Bill Text: CA AB643 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Electric Rule 21: interconnection: distributed renewable generation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2024-02-01 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB643 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB643-Amended.html
|
Amended
IN
Assembly
May 01, 2023 |
| Introduced by Assembly Member Berman |
February 09, 2023 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
This bill would require the commission, on or before June 1 of each year, to submit a report to the Legislature on timelines for the interconnection of customer-sited energy generation and storage resources, as specified. The bill would require the commission to consider the negligent exceedance, as defined, of an interconnection timeline, as defined, by an electrical corporation to be a failure to comply with a rule of
the commission and subject to a penalty. The bill would require an electrical corporation to provide a substantial response to any queries from an interconnection applicant related to the completeness of the application and the submission of supporting information to pending applications within 3 business days.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 769.4 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:769.4.
(a) On or before March 31, 2024, the commission shall commence, in a new proceeding or in a new phase of an existing proceeding related to Electric Rule 21, the consideration of adopting mechanisms for distributed renewable generation interconnections to enforce timelines, reduce administrative burden, and provide transparency and certainty to customers.SEC. 2.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.(a)For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1)“Interconnection timeline” means a timeline established by the commission for a step in the process of reviewing interconnection applications.
(2)“Negligent exceedance” means the exceedance of an interconnection timeline by an electrical corporation that does not result from unresponsiveness by the customer and is not justified by characteristics of a project that are uniquely time-consuming compared to typical interconnection requests.
(b)The commission shall consider a negligent exceedance of an established interconnection timeline to be a
failure to comply with a rule, subject to Section 2107.
(c)(1)An electrical corporation shall provide a substantial response to any queries from an interconnection applicant related to the completeness of the application and the submission of supporting information to pending applications within three business days.
(2)The commission may impose fines pursuant to Section 2107 for an electrical corporation that routinely violates the timeline in paragraph (1).
(a)For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1)“Interconnection timeline” means the same as defined in Section 769.4.
(2)“Negligent exceedance” means the same as defined in Section 769.4.
(b)On or before June 1 of each year, the commission shall submit a report to the Legislature, in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, on timelines for the interconnection of customer-sited energy generation and storage resources. The report shall contain all of the following information, and any related information that the commission deems relevant:
(1)Compliance with interconnection timelines, disaggregated by projects larger than 30 kilowatts and projects smaller than 30 kilowatts.
(2)The timeliness of electrical corporations in completing steps in the process of reviewing interconnection applications that do not have defined interconnection timelines.
(3)The number of interconnection requests initially received in each of the past five years, the number of requests withdrawn, and the number of requests granted permission to operate.
(4)A summary of challenges in reducing the amount of time for interconnection review, and the improvements to the interconnection review process that occurred in the previous year.
(5)Penalties assessed
for violating interconnection timelines.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.
