Public utilities.

(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities. Existing law requires every entity that offers an electricity product for sale to retail consumers in California to disclose its electricity sources and the associated intensity of greenhouse gas emissions for the previous calendar year. Existing law requires that disclosure to be made by the end of the first complete billing cycle for the third quarter of each year. This bill would require that disclosure to be made instead on the retail supplier's internet website by October 1 of each year, and in written promotional materials by the end of the first complete billing cycle for the fourth quarter of the year. (2) Existing law requires the commission to make various reports to the Legislature relating to energy efficiency. This bill would consolidate 3 of those reports into a single report and, in doing so, would increase the frequency with which certain energy efficiency information would be reported. Existing law requires the commission to annually report recommendations for a smart grid, the plans and deployment of smart grid technologies by the state's electrical corporations, and the costs and benefits of smart grids to ratepayers. This bill would repeal that reporting requirement. Existing law requires the commission, on or before February 1, 2010, and biennially thereafter, to report on the impacts of distributed energy generation on the state's distribution and transmission grid, as specified. This bill would instead require the commission, on or before February 1, 2023, and biennially thereafter, to report on the progress made toward modernizing the state's distribution and transmission grid and the impacts of distributed energy resources on the state's distribution and transmission grid, as specified. (3) Existing law creates the Wildfire Fund, which is a continuously appropriated fund, to provide funds to participating electrical corporations to satisfy eligible claims arising from covered wildfires, as specified. Existing law authorizes electrical corporations to participate in the Wildfire Fund if they provide initial and annual contributions to the fund, as specified. Under existing law, "covered wildfire" means a wildfire ignited on or after July 12, 2019, caused by an electrical corporation as determined by the governmental agency responsible for determining causation. This bill would additionally include as covered wildfires those wildfires determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be caused by an electrical corporation, and those wildfires asserted to have been caused by an electrical corporation that result in a court-approved dismissal resulting from the settlement of third-party damage claims. The bill would also specify that the annual contribution of an electrical corporation be made in 10 installments. By expanding the definition of "covered wildfire," this bill would expand the purposes for which the Wildfire Fund is continuously appropriated, and thereby make an appropriation. (4) Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act, or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission, is a crime. Because certain of the provisions of this bill would be codified in the act and would require action by the commission, a violation of which 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.