Section 2863 Of Article 2. Solar Water Heating Systems From California Public Utilities Code >> Division 1. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 9. >> Article 2.
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. (a) If, after a public hearing, the commission determines
that a solar water heating program is cost effective for ratepayers
and in the public interest, the commission shall do all of the
following:
(1) Design and implement a program applicable to the service
territories of a gas corporation, to achieve the goal of the
Legislature to promote the installation of 200,000 solar water
heating systems in homes, businesses, and buildings or facilities of
eligible customer classes receiving natural gas service throughout
the state by 2017. Eligible customer classes shall include
single-family and multifamily residential, commercial, industrial,
governmental, nonprofit, and primary, secondary, and postsecondary
educational customers.
(2) The program shall be administered by gas corporations or
third-party administrators, as determined by the commission, and
subject to the supervision of the commission.
(3) The commission shall coordinate the program with the Energy
Commission's New Solar Homes Partnership to achieve the goal of
building zero-energy homes.
(4) The commission shall determine an appropriate division of
funds between solar water heating systems that are and are not solar
pool heating systems.
(b) (1) The commission shall fund the program through the use of a
surcharge applied to gas customers based upon the amount of natural
gas consumed. The surcharge shall be in addition to any other charges
for natural gas sold or transported for consumption in this state.
(2) The commission shall impose the surcharge at a level that is
necessary to meet the goal of installing 200,000 solar water heating
systems, or the equivalent output of 200,000 solar water heating
systems, on homes, businesses, and buildings or facilities of
eligible customer classes receiving natural gas service in California
by 2017. Funding for the program established by this article shall
not, for the collective service territories of all gas corporations,
exceed two hundred fifty million dollars ($250,000,000) over the
course of the 10-year program.
(3) The commission shall annually establish a surcharge rate for
each class of gas customers. Any gas customer participating in the
California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) or Family Electric Rate
Assistance (FERA) programs shall be exempt from paying any surcharge
imposed to fund the program designed and implemented pursuant to this
article.
(4) Any surcharge imposed to fund the program designed and
implemented pursuant to this article shall not be imposed upon the
portion of any gas customer's procurement of natural gas that is used
or employed for a purpose that Section 896 excludes from being
categorized as the consumption of natural gas.
(5) The gas corporation or other person or entity providing
revenue cycle services, as defined in Section 328.1, shall be
responsible for collecting the surcharge.
(c) Funds shall be allocated for the benefit of gas customers to
promote utilization of solar water heating systems.
(d) In designing and implementing the program required by this
article, no moneys shall be diverted from any existing programs for
low-income ratepayers or cost-effective energy efficiency programs.