Bill Text: CA SB901 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Wildfires.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-09-21 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 626, Statutes of 2018. [SB901 Detail]
Download: California-2017-SB901-Amended.html
Bill Title: Wildfires.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-09-21 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 626, Statutes of 2018. [SB901 Detail]
Download: California-2017-SB901-Amended.html
|
Amended
IN
Senate
March 22, 2018 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION
| Senate Bill | No. 901 |
| Introduced by Senator Dodd (Coauthors: Assembly Members |
January 16, 2018 |
An act to amend Sections 8386 and 8387 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to public utilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 901, as amended, Dodd.
Electrical corporations: local publicly owned electric utilities: electrical cooperatives: wildfire mitigation plans and measures.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, while local publicly owned electric utilities, as defined, and electrical cooperatives, as defined, are under the direction of their governing boards. Existing law requires each electrical corporation, local publicly owned electric utility, and electrical cooperative to construct, maintain, and operate its electrical lines and equipment in a manner that will minimize the risk of catastrophic wildfire posed by those electrical lines and equipment. Existing law requires each electrical corporation to annually prepare a wildfire mitigation plan and to submit its plan to the commission for review, as specified. Existing law requires the commission to review and comment on the submitted plan, as specified. Existing law requires the governing board of a local
publicly owned electric utility or electrical cooperative to determine whether any portion of the geographical area where the utility’s overhead electrical lines and equipment are located has a significant risk of catastrophic wildfire resulting from those electrical lines and equipment and, if so, requires the local publicly owned electric utility or electrical cooperative, utility, at an interval determined by the its board, to present to the its
board for its approval those wildfire mitigation measures the utility intends to undertake to minimize the risk of its overhead electrical lines and equipment causing a catastrophic wildfire.
This bill would require a wildfire mitigation plan prepared by an electrical corporation, and wildfire mitigation measures prepared by a local publicly owned electric utility or electrical cooperative, to include policies and procedures by which
protocols the preparing entity may assess use to determine when it may be necessary to deenergize its electrical lines and, if so,
which electrical lines should be deenergized. and deactivate its reclosers. The bill would require those policies and procedures protocols to include relevant an assessment of factors, including meteorological and fire threat conditions, maps of relevant fire hazard severity zones and high fire risk areas, observations made by individuals and cameras, as applicable, of vegetation conditions near electrical lines, and communication protocols
and to include appropriate and feasible procedures, which consider the need to maintain operation of critical first responder, health, and telecommunications infrastructure, for notifying customers who may be impacted by the deenergizing of electrical lines.
Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.
Because a violation of these provisions by an electrical corporation would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Additionally, by placing additional duties upon local publicly owned electric utilities, 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 specified reasons.
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 8386 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:8386.
(a) Each electrical corporation shall construct, maintain, and operate its electrical lines and equipment in a manner that will minimize the risk of catastrophic wildfire posed by those electrical lines and equipment.(b) Each electrical corporation shall annually prepare and submit a wildfire mitigation plan for the next compliance period to the commission for review. The wildfire mitigation plan shall include: include all of the following:
(1) An accounting of
the responsibilities of persons responsible for executing the plan.
(2) The objectives of the plan.
(3) A description of the preventive strategies and programs to be adopted by the electrical corporation to minimize the risk of its electrical lines and equipment causing catastrophic wildfires.
(4) Policies and procedures by which Protocols the electrical corporation may assess use to determine
when it may be necessary to deenergize its electrical lines and, if so, which electrical lines should be deenergized.
and deactivate its reclosers. The policies and procedures protocols shall include, but not be limited to, all both of the following:
(A) Relevant An assessment of relevant factors, including meteorological conditions, including wind speed, humidity, and temperature.
and fire threat conditions.
(B)Maps of relevant fire hazard severity zones and high fire risk areas, including fire threat ratings.
(C)Observations made by individuals and cameras, as applicable, of vegetation conditions near electrical lines.
(D)Communication protocols
(B) Appropriate and feasible procedures
for notifying a customer who may be impacted by the deenergizing of electrical lines. The procedures shall consider the need to maintain operation of critical first responder, health, and telecommunications infrastructure.
(5) A description of the metrics the electrical corporation plans to use to evaluate the plan’s performance and the assumptions that underlie the use of those metrics.
(6) A discussion of how the application of previously identified metrics to previous plan performances has informed the plan.
(7) A description of
the processes and procedures the electrical corporation will use to do the following:
(A) Monitor and audit the implementation of the plan.
(B) Identify any deficiencies in the plan or the plan’s implementation and correct those deficiencies.
(C) Monitor and audit the effectiveness of electrical line and equipment inspections, including inspections performed by contractors, carried out under the plan and other applicable statutes and commission rules.
(8) Any other information that the commission may require.
(c) The commission shall act expeditiously, but no later than 30 days before the beginning
of the compliance period, to review and comment on the electrical corporation’s wildfire mitigation plan.
(d) The commission shall provide the electrical corporation with an opportunity to amend a wildfire mitigation plan in response to commission comments within 30 days.
(e) The commission shall conduct or contract for audits to determine if an electrical corporation is satisfactorily complying with its wildfire mitigation plan.
(f) The commission may contract with an independent third party to evaluate wildfire mitigation plans or to conduct audits and inspections authorized by this section, and may require electrical corporations to reimburse any related expenses.
SEC. 2.
Section 8387 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:8387.
(a) Each local publicly owned electric utility and electrical cooperative shall construct, maintain, and operate its electrical lines and equipment in a manner that will minimize the risk of catastrophic wildfire posed by those electrical lines and equipment.(b) The governing board of the local publicly owned electric utility or electrical cooperative shall determine, based on historical fire data and local conditions, and in consultation with the fire departments or other entities responsible for control of wildfires within the geographical area where the utility’s overhead electrical lines and equipment are located, whether any portion of that geographical area has a significant
risk of catastrophic wildfire resulting from those electrical lines and equipment.
(c) (1) If, pursuant to subdivision (b), the governing board determines that there is a significant risk of catastrophic wildfire resulting from the utility’s electrical lines and equipment, the local publicly owned electric utility or electrical cooperative shall, at an interval determined by the board, present to the board for its approval those wildfire mitigation measures the utility intends to undertake to minimize the risk of its overhead electrical lines and equipment causing a catastrophic wildfire.
(2) The wildfire mitigation measures shall include policies
and procedures by which protocols the local publicly owned electric utility or electrical cooperative may assess use to determine when it may be necessary to deenergize its electrical lines and, if so, which electrical lines should be deenergized. and deactivate its reclosers. The policies and procedures
protocols shall include, but not be limited to, all both of the following:
(A) Relevant An assessment of relevant factors, including meteorological conditions, including wind speed, humidity, and temperature. and fire threat conditions.
(B)Maps of relevant fire hazard severity zones and high fire risk areas, including fire threat ratings.
(C)Observations made by individuals and cameras, as applicable, of vegetation conditions near electrical lines.
(D)Communication protocols
(B) Appropriate and feasible procedures for notifying a customer who may be impacted by the deenergizing of electrical lines. The procedures shall consider the need to maintain operation of critical first responder, health, and telecommunications infrastructure.
(d) A fire prevention plan prepared by the local publicly owned electric utility or electrical cooperative, submitted to and approved by a federal agency as a license condition pursuant to subsection (e) of Section 4 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. Sec. 797 (e)) may,
at the discretion of the governing board, be deemed to meet the requirements of this chapter for those areas covered by the fire prevention plan.
