Electricity: climate credits.

Assembly Member Calderon's proposal to modify California's Climate Credit program would establish new eligibility criteria for residential customers receiving greenhouse gas allowance revenue credits from electrical corporations. The legislation maintains credit eligibility for customers enrolled in the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) or Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) programs, while excluding other residential customers whose annual electricity bills total less than $300.

The measure authorizes electrical corporations to allocate up to 15 percent of greenhouse gas allowance revenues toward clean energy and energy efficiency projects, provided these initiatives lack other funding sources. Projects may be administered directly by the utilities or through qualified third parties approved by the Public Utilities Commission. The bill preserves existing requirements for customer outreach programs to inform the public about available credits.

As part of the Public Utilities Act, violations of these provisions would constitute a crime under California law. While the bill creates potential enforcement costs for local agencies, it specifies that state reimbursement is not required since any new expenses would stem from modified criminal provisions under existing statutory frameworks.