Independent System Operator: independent regional organization.

Header changed from legislative tracking language (passed dates, clerk signatures, governor receipt placeholder) to the standard chaptered bill format with 'STATE OF CALIFORNIA AUTHENTICATED ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIAL,' Chapter 116 designation, and approval/filing date of September 19, 2025.

Page headers changed from 'AB 825' to 'Ch. 116' with renumbered pages (from page 93 series to page 92 series) due to the shorter header block.

The document changed from an official authenticated chaptered format (with 'STATE OF CALIFORNIA AUTHENTICATED ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIAL' header, page numbers, and Ch. 116 references) to a web-rendered bill information page with navigation menus, search functionality, version history links, and publication metadata.

New sections (337, 345.1, 345.2, 345.6 of Public Utilities Code) establish a five-member ISO governing board appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate, require annual legislative appearances and reports from the ISO, and set 13 requirements that must be satisfied before California utilities can participate in voluntary energy markets governed by an independent regional organization (including nonprofit status, consumer advocate funding, transparency, greenhouse gas emissions protocols, and voluntary participation).

The California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority's powers were narrowed: the language allowing it to sponsor new transmission projects involving shared ownership and financing partnerships with electrical corporations was removed, leaving only the authority to lease, own, operate, acquire, or construct eligible transmission projects.

Existing provisions requiring the Power Exchange to provide an efficient competitive auction open on a nondiscriminatory basis and authorizing its governing board to form technical advisory committees were deleted.

Existing provisions for transforming the ISO into a regional organization (with a process requiring action by January 1, 2019) are deleted and replaced with new authorization language allowing voluntary participation in regional markets only after specified requirements are met and PUC makes a formal determination.

The appropriation designation was changed from 'yes' to 'no,' meaning the bill no longer appropriates state funds directly.

The definition of 'eligible transmission project' was broadened from being limited to competitive, merchant, or utility transmission projects to any electric transmission project where an electrical corporation or local publicly owned electric utility has primary responsibility for construction and ownership.

New requirement for the PUC and Energy Commission to coordinate in revising rules so that transition to a regional energy market does not expand the types of transactions that meet renewables portfolio standard portfolio content category requirements beyond what would qualify on December 31, 2025.

The definition of 'eligible transmission project' was expanded from only projects where an electrical corporation or local publicly owned electric utility has primary responsibility for construction and ownership to now include three categories: competitive transmission projects (identified by ISO as subject to competitive bidding), merchant transmission projects (costs not recoverable through ISO transmission access charge), and utility transmission projects (the prior definition).

The entire legislative findings section (former Section 1) was deleted, which had included findings about the $63.2 billion estimated need for transmission investment, the rate of return on shareholder equity in private projects, and the claim that public financing can reduce long-term ownership costs by more than 50 percent.

Assembly Member Rogers was added as a co-author of the bill.

The Demand Side Management Program Review Task Force's mandate was broadened from identifying 'energy efficiency and demand response programs' to identifying 'all energy efficiency and demand response programs.'

Three new definitions were added: 'competitive transmission project,' 'merchant transmission project,' and 'utility transmission project,' each with specific criteria for eligibility under the Public Transmission Financing Program.

A new requirement was added mandating that a public transmission sponsor of a transmission project receiving benefits from the Public Transmission Financing Program must participate in the Wildfire Fund.

The PUC is now required to direct an electrical corporation to include a public transmission sponsor in the financing and ownership of a proposed transmission project if a sponsor is available and ratepayer savings would be material. The electrical corporation must identify potential sponsors and evaluate savings during certificate proceedings.

The PUC's obligation regarding retail bill credits was expanded: in addition to requiring display as a separate line item, the PUC must now determine the allocation of those credits among customer classes.

The PUC must open a proceeding on or before June 30, 2026, to evaluate the benefits of using public transmission sponsors and develop a standard methodology for determining ratepayer benefits. The PUC must also submit a report to the Legislature by December 31, 2027, with recommendations for statutory changes.

The vote requirement for passage was lowered from a two-thirds majority to a simple majority.

Sections 1001.2 and 1001.3 were added to the Public Utilities Code, expanding the statutory framework for the bill's provisions.

All provisions requiring the Public Utilities Commission to submit biennial updates on the residential energy cost framework were deleted. The bill no longer amends Section 369.5 of the Public Utilities Code. This removed a requirement for the PUC to report every two years on implementation and impact of the residential energy cost framework, including identifying specific utility requests where the framework was used.

A new section (labeled SEC. 2, creating a numbering conflict with the existing SEC. 2) adds a legislative finding that $325,000,000 from the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Fund (Public Resources Code Section 90500) is available for public financing of clean energy transmission projects necessary to meet state clean energy goals and reduce or offset ratepayer costs.

The appropriation determination changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now carries a fiscal appropriation, likely tied to the $5 million intent-to-appropriate for staff and consultants at the California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority.

Section 3310 of the Public Utilities Code had duplicate subdivision letter designations (two 'b's, two 'c's, etc.) in the April version. The May version corrects these to proper sequential lettering (a) through (f). Date references were also cleaned up, removing redundant 'effective date of this section/division' language in favor of stating 'August 13, 2001' directly.

