Major California Legislation Enacted in 1997 Relating to Energy

ENERGY

Legislation of Interest–Reporting Obligations

In response to the deregulation of electricity generation, the Legislature found that there is a need for reliable, timely and accurate information regarding fuel sources for electricity offered for retail sale in California. Senate Bill 1305 (Ch. 796) accordingly imposes many new reporting obligations, including the following:

• Beginning January 1, 1998, or as soon thereafter as practicable, each generator of electricity that provides meter data to a system operator must report to the system operator the amount of electricity generated in kilowatt hours by hour by generator, the fuel types and fuel consumption by fuel type by month on an historical recorded quarterly basis. The California Energy Commission is authorized to access this data.

• Each retail supplier of electricity, in its product-specific promotional materials, must disclose its electricity sources, as specified, at least quarterly to potential end-use consumers.

• Beginning on March 1, 1999, retail suppliers that disclose specific purchases to end-use customers must report annually to the California Energy Commission on electricity offerings for the previous calendar year.

• By June 1, 1999, the California Energy Commission, the California Air Resources Board and affected air districts must issue a report to the Legislature assessing the air emission effects of electric utility restructuring.