Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Rps And Hydropower topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee rejects bill to count existing large hydro toward RPS; opponents say it would undercut new renewables
Summary
The committee voted against AB 1191, which would have allowed existing large hydroelectric facilities to count toward California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard; opponents said the change would reduce incentives for new renewables and raise wholesale prices.
Assemblymember (author) presented AB 1191 to permit existing large hydroelectric facilities (including out‑of‑state Western Interconnect generation) to be counted as eligible resources under California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). The author said including the state’s large hydro fleet could lower retail costs and ease near‑term RPS compliance pressures.
Opponents — including TURN (The Utility Reform Network), the California Wind Energy Association, the Independent Energy Producers Association, the Sierra Club and other clean‑energy industry groups — argued the RPS was designed to incentivize new renewable development and that adding existing large hydro would undermine that purpose. TURN told the committee that including large hydro would reduce the need for new procurement, could increase wholesale prices by raising premiums on existing hydro resources and would destabilize compliance given hydro’s year‑to‑year variability.
Committee debate: Several members thanked the author for focusing on affordability but said the bill, as drafted, would upend the intent of the RPS and the state’s procurement targets under SB 100. The author said she was open to amendments and to exploring limited approaches such as making new hydro eligible, but the committee majority was not persuaded.
Vote and next steps: The committee voted 4-11 against AB 1191. The author asked for reconsideration but the bill failed to move out of committee.
Context: Witnesses and committee members noted that large hydro already counts as a zero‑carbon resource under SB 100; making existing hydro RPS‑eligible would substitute existing generation for new procurement targets, opponents said, and could raise costs during drought years when hydro output is low.
