BILL ANALYSIS � 1
SENATE ENERGY, UTILITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
ALEX PADILLA, CHAIR
AB 1650 - Portantino Hearing
Date: July 3, 2012 A
As Amended: May 25, 2012 FISCAL B
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DESCRIPTION
Current law authorizes the California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC) to regulate electric, gas, and water
corporations and to determine whether rates charged are just and
reasonable and whether service provided is adequate.
Current law requires the CPUC to establish emergency response
standards for gas corporations.
Current decisions of CPUC adopt General Orders requiring gas and
electric corporations to develop disaster and emergency
preparedness plans.
This bill requires the CPUC to establish standards for disaster
and emergency preparedness plans within an existing procedure
and requires each electrical and water corporation to develop,
adopt, and update plans in compliance with these standards.
This bill requires an electrical corporation, in developing an
emergency and disaster preparedness plan, to invite
representatives of cities and counties in its service area to
meet and consult about the plan every two years, allow those
representatives an opportunity to comment on a draft plan, and
include in the plan recent emergencies and remedial actions and
changes to ensure future preparedness.
This bill requires that an electrical corporation's biannual
meeting with city and county representatives be a public meeting
with notice to the public and the commission, except that
sensitive security-related information may be discussed in
closed session, that the corporation provide city and county
representatives an opportunity to provide written and verbal
input, and that minutes and records from the meeting be
submitted to the CPUC.
Current law requires all public water systems, including water
corporations, with 10,000 or more
service connections to review and revise disaster preparedness
plans in conjunction with related agencies, including, but not
limited to, local fire departments and the California Emergency
Management Agency (CalEMA).
This bill would provide that a water corporation's obligation to
prepare a plan shall be deemed fulfilled when it files an
emergency and disaster preparedness plan pursuant to another
state statutory requirement, but in either case requires the
water corporation to hold meetings with representatives of
cities and counties in its service area.
BACKGROUND
The San Gabriel Valley was hit hard in early December 2011 by
devastating winds that knocked out power to more than 400,000
customers, some of them for more than a week. In a preliminary
report after investigation of the outages, the CPUC stated that
in some cases, Southern California Edison's equipment did not
meet safety standards and that the utility was slow to restore
power to homes and businesses. Local utilities also had trouble
with communications plans. Numerous public officials, including
first responders, have recommended to the CPUC that electric
utilities consult with local agencies to better prepare for
disasters.
The CPUC's General Order 166 requires each electric utility to
annually file an updated emergency response plan. The order
contains general requirements that the utility communicate with
local governments and provide notice of its annual emergency
response exercise, but it does not require regular public
meetings. It requires training and planning for deployment of
personnel in anticipation of an event that may result in a
"major outage," however, it does not currently require
deployment in the event of anticipated severe weather.
Moreover, the outages due to the November 2011 southern
California windstorm would not have triggered deployment of the
emergency response plans.
In both the Southern California windstorm outage and the
widespread outage that occurred in the Pacific Southwest region
in September 2011, drinking water supplies were impaired due to
lack of electricity at pumping stations. In San Diego,
California, bottled water supplies were distributed as a public
health safeguard due to a sewage spill in the vicinity of
drinking water suppliers, although the water supply was later
tested and found to be safe.
The CPUC regulates water corporations and classifies them
according to number of service connections, including 9 Class A
corporations with more than 10,000 service connections, five
Class B corporations with 2,000 to 10,000 service connections,
25 Class C water corporations with 500 to 2,000 service
connections, and 102 corporations with less than 500 service
connections. The CPUC currently does not require emergency
response plans for water corporations. However, Government Code
Section 8607.2 requires all public water systems with 10,000 or
more service connections to review and revise disaster
preparedness plans in conjunction with related agencies,
including, but not limited to, local fire departments and the
CalEMA, and requires that these plans examine and review pumping
station and distribution facility operations during an
emergency, water pressure at both pumping stations and hydrants,
and whether there is sufficient water reserve levels and
alternative emergency power such as backup and portable
generators.
COMMENTS
1. Author's Purpose . According to the author, this bill
responds to an apparent lack of emergency preparedness by
utilities that became evident when the December 2011
windstorm in San Gabriel Valley knocked out electric power
for an extended period. Adopting an emergency and disaster
preparedness plan, with input from the public and local
agencies, would better protect the public from disaster
because, as the author states, "We all know the 'Big One'
is coming- it's just a matter of when - and we need to be
prepared."
2. Existing Procedure . This bill appears to address gaps
in current requirements that utilities be prepared for
disasters and emergencies. The requirement for increased
public and local agency input will ensure better
communication and coordination to prepare for the next
disaster. The requirement that the CPUC establish
standards for the disaster and emergency preparedness plans
can be met by modifying General Order 166 emergency plan
requirements applicable to electrical corporations and
expanding that order to include water corporations.
3. Limited Option for Small Water Corporations . This bill
seeks to avoid requiring duplicative emergency plans for
water corporations by deeming a plan filed under any other
state statutory requirement as fulfilling the requirements
of this bill. The nine Class A water corporations are
required by the Government Code to prepare disaster plans
in connection with CalEMA, but no other state statutory
requirement to file an emergency plan has been identified
for the state's 530 smaller water corporations, leaving
them with only the option of adopting a plan as specified
by the CPUC. As stated by the California Water
Association, this places a potentially larger burden on
very small water utilities with smaller operations. On the
other hand, customers of all water customers want safe
drinking water during an emergency. To balance these
considerations, the author and committee may wish to
consider amending the bill to authorize the CPUC, when
establishing standards for disaster and emergency
preparedness plans, to make requirements for small water
corporations comparable to those of Class A water
corporations.
4. The Meeting Requirement . This bill requires a water
corporation, regardless of how it meets the disaster plan
requirement, to hold public meetings regarding the plan
with representatives from the counties and cities in its
service area and provide public notice and an opportunity
for public participation. For electric corporations, the
bill was amended to change the meeting requirement to
instead require that city and county representatives be
invited to meet and consult on the plan. Some utilities
have expressed concern about fulfilling the public notice
and meeting requirements, typically associated with public
agencies under open meeting laws. A better approach may be
to ensure that utilities appear before the governing bodies
of local agencies in their service areas at regularly
scheduled public meetings. Moreover, current law
authorizes counties and cities to create regional disaster
councils to develop plans, and submit them to CalEMA, for
mobilizing all public and private resources in the event of
emergencies such as earthquakes, natural or manmade
disasters specific to that jurisdiction, or war. These
councils are subject to open meeting laws that require
public notice and an opportunity for public comment. Thus,
the author and committee may wish to consider amending the
bill to modify the meeting requirement so that it can be
fulfilled by a utility making a presentation at a regularly
scheduled public meeting of local agencies or disaster
councils within their service areas.
ASSEMBLY VOTES
Assembly Floor (78-0)
Assembly Appropriations Committee (17-0)
Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee
(13-0)
POSITIONS
Sponsor:
Author
Support:
California Public Utilities Commission, if amended
Southern California Edison
Oppose:
California Water Association, unless amended
PacifiCorp, unless amended
Jacqueline Kinney
AB 1650 Analysis
Hearing Date: July 3, 2012