(a) As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) “Benefiting account” means an electricity account, or more than one account, mutually agreed upon by Pacific Gas and Electric Company and the City of Davis.
(2) “Bill credit” means credits calculated based upon the electricity generation component of the rate schedule applicable to a benefiting account, as applied to the net metered quantities of electricity.
(3) “PVUSA” means the photovoltaic electricity generation facility selected by the City of Davis, located at 24662 County Road, Davis, California, with a rated peak electricity generation capacity of 600 kilowatts, and as it may be expanded, not to exceed one megawatt of peak generation capacity.
(4) “Net metered” means the electricity output from the PVUSA.
(5) “Environmental attributes” associated with the PVUSA include, but are not limited to, the credits, benefits, emissions reductions, environmental air quality credits, and emissions reduction credits, offsets, and allowances, however entitled resulting from the avoidance of the emission of any gas, chemical, or other substance attributable to the PVUSA.
(b) The City of Davis may elect to designate a benefiting account, or more than one account, to receive bill credit for the electricity generated by the PVUSA, if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) A benefiting account receives service under a time-of-use rate schedule.
(2) The electricity output of the PVUSA is metered for time of use to allow allocation of each bill credit to correspond to the time-of-use period of a benefiting account.
(3) All costs associated with the metering requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) are the responsibility of the City of Davis.
(4) All electricity delivered to the electrical grid by the PVUSA is the property of Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
(5) PVUSA does not sell electricity delivered to the electrical grid to a third party.
(6) The right, title, and interest in the environmental attributes associated with the electricity delivered to the electrical grid by the PVUSA are the property of Nuon Renewable Ventures USA, LLC.
(c) A benefiting account shall be billed on a monthly basis, as follows:
(1) For all electricity usage, the rate schedule applicable to the benefiting account, including any surcharge, exit fee, or other cost recovery mechanism, as determined by the commission, to reimburse the Department of Water Resources for purchases of electricity, pursuant to Division 27 (commencing with Section 80000) of the Water Code.
(2) The rate schedule for the benefiting account shall also provide credit for the generation component of the time-of-use rates for the electricity generated by the PVUSA that is delivered to the electrical grid. The generation component credited to the benefiting account may not include the surcharge, exit fee, or other cost recovery mechanism, as determined by the commission, to reimburse the Department of Water Resources for purchases of electricity, pursuant to Division 27 (commencing with Section 80000) of the Water Code.
(3) If in any billing cycle, the charge pursuant to paragraph (1) for electricity usage exceeds the billing credit pursuant to paragraph (2), the City of Davis shall be charged for the difference.
(4) If in any billing cycle, the billing credit pursuant to paragraph (2), exceeds the charge for electricity usage pursuant to paragraph (1), the difference shall be carried forward as a credit to the next billing cycle.
(5) After the electricity usage charge pursuant to paragraph (1) and the credit pursuant to paragraph (2) are determined for the last billing cycle of a calendar year, any remaining credit resulting from the application of this section shall be reset to zero.
(d) Not more frequently that once per year, and upon providing Pacific Gas and Electric Company with a minimum of 60 days notice, the City of Davis may elect to change a benefiting account. Any credit resulting from the application of this section earned prior to the change in a benefiting account that has not been used as of the date of the change in the benefit account, shall be applied, and may only be applied, to a benefiting account as changed.
(e) Pacific Gas and Electric Company shall file an advice letter with the Public Utilities Commission, that complies with this section, not later than 10 days after the effective date of this section, proposing a rate tariff for a benefiting account. The commission, within 30 days of the date of filing, shall approve the proposed tariff, or specify conforming changes to be made by Pacific Gas and Electric Company to be filed in a new advice letter.
(f) The City of Davis may terminate its election pursuant to subdivision (b), upon providing Pacific Gas and Electric Company with a minimum of 60 days notice. Should the City of Davis sell its interest in the PVUSA, or sell the electricity generated by the PVUSA, in a manner other than required by this section, upon the date of either event, and the earliest date if both events occur, no further bill credit pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) may be earned. Only credit earned prior to that date shall be made to a benefiting account.
(g) The Legislature finds and declares that credit for a benefiting account for the electricity output from the PVUSA are in the public interest in order to value the production of this unique, wholly renewable resource electricity generation facility located in, and owned in part by, the City of Davis. Because of the unique circumstances applicable only to the PVUSA a statute of general applicability cannot be enacted within the meaning of subdivision (b) of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution. Therefore, this special statute is necessary.
(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 515, Sec. 21. Effective January 1, 2003.)