Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory jurisdiction over public utilities, including electrical corporations, while local publicly owned electric utilities are under the direction of their governing boards.
Existing law requires the commission to annually publish a report that includes all investigations into gas or electric service safety incidents reported, pursuant to commission requirements, by any gas corporation or electrical corporation, as provided.
This bill would require that annual report to also include the number of significant voltage-related service incidents that damaged customer equipment and appliances, the number of claims submitted, and the number and total dollar amount of the resolved claims.
Existing law also requires the commission to develop, publish, and annually update a report that contains specified information, including a summary of the staff safety investigations concluded during the prior calendar year and the staff safety investigations that remain open for any gas corporation or electrical corporation, as specified.
This bill would require the annual report that includes the summary described above to also include, for each investigation into an incident that is included in the annual report related to investigations, an explanation of why the investigation remains open if the investigation remains open for 12 or more months after a claim was filed.
The bill would require the commission to conduct a study, on or before July 1, 2026, to evaluate voltage-related service incidents that resulted in significant damage and associated consumer protections within the service territories of public utilities, as specified, and to submit a report on the study to the Legislature on or before July 1, 2027.
Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.
Because a violation of a commission action implementing this 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.

Statutes affected:
04/10/25 - Amended Senate: 911 PUC, 911 PUC
06/16/25 - Amended Assembly: 911 PUC
06/30/25 - Amended Assembly: 911 PUC