public policy position on Nonbypassable Charges.
Additionally, AB 1814 would enable increased funding for TE, directly supporting EBCE’s public policy position on Educational, Neighborhood and Social Services.
The California Community Choice Association (“CalCCA”) is the bill’s sponsor.
Fiscal Impact
AB 1814 is unlikely to result in a net increase in utility distribution TE charges, but rather a shift in the allocation of TE funds, with some of the funds going to CCAs.
Attachments:
A. AB 1814 Author’s Fact Sheet
B. February 16, 2022 Legislative Update
Agenda Item: 11
Summary:
AB 1814 would authorize Community Choice
Aggregators (CCAs) to submit applications to the
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to
receive funding to administer transportation
electrification programs in their service areas.
Background:
California has held lofty initiatives of meeting
stringent air quality and climate change targets. A
major component in meeting these targets are the
state’s transportation objectives to achieve five million zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) on the road by 20301
and 250,000 electric vehicle charging stations by
20252. These are essential because the transportation
sector contributes a large percentage of nitrogen
emissions, diesel particulate matter, and statewide
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The CPUC plays a critical role in achieving these
emission targets. Under their authority to regulate
Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs), they are directing
strategic investments for transportation electrification projects, designing electricity rates, adopting vehicle-grid integration policy and pilot programs, and conducting program evaluation and interagency
coordination to ensure strategically coordinated ZEVs
investments.3
Alternative to IOUs, CCAs are local government
entities that supply energy needs for their
communities, offering an alternative and tailored
choice in the market and serve over 11 million
customers in more than 200 cities and counties. CCAs
can provide the communities that they serve with
competitively priced, clean energy choices while
reinvesting revenues into projects and programs,
supporting the local economy, such as offering
complementary programs such as EV charging and
battery storage.
1 https://www.ca.gov/archive/gov39/2018/01/26/governor-brown-takes-action-to-increase-zero-emission-vehicles-fund-new-climate-investments/index.html 2 https://www.ca.gov/archive/gov39/2012/03/23/news17472/index.html Problem:
The California Energy Commission (CEC) has
assessed California’s electric vehicle charging
infrastructure rollout and determined that the state will be almost 1 million chargers short of what will be
required to support the state’s 2035 EV adoption goals.
While CPUC authorizes IOUs to file applications to
receive ratepayer funded transportation electrification program funding, CCAs are not explicitly authorized
in existing law to access these funds, despite CCA
customers also paying into these same funds. As a
result, local leaders have little ability to tailor electric vehicle infrastructure and programs to serve residents
and businesses, particularly in traditionally
underrepresented areas.
Solution:
AB 1814 would explicitly authorize CCAs to file
applications for programs and investments to
accelerate widespread transportation electrification. In order to submit these applications, CCAs would be
regulated to meet all of the same requirements that
IOUs are currently required to meet.
In order to meet the state’s EV adoption goals, CCAs
must also be included in the solution. CCAs should be
given the opportunity to apply for funding through
CPUC for transportation electrification projects as a
means of potentially addressing energy needs as
identified by specific communities. By creating parity
within IOUs and CCAs, the state may be able to meet
our GHG emission reduction goals in the
transportation sector.
Support:
California Community Choice Association
(Sponsor)
Staff Contact:
Samantha Yturralde
[email protected]
(916) 319-2014
3 https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/industries-and-topics/electrical-energy/infrastructure/transportation-electrification Agenda Item: 11
Legislative
Update
FEBRUARY 16. 2022
Agenda Item: 11
Legislative Highlights
• Recommended Bill Position: AB 1814
• Update on 2-year bills / EBCE’s Bill Tracker from 2021 • 2022 Legislative Year (2021-2022 Legislative Session) Agenda Item: 11
Recommended Bill Position
Bill # Author Description Sponsor Status
Recommended
EBCE Position
AB 1814 Grayson Authorizes community choice aggregators to file applications at the CPUC for programs and investments to accelerate widespread transportation electrification, and to receive reimbursement for approved charges from the applicable electrical corporation’s distribution customers.
CalCCA Introduced
2/7/2022 SUPPORT
Agenda Item: 11
Bill Tracker (2021) - Assembly
Bill # Author Description Status
EBCE
Position
AB 33 Ting Requires CEC to provide grants and loans to local governments to maximize energy use savings and expand installation of energy storage and availability of transportation electrification infrastructure.
