BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1800
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Date of Hearing: May 11, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
1800 (Hadley) - As Amended April 26, 2016
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|Policy |Utilities and Commerce |Vote:|14 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires electrical corporations and publicly-owned
electric utilities to post specified information relating to
utility outage compensation claims on their websites.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires each electrical corporation and local publicly-owned
AB 1800
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electric utility to annually post the following information
relating to utility outage compensation claims for the
previous year on its website:
a) The number of claims that remain open from the previous
year.
b) The number of new claims received in the current year.
c) The total number of applicants awaiting determination or
judgment at the end of the year.
d) The median time taken to process claims once the outage
was determined to be the fault of the utility.
e) The number of claims approved and denied.
2)Specifies the posting requirements only apply to those outages
that the Independent System Operator (ISO), the California
Public Utilities Commission (PUC), or the electrical
corporation or local publically-owned electric utility
determined are the fault of the utility or those claims the
utility has determined to pay.
3)Prohibits information relating to utility outage compensation
claims from being admitted as evidence in any legal action for
damages arising from an outage.
FISCAL EFFECT
AB 1800
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Increased one-time costs of approximately $170,000 (special
fund) if the PUC determines a proceeding is necessary to address
issues from stakeholders to establish the new program.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, this bill will inspire more
confidence in the claims process by giving utility ratepayers
the information necessary to know if their claims for
reimbursement are being fairly and expeditiously processed.
2)Background. In most cases, electric utilities provide
businesses and residents reimbursements if they suffered a
loss or damage due to a service interruption as a result of
the utility. According to Southern California Edison's (SCE)
website, it evaluates each claim individually to determine if
losses occurred due to its negligence, how the incident
happened, the extent of damages, and what the law considers
fair compensation. If SCE denies a claim, they will explain
the reasons for the denial. SCE's goal is to reach a decision
on most claims within 30 days of receipt. Pacific Gas, and
Electric (PG&E) and
San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) also have similar claims
processes.
1)Suggested Amendments. This bill was amended in the Utilities
and Commerce Committee to prohibit information relating to
utility outage compensation claims from being admitted as
evidence in any legal action for damages arising from an
outage. This amendment was not vetted with stakeholders or
the appropriate policy committee and concerns have arisen
regarding its interpretation and implementation.
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The author may wish to remove this provision and continue
working with stakeholders and others to address any liability
issues, as warranted, resulting from this bill.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081