Electrical corporations: financing orders: wildfire mitigation costs and expenses.

Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility, and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. Existing law authorizes an electrical corporation to file an application requesting the commission to issue a financing order to authorize the recovery of costs and expenses related to a catastrophic wildfire that ignited during the 2017 calendar year or on or after July 12, 2019, through the issuance of bonds by the electrical corporation that are secured by a rate component, as provided. Existing law requires the commission, upon application, to issue the financing order if the commission determines that certain conditions are satisfied, including the condition that the issuance of a recovery bond is consistent with the public interest and the recovery of the recovery costs through a fixed recovery charge that is assessed as a rate component, to the maximum extent possible, reduces the rate on a present value basis that consumers within the electrical corporation's service territory would pay as compared to the use of traditional utility financing mechanisms, as specified. This bill would authorize electrical corporations to file an application requesting the commission to issue a financing order to authorize the recovery of costs and expenses arising from or incurred as a result of a catastrophic wildfire that ignited during the 2018 calendar year, and of costs and expenses related to electrical corporations' wildfire mitigation plans, including operational and maintenance expenses associated with wildfire mitigation, as defined. The bill would require the commission to presume that the financing order provides short-term rate stability in furtherance of the public interest if the commission has authorized an amortization period under traditional utility financing mechanisms in excess of 12 months for the just and reasonable costs.