Pub. Util. Code, § 380.5

(a) In establishing a demand response program, the commission shall do all of the following:

(1) Establish rules consistent with state and federal law for how and when back-up generation may be used within the program and establish reporting and data collection requirements to verify compliance with those rules.

(2) Ensure the program approved for resource adequacy requirements delivers the expected results and provides ratepayer benefits.

(3) Before the implementation of a program for residential customers, establish customer protection rules regarding the participation, cost of participation, and ability to not enroll in the program. A residential customer who does not enroll in the program shall lose eligibility for rebates, discounts, and other incentives offered to customers who participate in the program. The commission shall prohibit the imposition of charges on a residential customer for not enrolling in the program.

(4) Establish a method to accurately calculate the customer’s load shift at time intervals in which the customer would be eligible for demand response program payments or credits.

(5) Establish metering and monitoring policies for the program.

(b) This section does not apply to time-variant pricing as defined in Section 745, including time-of-use rates, critical peak pricing, and real-time pricing, or to similar tariffs, including peak time rebates.