SB 410: Powering Up Californians Act.

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law authorizes the PUC to establish an expedited distribution grid interconnection dispute resolution process with the goal of resolving disputes over interconnection applications within the jurisdiction of the PUC in no more than 60 days from the time the dispute is formally brought to the PUC. Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission), in collaboration with the State Air Resources Board, the PUC, and other relevant stakeholders, to annually gather from state agencies, as provided, specified entities fleet data for on-road and off-road vehicles in the medium- and heavy-duty sectors and share that data with electrical corporations to help inform electrical grid planning efforts, as specified. Existing law requires electrical corporations, as part of their distribution planning processes, to consider that produced fleet data, and other available data, to facilitate the readiness of their distribution systems to support the states anticipated level of electric vehicle charging, as specified.

This bill, the Powering Up Californians Act, would require the PUC to establish, on or before September 30, 2024, reasonable average and maximum target energization time periods, as defined, and a procedure for customers to report energization delays to the PUC, as provided. The bill would require the PUC to require the electrical corporation to take remedial actions necessary to achieve the PUCs targets and would require all reports to be publicly available, among other reporting requirements.

The bill would require, as part of each annual report, including any updates, and in each general rate case application, each electrical corporation to include a detailed analysis of its current qualified staffing level and future required qualified staffing level for each job classification, as specified, among other requirements related to staffing and apprentice training. The bill would, among other requirements placed on electrical corporations, require an electrical corporation to consider, in its annual distribution planning process, known load, and projections of load provided by the Energy Commission, in addition to certain standards, plans, regulations, policies, and requirements. The bill would, until January 1, 2027, require the PUC to ensure that each electrical corporation has sufficient and timely recovery of costs, as specified. If requested by the electrical corporation, the bill would, until January 1, 2027, require the PUC to authorize, within 180 days of the request, the use of a ratemaking mechanism that, among other things, authorizes the electrical corporation to track costs for energization projects placed in service after January 1, 2024, that exceed the costs included in the electrical corporations annual authorized revenue requirement for energization, as specified. The bill would, until January 1, 2027, require an electrical corporation, as part of its request for a ratemaking mechanism, to include in its request specified information, including, among other information, a detailed summary of energization costs authorized in its current general rate case or any other proceeding. The bill would, until July 1, 2028, require an electrical corporation that requests the use of a ratemaking mechanism to agree to retain an independent third-party auditor to, among other things, review the electrical corporations business practices and procedures for energizing new customers and how the electrical corporation is planning for demand growth, prohibit the electrical corporation from recovering the costs of the third-party auditor from ratepayers, and require the third-party auditor to report to the PUC on a biannual basis, as specified. The bill would authorize the PUC to modify or adjust the bills requirements for any electrical corporation with fewer than 100,000 service connections, as individual circumstances merit. The bill would not apply to an electrical cooperative.

Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act, or of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime. Because this bill would be a part of the act, and because a violation of a PUC action implementing its requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.