Bill Text: CA SB952 | 2025-2026 | Regular Session | Amended

California Senate Bill 952

Bill Title: State Water Project: renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Engrossed) 2026-08-13 - In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending. [SB952 Detail]

Download: California-2025-SB952-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly August 06, 2026

Amended IN Senate May 18, 2026

Amended IN Senate March 17, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 952

Introduced by Senator Laird

February 02, 2026

An act to amend Section 80400 of the Water Code, relating to energy.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 952, as amended, Laird. State Water Project: renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources.

Under existing law, it is the policy of the state that eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources supply 90% of all retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers by December 31, 2035, 95% of all retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers by December 31, 2040, 100% of all retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers by December 31, 2045, and 100% of electricity procured to serve all state agencies by December 31, 2035, as specified. Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to procure eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources to satisfy those state agency obligations imposed on the State Water Resources Development System, commonly known as the State Water Project, pursuant to that policy. Existing law authorizes the department to defer, until no later than December 31, 2040, procuring zero-carbon electricity resource quantities equal to the amount of electricity provided under an existing contract to procure fossil generation entered into before January 1, 2010, if the department determines that the full achievement of the state agency obligations imposed on the State Water Project would require the early termination of the existing contract and that early termination of the existing contract would result in significant uneconomic costs. Existing law requires the department, in conducting procurement, to consider specified factors and requires that all resources procured be used first to meet the department’s own electricity needs.

This bill would require the department, in conducting that procurement, to also consider portfolio diversity, resource type, location, and hours of typical peak operation. The bill would expand the scope of the department’s authorization to defer the procurement of those resource quantities to apply to an existing contract to procure fossil generation entered into before January 1, 2011, rather than January 1, 2010. The bill would authorize, on and after January 1, 2036, excess ~~procurement, as defined,~~ procurement of eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon ~~resources~~ resources, as defined, in one year to be applied to any subsequent year’s obligation, as provided.

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

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

SECTION 1.

Section 80400 of the Water Code is amended to read:

80400.

(a) (1) The department shall procure eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources to satisfy the state agency obligations imposed on the State Water Resources Development System, commonly known as the State Water Project, pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 454.53 of the Public Utilities Code.

(2) If the department determines that the full achievement of the state agency obligations imposed on the State Water Resources Development System would require the early termination of an existing contract to procure fossil generation entered before January 1, 2011, and that early termination would result in significant uneconomic costs, the department may defer procuring zero-carbon electricity resource quantities equal to the amount of electricity provided under the existing contract until no later than December 31, 2040.

(3) In the event that extraordinary circumstances, catastrophic events, considerable supply chain disruptions and equipment shortages, or threats of significant economic harm render full achievement of the obligations imposed on the State Water Resources Development System pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 454.53 of the Public Utilities Code infeasible, the Governor may adjust the applicable deadline for the department’s compliance to the earliest feasible date, but that date shall be no later than December 31, 2040.

(b) The department may satisfy all or a portion of the obligation on the State Water Resources Development System pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 454.53 of the Public Utilities Code by installing or connecting zero-carbon resources or eligible renewable energy resources behind the meter on State Water Resources Development System property or properties to service its load.

(c) All resources procured pursuant to subdivision (a) after February 1, 2022, shall satisfy both of the following criteria:

(1) The eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources shall either be newly developed as a result of contracting by the department or constitute incremental production from existing resources and reach initial commercial operations on or after January 1, 2023. This requirement may be satisfied if the resource is newly developed by a local publicly owned electric utility with the expectation that the output would be sold to the department in support of the State Water Resources Development System.

(2) The eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources shall be located within California or have a first point of interconnection to a California balancing authority.

(d) In conducting procurement pursuant to subdivision (a), the department shall consider all of the following:

(1) Procurement commitments that may yield maximum long-term employment, stimulate new economic activity, generate local and state tax revenues, and assist with the development of new industries.

(2) Attributes, including resource adequacy, flexibility, and integration value, the ability to provide firm clean electricity, and local air quality benefits.

(3) The results of integrated resource planning modeling conducted by the Public Utilities Commission pursuant to Section 454.52 of the Public Utilities Code.

(4) Portfolio diversity, resource type, location, and hours of typical peak operation.

(e) The department shall consider doing all of the following to reduce the costs of any procurement made pursuant to this section:

(1) Coordinate with the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank to make low-cost financing assistance available to new projects included in any procurement commitments.

(2) Coordinate with other state agencies to identify incentives from existing programs for new projects included in any procurement commitments.

(3) (A) If reasonably expected to provide incremental benefits, secure an ownership stake or royalties for any project or economic activity resulting from a contractual commitment.

(B) (i) Incremental benefits of ownership may include the election by the department of payment of applicable credits pursuant to the federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-169). If the department elects for direct payment of those applicable credits, those payments shall be deposited directly into the California Water Resources Development Bond Account created pursuant to Section 12935.5.

(ii) Within 10 days of any payments being deposited in into the California Water Resources Development Bond Account, as described in clause (i), the department shall provide written notice to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, who shall provide a copy of the notice to the relevant policy committees. The notice shall include the source, purpose, timeliness, and other relevant information as determined by the department.

(f) (1) All resources procured pursuant to this section shall be used first to meet the department’s own electricity needs. On and after January 1, 2036, excess procurement of eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources in one year may be applied to any subsequent year’s obligation imposed pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 454.53 of the Public Utilities Code. A renewable energy credit, as defined in Section 399.12 of the Public Utilities Code, associated with the electricity used to satisfy the obligations of the department and the State Water Resources Development System under this section shall be retired and shall not be transferred or resold.

(2) For purposes of this subdivision, “excess procurement of eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources” means procurement of eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources in one year that exceed 100 percent of the annual ~~retail sales~~ electrical load served in the same year for the department and State Water Resources Development System and for which all environmental and renewable attributes associated with the procurement are retired and not transferred or resold.

(g) The department shall enter into an agreement to procure energy from a new energy generation facility only if the seller requires its contractors to use a multicraft project labor agreement, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 2500 of the Public Contract Code, for construction of the facility. Those project labor agreements shall conform to the industry standard agreements recently used for other similar private projects, including side letters for high-voltage transmission and related work.