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 Assembly September 01, 2023

Amended IN Senate May 03, 2023

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 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~~ Section 913.12 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to electricity.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

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

Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission (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.

On December 23, 2022, the PUC, Energy Commission, and Independent System Operator entered into a memorandum of understanding related to resource and transmission planning, transmission development and permitting, procurement, and interconnections in order to achieve reliability and policy needs and to coordinate the timely development of resources, resource interconnections, and needed transmission infrastructure.

This bill would require the Energy Commission and PUC, in coordination with the Independent System Operator, every 5 years, to review the memorandum of understanding and a related workplan to ensure the memorandum and workplan reflect the coordination that is needed to help meet the state’s energy goals.

This bill would require the Energy Commission, PUC, and Independent System ~~Operator~~ Operator, on or before July 1, 2025, 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,~~ an electrical transmission infrastructure development guidebook that describes the state’s electrical transmission infrastructure planning and permitting processes conducted by the Energy Commission, PUC, and Independent System Operator, and to provide an opportunity for stakeholder input and public ~~comment,~~ comment on the guidebook, 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 ensure those needs incorporate each local government’s present and future needs for new service connections and capacity service upgrades that may require transmission system upgrades. 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~~ biennially thereafter, to submit a report to the Legislature that ~~evaluates certain transmission and resource planning that has been conducted or implemented, including pursuant to the memorandum of understanding and related workplan, as specified.~~ includes specified information related to electrical transmission projects.

~~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: YES Local Program: ~~YES~~NO

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.

The commission and Public Utilities Commission, in coordination with the Independent System Operator, every five years, shall review and update as necessary the Memorandum of Understanding Between the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the California Energy Commission (CEC) and the California Independent System Operator (ISO) Regarding Transmission and Resource Planning and Implementation (December 23, 2022) and the related workplan to ensure the memorandum and workplan reflect the coordination that is needed to help meet the state’s energy goals, including those goals described in Section 454.53 of the Public Utilities Code.

SEC. 2.

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

25308.5.

(a) ~~The~~ On or before July 1, 2025, 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.~~ an electrical transmission infrastructure development guidebook that describes the state’s electrical transmission infrastructure planning and permitting processes conducted by the commission, Public Utilities Commission, and Independent System Operator.

(b) In developing the ~~expedited permitting roadmap,~~ electrical transmission infrastructure development guidebook, the commission, Public Utilities Commission, and Independent System Operator shall make a reasonable and good faith effort to consult ~~and meaningfully collaborate~~ with all relevant local, state, tribal, and federal agencies.

(c) The ~~expedited permitting roadmap~~ electrical transmission infrastructure development guidebook shall include a ~~goal for the permitting timeframe, clearly define state and federal agency~~ description of the different stages of electrical transmission infrastructure development, an analysis of the average timeframes for electrical transmission infrastructure planning and permitting by the commission, Public Utilities Commission, and Independent System Operator, clearly identify and describe the roles, responsibilities, and decisionmaking ~~authority,~~ authority of federal agencies and state agencies, including the commission, Public Utilities Commission, and Independent System Operator, 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~~ electrical transmission infrastructure development guidebook and an opportunity for public comment on a draft ~~permitting roadmap.~~ electrical transmission infrastructure development guidebook.

(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.
(e) For purposes of this section, “electrical transmission infrastructure” means electrical transmission facilities and equipment used to convey electricity from an electrical generation facility or energy storage system to the electrical distribution system or transmission-voltage load.

(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 ensure the long-term transmission infrastructure needs incorporate each local government’s present and future needs for new service connections and capacity service upgrades that may require transmission system upgrades.
~~(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.SEC. 3.

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

913.12.

~~(a)~~On or before December 1, 2024, and ~~annually~~ biennially 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 454.53, and the memorandum of understanding and related workplan described in Section 25308 of the Public Resources Code, including includes all of the following:

~~(1)The current average timeframes for new customer energization 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.
(a) A description of the electrical transmission project applications submitted to the commission for certificates of public convenience and necessity in the preceding two-year period.
(b) The number of electrical transmission projects that were issued certificates of public convenience and necessity in the preceding two-year period.
(c) The number of electrical transmission projects that, in the preceding two-year period, went into operation, were approved by the Independent System Operator, and did not require the issuance of certificates of public convenience and necessity.
(d) The estimated transmission capital cost added to the rate base for each electrical transmission project that was, in the preceding two-year period, either approved by the Independent System Operator or issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity.

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.