Plain English Breakdown
The bill requires the commission to consider protections for vulnerable residential customers but does not specify what those rules will be.
AB-1117: Optional Dynamic Electricity Rates
This law requires the Public Utilities Commission to create new optional electricity rate plans that change prices based on grid conditions and market costs for different types of customers.
What This Bill Does
- Requires the commission to develop at least one dynamic rate plan for medium and large commercial or industrial customers by July 1, 2028.
- Requires the commission to develop at least one dynamic rate plan for residential and small commercial customers by July 1, 2030.
- Mandates that these new rates include time-varying charges for transmission, distribution, and generation based on grid constraints and wholesale market conditions.
- Ensures any extra money collected from participating bundled or unbundled customers is returned to them, while any shortfall in expected revenue is also paid by those same customers.
- Gives smart meter users who choose these rates direct access to their own real-time electricity usage data.
Who It Names or Affects
- Large electrical corporations that must offer the new rate options.
- Medium and large commercial or industrial customers eligible for plans starting in 2028.
- Residential and small commercial customers eligible for plans starting in 2030.
- The Public Utilities Commission, which must create rules to manage these rates.
Terms To Know
- Dynamic rate tariffs
- Electricity pricing plans where the cost per unit of power changes based on time and current grid conditions.
- Nonbypassable charges
- Fees that customers must pay as part of their electricity bill to fund specific programs, which cannot be avoided by switching providers.
- Interval usage data
- Detailed records showing exactly how much electricity a customer used at short time intervals throughout the day.
Limits and Unknowns
- The bill requires the commission to consider rules for vulnerable residential customers but does not list specific protections in this text.
- It is unclear if medium and large commercial customers will be required to join demand response programs, as the commission must first determine this requirement.
- New eligibility rules apply only to new medium and large commercial or industrial customers energized on or after July 1, 2028.