BILL ANALYSIS � 1
SENATE ENERGY, UTILITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
ALEX PADILLA, CHAIR
AB 2584 - Bradford Hearing Date:
June 11, 2012 A
As Amended: April 23, 2012 FISCAL B
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DESCRIPTION
Current law requires the California Public Utilities Commission
(CPUC) to investigate the cause of all accidents involving a
public utility and the operation or maintenance of its
facilities which results in a loss of life or property damage if
the commission determines an investigation is necessary and
permits the CPUC to make any orders or recommendations arising
from the accident which it deems just and reasonable.
Current rules of the CPUC for overhead supply line design,
construction, and maintenance require the owner and operator of
an overhead electric or communication line to cooperate fully
with CPUC in the investigation of an accident, release specified
documents, and preserve evidence for five years.
This bill requires electric and gas corporations to fully
cooperate with the CPUC in its investigations and provide the
commission, upon its request, with access to specified
information and retain documentation from an accident for five
years.
COMMENTS
1. Author's Purpose . On September 8, 2011, more than four
million people lost power after a 500 kV transmission line
was tripped, triggering a massive blackout in Mexico,
Southern California and Arizona. According to San Diego Gas
& Electric (SDG&E), 1.4 million of its customers were
affected. On November 30, 2012 and December 1, 2012, a
windstorm with gusts of 60-80 mph in the Los Angeles area
knocked-out power to more than 250,000 residents. A number
of residents were without service for 7 days.
The author reports that at a joint hearing of the Assembly
Utilities & Commerce Committee and the Joint Legislative
Committee on Emergency Management, the CPUC reported that
materials and equipment that would have been useful for
determining the cause of a widespread and lengthy power
outage may have been destroyed by the utility. This bill
will make it clear that evidence related to an outage shall
be preserved until the PUC has determined that it can be
released.
2. Clarifying Amendments . This bill as drafted applies to
all utility accidents and to gas corporations. Consistent
with the author's intent, the committee may wish to
consider amendments that would narrow the bill to electric
utilities and to overhead electric supply lines as well as
provide the commission with the flexibility to modify the
five year retention of evidence requirement as
circumstances dictate.
ASSEMBLY VOTES
Assembly Floor (73-0)
Assembly Appropriations Committee (17-0)
Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee
(13-0)
POSITIONS
Sponsor:
Author
Support:
California Public Utilities Commission, if amended
Oppose:
PacifiCorp
Kellie Smith
AB 2584 Analysis
Hearing Date: June 11, 2012