Energy

Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission to adopt a process for each load-serving entity, as defined, to file an integrated resource plan, adopt a schedule for periodic updates to the plan, and ensure each load-serving entity takes specified actions, as specified. Existing law requires the commission to determine if there is a need for the procurement of eligible energy resources, as described, requires the commission to specify the eligible energy resources that should be procured to meet that need, and authorizes the commission, within 6 months of making that determination, to request the Department of Water Resources to procure those specified resources that meet the portfolio of resources, as specified. Existing law authorizes the department to procure those resources pursuant to that request only before January 1, 2035, as provided. Existing law authorizes the department to procure resources from a pump hydroelectric facility pursuant to these provisions if the pump hydroelectric facility does not exceed 500 megawatts and was directly appropriated funding by the state before January 1, 2023. This bill would eliminate the requirement that a pump hydroelectric facility be directly appropriated funding by the state before January 1, 2023, in order for the department to procure resources from the facility. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 454.52 of the Public Utilities Code proposed by AB 2369 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2369 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Existing law, the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, governs the operation of common interest developments, and requires a common interest development to be managed by an association, as specified. Existing law imposes various requirements regarding the installation or use of an electric vehicle charging station in a common interest development. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to provide an association that complies with those requirements with civil liability protection for injuries and damages emanating from an electric vehicle charging station or its use that the association does not own, except as specified. Existing law authorizes an owner of a separate interest of a common interest development to install an electric vehicle charging station in a common area for the exclusive use of the owner under specified circumstances and subject to certain requirements. In this regard, existing law makes the owner and each successive owner of the electric vehicle charging station responsible for costs for damage to the electric vehicle charging station, the common area, or separate interests resulting from the installation, maintenance, repair, removal, or replacement of the electric vehicle charging station. This bill would additionally make the owner and each successive owner responsible for the costs for the above-specified damages resulting from the use of the electric vehicle charging station. The bill would require that the installer of the electric vehicle charging station indemnify or reimburse the association or its members for loss or damage caused by the installation of the electric vehicle charging station.

Existing law requires an electrical corporation to submit to the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety a wildfire mitigation plan at least once every 4 years for review. Existing law requires the office to approve or deny each wildfire mitigation plan within 9 months of its submission. Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission to assess a penalty on an electrical corporation that fails to substantially comply with its wildfire mitigation plan. Existing law prohibits a large electrical corporation from including in its equity rate base its share for the first $5,000,000,000 expended in aggregate by large electrical corporations on fire risk mitigation capital expenditure, as provided, and authorizes those expenditures to be financed through a financing order, as described. Existing law requires the commission, in addition to the $5,000,000,000, to prohibit a large electrical corporation from including in its equity rate base its share of the first $6,000,000,000 expended in aggregate by large electrical corporations on fire risk mitigation capital expenditures approved by the commission on or after January 1, 2026, and authorizes the electrical corporation's share of the fire risk mitigation capital expenditures and the debt financing cost of these fire risk mitigation capital expenditures to be financed through a financing order, as provided. This bill would require the commission, on or before June 30, 2027, to complete a one-time independent audit of all wildfire mitigation expenditures incurred by each electrical corporation between January 1, 2021, and January 1, 2027, as provided. The bill would require that the audit be conducted by an independent third-party auditor. The bill would require the commission, in the next appropriate proceeding following the audit, to consider the findings of the audit in determining the terms and conditions under which an electrical corporation's requested cost recovery may be authorized, as provided. The bill would require the commission to establish a schedule for conducting future independent audits of each electrical corporation's wildfire mitigation expenditures incurred during the preceding 4 calendar years. The bill would require the commission, pursuant to that schedule, to conduct an independent audit of an electrical corporation's prior wildfire mitigation expenditures before any proceeding in which the electrical corporation seeks to recover, collect, or expend ratepayer funds for wildfire mitigation programs, including, but not limited to, expenditures authorized pursuant to an approved wildfire mitigation plan. Under existing law, a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because a violation of a commission action implementing the bill's requirements would be a crime, this 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.

