Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires the commission, if it determines that the rules, practices, equipment, appliances, facilities, or service of a public utility, or the methods of manufacture, distribution, transmission, storage, or supply used by the public utility, are unjust, unreasonable, unsafe, improper, inadequate, or insufficient, to determine and fix the rules, practices, equipment, appliances, facilities, service, or methods to be observed, furnished, constructed, enforced, or employed.

This bill would, within one year following the adoption of each transmission plan produced by the Independent System Operator through the transmission planning process, or a successor process, and within one year following the execution of a generator interconnection agreement, require each large electrical corporation that is assigned or obligated to construct a project that requires approval by the commission to initiate permitting for the project by filing an application or other notice, as applicable, pursuant to a specific general order. The bill would authorize a large electrical corporation to request an extension of the filing deadline by demonstrating good cause in a written notice to the commission, as provided. If a large electrical corporation fails to adhere to these timelines, or to make a timely extension request, the bill would require the commission to take appropriate enforcement action, as specified.

This bill would require, beginning January 1, 2027, the commission to require each large electrical corporation, as defined, to retain an independent third-party auditor to review certain transmission- and interconnection-related submissions made by the large electrical corporation, the large electrical corporation’s progress on completing network upgrades following approval in a generator interconnection agreement or transmission plan approved by the Independent System Operator, and the large electrical corporation’s compliance with any remedial actions ordered by the commission, as specified. The bill would require the third-party auditor to report to the commission on an annual basis, as provided. Within 90 days of receiving the auditor’s report, the bill would require the commission to issue a resolution directing a large electrical corporation to take remedial actions to address any and all deficiencies identified by the auditor, as specified.

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.