Transportation electrification: electric vehicles: grid integration.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, while local publicly owned electric utilities are under the direction of their governing boards. Existing law in the Public Utilities Act requires the commission, by December 31, 2020, to establish strategies and quantifiable metrics to maximize the use of feasible and cost-effective electric vehicle grid integration by January 1, 2030, as specified. That law also requires each local publicly owned electric utility serving more than 700 gigawatthours of annual electrical demand, in each integrated resource plan update adopted on and after January 1, 2020, to consider establishing electric vehicle grid integration strategies and evaluating how its existing and planned programs further those strategies, as specified. Existing law defines "electric vehicle grid integration" for these purposes as any method of altering the time, charging level, or location at which grid-connected electric vehicles charge or discharge, in a manner that optimizes plug-in electric vehicle interaction with the electrical grid and provides net benefits to ratepayers by doing any of specified actions, including by offering reliability services, as specified. This bill would amend the act by including offering reliability and ancillary services, rather than offering reliability services, as a means of providing net benefits to ratepayers, as required for electric vehicle grid integration. Under existing law, a violation of the act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because any violation of the commission's implementation of this amendment of the act would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Further, because the bill would impose additional duties on local publicly owned electric utilities and community choice aggregators, which are local agencies, this 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 specified reasons.