Existing law requires the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), in consultation with the California Energy Commission (CEC), on or before March 31, 2024, to provide transmission-focused guidance to the Independent System Operator (CAISO) about resource portfolios of expected future renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources, including the allocation of those resources by region based on technical feasibility and commercial interest in each region to allow CAISO to identify and approve transmission facilities needed to interconnect resources and reliably serve the needs of load centers. On December 23, 2022, the CPUC, CEC, and CAISO entered into a memorandum of understanding related to resource and transmission planning, transmission development and permitting, procurement, and interconnections in order to achieve reliability and policy needs and to coordinate the timely development of resources, resource interconnections, and needed transmission infrastructure.
This bill would:
- Require the CPUC, CEC, and CAISO, every 5 years, to review the memorandum of understanding and a related workplan to ensure the memorandum and workplan reflect the coordination that is needed to help meet the state’s energy goals;
- Require the CPUC, CEC, and CAISO to jointly develop and recommend an expedited permitting roadmap that describes timeframes and milestones for a coordinated, comprehensive, and efficient permitting process for electrical transmission infrastructure, and to provide an opportunity for stakeholder input and public comment, as specified;
- Require the CPUC, CEC, and CAISO, on or before December 31, 2024, to complete and submit the recommended framework for the expedited permitting roadmap to the Natural Resources Agency and the relevant fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature;
- Require the CPUC to require each electrical corporation to annually review its long-term transmission infrastructure needs for the subsequent 10 years, based on the interconnection requests it receives, to annually report to the CPUC on that review, and to ensure those needs incorporate each local government’s present and future needs for new service connections and capacity service upgrades that may require transmission system upgrades;
- Require, when an electrical corporation completes a transmission infrastructure project, the electrical corporation to report the final cost of the project to the CPUC;
- Require the CPUC, in consultation with California balancing authorities, on or before December 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, to submit a report to the Legislature that evaluates certain transmission and resource planning that has been conducted or implemented, including pursuant to the memorandum of understanding and related workplan.
