BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 1028 (Hill) - Electrical corporations: local publicly owned
electric utilities: electrical cooperatives: wildfire
mitigation plans
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|Version: March 17, 2016 |Policy Vote: E., U., & C. 9 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: May 16, 2016 |Consultant: Narisha Bonakdar |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: SB 1028 requires utilities regulated by the California
Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to file wildfire mitigation
plans and requires the CPUC to vote to approve and audit those
plans. The bill also requires publicly-owned utilities to file
wildfire mitigation plans with their governing boards.
Fiscal
Impact:
Approximately $617,000 (Public Utilities Commission Utilities
Reimbursement Account) to the CPUC for staffing, training, and
equipment costs. (See staff comments).
Approximately $250,000 annually for three years to contract
with a fire mitigation consultant.
Background:
California wildfire and electric systems. In October of 2007, a
series of large wildfires ignited and burned hundreds of
thousands of acres in several counties in Southern California.
The fires displaced nearly one million residents, destroyed
thousands of homes, and took the lives of seventeen people
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(including seven who died from efforts to evacuate or from other
fire-related causes). The Witch Fire, one of the nation's most
damaging, was ignited by power lines. More recently, the
September 2015 Butte Fire burned more than 70,000 acres in
Amador and Calaveras Counties, destroyed 818 structures, and
caused two fatalities. This fire may have been caused by
contact between an electric overhead line and a tree.
According to CalFIRE, power lines were the second-leading cause
of wildfires in 2013. Electrical equipment can act as an
ignition source, including downed power lines, arcing, and
conductor contact with trees. Although electric systems do not
routinely cause catastrophic fires, they are known to cause
hundreds of small fires every year. Risks for wildfires have
also increased with the extended drought and bark beetle
infestation that has increased tree mortalities and, as a
result, increased the risk and fuel for wildfires.
CPUC efforts to address wildfires. After the 2007 fires ravaged
several areas of the state, in 2008, the CPUC initiated
rulemaking proceeding to address fires related to utility poles.
The CPUC's efforts have resulted in additional requirements on
utilities to reduce the likelihood of fires started by or
threatening utility facilities, including improved vegetation
management, as well as, requiring the utilities to develop
electric utility fire prevention plans. The first phase also
adopted fire hazard maps of high-risk areas in Southern
California. In May 2015, the CPUC opened a new rulemaking
proceeding to develop and adopt fire-threat maps and fire-safety
regulations (R. 15-05-006). The CPUC tasked CalFIRE to oversee
and select outside experts to develop a more refined statewide
fire hazard map.
As noted in the Scoping Memo, the fire-threat map will be based
on approximately 150 terabytes of fire-weather data, which will
be used to run millions of fire simulations to build a high
resolution, statewide fire-treat map. The CPUC and CalFIRE have
conducted workshops to solicit feedback on the draft map. After
a couple of delays, a final map was issued on February 12, 2016.
Additionally, the CPUC has announced a safety en banc related to
utility pole safety to occur on April 28, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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The agenda for the en banc includes representatives from
CalFIRE, electric utilities, communications utilities and
providers, and other stakeholders.
Proposed Law:
This bill:
Defines compliance period and electrical cooperative.
Requires the CPUC to 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).
States that this bill does not provide the CPUC with authority
or jurisdiction over an electrical cooperative or local
publicly owned electrical corporation.
Requires each electrical corporation 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.
Requires each electrical corporation to annually, on or before
February 1, prepare and submit a wildfire mitigation plan for
the next compliance period to the commission for acceptance,
and specifies the plan requirements.
Requires the CPUC to act expeditiously, but no later than 30
days before the beginning of the compliance period, to accept,
accept provisionally, or reject the electrical corporation's
wildfire mitigation plan, and outlines specific activities
that must be undertaken if the CPUC rejects or approves the
plan.
Requires the CPUC to conduct or contract for audits to
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determine if an electrical corporation is satisfactorily
complying with its accepted wildfire mitigation plan.
Authorizes the CPUC to 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.
Requires each 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.
Requires the governing board of the local publicly owned
electric utility or electrical cooperative to 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.
Requires the local publicly owned electric utility or
electrical cooperative, if the governing board determines that
there is a significant risk of catastrophic wildfire resulting
from the utility's electrical lines and equipment, to annually
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.
Related
Legislation:
SB 1463 (Moorlach) would require the CPUC, in consultation with
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the CalFIRE, to prioritize areas that are at high risk from
wildfires. The bill is on the Suspense File.
Staff
Comments:
CPUC staff note, that implementation of this bill "would require
new skillsets for SED [Safety and Enforcement Division]
engineering and analytic staff, including in-depth knowledge and
expertise regarding fire behavior, fire weather, fire mitigation
strategies and measures, and climatology impacting fire
behavior. This is a wholly separate discipline not currently
part of the CPUC's core competency."
They further note that, "In addition to SED staff requirements,
the Commission likely would need to retain consultants, at least
during the initial implementation (at least one year), to assess
the initial plans while Commission staff capabilities are being
developed. Beyond the initial period, consultants might still
be needed to help assess changing mitigation measures and
industry best practices." This bill would also require travel
costs and at least two vehicles (one for the southern part of
the state and one for the northern portion).
This bill constitutes a state mandate. However, no
reimbursement is required 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.
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