(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.