Article 1. General Provisions And Definitions of California Public Utilities Code >> Division 1. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 7. >> Article 1.

The Legislature hereby finds and declares that in order to promote the more rapid development of new sources of natural gas and electric energy, to maintain the economic vitality of the state through the continuing production of goods and the employment of its people, and to promote the efficient utilization and distribution of energy, it is desirable and necessary to encourage private energy producers to competitively develop independent sources of natural gas and electric energy not otherwise available to California consumers served by public utilities, to require the transmission by public utilities of such energy for private energy producers under certain conditions, and remove unnecessary barriers to energy transactions involving private energy producers.

"Private energy producer" includes every person, corporation, city, county, district, and public agency of the state generating or producing electricity not generated from conventional sources or natural gas for energy either directly or as a byproduct solely for his or its own use or the use of his or its tenants; or generating or producing electricity, or owning the means thereof, to or for any electrical corporation, heat corporation, state agency, city, county, district, or an association thereof, but not to or for the public for any other purpose. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a private energy producer shall not be found to be a public utility subject to the general jurisdiction of the commission solely because of conducting any activity authorized by this chapter.

"Interconnection" means the facilities necessary to physically connect the energy source of and the point of use by a private energy producer with the existing transmission facilities of a public utility, and shall include any necessary transformation, compression or other facilities necessary to make such interconnection effective.

"Transmission service" means the intrastate transfer of electricity or natural gas by a public utility for any private energy producer between the points of interconnection for use within this state in the service area of the utility.

"Conventional power source" means power derived from nuclear energy or the operation of a hydropower facility greater than 30 megawatts or the combustion of fossil fuels, unless cogeneration technology, as defined in Section 25134 of the Public Resources Code, is employed in the production of such power.

"Fossil fuel" means a mixture of hydrocarbons including coal, petroleum, or natural gas, occurring in and extracted from underground deposits.

"Standby charge" means a charge by an electrical corporation for providing standby generation, transmission, and distribution facilities to a private energy producer employing other than a conventional power source for the generation of electricity.