Renewable electrical generation facilities: electrified commuter railroads: regenerative braking: net billing.

Assembly Member Papan's legislation expands California's net energy metering framework to include electricity generated through regenerative braking by electrified commuter railroads. The bill establishes requirements for load-serving entities to adopt net billing contracts for electricity produced when electric trains brake, with specific provisions for the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board.

Under the measure, load-serving entities must complete technical studies to assess grid impacts before implementing net billing arrangements with eligible transit operators. The contracts must provide bill credits for electricity exported to the grid based on the avoided cost of purchasing clean energy from other sources. Load-serving entities are required to install metering equipment that records 15-minute interval data on electricity flows between the railroad and grid.

The legislation defines eligible customer-generators as public agencies operating electrified commuter railroads that qualify for certain transit funding. These entities must ensure their regenerative braking systems meet established safety and performance standards. The bill maintains existing protections against cost-shifting between customer classes while adding regenerative braking to the list of qualifying renewable generation technologies under state net metering programs.

For implementation, load-serving entities must modify their net billing tariffs subject to approval by the California Public Utilities Commission or other relevant rate-setting authority. The measure includes enforcement provisions that classify violations of commission orders related to these requirements as criminal offenses, consistent with existing utility regulations.