Electricity: undergrounding of electrical infrastructure.

(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has jurisdiction over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Under its existing authority, the commission requires certain electrical corporations to implement the California Overhead Conversion Program to provide financial assistance to local governments to facilitate projects that are in the public interest and replace overhead infrastructure with infrastructure in underground trenches. Existing law requires each electrical corporation to annually prepare and submit a wildfire mitigation plan to the Wildfire Safety Division of the commission for review and approval. Existing law also requires the division to oversee and complete a review of each electrical corporation's compliance with its plan. This bill would require each electrical corporation's wildfire mitigation plan to additionally include a description of where and how the electrical corporation considered undergrounding electrical distribution lines within those areas of its service territory identified to have the highest wildfire risk in a commission fire threat map. (2) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 8386 of the Public Utilities Code proposed by SB 167 and SB 560, contingent on the prior enactment of one or both of those bills. (3) Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission implementing the above provisions would be a crime, 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 a specified reason.