As California and L.A.-area businesses grapple with the possibility of rolling blackouts this summer, a local state legislator has proposed making it easier for businesses to place generators on-site and thereby free themselves from dependence on the regional power grid.

Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, is pushing legislation that offers a combination of tax credits and reduced utility fees for businesses that lease or purchase generators or other sources of energy specifically designed to power their own operations. The legislation unanimously passed a key Assembly committee last week.

By making such generators more affordable, not only would businesses gain crucial insurance against rolling blackouts, but hundreds of megawatts of electricity could be freed up to go elsewhere, Koretz said.

Koretz’ bill, AB 27x, passed out of a revenue and taxation committee last week and now heads for the special session energy committee. It then must go to the Assembly Appropriations Committee before hitting the full Assembly floor. Because of the accelerated pace of the special session dealing with the energy crisis, most of the legislation will be wrapped up within the next four to six weeks.

Specifically, AB 27x would give one-time tax credits ranging from 20 percent to 30 percent of the capital cost for businesses that lease or purchase generators or other alternative energy sources. The tax credit would only be available to businesses that use less than 50 megawatts of power per site per day.

Perhaps more important to businesses is a provision in AB 27x that would eliminate so-called “standby” charges, disconnect fees and other fees imposed by utilities on companies that install their own power-generating systems.