Bill Text: CA SB319 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

California Senate Bill 319

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Electricity: transmission planning and permitting.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-10-07 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 390, Statutes of 2023. [SB319 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB319-Amended.html

Amended IN Senate March 22, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 319

Introduced by Senator McGuire

February 06, 2023

~~An act relating to energy.~~ An act to add Section 25308 to, and to add and repeal Section 25308.5 of, the Public Resources Code, and to add Sections 454.58 and 913.12 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to electricity.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 319, as amended, McGuire. ~~Electrical transmission.~~ Electricity: transmission planning.

Existing law ~~vests~~ requires the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. The Public Utilities Act prohibits any electrical corporation from beginning the construction of, among other things, a line, plant, or system, or of any extension thereof, without having first obtained from the commission a certificate that the present or future public convenience and necessity require or will require that construction. (PUC), in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission), on or before March 31, 2024, to provide transmission-focused guidance to the Independent System Operator about resource portfolios of expected future renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources, including the allocation of those resources by region based on technical feasibility and commercial interest in each region to allow the Independent System Operator to identify and approve transmission facilities needed to interconnect resources and reliably serve the needs of load centers, as specified.

This bill would ~~state the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation related to electrical transmission.~~ require the Energy Commission, PUC, and Independent System Operator to coordinate and implement a joint workplan through specified proceedings and other resource planning activities led by the Energy Commission, and to agree on principles for forecast cases and a single recommended forecast set and use it consistently in transmission planning and resource procurement cycles to the extent possible. The bill would require the PUC to incorporate long-term statewide resource planning efforts led by the Energy Commission into its proceedings for resource portfolios developed for resource procurement and transmission planning purposes. The bill would require the Independent System Operator to provide the PUC with an assessment of transmission planning needs and estimates spanning the Independent System Operator balancing authority area for resource planning purposes, and to coordinate with the Energy Commission on transmission needs in support of long-term informational analysis. The bill would require the PUC to incorporate Independent System Operator-provided transmission information into its considerations in developing resource portfolios and to map the resulting portfolio resources to specific electrical locations through a joint effort with the Energy Commission and Independent System Operator. The bill would require the Independent System Operator, in its transmission planning process, to conduct a stakeholder process that enables meaningful public participation to ensure that appropriate study assumptions and scenarios are identified to support development of its final transmission plan, as specified. The bill would require the PUC, in authorizing or requiring procurement of resources by electrical corporations, electric service providers, or community choice aggregators, to provide direction to pursue resources with the operational characteristics and geographic locations consistent with the resource planning conducted by the Energy Commission and PUC and the transmission planning conducted by the Independent System Operator based on that resource planning. The bill would require the Independent System Operator to prioritize interconnection process activities that support resources with operational characteristics and geographic locations consistent with that resource planning and its transmission planning based on that resource planning, and to coordinate with the Energy Commission and PUC to manage the resource interconnections and network upgrade projects in the interconnection process and provide transparency to ensure timely interconnection to the extent possible.

This bill would require the Energy Commission, PUC, and Independent System Operator to jointly develop and recommend an expedited permitting roadmap that describes timeframes and milestones for a coordinated, comprehensive, and efficient permitting process for electrical transmission infrastructure, and to provide an opportunity for stakeholder input and public comment, as specified. The bill would require the Energy Commission, PUC, and Independent System Operator, on or before December 31, 2024, to complete and submit the recommended framework for the expedited permitting roadmap to the Natural Resources Agency and the relevant fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature.
This bill would require the PUC to require each electrical corporation to annually review its long-term transmission infrastructure needs for the subsequent 10 years, based on the interconnection requests it receives, to annually report to the PUC on that review, and to coordinate with local governments to identify each local government’s present and future interconnection needs. When an electrical corporation completes a transmission infrastructure project, the bill would require the electrical corporation to report the final cost of the project to the PUC. The bill would require the PUC, in consultation with California balancing authorities, on or before December 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, to submit a report to the Legislature that evaluates certain transmission and resource planning that has been conducted or implemented, as specified.
Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime.
Because certain of the above provisions would be part of the act and a violation of a PUC 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.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NOYES Local Program: NOYES

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 25308 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

