Bill Text: CA AB2368 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: System reliability and outages.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-09-27 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 713, Statutes of 2024. [AB2368 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB2368-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Assembly  March 21, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2368

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Introduced by Assembly Member Petrie-Norris

February 12, 2024

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An act to amend Section 334 349 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to electricity.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2368, as amended, Petrie-Norris. Electrical restructuring: Electricity Oversight Board. Independent System Operator: outage: review.

Existing law requires the Independent System Operator to perform a review following a major outage that affects at least 10% of customers of the entity providing the local distribution service, as provided.

This bill would require the Independent System Operator, if it finds that the primary cause of the outage is the insufficient procurement of generation resources, to share the findings and recommendations for the procurement of necessary resources with the Public Utilities Commission, the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, and the Legislature.

Existing law, enacted as part of the restructuring of the electrical industry, provides for the establishment an Electricity Oversight Board to perform specified functions, including overseeing the Independent System Operator and the Power Exchange and to investigate any matter related to the wholesale market for electricity to ensure that the interests of California’s citizens and consumers are served, protected, and represented in relation to the availability of electric transmission and generation and related costs during periods of peak demand.

This bill would make nonsubstantive revisions to certain legislative findings and declarations relative to electrical restructuring.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Section 349 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

349.

 (a) The Independent System Operator shall perform a review following a major outage that affects at least 10 percent of the customers of the entity providing the local distribution service. The review shall address the cause of the major outage, the response time and effectiveness, and whether the transmission facility owner or operator’s operation and maintenance practices enhanced or undermined the ability to restore service efficiently and in a timely manner. If

(b) (1) If the Independent System Operator finds pursuant to subdivision (a) that the operation and maintenance practices of the transmission facility owner or operator prolonged the response time or was responsible for the outage, the Independent System Operator may order appropriate sanctions, subject to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approving that authority.

(2) (A) If the Independent System Operator finds pursuant to subdivision (a) that the primary cause of the outage was the insufficient procurement of generation resources, the Independent System Operator shall share that finding and recommendations for the procurement of necessary generation resources with the commission, the Energy Commission, and the Legislature.

(B) Findings and recommendations submitted to the Legislature shall be provided in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

SECTION 1.Section 334 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

334.

The Legislature finds and declares that in order to ensure the success of electrical restructuring, in the transition to a new market structure it is important to ensure a reliable supply of electricity. Reliable electrical service is of paramount importance to the safety, health, and comfort of the people of California. Transmission connections between electrical utilities allow them to share generation resources and reduce the number of powerplants necessary to maintain a reliable system. The connections between utilities also create exposure to events that can cause widespread and extended transmission and service outages that reach far beyond the originating utility service area. California utilities and those in the western United States voluntarily adhere to reliability standards developed by the Western Electricity Coordinating Council. The economic cost of extended electricity outages, such as those that occurred in California and throughout the Western Electricity Coordinating Council on July 2, 1996, and August 10, 1996, to California’s residential, commercial, agricultural, and industrial customers is significant. The proposed restructuring of the electrical industry would transfer responsibility for ensuring short- and long-term reliability away from electrical utilities and regulatory bodies to the Independent System Operator and various market-based mechanisms. The Legislature has an interest in ensuring that the change in the locus of responsibility for reliability does not expose California citizens to undue economic risk in connection with system reliability.