Amended  IN  Senate  April 24, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 572

Introduced by Senator Stern
(Coauthors: Senators Menjivar and Min)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Luz Rivas and Schiavo)

February 15, 2023

An act to add and repeal Section 451.4 to, and to add Part 3 (commencing with Section 9530) to Division 4.8 of, 913.18 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy. natural gas.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 572, as amended, Stern. Energy: ratepayer protections. Natural gas: prices: report.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including gas corporations. An existing commission order requires the commission to investigate the causes and impacts of the winter 2022–2023 natural gas price spikes and the potential for recurrence, the impact of the price spikes on natural gas and electric prices and customer bills, the potential threats to gas and electric reliability and price volatility in summer 2023 and beyond, potential mitigations, and utility communications to customers to determine whether they were sufficient or require modifications
This bill would require the commission, on or before February 1, 2024, to submit a report to the relevant legislative policy committees on the status, outcomes, and recommendations, if any, of the commission order described above and the status and any findings of any related investigations by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations, while local publicly owned electric utilities are under the direction of their governing boards. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable.

Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to undertake various actions in furtherance of meeting the state’s clean energy and pollution reduction objectives, including actions related to energy infrastructure. Existing law vests the Energy Commission with certain authority over local publicly owned electric utilities, as specified.

This bill would require the PUC and Energy Commission, in coordination with each other and in consultation with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Public Advocate’s Office of the Public Utilities Commission, in undertaking their respective gas and electrical system planning, and in order to ensure that gas corporations, electrical corporations, local publicly owned electric utilities, and local publicly owned gas utilities, as applicable, maintain safe and reliable energy at just and reasonable rates consistent with, and in furtherance of, the state’s climate and energy goals, to each consider imposing additional requirements to protect ratepayers from price spikes, stranded assets, duplication of services, and the risk of windfall profiteering and market manipulation in wholesale and retail markets.

Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime.

Because 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: YESNO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 913.18 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

913.18.
 (a) On or before February 1, 2024, the commission shall submit a report to the relevant policy committees of the Legislature on the status, outcomes, and recommendations, if any, of the commission’s Order Instituting Investigation on the Commission’s Own Motion into Natural Gas Prices During Winter 2022–2023 and Resulting Impacts to Energy Markets.
(b) The commission shall include, in the report, the status and any findings of any related investigations by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
(c) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this section is repealed on January 1, 2028.

SECTION 1.Section 451.4 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:
451.4.

In consultation with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Public Advocate’s Office of the Public Utilities Commission, the commission, in coordination with the Energy Commission, in undertaking its gas and electrical system planning and in order to ensure that gas corporations and electrical corporations maintain safe and reliable energy at just and reasonable rates consistent with, and in furtherance of, the state’s climate and energy goals, shall consider imposing additional requirements to protect ratepayers from price spikes, stranded assets, duplication of services, and the risk of windfall profiteering and market manipulation in wholesale and retail markets.

SEC. 2.Part 3 (commencing with Section 9530) is added to Division 4.8 of the Public Utilities Code, to read:
3.Ratepayer Protections
9530.

In consultation with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Public Advocate’s Office of the Public Utilities Commission, the Energy Commission, in coordination with the commission, in undertaking its gas and electrical system planning and in order to ensure that local publicly owned electric utilities and local publicly owned gas utilities maintain safe and reliable energy at just and reasonable rates consistent with, and in furtherance of, the state’s climate and energy goals, shall consider imposing additional requirements to protect ratepayers from price spikes, stranded assets, duplication of services, and the risk of windfall profiteering and market manipulation in wholesale and retail markets.

SEC. 3.

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.