Electric vehicle charging infrastructure: local publicly owned electric utilities.

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with regulatory jurisdiction over public utilities, including electrical corporations, while local publicly owned electric utilities are under the direction of their governing board. Under its existing regulatory authority, the PUC adopted a resolution establishing, for electrical corporations, an average service energization time for electric vehicle charging infrastructure of 125 business days, except as provided, and requiring electrical corporations to provide certain information to the PUC regarding service energization time for electric vehicle infrastructure projects. This bill would require each electrical corporation, consistent with the commission resolution, to achieve a 125-business-day average service energization target starting from when a customer submits an application for service to the energization of an electric vehicle charging infrastructure project, except as provided. The bill would establish, for local publicly owned electric utilities, an average service energization time for electric vehicle charging infrastructure of 125 business days, and would require local publicly owned electric utilities to annually report certain information to the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) regarding the service energization time for electric vehicle charging infrastructure projects. The bill would require the PUC and the Energy Commission, in consultation with electrical corporations and local publicly owned electric utilities, to jointly host an annual public workshop to review and evaluate the information submitted by electrical corporations under the PUC's resolution and the information submitted by local publicly owned electric utilities, as required by the bill, and to revise, if needed, the average service energization time for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Existing law establishes the Clean Transportation Program, which is administered by the Energy Commission, to provide competitive grants, revolving loans, loan guarantees, loans, or other appropriate funding measures to develop and deploy innovative technologies and alternative and renewable fuels in the marketplace. Existing law specifies that alternative and renewable fuel infrastructure, fueling stations, and equipment are eligible for funding under the program. This bill would require the Energy Commission, in providing financial assistance under the Clean Transportation Program or other programs for the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, to give preference to projects that receive permits from a local jurisdiction that has established expedited electric vehicle charging permitting processes. By imposing additional duties on local publicly owned electric utilities, 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.