Chaptered
SUPPORT
AB 427 Bauer-KahanRequires CPUC to establish rules governing the intersection of demand response, energy storage including customer-sited distributed generation plus storage, and RA.
Died
SUPPORT
AB 525 Chiu Requires CEC to evaluate and quantify max feasible capacity of offshore wind and to establish planning goals for 2030 and 2045.
Chaptered SUPPORT
AB 843 Aguiar-CurryAllows community choice aggregators to enter into Bioenergy Market Adjusting Tariff (BioMAT) contracts and recover related costs through the existing nonbypassable charge for the BioMAT program.
Chaptered
SUPPORT
AB 1139 Gonzalez Requires the CPUC to develop a replacement NEM tariff by 8/1/2022; if none, prescribes successor NEM tariff. Requires any existing NEM customer to be transferred to new tariff 20 years after customer first received NEM service.
Died
OPPOSE
AB 1239 Ting Requires investigation into causes of demand response market failures and why demand response is not reaching its potential; recommendations to ensure market failures not repeated.
Recommendations to CPUC to revise policies governing demand response resources. CEC and CAISO to develop initiatives to achieve all cost-effective demand response by 2030.
Died
SUPPORT
Agenda Item: 11
Bill Tracker (2021) - Senate
Bill # Author Description Status
EBCE
Position
SB 31 Cortese Requires CEC to identify/implement programs to promote existing & new building decarb. Would authorize expending fed funds for these projects. Would require CEC under EPIC to award funds for projects benefiting electric ratepayers & leading to development of building decarbonization technologies and investments to reduce GHG in those bldgs.
Died
SUPPORT
SB 52 Dodd Expands sudden and severe energy shortage definition to include de-energization events, constituting state of emergency and local emergency.
Chaptered SUPPORT
SB 68 Becker Requires CEC to develop guide for overcoming barriers to electrification of buildings and installation of EV charging equipment. Authorizes CEC EPIC $ for reducing costs of building electrification.
Chaptered SUPPORT
SB 99 Dodd Community Energy Resiliency Act of 2021. Requires the CEC to develop and implement a grant program for local govts to develop community energy resilience plans. 2nd house–
see SB 833 SUPPORT
SB 345 Becker Requires the CPUC to establish common definitions of nonenergy benefits, incorporate into distributed energy resource (DER) programs and projects, and track nonenergy benefits produced in DER program evals.
Died SUPPORT
SB 551 Stern Establishes California EV Authority in the Governor's office, responsible for coordinating state agency activities to deploy EV and zero emission charging infrastructure, create funding/financing tools to support deployments, prioritize equity
2nd house
SUPPORT
SB 589 Hueso Requires CEC to identify workforce development and training resources needed to meet EV charging infrastructure goals.
Chaptered SUPPORT
SB 612 Portantino Requires electrical corporations to annually offer for the following year an allocation of each product arising from legacy resources that departed load customers currently bear cost responsibility for through the PCIA.
Requires the CPUC to recognize and account for the value of all products in the legacy portfolio in determining the PCIA.
2nd house SUPPORT
Agenda Item: 11
Key Deadlines for the 2022 Legislative Year
• 1/3: Legislature reconvened
• 1/10: Governor submitted budget
• 1/31: Deadline to move 2-year bills out of 1st house
• 2/18: Bill introduction deadline
• 4/29: Policy cmtes to move fiscal bills to fiscal cmtes (1st house) • 5/6: Policy cmtes to move nonfiscal bills to floor (1st house) • 5/20: Fiscal cmtes must move bills to floor (1st house) • 5/27: Last day for bills to be passed out of 1st house • 6/15: Budget bill must be passed
• 7/1: Policy cmtes to meet and report bills (2nd house) • 8/12: Fiscal cmtes to move bills to floor (2nd house) • 8/31: Last day for each house to pass bills
• 9/30: Last day for Governor to sign/veto bills
Agenda Item: 11
Next Steps
• Review and analyze new bills and amendments
• Monitor bills on our watch list; determine when EBCE should formally take a position
• Send position letters for bills once EBCE formally takes a position
• Monitor Governor’s Budget request, which includes $6.1B over 5 years for Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV)
• Engage with CalCCA on legislative efforts
Agenda Item: 11