DATE: 12/04/2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Utilities Department
2024-171
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBJECT:
RESOLUTION APPROVING AND ATTESTING TO THE VERACITY OF THE 2023
POWER SOURCE DISCLOSURE PROGRAM ANNUAL REPORT AND POWER
CONTENT LABEL TO THE CALIFORNIA ENERGY COMMISSION FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2023
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to approve Resolution 2024-093, and attest to the veracity of the 2023 Power Source Disclosure Program Annual Report and associated Power Content Label to the California Energy Commission. For compliance under the California Energy Commission regulation, all Publicly Owned Utilities can either engage a third-party certified public accountant or have their governing bodies approve and attest to the veracity of the Power Source Disclosure Program Annual Reports and the associated Power Content Label.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council adopt Resolution No. 2024-093, approving and attesting to the veracity of the 2023 Power Source Disclosure Program Annual Report and Power Content Label to the California Energy Commission for the year ending December 31, 2023.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
In 1997, Senate Bill 1305 (SB 1305) established a requirement for retail electric energy suppliers to submit an annual report to the California Energy Commission (CEC) disclosing the sources of energyenergy sources used to provide electric service. This report is commonly referred to ascalled the Power Source Disclosure Report (PSD) and is due to the CEC by June 1st of each year for the previous calendar year. Due to software issues within the Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System (WREGIS), the PSD Report due date was postponed to August 30, 2024.th this year.
The information in this report is used to prepare the annual Power Content Label (PCL), which is provided to our customers each year by posting the PCL on the City’s website as well as the CEC’s website. This information must be presented in an accurate, reliable and easy to understand manner to provide consumers a detailed view intoposted on the city's and CEC's websites each year and provided to our customers. This information must be presented in an accurate, reliable, and easy-to-understand manner to provide consumers with a detailed view of the sources of energy purchased by their retail suppliers to power their homes and businesses.
ANALYSIS:
In 2016, the CEC adopted modifications to the regulations implemented by SB 1305 to incorporate statutory changes to program rules and requirements, as required by Assembly Bill 162 (AB 162), Assembly Bill 2227 (AB 2227), and Assembly Bill 1110 (AB 1110). AB 162 included a provision that requires utilities to engage a third-party certified public accountant to perform an audit to verify the specific purchases, resales, and selfconsumption of energyrequiring utilities to engage a third-party certified public accountant to perform an audit to verify the specific purchases, resales, and energy self-consumption by fuel type. The regulation includes an exemption from the audit requirement for publicly owned electric utilities if the utility’s governing board approves and attests to the veracity of the data contained in the PSD Report and PCL at a public meeting.
The aforementioned audit exemption can only be applied to one electric service product offered by the utility; any additional products are required to go through an auditing process to satisfy the audit requirement. In the City of Corona’s case, this means that the standard power mix can be approved by City Council, as described above.
AB 1110 also required retail suppliers to disclose greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity (the rate of emissions per unit of electricity) associated with each electricity portfolio. A requirement was the intensity of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (the rate of emissions per unit of electricity) associated with each electricity portfolio. A requirement was also included to disclose the unbundled renewable energy credits (RECs) as a percentage of annual retail sales.
The final version of the annual PSD Report for Calendar Year 2023 was submitted to the CEC in June 2024, along with the associated staff attestation form. The 2023 PCL was posted on the City’s website in accordance with the CEC regulations. The attached Resolution No. 2024-093 approves the annual PSD Report and PCL submission. Further, it provides the attestation to the veracity of both the PSD Report and PCL as required for exemption from the third-party audit requirement for the City’s standard power mix. Due to the WREGIS software issues, the due date for this attestation was postponed to January 31, 2025.
Adoption of Resolution 2024-093 will enable the City to comply with the CEC regulation implemented by SB 1305.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There are no fiscal impacts associated with this item.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
State CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the commonsense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This action approves and attests to the veracity of the 2023 Power Source Disclosure Program Annual Report and associated Power Content Label, and there is no possibility that approving these changes will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: ERIN KUNKLE, ELECTRIC UTILITY MANAGER
REVIEWED BY: TOM MOODY, DIRECTOR OF UTILITIES
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Exhibit 1 – Resolution No. 2024-093