The digest title was shortened from 'Energy: cost framework: residential rates. Public Transmission Financing Act of 2025' to simply 'Public Transmission Financing Act of 2025,' reflecting the removal of the residential rate provisions.

New Chapter 7.7 (Permitting Local Assistance for Clean Energy Act) added to the Public Resources Code, creating a PUC-administered program that provides matching funds and expert support to local governments that expedite clean energy project permitting, funded from the remaining $900 million of the Clean Energy Reliability Investment Plan.

New Chapter 10.9 added to Division 15 of the Public Resources Code (content truncated in diff).

New amendment to Government Code Section 4216.1 requiring regional notification centers to facilitate exchange of planning and design information for electrical infrastructure undergrounding projects, with regulations due by December 31, 2026, and requiring notification to California Native American tribes of proposed excavations in their traditionally and culturally affiliated areas.

New Statewide Demand Side Management Program Review Task Force established within the Energy Commission to identify energy efficiency and demand response programs, establish simple eligibility rules by July 1, 2026, and recommend program consolidation or closure by July 31, 2026, with implementation required by January 1, 2027.

New amendments to Public Utilities Code Sections 454.5, 750, 850, 8386, and 8386.3, and new Section 8386.10 added (content partially truncated in diff).

I-Bank may not finance an eligible transmission project unless construction is performed by the electrical corporation's own employees or by a prime contractor with at least two California transmission projects in the prior 10 years, and contracted-out maintenance is performed only by contractors who have frequently done electrical transmission maintenance work for an electrical corporation during the prior 10 years.

I-Bank may not finance an eligible transmission project unless it complies with PUC General Order 95 (a safety order governing utility equipment and practices).

Wildfire mitigation plan requirements revised: plans now submitted at least once every 4 years (instead of annually), must include cost-per-avoided-ignition values for each risk, and must present commission-adopted cost-effectiveness measures. A preliminary wildfire plan is required one year before a general rate case filing or concurrent with a Risk Assessment Mitigation Phase application.

The $325 million from the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Fund is now declared available for public financing of clean energy transmission projects (a legislative finding) rather than stating an intent to enact subsequent legislation to appropriate it.

The Public Transmission Financing Fund may only receive funding from other sources if those sources do not contain moneys derived from proceeds of a tax, adding a new restriction on fund eligibility.

The $5 million appropriation to the California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority for hiring staff and consultants appears to have been removed from the bill.

PUC must prohibit large electrical corporations from including in their equity rate base their share of the first $15 billion expended in aggregate on infrastructure undergrounding projects, in addition to the existing $5 billion exclusion for fire risk mitigation capital expenditures. These undergrounding costs must be financed through a financing order.

The bill was renamed the Public Transmission Financing Act of 2025 and expanded from a single-section amendment to a multi-code act adding new provisions to the Government Code and multiple sections of the Public Utilities Code.

Expands Section 3310 of the Public Utilities Code to authorize the California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority to sponsor shared ownership and financing partnerships between a public transmission sponsor and an electrical corporation for new transmission projects.

Repeals Section 3384 of the Public Utilities Code, which prohibited the authority from financing or approving any new program, enterprise, or project on or after January 1, 2007 unless authorized by statute enacted before that date.

Authorizes the Consumer Power Authority to seek FERC revenue requirements for ISO-operated transmission projects or charge private generators, subscribers, and customers contracting for capacity on new transmission projects, and to purchase long-term entitlements to portions of transmission assets.

Creates the Public Transmission Financing Fund in the State Treasury with an intended appropriation of $325 million from the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Fund (Proposition 4, 2024). The fund is continuously appropriated without regard to fiscal year.

States legislative intent to appropriate $5 million to the California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority for hiring staff and consultants to support public transmission financing efforts.

Deletes the $5 billion cap on bond issuance by the California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority (Section 3380.1).

Requires the I-Bank to administer a Public Transmission Financing Program providing financial assistance (direct funding, debt financing, revenue bonds) to public transmission sponsors for eligible transmission projects.

Prohibits the I-Bank from financing eligible transmission projects that recover costs through a FERC-approved revenue requirement unless the public transmission sponsor commits to requesting only actual capital structure costs and refunding any excess revenues through the transmission access charge or retail bill credits.

Requires public transmission sponsors to enter into project labor agreements meeting Public Contract Code Section 2500, including prevailing wages, targeted hiring for local/disadvantaged/underrepresented workers, apprenticeship utilization above state minimums, and hiring of Multi-Craft Core preapprenticeship graduates.

Defines 'public transmission sponsor' as any public owner of a portion of a new electric transmission project, including state agencies, the Department of Water Resources, the Consumer Power Authority, local public agencies, tribal organizations, or joint powers authorities.

Requires the PUC to display retail bill credits provided by public transmission sponsors as a separate line item on customer bills indicating the source of the credit (new Section 748).

Changed the required vote from majority to two-thirds, changed appropriation from 'no' to 'yes', and changed state-mandated local program from 'no' to 'yes' due to the creation of a new crime through commission enforcement.