Existing law requires the Department of General Services, beginning no later than the 2024–25 fiscal year, to ensure at least 50% of the light-duty vehicles purchased for the state vehicle fleet each fiscal year are zero-emission vehicles, except as provided. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to that requirement.

Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to prescribe, by regulation, standards for minimum levels of operating efficiency, and authorizes the Energy Commission to prescribe other cost-effective measures, to promote the use of energy- and water-efficient appliances whose use requires a significant amount of energy or water. Existing law prohibits the sale, and the offering for sale, of new appliances unless their manufacturers certify that they comply with the standards in effect at the time the appliances are manufactured. Existing law defines "sold or offered for sale in the state" to mean any sale of or offer to sell an appliance for end use in the state, regardless of the seller's physical location. This bill would expand the above-described provisions to also include the rental, importation, distribution, or lease of, or an offer for the rental, importation, distribution, or lease of, those appliances, as provided.

Existing law requires a city, county, or city and county (local government) to administratively approve an application to install an electric vehicle charging station (EV station) through the issuance of a building permit or similar nondiscretionary permit. Existing law requires those EV stations to meet all applicable safety and performance standards established by specified entities. This bill would require this administrative approval to extend to EV stations with a canopy, as defined, or onsite energy storage systems sized to support charging. This bill would also require any electric vehicle supply equipment installed at the EV station to meet all applicable safety and performance standards. Existing law requires every local government to adopt, pursuant to specified deadlines, an ordinance that creates an expedited, streamlined permitting process for EV stations. Existing law requires the local government to adopt a checklist of all requirements with which the EV stations must comply with for expedited review. This bill would require the ordinance to also address expedited streamlining for any supporting infrastructure necessary for or accessory to the operation of EV stations, as described, and would clarify that the checklist may be amended. The bill would require the ordinance and checklist to be amended to implement the bill's provisions no later than December 31, 2027. This bill would further provide that if the local government has not adopted or amended such a checklist, an application to install an EV station must contain specified information about the proposed project to the building official of the local government, including, but not limited to, the specific location of the EV station. The bill would require the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) to develop and publicly post a standardized form that applicants may use and submit to the local government for purposes of satisfying this requirement. The bill would also require GO-Biz to develop and publicly post an optional template that applicants may use to document their application's compliance with specified provisions relating to the submittal of their EV station application. This bill would require a local government to provide, no later than 30 days after an application has been deemed approved, a written notice to the applicant of the date the application was deemed approved and identify all permits and authorizations that have been granted. The bill would authorize an applicant to proceed with project construction following that notice, as described. This bill would prohibit its provisions from being construed to limit a local agency's ability to, among other things, require plans or supporting documentation that are necessary to verify an electric vehicle charging station, including supporting infrastructure, meets all health and safety requirements of local, state, and federal law, as provided. This bill would make conforming changes and revise various definitions in these provisions, including by redefining an EV station for purposes of these provisions to mean a physical site where one or more devices with one or more charging ports and connectors for charging electric vehicles are available for use. By imposing additional duties on local agencies, 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.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA provides that when an EIR has been prepared for a project, no subsequent or supplemental EIR shall be required by a lead agency or responsible agency, unless specified events occur. This bill would require a lead agency, before issuing the initial discretionary approval for a large-volume bulk coal facility, defined as a facility with a design capacity exceeding 5,000,000 short tons per year of coal handling, storage, or export to prepare or cause to be prepared an EIR. The bill would prohibit a lead agency, air pollution control district, or air quality management district from relying on an existing EIR to issue a discretionary approval for, or to, a large-volume bulk coal facility, and would require a subsequent or new EIR to be prepared, if any of a list of specified conditions are met, including that there is an increase in design capacity of a project that did not previously meet the definition of a large-volume bulk coal facility, as provided; there is a change in the type of coal handled, stored, or exported, or the EIR did not explicitly address the type of coal handled, stored, or exported; or there is a significant increase in the quantity of coal handled, stored, or exported, or the EIR did not explicitly disclose the quantity of coal to be handled, stored, or exported. The bill would require an EIR or subsequent EIR prepared pursuant to these provisions to, among other things, evaluate the large-volume bulk coal facility's potential to generate PM2.5 and PM10 fugitive dust emissions during construction and operations, and to require mitigation measures, as provided. The bill would apply these provisions to a discretionary approval that is pending or made after June 4, 2026, as specified. Because the bill would create new duties for a lead agency, 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.

