Electrical corporations: wildfire mitigation plans.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations. Existing law authorizes the commission to establish rules for all public utilities, subject to control by the Legislature. Existing law requires each electrical corporation to construct, maintain, and operate its electrical lines and equipment in a manner that will minimize the risk of catastrophic wildfire posed by those electrical lines and equipment. Existing law requires the commission, by January 1, 2020, to establish within itself the Wildfire Safety Division. Existing law requires each electrical corporation to annually prepare and submit a wildfire mitigation plan to the division for review and approval. Existing law requires those wildfire mitigation plans to include specified information, including protocols for disabling reclosers and deenergizing portions of the electrical distribution system that consider the associated impacts on public safety, as well as protocols related to mitigating the public safety impacts of those protocols, including impacts on critical first responders and on health and communication infrastructure. Existing law requires the commission to designate a baseline quantity of electricity and gas necessary for a significant portion of the reasonable energy needs of the average residential customer and requires the commission to establish a standard limited allowance in addition to the baseline quantity of gas and electricity for residential customers dependent on life-support equipment, as specified, which is referred to as a medical baseline allowance. This bill would require each electrical corporation, as part of those protocols, to additionally include protocols related to mitigating the public safety impacts of disabling reclosers and deenergizing portions of the electrical distribution system that consider the impacts on customers who are receiving medical baseline allowances. The bill would authorize electrical corporations to deploy backup electrical resources or provide financial assistance for backup electrical resources to those customers receiving medical baseline allowances and who meet specified requirements. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 8386 of the Public Utilities Code proposed by SB 70 and SB 560, contingent on the prior enactment of one or both of those bills. Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because a violation of the commission's actions implementing the bill's requirements would be a crime, the 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 a specified reason.