Bill to Shorten Connection Times for New Energy Sources Enacted

Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law SB 410, which is intended to reduce the time it takes for utilities to connect new electrical equipment to the electrical grid.

The law requires the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to establish, by September 30, 2024, reasonable average and maximum target energization time periods in order to connect new customers to the electrical grid and upgrade the service of existing customers. The bill also provides a procedure for customers to report energization delays to the CPUC.

Other Requirements

The bill also requires CPUC to require the electrical corporation to take remedial actions necessary to achieve these targets and would require all reports to be publicly available.

The bill requires, as part of each report, including any updates, and in each general rate case application, each electrical corporation to include a detailed analysis of its current qualified staffing level and future required qualified staffing level for each job classification, as specified, among other requirements related to staffing and apprentice training.

 It requires an electrical corporation to consider, in its annual distribution planning process, known load, and projections of load provided by the California Energy Commission (CEC), in addition to certain standards, plans, regulations, policies, and requirements.

It requires the CPUC, until January 1, 2027, to ensure that each electrical corporation has sufficient and timely recovery of costs.

The bill requires the CPUC, if requested by the electrical corporation until January 1, 2027, to authorize, within 180 days of the request, the use of a ratemaking mechanism that, among other things, the electrical corporation to track costs for energization projects placed in service after January 1, 2024, that exceed the costs included in the electrical corporation’s annual authorized revenue requirement for energization.

It requires an electrical corporation, , until January 1, 2027, as part of its request for a ratemaking mechanism, to include in its request specified information, including, among other information, a detailed summary of energization costs authorized in its current general rate case or any other proceeding.

It also requires, until July 1, 2018, an electrical corporation that requests the use of a ratemaking mechanism, to agree to retain an independent third-party auditor to review the electrical corporation’s business practices and procedures for energizing new customers and how the electrical corporation is planning for demand growth, prohibit the electrical corporation from recovering the costs of SB 410 Page 4 the third-party auditor from ratepayers, and require the third-party auditor to report to the CPUC on a biannual basis.

The bill authorizes the CPUC to modify or adjust this bill’s requirements for any electrical corporation with fewer than 100,000 service connections, as individual circumstances merit. States that bill does not apply to an electrical cooperative.