CA AB79

State Air Resources Board must update its methodology by January 1, 2019 to calculate greenhouse gas emissions from electricity with unspecified sources, distinguishing between electricity purchased within California balancing authority areas and imports from different Western Electricity Coordinating Council subregions.

Updated emissions methodology applies to electricity purchases occurring after January 1, 2021 and must be regularly updated to improve accuracy and support state greenhouse gas reduction initiatives.

State Air Resources Board may forgo updating the methodology if it determines the update is infeasible or creates excessive administrative burden that would not materially improve calculation accuracy for state emissions regulation programs.

State Air Resources Board must report to the Legislature by January 1, 2019 on barriers to developing an enhanced hourly emissions calculation methodology based on recorded generation operations data, in consultation with the Independent System Operator and California balancing authorities.

Public Utilities Commission and Energy Commission must incorporate the updated methodology into programs addressing greenhouse gas emissions disclosure and electricity procurement by entities under their jurisdiction.