Under existing law, it is the policy of the state that eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources supply 90% of all retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers by December 31, 2035, 95% of all retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers by December 31, 2040, 100% of all retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers by December 31, 2045, and 100% of electricity procured to serve all state agencies by December 31, 2035, as specified. Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to procure eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources to satisfy those state agency obligations imposed on the State Water Resources Development System, commonly known as the State Water Project, pursuant to that policy. Existing law authorizes the department to defer, until no later than December 31, 2040, procuring zero-carbon electricity resource quantities equal to the amount of electricity provided under an existing contract to procure fossil generation entered into before January 1, 2010, if the department determines that the full achievement of the state agency obligations imposed on the State Water Project would require the early termination of the existing contract and that early termination of the existing contract would result in significant uneconomic costs. Existing law requires the department, in conducting procurement, to consider specified factors and requires that all resources procured be used first to meet the department's own electricity needs. This bill would require the department, in conducting that procurement, to also consider portfolio diversity, resource type, location, and hours of typical peak operation. The bill would expand the scope of the department's authorization to defer the procurement of those resource quantities to apply to an existing contract to procure fossil generation entered into before January 1, 2011, rather than January 1, 2010. The bill would authorize, on and after January 1, 2036, excess procurement of eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources, as defined, in one year to be applied to any subsequent year's obligation, as provided.

The Municipal Utility District Act establishes the formation of a municipal utility district for the provision of light, heat, water, or power within the district's jurisdiction. The act prohibits a district furnishing light, heat, water, or power from terminating residential service on account of nonpayment of a delinquent account unless the district provides a notice of delinquency and an opportunity to cure, as provided. This bill would authorize districts to offer customers the option of electronically receiving the required notice of delinquency, as specified. The bill would authorize districts furnishing service to fewer than 100,000 customers to offer residential customers a prepay option, as defined, for electrical service if certain conditions are met, including, among other things, that the district provides the customer with information on returning to standard billing and issues automated low-balance alerts to the customer before suspending the customer's electrical service, as provided. The bill would specify that the requirement to provide a notice of delinquency does not apply to customers participating in the prepay option.

Existing law establishes the Geologic Energy Management Division in the Department of Conservation under the direction of the State Oil and Gas Supervisor, who is required to supervise the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil and gas wells in the state and the operation, maintenance, and removal or abandonment of tanks and facilities related to oil and gas production within an oil and gas field so as to prevent damage to life, health, property, and natural resources. Existing law establishes the California State University under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in the state. This bill would require the department, consistent with its statutory authority and in coordination with other state or federal regulatory agencies, to prioritize granting approvals for specified types of low-carbon or carbon-reducing technologies and applications. The bill would authorize the department to establish the Subsurface Low-Carbon Demonstration Project Program to facilitate partnerships among the state, the California State University system, private industry, and public entities to study and demonstrate innovative subsurface technologies using existing and idle wells. The bill would authorize the department to establish various programs in partnership with the California State University and California State University, Bakersfield, including (1) the Regional Subsurface Energy Transition and Applied Research Program and (2) a subsurface energy research field station for applied research, field testing, monitoring, and demonstration of subsurface technologies. The bill would also authorize the department to (3) collaborate with the California Energy Research Center at California State University, Bakersfield, and recognize the center as a state-affiliated applied research, technical assistance, and policy support partner, as provided, and (4) designate and support the California Core Repository at California State University, Bakersfield, as an official state-affiliated repository, as provided. This bill would authorize the department to establish and administer an official department office at California State University, Bakersfield, and would authorize the California State University to support and collaborate on activities across the full scope of the department's statutory responsibilities, as provided. This bill would explicitly authorize university-based researchers associated with any of the above-described programs to serve on advisory panels, technical working groups, and research committees in an advisory capacity, and provide scientific expertise to inform regulatory development, interagency coordination, and public communication. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for California State University, Bakersfield.