Emergency preparedness: fuel and transportation resources: assessment.

The bill's focus shifted from specifically regulating direct-current fast-charging station sites to a broader but less prescriptive assessment of fuel and transportation resources generally. The language no longer singles out EV charging stations as the subject of regulation.

Section 590.5 of the Public Utilities Code was removed, which had required electrical corporations to consider electric vehicle charging stations in their annual reports and emergency and disaster preparedness plans under PUC General Order No. 166.

Section 8570.7(c) was entirely removed, eliminating the requirement for operators of identified fast-charging station sites to submit emergency management plans to the Office of Emergency Services by January 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, including reporting on whether and how stations were maintained during emergencies.

The annual review requirement (former subdivision (b)) requiring the Office of Emergency Services to meet annually with the Energy Commission and Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety to review and update its activities was removed.

Specific assessment tasks were removed: identifying which station sites should be required to maintain operations, developing recommendations on duration of energy maintenance during emergencies, and developing requirements for operator backup power (including the definition of 'backup power').

The deadline for the Office of Emergency Services to submit its assessment to legislative committees was pushed back one year, from July 1, 2027 to July 1, 2028.

The state-mandated local program designation was changed from 'yes' to 'no,' consistent with the removal of the Public Utilities Code section that would have created a new crime enforceable by local agencies.

Lead agency changed from the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to the Office of Emergency Services, with the Energy Commission demoted to a consulting role.

Scope expanded from direct-current fast-charging station sites only to all fuel and transportation resources, including recommendations for resources available under evacuation orders.

New requirement that the assessment identify situations where Californians' access to fuel and transportation resources may be limited in a manner impacting public health and safety.

The output changed from the Energy Commission directly identifying stations and developing requirements to the Office of Emergency Services submitting an assessment to the relevant policy committees of the Senate and Assembly.

New factors for identifying important resources: types of fuel and transportation resources used by populations impacted by emergencies (including EV adoption rates in emergency-prone regions) and evacuation fuel and transportation resources needed for different emergency types.

New paragraph requiring recommendations for actions the state should take to ensure fuel and transportation resources necessary for public health and safety are available during emergencies, including under evacuation orders.

Deadline for the assessment moved from July 1, 2027 to July 1, 2028 (one year later).

State-mandated local program designation changed from 'yes' to 'no', meaning the bill no longer imposes reimbursable costs on local agencies or school districts.

'Public safety power shutoff' replaced with the broader term 'deenergization event'; 'power' replaced with 'energy' throughout.

Agency roles were restructured: the Energy Commission is now clearly the primary body that identifies emergency types, determines critical station sites, and develops recommendations. The Office of Emergency Services and Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety are in a consultative role to the Energy Commission, reversing the prior ambiguous structure.

The term 'public safety power shutoff event' was replaced with 'deenergization event,' which is a broader and more technically precise term for utility-initiated power outages.

The definition of 'backup power' was narrowed by removing 'mobile charger deployment' as an example. The old definition included 'backup generators and mobile charger deployment'; the new version only references 'backup generators.'

Emergency management plan content requirements were simplified. The old version required plans to consider 'backup power options to be used during and after the event of an emergency, including, but not limited to, a seismic event, public safety power event, extreme weather condition, or wildfire.' The new version requires plans to simply 'consider options to be used during an emergency to maintain operations,' removing the specific emergency type list and the term 'backup power' from the plan requirement.

Terminology was standardized throughout: 'direct current fast charging' changed to 'direct-current fast-charging,' 'State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission' clarified as 'Energy Commission' in the digest, and 'Public Utilities Commission' abbreviated as 'PUC' where appropriate.

The PUC section (Section 590.5) was corrected to reference 'emergency response and disaster preparedness plan' instead of just 'emergency response plan,' aligning with the actual name of the plan required under General Order No. 166.

Primary lead agency changed from the Office of Emergency Services to the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, which now consults with both OES and the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety.

The requirement for OES to establish a working group by June 1, 2027, and for that working group to issue guidelines to city and county emergency managers by January 1, 2028, is entirely eliminated.

The Commission must identify and evaluate specific types of emergencies (seismic events, public safety power shutoffs, extreme weather, wildfire) during which operators should be required to maintain operations, rather than evaluating a single generic emergency scenario.

Station operators of identified sites must now submit emergency management plans annually (not just once) and include a report on whether, how, and when their site was actually maintained during an emergency.

The Commission must provide opportunity for public comment and feedback when conducting its evaluation activities under subdivision (a).

Plan submission is redirected from OES and the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety to the Commission, which reviews plans and consults with those agencies as necessary.

An annual meeting requirement is added: the Commission, OES, and the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety must meet annually to review and update the activities required by the section.

The old definitions of 'electric vehicle fast charging station' and 'resilience' are removed. The definition of 'backup power' is retained but mobile charger deployment is now listed as an example within it rather than being a separate consideration factor.

Two new factors are added for determining which charging sites are important to maintain: safety of accessing the site during the emergency, and whether the population can be adequately served by mobile charger deployment.

The state-mandated local program designation changes from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now imposes costs on local agencies that trigger constitutional reimbursement analysis (though the bill still asserts no reimbursement is required for a specified reason).

Added Section 590.5 to the Public Utilities Code, requiring electrical corporations to consider electric vehicle charging stations in their annual report and emergency response plan under PUC General Order No. 166.

Removed the legislative intent statement that California's EV charging infrastructure will remain operational during a disaster, and removed the original working group approach with SERC consultation and the guidelines-to-local-emergency-managers requirement.

Section 8570.7 was rewritten: instead of establishing a working group with SERC to evaluate resilience generally, the Office of Emergency Services must now consult with the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety to identify specific DC fast charging station sites important to maintain during emergencies based on population density, geographical area, number of chargers per station, and distance to the next station.

New requirement that operators of identified DC fast charging station sites must submit an emergency management plan to OES and the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety by January 1, 2028, considering backup power options for seismic events, public safety power shutoffs, extreme weather, or wildfire.

Added definition of 'backup power' as anything that may provide off-grid power to DC fast charging stations, including backup generators and mobile charger deployment.

The deadline for OES to complete its site identification and backup power recommendations moved from June 1, 2027 to July 1, 2027.

Fiscal committee review changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating a fiscal impact analysis is now required. State-mandated local program changed from 'no' to 'yes,' triggering constitutional reimbursement considerations (though the bill states no reimbursement is required because costs arise only from creating or changing a crime).

Scope narrowed from all electric vehicle charging infrastructure to specifically 'electric vehicle fast charging stations,' defined as direct current (DC) fast charging stations.

New requirement that the Office of Emergency Services, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, establish a working group by June 1, 2027 to evaluate the resilience of publicly available EV fast charging stations during and following a disaster.

New deadline requiring the working group to issue guidelines to city and county emergency managers on incorporating recommendations into local emergency plans by January 1, 2028.

Two new definitions added: 'electric vehicle fast charging station' (DC fast charging) and 'resilience' (safe maintenance and operation of EV fast charging stations).

Fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the amendment was found to have a fiscal impact or state-mandated local program.