Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires every public utility to furnish any reports required by the commission. Existing law requires the commission to establish the Wildfire Safety Division within the commission to undertake specified tasks. Existing law, effective July 1, 2021, transfers all functions of the Wildfire Safety Division to the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety.
This bill would require each electrical corporation to annually submit a report to the Wildfire Safety Division and, after June 30, 2021, to the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, that includes the age, useful life, and condition of the electrical corporation's equipment, inspection dates, and maintenance records for its equipment, investments to maintain and improve the operation of its transmission and distribution facilities, and an assessment of the current and future fire and safety risk posed by the equipment.
Existing law requires each electrical corporation to annually prepare and submit a wildfire mitigation plan to the commission for review and approval, as specified. Existing law requires a wildfire mitigation plan of an electrical corporation to include, among other things, protocols for deenergizing portions of the electrical distribution system that consider the associated impacts on public safety, as well as protocols related to mitigating the public safety impacts of those protocols, including impacts on critical first responders and on health and communications infrastructure.
Existing law establishes an independent Public Advocate's Office within the commission with the goal to obtain the lowest possible rate for service consistent with reliable and safe service levels.
This bill would require the commission, in consultation with the Public Advocate's Office, on or before June 1, 2021, to establish a procedure for customers, local governments, and others affected by a deenergization event to recover costs accrued during the deenergization event from an electrical corporation, within specified time periods. The bill would require an electrical corporation, on or before June 1, 2021, to establish a memorandum account to track expenses paid to customers, local governments, and others for claims resulting from a deenergization event. The bill would require the commission to establish rules to determine whether the expenses paid can be recovered from ratepayers. The bill would prohibit an electrical corporation from billing customers for any nonfixed costs during a deenergization event or from charging customers increased amounts after a deenergization event in order to offset losses accrued during a deenergization event. The bill would require, on or before June 1, 2021, that any profit accrued by an electrical corporation, due to a deenergization event that is determined by the commission to have been undertaken in an unreasonable or imprudent manner, be remitted or credited to its ratepayers, and that any loss be borne by the electrical corporation's shareholders.
This bill would require an electrical corporation to provide notification of a pending deenergization event as early as possible to the cities and counties within its service territory and to other local governmental entities upon their request, and to share information relating to a deenergization event with local governmental entities, as specified.
This bill would require the commission to biennially produce a report on the economic, environmental, public health, and public safety impacts of deenergization events, using information provided by electrical corporations and independent analysis.
Existing law provides for the imposition of fines and civil penalties for the violation of the California Constitution, statutes, or an order, decision, or requirement of the commission by a public utility.
If the commission determines that the electrical corporation failed to act in a reasonable and prudent manner in its implementation and execution of a deenergization event, this bill would provide that an electrical corporation is subject to a civil penalty of not less than $250,000 per 50,000 affected customers for every hour that a deenergization event is in place, and would require that the penalty be borne exclusively by the electrical corporation's shareholders.
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, when a penalty has not otherwise been provided.
Because the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and would require action to be taken by the commission to implement its requirements, and because penalties are not provided for certain of the bill's requirements, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime.
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.