Electricity: transmission facility planning.

Existing law establishes an Independent System Operator (ISO) as a nonprofit public benefit corporation, and requires the ISO to ensure the efficient use and reliable operation of the electrical transmission grid consistent with the achievement of planning and operating reserve criteria, as specified. The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) , with jurisdiction over all public utilities, including electrical and gas corporations. The California Constitution grants the PUC certain general powers over all public utilities, subject to control by the Legislature. The Public Utilities Act requires the PUC to identify a diverse and balanced portfolio of resources needed to ensure a reliable electricity supply that provides optimal integration of renewable energy in a cost-effective manner. The act also requires the PUC, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , to identify all potentially achievable cost-effective electricity efficiency savings and establish efficiency targets for an electrical corporation, as specified. This bill would require the PUC, on or before January 15, 2023, to request the ISO to identify the highest priority transmission facilities that are needed to allow for increased transmission capacity into local capacity areas to deliver renewable energy resources or zero-carbon resources that are expected to be developed by 2035 into those areas and to consider whether to approve the identified transmission projects as part of the ISO's 2022–23 transmission planning process. The bill would require the PUC, in consultation with the Energy Commission, to provide transmission-focused guidance to the ISO about resource portfolios of expected future renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources, as specified, to allow the ISO to identify and approve transmission facilities needed to interconnect resources and reliably serve the needs of load centers. The bill would express the policy of the state that planning for new transmission facilities considers the goals of minimizing the risk of wildfire and increasing systemwide reliability and cost efficiency, among other goals. 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 the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and because a violation of an order or decision of the commission implementing its requirements would be a crime, 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.