BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 435|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 435
Author: De La Torre (D)
Amended: 7/23/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ENERGY, U.&C. COMMITTEE : 9-2, 7/7/09
AYES: Padilla, Calderon, Corbett, Kehoe, Lowenthal,
Simitian, Strickland, Wiggins, Wright
NOES: Benoit, Cox
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not relevant
SUBJECT : Public utilities: transmission facilities
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : The bill, until January 1, 2012, requires an
electrical corporation or a local publicly owned electric
utility that owns electrical transmission facilities to
investigate and evaluate the cost and feasibility of using
high-technology conductors and other advanced transmission
technology in new and upgraded transmission projects. This
bill requires an electrical corporation to additionally
evaluate the cost and feasibility of retrofitting existing
transmission facilities with high-technology conductors and
other advanced transmission technology, whether using
high-technology conductors or other advanced transmission
technology will expedite the delivery of electricity
CONTINUED
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generated by eligible renewable energy resources, and
enable the utility to increase transmission capacity
without building new transmission towers. This bill
requires electrical corporations to report the results of
the investigation and evaluation to the Public Utilities
Commission (PUC) by July 1, 2011. This bill requires local
publicly owned electric utilities to report the results of
the investigation and evaluation to the Energy Commission
by July 1, 2011.
ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes the State Energy
Resources Conservation and Development Commission in the
Natural Resources Agency. Existing law requires the Energy
Commission to conduct biennial assessments and forecasts of
all aspects of energy industry supply, production,
transportation, delivery and distribution, demand, and
prices. The Energy Commission is required to adopt a
biennial integrated energy policy by November 1 that
contains an overview of major energy trends and issues
facing the state. Existing law requires the Energy
Commission to adopt a strategic plan for the state's
electrical transmission grid using existing resources, to
be included in the integrated energy policy report adopted
on November 1, 2005, which identifies and recommends
actions required to implement investments needed to ensure
reliability, relieve congestion, and to meet future growth
in electrical load and generation, including renewable
resources, energy efficiency, and other demand reduction
measures.
Background
California Independent System Operator . About 75 percent
of the state's transmission grid is owned by the IOUs. The
ISO, a not-for-profit public benefit corporation, is
charged with operating the IOU's transmission grid and
managing the flow of electricity. (The ISO also operates
municipal utility's transmission lines that have requested
that service.) The ISO plans for and recommends
transmission projects within its control area by soliciting
information from the transmission owners. The ISO works
with a variety of stakeholders and performs engineering and
economic studies on proposed projects to determine the
potential benefits. An annual transmission plan is
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produced which forecasts the projects necessary to maintain
the grid for ten years and beyond.
The responsibility for actually building the transmission
lines generally lies with the transmission-owning
utilities. Most of these utilities need to obtain approval
from the PUC before they can construct new transmission
lines. The PUC conducts a public hearing process and
issues a CPCN if it deems the project is warranted. The
utilities must then initiate a filing at the FERC to
request cost-recovery for both inter- and intra-state
transmission lines.
A significant share of the state's transmission grid is
owned by municipal utilities and outside the jurisdiction
of the ISO or the PUC. Similar to IOUs, municipal
utilities possess eminent domain authority to acquire
rights-of-way for transmission lines but need no approvals
from any state agencies to build new transmission.
The Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative (RETI) . A
critical element of increasing the electricity deliveries
from renewable resources is the development of new
transmission to remote areas of the state rich with wind,
sun and geothermal renewable fuels. In response to this
need RETI was launched which is a statewide initiative to
help identify the transmission projects needed to
accommodate these renewable energy goals, support future
energy policy, and facilitate transmission corridor
designation and transmission and generation siting and
permitting. RETI is intended to be an open and transparent
collaborative process in which all interested parties are
encouraged to participate.
RETI has assessed all competitive renewable energy zones in
California and some in neighboring states that can provide
significant electricity to California consumers by the year
2020. RETI has also identified those zones that can be
developed in the most cost effective and environmentally
benign manner and will prepare detailed transmission plans
for those zones identified for development.
The RETI effort is supervised by a coordinating committee
comprised of California entities responsible for ensuring
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the implementation of the state's renewable energy policies
and development of electric infrastructure, namely:
1.California Public Utilities Commission
2.California Energy Commission
3.California Independent System Operator
4.Publicly-Owned Utilities (SCPPA, SMUD, and NCPA)
Transmission Progress . The PUC's October 2008 RPS status
report indicates that two new transmission lines are
necessary to meet the 20 percent goal. Three new
transmission lines have been approved for California or are
nearing approval: Tehachapi, Sunrise, Devers-Palo Verde
No. 2. An additional five lines would be needed to achieve
33 percent by 2020.
Comments
The author intends for this bill is to streamline the
transmission line siting process, which can take up to 10
years, depending on the distance and complexity of the
geography. The California Independent System Operator
performs much of the transmission planning. The
responsibility for actually building the transmission lines
lies with the transmission-owning utilities, most of whom
need to obtain prior approval from the PUC. If it deems
the project as warranted, the PUC conducts a public hearing
process and issues a CPCN. The utilities must then
initiate a filing at FERC to request cost-recovery for both
inter- and intra-state transmission lines.
The utilities are frequently delayed with construction
because the federal government owns much of the land that
transmission lines must cross. Of the federal government
agencies required to provide approval, the Bureau of Land
Management is involved the most. The transmission-owning
utilities are concerned that the Bureau process is too
slow, there's not enough staff, and the existing staff are
spread too thin among the 50 states. The state imposes
additional delays depending on whether the transmission
line traverses a state park, or whether there's an
endangered species in the proposed corridor. This bill
seeks better coordination in the pre-development process
among state and federal agencies, and particularly whether
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certain required activities can be done simultaneously in
order to the reduce time required for project approval.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/19/09)
Southern California Edison
DLW:nl 8/19/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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