Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) , the Independent System Operator, and the State Air Resources Board, on or before December 31, 2023, to submit to the Legislature an assessment of the firm zero-carbon resources that support a clean, reliable, and resilient electrical grid in the state and will achieve the policy of the state that eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources supply 100% of all retail sales of electricity to the state's end-use customers and 100% of electricity procured to serve all state agencies by December 31, 2045, as specified. This bill would require the Energy Commission, working with the PUC, to prepare and submit to the Legislature, on or before January 1, 2028, a statewide assessment of the role and necessity of firm zero-carbon resources in meeting the state's clean energy and reliability objectives, potential technologies and strategies for integrating firm zero-carbon resources into the state's energy mix, recommendations on procurement, policy, and planning actions to deploy and support firm zero-carbon resources, and current and projected renewable and firm zero-carbon generation capacity, reliability requirements under varying system conditions, and the cost and emission implications of firm zero-carbon resources.
The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission consisting of 5 members appointed by the Governor and approved by the Senate. The constitution authorizes the commission to establish its own procedures, subject to statute and due process, and authorizes a commissioner designated by the commission to hold a hearing or investigation or issue an order, subject to the commission's approval. The constitution also authorizes the commission to fix the rates of all public utilities subject to its jurisdiction. This measure would increase the membership of the commission to 9 members with the Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly each appointing 2 additional members. The measure would repeal the authorization for the commission to establish its own procedures and for a commissioner designated by the commission to hold a hearing or investigation or issue an order. The measure would require the commission, in fixing rates, to consider the affordability of rates. The California Constitution requires private corporations and persons that own, operate, control, or manage a line, plant, or system for the transmission of telephone and telegraph messages to be public utilities subject to control by the Legislature. The constitution authorizes the Legislature to prescribe additional classes of private corporations or other persons as public utilities. This measure would repeal the requirement that private corporations and persons that own, operate, control, or manage a line, plant, or system for the transmission of telephone and telegraphs messages be public utilities. The measure would authorize the Legislature to prescribe the duties, functions, and jurisdiction of the commission relating to telephone corporations, telecommunications service, and broadband service, including, but not limited to, by reassigning the commission's duties to another state entity.
(1) Existing law, the Eminent Domain Law, authorizes a public entity to exercise the power of eminent domain to acquire property for a public use if the use for which the property is sought to be taken is a more necessary public use than the use to which the property is appropriated, as specified. Existing law specifies that if property has been appropriated to public use by any person other than a public entity, the use of the property by a public entity for the same or any other public use is a more necessary use than the current use. Existing law also specifies that if property that has been appropriated to a public use is electrical, gas, or water public utility property, as defined, that the public entity intends to put to the same use, the presumption of a more necessary use is a rebuttable presumption affecting the burden of proof, except as specified. This bill would exempt from that rebuttable presumption property that has been appropriated to a public use that is electrical or gas public utility property within the Pacific Gas and Electric Company service area. (2) Existing law authorizes a public entity to exercise the power of eminent domain only if it has adopted a resolution of necessity, as specified. Under existing law, a resolution of necessity adopted by the governing body of a public entity conclusively establishes that, among other matters, the public interest and necessity require the project. Existing law specifies that, if a taking is by a local public entity and the property is electrical, gas, or water public utility property, the resolution of necessity creates a rebuttable presumption that those matters are true. This bill would provide that, if a taking is by a local public entity within the Pacific Gas and Electric Company service area and the property is electrical or gas public utility property, the resolution of necessity instead conclusively establishes those matters. (3) Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations. Existing law prohibits public utilities, other than certain common carriers, from selling, leasing, assigning, mortgaging, or otherwise disposing of, or encumbering, its assets that are necessary or useful in the performance of its duties to the public, unless the public utility has secured an order or approval from the commission to do so, as provided. Existing law requires, for any voluntary or involuntary change in ownership of assets from an electrical corporation or gas corporation to ownership by a public entity, the commission to determine, as part of its review under these provisions, whether the transaction is fair and reasonable to affected public utility employees. This bill would instead require the commission, in its review of a voluntary or involuntary change in ownership of assets from an electrical or gas corporation to a public entity, to limit its review to determining whether the transaction is fair and reasonable to affected public utility employees. The bill would require the review to occur after a change in ownership agreement is made for a voluntary change in ownership, or after the completion of the condemnation proceeding for an involuntary change in ownership. (4) Existing law provides procedures for the acquisition under eminent domain proceedings, or otherwise, of lands, property, and rights of a public utility by a political subdivision, and requires the commission to fix the just compensation to be paid by the political subdivision for the lands, property, and rights, as provided. This bill would require the owner of a public utility, within 90 days of a political subdivision submitting an amount for just compensation or a plan for the separation of the public utility's assets, to also submit an amount for just compensation or provide a response to the separation plan, as provided. The bill would authorize the commission, if it finds that the total just compensation should include costs for the physical separation of the public utility's assets, to establish a process for the reimbursement of those costs and to determine the reasonableness of those expenses. The bill would require the commission to make and file its findings regarding just compensation with respect to the public utility within 18 months of the date the petition is filed. This bill would prohibit a public utility from recovering from ratepayers any litigation costs associated with a political subdivision's efforts to acquire utility property, as provided. (5) This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for public entities within the Pacific Gas and Electric Company service area. (6) 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 provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and a violation of a commission action implementing the bill's requirements would be a crime, the 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.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Under existing law, the commission administers, or otherwise oversees, various public purpose programs, including energy efficiency and conservation programs, cost-effective energy efficiency programs, the Family Electric Rate Assistance program, the California Alternate Rates for Energy program, rate assistance programs for eligible food banks, and home insulation financial assistance programs. Under existing law, those programs are generally funded through a charge on electrical service, which is collected through customer rates. This bill would require the commission, no later than 180 days after filing, to consider and approve an electrical or gas corporation's application to discontinue administration of an energy efficiency program or an energy efficiency portfolio because the program is not cost effective, not reliable, or, in the case of an electrical corporation, because the program is not being used to meet unmet resource needs in its integrated resources planning framework, as provided. Because a violation of a commission order implementing this provision would be a crime, the 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.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including gas corporations. Existing law requires the commission, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, to consider adopting specific biomethane procurement targets or goals for each gas corporation and core transport agent, as specified. Existing law requires, if the commission adopts specific biomethane procurement targets or goals for each gas corporation and core transport agent, the commission to, among other things, ensure that the biomethane available for any procurement program is either delivered to California through a dedicated pipeline, or through a common carrier pipeline and meets 2 specified requirements related to the injection of the biomethane and specified environmental benefits, as prescribed. This bill would instead require that biomethane delivered to California through a common carrier pipeline meet either of the specified requirements, rather than both. The bill would also add the displacement of conventional natural gas that results in a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions as one of the specified environmental benefits, as specified. Existing law requires the commission to consider options to promote the in-state production and distribution of biomethane, including whether to allow recovery in rates of the costs of investments to (1) facilitate direct investment in the procurement and installation of utility infrastructure necessary to achieve interconnection between the natural gas transmission and distribution pipeline network and biomethane generation and collection equipment and of gathering lines for a dairy cluster biomethane project, (2) provide for the installation of utility infrastructure to achieve interconnection with facilities that generate biomethane, and (3) ensure that these investments for infrastructure are prudent and reasonable and provide a direct benefit to, and are in the interests of, all classes of ratepayers. This bill would require, on or before June 1, 2026, the commission to allow recovery in rates of the costs of those investments. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would be part of the act and because a violation of a commission action implementing its requirements would be a crime, the 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.
