BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1409
Page A
Date of Hearing: June 9, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Steven Bradford, Chair
SB 1409 (Hill) - As Amended: June 4, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 36-0
SUBJECT : Public Utilities Commission: safety investigations.
SUMMARY : This bill requires descriptions of staff safety
investigations to be included in the California Public Utilities
Commission's (PUC) annual workplan. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the PUC to provide a succinct description of each
open staff safety investigation and each staff safety
investigation concluded within the last year, to include the
date of the incident, reason for the investigation, the
facility type involved, and the owner of the facility.
2)Requires the PUC to annually submit this information as part
of the workplan to the Governor and Legislature no later than
February 1 of each year.
EXISTING LAW
a)Directs the PUC to develop, publish, and update (by no later
than February 1 of each year) an annual workplan that includes
detailed information on ratemaking proceedings, transactions,
and other decisions; proposed and implemented activities to
reduce the energy rates and costs for state agriculture and
other rural energy consumers; reports on the number of cases
where resolutions exceeded the time periods prescribed in
scoping memos; and describes the number of days that
commissioners presided in hearings (Public Utilities Code
321.6)
b)Requires the PUC investigate the cause of all accidents
occurring upon the property of any public utility that results
in loss of life or injury to person or property, and
authorizes the PUC to require public utilities file reports of
each accident. (Public Utilities Code 315)
c)Requires the PUC to, in an existing or new proceeding, develop
and implement an electric safety enforcement program by
SB 1409
Page B
January 1, 2015 and a gas safety enforcement program by July
1, 2014, which include procedures for monitoring, data
tracking and analysis, and investigations, as well as issuance
of citations by commission staff. (Public Utilities Code
1702.5)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's statement: "An annual reporting requirement will
raise the profile of accident investigations with CPUC
management and the public and will be consistent with the
CPUC's focus on transparency in safety matters."
2)PUC safety investigations. Safety investigations serve various
purposes. They (1) help utilities, PUC staff, and the public
learn from accidents and prevent future accidents; (2) serve
as a prerequisite for PUC enforcement actions; and (3) guide
decisions related to whether claims against utilities are an
expense recoverable in future rates.
The PUC has issued several orders related to safety
investigations. Resolution E-4184 provides for reporting of
electric and gas emergencies by utilities and Generating Asset
Owners to the PUC via the PUC web site and telephone.<1> It
also revised reporting requirements for consistency. Within
this resolution, "emergencies" are defined to include
incidents, accidents, and electric service interruptions that
are attributable or allegedly attributable to utility owned
facilities and (a) result in a fatality or personal injury
rising to the level of in-patient hospitalization, (b) cause
over $50,000 in damage, or (c) become the subject of
significant public attention or media coverage.
Resolution L-436 aims to provide the public with more
immediate access to records of safety inspections, audits, and
investigations.<2> These orders direct PUC staff - without
requiring a vote of the Commission or an Administrative Law
Judge ruling - to disclose PUC reports, summaries, and
correspondence regarding completed safety-related inspections,
--------------------------
<1> http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/gos/GO95/Otherdocs/E-4184.pdf
<2>
http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/NR/rdonlyres/0258E4D3-B876-494D-A39E-20864
F74A825/0/FinalResL436ReDisclosureofSafetyRelatedRecord.pdf
SB 1409
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audits, and investigations on an "online safety portal".
Even with these rules in place, information surrounding safety
investigations is not always available. According to the PUC's
2009 (and regrettably, most recent) Electric, Natural Gas, and
Propane Safety Report, the PUC received 82 reports related to
natural gas incidents and 93 related to electric incidents in
2009.<3> A typical timetable for investigations is not
outlined, thus it is unclear whether incidents occurring in
2009 have been fully investigated. Furthermore, the number of
incidents occurring since 2009 is unknown.
It is important to note that safety investigations are
initially conducted by PUC staff, and if deemed necessary, the
commission may open a formal proceeding (an order instituting
investigation - OII) to further investigate the incident. OIIs
are currently outlined in the PUC's annual workplan, but the
open staff safety investigations are not. This bill seeks to
require inclusion and descriptions of open PUC staff safety
investigations in the annual workplan.
3)PUC rulemaking on safety enforcement. As per SB 291 (Hill,
2013), the PUC has opened a proceeding to implement an
electric safety enforcement program by January 1, 2015 and a
gas safety enforcement program by July 1, 2014.<4>
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Brandon Gaytan / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083
---------------------------
<3>
http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/NR/rdonlyres/BDDBF3F2-8BE0-4C70-8D25-7987A
CF3E7CD/0/2009USRBANNUALREPORT.pdf
<4>
http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M091/K638/91
638006.PDF
SB 1409
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