AB 615: Power facilities: emergency response and action plans.

Existing law requires an application to be filed with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission for certification of a site and related facility that includes an electrical transmission line or thermal powerplant, or both. Existing law requires the application to contain, among other information, a description of any electrical transmission lines, a map of the proposed route and existing transmission lines, justification for the proposed route, and a preliminary description of the effect of the proposed electrical transmission lines on the environment, ecology, and scenic, historic, and recreational values, as specified.

This bill would remove the requirement that the application include the information described above, and would require that the application also contain an emergency response and action plan, to be paid for by the applicant, that incorporates impacts to the surrounding areas in the event of an emergency and that would be conducted and coordinated with local emergency management agencies, unified program agencies, and local first response agencies.

Existing law authorizes a person proposing an energy storage system to file an application for certification with the commission in lieu of any permit, certificate, or similar document required by any state, local, or regional agency, or federal agency, as provided.

The bill would require that an application for an energy storage system also contain an emergency response and action plan, to be paid for by the applicant, that includes analysis and feedback from a local emergency management agency. The bill would require the commission to ensure an energy storage system that submits an application after January 1, 2026, complies with setback requirements that are at least as protective as the most recently published edition of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 855, Standard for the Installation of Stationary Energy Storage Systems.