Today's Law As Amended

PDF |Add To My Favorites |Track Bill | print page

SB-378 Electrical corporations: deenergization events: procedures: allocation of costs: reports.(2019-2020)



SECTION 1.

 Section 592 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

592.
 The commission shall direct an electrical corporation to submit an annual report to the commission, the Office of Emergency Services, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Independent System Operator, and county governments within its service territory on the age, useful life, and condition of the electrical corporation’s equipment, including the date of most recent inspection and maintenance records, with an assessment of the current and future fire and safety risk posed by the equipment, as well as of the economic, environmental, and public safety impacts of deenergization events. For purposes of this section, “deenergization event” has the same meaning as defined in Section 748.

SEC. 2.

 Section 707 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

707.
 (a) Not later than March 1, 2012, the  The  commission shall institute a rulemaking proceeding for the purpose of considering and adopting a code of conduct, associated rules, and enforcement procedures, procedures  to govern the conduct of the electrical corporations relative to the consideration, formation, and implementation of community choice aggregation programs authorized in Section 366.2.  programs, new or expanded local publicly owned electric utilities, microgrid or distributed resource programs and policies, and other efforts to expand electrical service options available to consumers.  The code of conduct, associated rules, and enforcement procedures, shall do all of the following:
(1) Ensure that an electrical corporation does not market against a community choice aggregation program, a new or expanded local publicly owned electric utility, microgrid or distributed resource program or policies, or other efforts to expand electrical service options available to consumers,  except through an independent marketing division that is funded exclusively by the electrical corporation’s shareholders and that is functionally and physically separate from the electrical corporation’s ratepayer-funded divisions.
(2) Limit the electrical corporation’s independent marketing division’s use of support services from the electrical corporation’s ratepayer-funded divisions, and ensure that the electrical corporation’s independent marketing division is allocated costs of any permissible support services from the electrical corporation’s ratepayer-funded divisions on a fully allocated embedded cost basis, providing detailed public reports of such use.
(3) Ensure that the electrical corporation’s independent marketing division does not have access to competitively sensitive information.
(4) (A) Incorporate rules that the commission finds to be necessary or convenient in order to facilitate the development of community choice aggregation programs, to  a new or expanded local publicly owned electric utility, microgrid or distributed resource programs or policies, or other efforts to expand electrical service options available to consumers, to  foster fair competition, and to protect against cross-subsidization paid by ratepayers.
(B) It is the intent of the Legislature that the rules include, in whole or in part, the rules approved by the commission in Decision 97-12-088 and Decision 08-06-016.
(C) This paragraph does not limit the authority of the commission to adopt rules that it determines are necessary or convenient in addition to those adopted in Decision 97-12-088 and Decision 08-06-016 or to modify any rule adopted in those decisions.
(5) Provide for any other matter that the commission determines to be necessary or advisable to protect a ratepayer’s right to be free from forced speech or to implement that portion of the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 that establishes the federal standard that no electric utility may recover from any person other than the shareholders or other owners of the utility, any direct or indirect expenditure by the electric utility for promotional or political advertising (16 U.S.C. Sec. 2623(b)(5)).
(b) The commission shall ensure that the code of conduct, associated rules, and enforcement procedures to govern the conduct of an electrical corporation relative to new or expanded local publicly owned electric utilities, microgrids, distributed resource programs and policies, and other efforts to expand electrical service options available to consumers  are implemented by no later than January 1, 2013. ____. 
(c) This section does not limit the authority of the commission to require that any marketing against a community choice aggregation plan  plan, a new or expanded local publicly owned electric utility, microgrid or distributed resource programs or policies, or other efforts to expand electrical service options available to consumers,  shall be conducted by an affiliate of the electrical corporation, or to require that marketing against a community choice aggregator not be conducted by a marketing division of the electrical corporation, subject to affiliate transaction rules to be developed by the commission.

SEC. 3.

 Section 748 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

748.
 (a) For purposes of this section, “deenergization event” means an intentional, temporary termination of electrical service to an area for the purpose of reducing or eliminating the risk of wildfires resulting from the operation of the electrical grid or related facilities.
(b) On or before June 1, 2020, the commission, in consultation with the Department of Consumer Affairs, shall establish a procedure for customers, local governments, and others affected by a deenergization event to recover costs accrued during the deenergization event from an electrical corporation within two weeks of the end of the event.
(c) On or before June 1, 2020, the commission shall require an electrical corporation to create a fund, of an amount to be determined by the commission, to fund recovery of costs accrued by customers, local governments, and others during a deenergization event. Moneys shall be paid into the fund exclusively by the electrical corporation’s shareholders, and expenses paid by the fund shall not be recoverable either directly or indirectly in rates and shall be borne exclusively by the shareholders of the electrical corporation.
(d) An electrical corporation shall not bill customers for any nonfixed costs during a deenergization event, and shall not charge customers increased amounts after a deenergization event in order to offset losses accrued during a deenergization event.
(e) Beginning on or before June 1, 2020, the commission shall require any profit accrued by an electrical corporation due to a deenergization event to be remitted or credited to ratepayers and any loss to be borne by the electrical corporation’s shareholders.

SEC. 4.

 Section 911.3 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

911.3.
 The Public Advocate’s Office shall produce an annual report on the economic, environmental, and public safety impacts of deenergization events, using information provided by electrical corporations as well as independent analysis. For purposes of this section, “deenergization event” has the same meaning as defined in Section 748.

SEC. 5.

 Section 2111.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

2111.5.
 An electrical corporation is subject to a penalty of not less than ____ dollars ($____) for every hour that a deenergization event is in place, multiplied by the sum of the number of full sets of 50,000 customers affected plus one for any remainder. For purposes of this section, “deenergization event” has the same meaning as defined in Section 748.
SEC. 6.
 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.