25308.
(a) (1) The commission, Public Utilities Commission, and Independent System Operator shall coordinate and implement a joint workplan through integrated energy policy report proceedings, proceedings related to Chapter 312 of the Statutes of 2018, including the policy of the state described in Section 454.53 of the Public Utilities Code, and other resource planning activities led by the commission.
(2) The joint workplan shall do all of the following:
(A) Align the key milestones of the demand forecasting process with the commission’s, Public Utilities Commission’s, and Independent System Operator’s transmission planning and policy deliberations.
(B) Clarify data flows between the commission, Public Utilities Commission, and Independent System Operator.
(C) Highlight timing needs for key deliverables and areas for collaboration.
(D) Clarify how the commission, Public Utilities Commission, and Independent System Operator may each use forecasts in their own deliberations.
(b) After the commission finalizes demand and load modifier forecasts and scenarios, the commission, Public Utilities Commission, and Independent System Operator shall agree on principles for forecast cases and a single recommended forecast set and use it consistently in transmission planning and resource procurement cycles to the extent possible given the sequencing of those entities’ different processes.
(c) (1) The Public Utilities Commission shall incorporate long-term statewide resource planning efforts led by the commission into its proceedings for resource portfolios developed for resource procurement and transmission planning purposes.
(2) The commission shall use relevant resource information resulting from the Public Utilities Commission’s planning proceedings for resource portfolios in its subsequent resource planning efforts.
(d) The Independent System Operator shall use the results of its planning process, interconnection cluster study reports, and any long-term informational planning exercises it conducts to provide the Public Utilities Commission with an assessment of transmission planning needs and estimates spanning the Independent System Operator balancing authority area for resource planning purposes, and shall coordinate with the commission on transmission needs in support of long-term informational analysis.
(e) The Public Utilities Commission shall incorporate Independent System Operator-provided transmission information into its considerations in developing resource portfolios and shall map the resulting portfolio resources to specific electrical locations, including busbars, through a joint effort with the commission and Independent System Operator.
(f) If the Public Utility Commission’s resource portfolios meet parameters agreed to by the Public Utilities Commission and Independent System Operator with regards to the number, timing, and format of the resource portfolios, the Independent System Operator shall assess and incorporate into its annual transmission plan the resource portfolios developed in relevant Public Utilities Commission processes to the maximum extent practical given the goal of identifying needed transmission capacity.
(g) (1) In the Independent System Operator’s transmission planning process, the Independent System Operator shall conduct a stakeholder process that complies with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Order Numbers 890 and 1000, and any subsequent relevant Federal Energy Regulatory Commission orders, and enables meaningful public participation to ensure that appropriate study assumptions and scenarios are identified to support development of the final transmission plan.
(2) Stakeholders shall have opportunities to comment on published drafts of the transmission plan, including the final draft transmission plan that will be submitted for approval to the Independent System Operator board of governors.
(3) The final transmission plan for the Independent System Operator balancing authority area shall reflect the Independent System Operator’s consideration of all stakeholder comments and recommendations received during the planning process.
(4) The Independent System Operator’s final transmission plan shall identify specific needed transmission facilities and shall distinguish, for policy-driven transmission projects, between Category 1 facilities that merit unconditional approval and Category 2 facilities that may be needed depending on future generation development and are expected to be needed in future planning cycles.
(5) The Independent System Operator’s transmission planning process shall consider and incorporate the scenarios and resource portfolios developed by the Public Utilities Commission with input from the commission, and the subsequent Public Utilities Commission siting and permitting process shall give substantial weight to project applications that are consistent with the Independent System Operator’s final transmission plan.
(h) In authorizing or requiring procurement of resources by load-serving entities, as defined in Section 380 of the Public Utilities Code, the Public Utilities Commission shall provide direction, to the extent appropriate, to pursue resources with the operational characteristics and geographic locations consistent with the resource planning conducted by the commission and Public Utilities Commission and the transmission planning conducted by the Independent System Operator based on that resource planning.
(i) The Independent System Operator shall prioritize interconnection process activities that support resources with operational characteristics and geographic locations consistent with the resource planning conducted by the commission and Public Utilities Commission and the transmission planning conducted by the Independent System Operator based on that resource planning.
(j) The Independent System Operator shall coordinate with the commission and Public Utilities Commission to manage the resource interconnections and network upgrade projects in the interconnection process and provide transparency to ensure timely interconnection to the extent possible.

SEC. 2.

Section 25308.5 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

25308.5.
(a) The commission, Public Utilities Commission, and Independent System Operator shall jointly develop and recommend an expedited permitting roadmap that describes timeframes and milestones for a coordinated, comprehensive, and efficient permitting process for electrical transmission infrastructure.
(b) In developing the expedited permitting roadmap, the commission, Public Utilities Commission, and Independent System Operator shall consult and meaningfully collaborate with all relevant local, state, tribal, and federal agencies.
(c) The expedited permitting roadmap shall include a goal for the permitting timeframe, clearly define state and federal agency roles, responsibilities, and decisionmaking authority, and include interfaces with federal agencies, including timing, sequence, and coordination with federal permitting agencies, and coordination between reviews under the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000)) and the federal National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 4321 et seq.).
(d) The commission, Public Utilities Commission, and Independent System Operator shall provide an opportunity for stakeholder input in the development and communication of the expedited permitting roadmap and an opportunity for public comment on a draft permitting roadmap.
(e) On or before December 31, 2024, the commission, Public Utilities Commission, and Independent System Operator shall complete and submit the recommended framework for the expedited permitting roadmap to the Natural Resources Agency and the relevant fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature.
(f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2028, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 3.

Section 454.58 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

454.58.
(a) (1) The commission shall require each electrical corporation to annually review its long-term transmission infrastructure needs for the subsequent 10 years, based on the interconnection requests it receives.
(2) Each electrical corporation shall annually report to the commission on its review conducted pursuant to paragraph (1).
(b) The commission shall require each electrical corporation to coordinate with local governments to identify each local government’s present and future interconnection needs.
(c) When an electrical corporation completes a transmission infrastructure project, the electrical corporation shall report the final cost of the project to the commission.

SEC. 4.

Section 913.12 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

913.12.
(a) On or before December 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, the commission, in consultation with California balancing authorities, as defined in Section 399.12, shall submit a report to the Legislature that evaluates the transmission and resource planning conducted pursuant to, and the implementation of, Section 25308 of the Public Resources Code and Section 454.53, including all of the following:
(1) The current average timeframes for new customer and generator interconnections.
(2) The expected improvements to system and local interconnections over the next 5 and 10 years as a result of that transmission and resource planning.
(3) Any challenges and gaps, if any, to achieving system and local interconnections.
(4) Any annual issuances of certificates of public convenience and necessity and the reasons that the issuance of those certificates was necessary.
(b) The report submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall also include the final costs of transmission infrastructure projects completed during the preceding year, as reported to the commission pursuant to Section 454.58.

SEC. 5.
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.

SECTION 1.
~~It is the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation related to electrical transmission.~~