AB 1372 California Assembly · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Renewable electrical generation facilities: electrified commuter railroads: regenerative braking: net billing.

Summary

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires every electric utility, except as provided, to develop a standard contract or tariff providing for net energy metering, and to make this standard contract or tariff available to eligible customer-generators using renewable electrical generation facilities, as specified. Pursuant to its authority, the commission issued a decision revising net energy metering tariff and subtariffs, commonly known as the net billing tariff. This bill would include the regenerative braking from electric trains as a renewable electrical generation facility for those purposes, as provided. This bill would, upon an electrical corporation and an operator of an electrified commuter railroad that produces electricity through the regenerative braking of electric trains, including the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, completing certain technical studies, require the electrical corporation to adopt or modify a net billing contract or tariff that is approved by the commission. The bill would require that contract or tariff to, among other things, require the electrical corporation to apply bill credits for the electricity exported to the electrical grid based on its value, as specified. The bill would require the electrical corporation to provide, or install at its cost, if necessary, metering that records and documents electricity imports and exports, as specified. 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.

Issues: ✓ Energy ✓ Transportation

Bill status failed 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 21, 2025 Last action Feb 2, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

03/25/25 - Amended Assembly → 01/05/26 - Amended Assembly · 6 edits · Jan 5, 2026

MODERATE

The January 2026 amendment to AB 1372 narrows the entities required to adopt net billing contracts for electrified commuter railroads from any 'load-serving entity' (which could include community choice aggregators) specifically to 'electrical corporations.' It also adds Senator Wiener as coauthor, changes the fiscal committee and state-mandated local program designations from 'no' to 'yes,' and makes several technical corrections including hyphenation and a grammatical fix to 'megawatts.'

SCOPE

Throughout Section 1251, the obligation to adopt or modify a net billing contract for electrified commuter railroads is narrowed from any 'load-serving entity' (which could include community choice aggregators and other entities) specifically to 'electrical corporations.' This means only investor-owned utilities would be required to provide the net billing arrangement, not community choice aggregators.

The digest removed a paragraph stating the Legislature's intent to enact subsequent legislation requiring electrical corporations and electrified commuter railroad operators to adopt or modify tariffs requiring billing based on net energy only.

FISCAL

The fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now requires fiscal analysis. The state-mandated local program designation also changed from 'no' to 'yes,' acknowledging that the bill imposes costs on local agencies that trigger reimbursement requirements under the California Constitution.

TECHNICAL

Senator Wiener is added as a coauthor of the bill.

Multiple hyphenation corrections were made: 'California licensed' changed to 'California-licensed,' 'customer generator' changed to 'customer-generator,' and '1.35 megawatt' corrected to '1.35 megawatts.'

DEFINITION

The definition of 'renewable electrical generation facility' in Section 2827(b)(11) was cleaned up to remove a duplicated reference to 'Code' and improve the sentence structure around the regenerative braking provision.

02/21/25 - Introduced → 03/25/25 - Amended Assembly · 8 edits · Mar 25, 2025

MODERATE

AB 1372 was transformed from a placeholder bill expressing legislative intent into fully operative legislation. The introduced version merely stated the Legislature's intent to enact future laws requiring net energy billing for electrified commuter railroads using regenerative braking. The amended version adds an entirely new chapter (Chapter 6.7, Section 1250 et seq.) to the Public Utilities Code with specific definitions and requirements, and amends Section 2827 to classify regenerative braking from electric trains as a renewable electrical generation facility for net energy metering purposes.

Scope change

The bill expanded from a non-operative statement of legislative intent (a placeholder for future legislation) into fully operative law with enforceable requirements on electrical corporations, electric service providers, and community choice aggregators to create net billing contracts for electrified commuter railroads. The scope now includes specific technical standards (15-minute interval data), cost allocation rules (metering at the utility's expense), and compensation methodology (avoided cost of clean energy).

SCOPE

Added new Chapter 6.7 (Section 1250 et seq.) to the Public Utilities Code creating a dedicated legal framework for electrified commuter railroads, including definitions of 'eligible customer-generator' and 'load-serving entity' specific to this context.

ELIGIBILITY

Defined 'eligible customer-generator' as a public agency (including joint powers agencies) eligible for funding under Section 99312.3 that operates an electrified commuter railroad producing electricity through regenerative braking. The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board is explicitly named as eligible.

REQUIREMENT

Requires load-serving entities to adopt or modify a net billing contract or tariff (pursuant to CPUC Decision 22-12-056) after completing technical studies, that recognizes the railroad's ability to generate electricity through regenerative braking in parallel with the grid.

Requires 15-minute interval data for imported and exported energy, including flows to and from each traction power station.

Requires the load-serving entity responsible for delivery to provide or install at its own cost metering that records and documents the eligible customer-generator's imports and exports.

FISCAL

Requires bill credits for electricity exported to the grid based on its value as determined by the avoided cost to the load-serving entity of buying clean energy elsewhere.

DEFINITION

Amended Section 2827 of the Public Utilities Code to expand the definition of 'renewable electrical generation facility' to include regenerative braking from an electric train powered by a renewable source of electricity, making it eligible for net energy metering programs.

TECHNICAL

Changed fiscal notes: 'Fiscal committee' changed from no to yes, and 'State-mandated local program' changed from no to yes, reflecting that the operative provisions now trigger state-mandated local program obligations requiring reimbursement analysis.

Floor votes

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No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Feb 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56.

lower

Jan 6, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on U. & E.

lower

Jan 5, 2026

Introduced

From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on U. & E. Read second time and amended.

lower

Apr 30, 2025

Lower · Passed

In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.

lower

Mar 26, 2025

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on U. & E.

lower

Mar 25, 2025

Introduced

From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on U. & E. Read second time and amended.

lower

Mar 24, 2025

Committee

Referred to Com. on U. & E.

lower

Feb 22, 2025

Lower · Passed

From printer. May be heard in committee March 24.

lower

Feb 21, 2025

Introduced

Introduced. To print.

lower

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor