Amended in Assembly August 18, 2016

Amended in Senate May 31, 2016

Amended in Senate March 17, 2016

Senate Bill No. 1028

Introduced by Senator Hill

February 12, 2016

An act to add Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 8385) to Division 4.1 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to public utilities.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1028, as amended, Hill. Electrical corporations: local publicly owned electric utilities: electrical cooperatives: wildfire mitigation plans.

The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission, authorizes the commission to establish rules for all public utilities, subject to control by the Legislature, and authorizes the Legislature, unlimited by the other provisions of the California Constitution, to confer additional authority and jurisdiction upon the commission that is cognate and germane to the regulation of public utilities. The Public Utilities Act provides the commission with broad authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, while local publicly owned electric utilities and electrical cooperatives are under the direction of their governing boards. Existing law establishes requirements for equipment, practices, and facilities for public utilities, including standards, enforceable by the commission, for installation and maintenance of wires or cables used to conduct electricity. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.

This bill would require 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. The bill would require each electrical corporation to annually prepare a wildfire mitigation plan. The bill would require each electrical corporation to submit its plan to the commission for begin delete approval, end delete begin insert review, end insert as specified. The bill would require the commission to begin delete accept, accept provisionally, or reject end delete begin insert review and comment on end insert the submitted plan, as specified. The bill would require 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, would require the local publicly owned electric utility or electrical cooperative, at an interval determined by the board, to 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. By placing additional duties upon local publicly owned electric utilities, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Because a violation of these provisions by an electrical corporation 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 specified reasons.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

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

SECTION 1.  

Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 8385) is
added to Division 4.1 of the Public Utilities Code, to read:

 

Chapter  6. Wildfire Mitigation

 

8385.  

(a) For purposes of this chapter, the following shall
apply:

(1) “Compliance period” means a begin delete one-year period beginning
approximately with the start of the fall fire season for the service
territory of the electrical corporation, electrical cooperative, or
local publicly owned electric utility. end delete begin insert period of approximately one
year. end insert

(2) “Electrical cooperative” has the same meaning as defined
in Section 2776.

(b) The commission shall supervise an electrical corporation’s
compliance with the requirements of this chapter pursuant to the
Public Utilities Act (Part 1 (commencing with Section 201) of
Division 1). Nothing in this chapter begin delete provides the commission with end delete
begin insert affects the commission’s end insert authority or jurisdiction over an electrical
cooperative or local publicly owned electrical corporation.

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 begin delete annually, on or before
February 1, end delete begin insert annually end insert prepare and submit a wildfire mitigation plan
for the next compliance period to the commission for begin delete acceptance. end delete
begin insert review. end insert The wildfire mitigation plan shall include:

(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) 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.

(5) A discussion of how the application of previously identified
metrics to previous plan performances has informed the plan.

(6) 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 begin insert electrical line and
equipment end insert inspections, including inspections performed by
contractors, carried out under the begin delete plan. end delete begin insert plan and other applicable
statutes and commission rules. end insert

(7) 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 begin delete accept,
accept provisionally, or reject end delete begin insert review and comment on end insert the electrical
corporation’s wildfire mitigation plan.

begin delete

(1) Any provisional acceptance by the commission shall state
all of the following:

(A) The period for which the provisional acceptance will be in
force.

(B) The extent to which the wildfire mitigation plan has been
accepted.

(C) Any limitations or conditions that shall apply during the
provisional acceptance period.

(2) If the commission rejects the electrical corporation’s wildfire
mitigation plan, the

end delete

begin insert (d) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The end insert commission shall provide the electrical corporation with
an opportunity to begin delete resubmit end delete begin insert amend end insert a wildfire mitigation plan begin insert in
response to commission comments end insert within 30 days.

begin delete

(3) If the commission determines that an electrical corporation
will not be able to prepare an acceptable wildfire mitigation plan
before the beginning of the compliance period, the commission
may determine the contents of the electrical corporation’s wildfire
mitigation plan.

(d)

end delete

begin insert (e) end insert  The commission shall conduct or contract for audits to
determine if an electrical corporation is satisfactorily complying
with its begin delete accepted end delete wildfire mitigation plan.

begin delete

(e)

end delete

begin insert (f) end insert  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.

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) 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.

(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.

SEC. 2.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
level of service mandated by this act or because 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.