Existing law, the California Building Standards Law, establishes the California Building Standards Commission (commission) within the Government Operations Agency and sets forth its powers and duties, including approval and adoption of building standards and codification of those standards into the California Building Standards Code. Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal, before the next triennial edition of the California Building Standards Code adopted after January 1, 2025, to propose to the commission updates to the fire standards relating to requirements for lithium-based battery systems, as provided.
This bill would require the commission and the Office of the State Fire Marshal to review and consider the most recently published edition of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 855, Standard for the Installation of Stationary Energy Storage Systems, for incorporation into the next update of the California Building Standards Code adopted after July 1, 2026.
Existing law authorizes a person proposing an eligible facility, including an energy storage system that is capable of storing 200 megawatthours or more of energy, to file with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) an application for certification for the site and related facility, as provided. Existing law provides that the certification issued by the Energy Commission is in lieu of any permit, certificate, or similar document required by a state, local, or regional agency for the use of the site and related facility.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires the PUC to direct the state's 3 largest electrical corporations to file applications for programs and investments to accelerate widespread deployment of distributed energy storage systems for specified purposes and authorizes the PUC to approve, or modify and approve, programs and investments of an electrical corporation in distributed energy storage systems with appropriate energy storage management systems, as defined.
This bill would require an application submitted to the Energy Commission in accordance with the above-described provisions relating to certification of facilities by the Energy Commission, and an application submitted to a local jurisdiction for an energy storage management system, to include the applicant's certification that the facility has been designed in accordance with the most recently published edition of the NFPA 855, Standard for the Installation of Stationary Energy Storage Systems, except as specified, and, at least 30 days before submitting an application, that the applicant met and conferred with the local fire department responsible for fire suppression in the area where the facility or system is proposed, as provided. The bill would also prohibit the approval of those applications unless the local jurisdiction requires as a condition of approval that the system be constructed, installed, commissioned, operated, maintained, and decommissioned in accordance with the most recently published edition of the NFPA 855, that after installation is complete, but before commencing operations, the system be inspected by the local fire department responsible for fire suppression or by a representative or designee of the State Fire Marshal, and that the applicant bear the cost of the inspection. The bill would authorize a state or local entity to approve the construction of an energy storage management system with over 600 kilowatthours of storage capacity only if it is located in a noncombustible, dedicated-use building or is a remote outdoor installation, as provided. By imposing additional duties on local officers, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.
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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Statutes affected:
SB 283: 761.3 PUC
02/05/25 - Introduced: 761.3 PUC
03/20/25 - Amended Senate: 761.3 PUC