Section 739.9 Of Article 2. Rates From California Public Utilities Code >> Division 1. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 4. >> Article 2.
739.9
. (a) "Fixed charge" means any fixed customer charge, basic
service fee, demand differentiated basic service fee, demand charge,
or other charge not based upon the volume of electricity consumed.
(b) Increases to electrical rates and charges in rate design
proceedings, including any reduction in the California Alternate
Rates for Energy (CARE) discount, shall be reasonable and subject to
a reasonable phase-in schedule relative to the rates and charges in
effect prior to January 1, 2014.
(c) Except as provided in subdivision (c) of Section 745, the
commission shall require each electrical corporation to offer default
rates to residential customers with at least two usage tiers. The
first tier shall include electricity usage of no less than the
baseline quantity established pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (d) of Section 739.
(d) Consistent with the requirements of Section 739, the
commission may modify the seasonal definitions and applicable
percentage of average consumption for one or more climatic zones.
(e) The commission may adopt new, or expand existing, fixed
charges for the purpose of collecting a reasonable portion of the
fixed costs of providing electric service to residential customers.
The commission shall ensure that any approved charges do all of the
following:
(1) Reasonably reflect an appropriate portion of the different
costs of serving small and large customers.
(2) Not unreasonably impair incentives for conservation and energy
efficiency.
(3) Not overburden low-income customers.
(f) For the purposes of this section and Section 739.1, the
commission may, beginning January 1, 2015, authorize fixed charges
that do not exceed ten dollars ($10) per residential customer account
per month for customers not enrolled in the CARE program and five
dollars ($5) per residential customer account per month for customers
enrolled in the CARE program. Beginning January 1, 2016, the maximum
allowable fixed charge may be adjusted by no more than the annual
percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for the prior
calendar year. This subdivision applies to any default rate schedule,
at least one optional tiered rate schedule, and at least one
optional time variant rate schedule.
(g) This section does not require the commission to approve any
new or expanded fixed charge.
(h) The commission may consider whether minimum bills are
appropriate as a substitute for any fixed charges.