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SB-1311 Energy: reliability planning assessment: integrated energy policy report.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 02/15/2024 09:00 PM
SB1311:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 1311


Introduced by Senator Stern

February 15, 2024


An act to amend Section 25233 of, and to add Section 25302.8 to, the Public Resources Code, relating to energy.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1311, as introduced, Stern. Energy: reliability planning assessment: integrated energy policy report.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) and the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), on or before December 15, 2022, and quarterly thereafter, to submit to the Legislature a joint Reliability Planning Assessment that, among other things, includes prospective information on existing and expected resources, including updates on the interconnection status for renewable projects and any delays in interconnection, and expected retirements for both system and local resources. Existing law requires the Energy Commission to report in the energy almanac on California energy resources that serve load in California.
This bill would require that the assessment also include the status of utility transmission upgrades and electrical grid infrastructure capacity, PUC approvals of applications for certificates of public convenience and necessity and permits to construct utility and independent projects, and applications for permits for projects from the Energy Commission and the queue of projects from the Independent System Operator, include the expected completion dates for both system and local resources, and report on the use of fossil fuel by certain facilities constructed by, purchased by, or under contract with the Department of Water Resources, as specified. The bill would require the Energy Commission to quarterly publish on its internet website and update a tracking energy development dashboard that synthesizes and publishes the information included in the assessment and reported on California energy resources in the energy almanac.
Existing law requires the Energy Commission, on a biennial basis, to adopt an integrated energy policy report containing an overview of major trends and issues facing the state. Existing law requires the report to include an assessment and forecast of system reliability and the need for resource additions, efficiency, and conservation that considers all aspects of energy industries and markets that are essential for the state economy, general welfare, public health and safety, energy diversity, and protection of the environment.
This bill would require the Energy Commission to ensure that the demand forecasts in the integrated energy policy report and wind and solar energy generation profiles account for increased weather variability, interactive weather effects, and increased likelihood of heat events, including multiday events, due to climate change, and to use the demand forecasts and those energy generation profiles to inform its energy planning, as specified.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 25233 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

25233.
 (a) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, on or before December 15, 2022, and quarterly thereafter, the commission and the Public Utilities Commission shall submit a joint Reliability Planning Assessment to the Legislature in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(1) The assessment shall identify estimates for the electrical supply and demand balance, for the forward 5- and 10-year periods, under high-, medium-, and low-risk scenarios. The assessment shall identify loads and resources online and loads and resources expected by reliability year ending September 30.
(2) The assessment shall focus on the Independent System Operator system, with an emphasis on the electrical demand, load, supply, or resource resources for load-serving entities subject to the Public Utilities Commission’s jurisdiction. The assessment shall break down loads and resources by type of load-serving entity by year by transmission access charge area.
(3) The assessment shall include information about imports, by amount, source if known, and other relevant factors, and transmission capacity for imports by date and transmission access area or balancing authority.
(4) The commission shall provide an estimate for the loads and resources for the entities that are not subject to the Public Utilities Commission’s jurisdiction that are part of the Independent System Operator system supply and demand balance.
(5) The assessment shall include prospective information on existing and expected resources, including updates on the interconnection status for renewable projects and any delays in interconnection, the status of utility transmission upgrades and electrical grid infrastructure capacity, including substations and expanded transmission in existing corridors, the status of Public Utilities Commission approvals of applications for certificates of public convenience and necessity and permits to construct utility and independent projects, the status of applications for permits for projects from the commission and the queue of projects from the Independent System Operator, filtered by geographic region and energy resource type, and expected completion dates and retirements for both system and local resources. This shall include updates based on actions taken directly by, or as a result of, the Tracking Energy Development Task Force. The assessment shall include an accompanying Gantt chart to track progress.
(6) The assessment shall maintain confidentiality of market sensitive information.
(7) The assessment shall rely upon on the most recently available integrated energy policy report prepared pursuant to Section 25302 for the demand assessment.
(8) The assessment shall report on any other significant delays or barriers affecting timely deployment of renewable energy and zero-carbon resources, including, but not limited to, supply chain disruptions, land use restrictions, and permitting processes.
(9) The assessment shall make recommendations to the Legislature on actions needed to resolve any delays or barriers reported in the assessment.
(10) The assessment shall report on any regulatory barriers and challenges to increasing deployment of other preferred resources, including energy efficiency and demand response programs.
(11) The assessment shall report on the use of fossil fuel by a facility constructed by, purchased by, or under contract with the Department of Water Resources pursuant to subdivision (a) of, or paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of, Section 80710 of the Water Code.
(b) The commission shall continue to report on California energy resources that serve load in California in the energy almanac. The commission shall expand the energy almanac report to include storage resources that serve wholesale load. The commission shall report on energy resources that serve load in the Independent Systems System Operator system, which is a subset of its current reporting of all California resources, and may include energy resources located outside the state.
(c) The commission shall quarterly publish on its internet website and update a tracking energy development dashboard that synthesizes and publishes the information included in the assessments submitted, and reports made, pursuant to this section.

SEC. 2.

 Section 25302.8 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

25302.8.
 The commission shall ensure that the demand forecasts in the integrated energy policy report required pursuant to Section 25302 and wind and solar energy generation profiles account for increased weather variability, interactive weather effects, and increased likelihood of heat events, including multiday events, due to climate change. The demand forecasts shall include an estimate of weather-normal peak electrical demand and of peak electrical demand expected to occur given the increased likelihood of heat events due to climate change. The commission shall use the demand forecasts and wind and solar energy generation profiles to inform its energy planning in the state beginning with the integrated energy policy report adopted in 2025.