Electricity: microgrids.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, while local publicly owned electric utilities, as defined, are under the direction of their governing boards. Existing law authorizes the PUC to fix the rates and charges for every public utility. Existing law requires the PUC, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and the Independent System Operator, to take specified actions by December 1, 2020, to facilitate the commercialization of microgrids for distribution customers of large electrical corporations, including developing microgrid service standards necessary to meet state and local permitting requirements and developing methods to reduce barriers for microgrid deployment without shifting costs between ratepayers. Existing law requires the governing board of a local publicly owned electric utility to develop and make available a standardized process for the interconnection of a customer-supported microgrid. This bill would require the PUC to ensure that the standards established to facilitate the commercialization of microgrids for distribution customers of large electrical corporations do not impose a size cap on microgrid projects with specified characteristics. The bill would require the governing board of a local publicly owned electric utility to also ensure that its standardized process for the interconnection of a customer-supported microgrid does not impose a size cap on microgrid projects with those same specified characteristics.