The Senate Energy, Utilities, & Communications Committee approved half a dozen bills that aim to reduce ratepayers’ financial burdens and push the envelope on greening the grid’s electricity resources and ensuring charging station accessibility, including in struggling communities.
At the June 21 committee hearing in Sacramento, two of the bills that advanced focus on lessening utility customers’ costs for wildfire liability and protecting the recovery of Pacific Gas & Electric wildfire victim’s settlement approved by the bankruptcy court.
AB 2803 by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer Kahan (D-Orinda) would close a loophole in state law that allows investor-owned utilities to dodge prosecution for fires sparked by their lines due to violations of standards by settling and using ratepayer funds to cover the agreement.
The Utility Reform Network attorney Katy Morsony warned that making ratepayers responsible for monetary and non-monetary commitments agreed to in a court settlement fails to “hold utilities accountable for mismanagement.” TURN, the bill sponsor, insists that shareholders pay for any wildfire settlements.
Sen. Brian Dahle (R-Redding) said it is far more important to hold the California Public Utilities Commission accountable for ensuring utilities reduce the fire threat posed by their equipment. Bauer Kahan admitted the bill does not directly target that, but added that “not allowing utilities to profit when they settle will make them invest better.”
Her bill passed 11-0 vote. It heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 2283 by Assemblymember James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) directs the CPUC to investigate what actions PG&E took that may have caused the value of its common shares to fall, lessening payouts to victims of the Camp, Tubbs, and other major fires who are to be compensated by the $13.5 billion victim settlement trust. The issue is that half of the settlement approved by the federal bankruptcy court in mid-2020 is covered by cash and the other half by company stock, which has dropped in value.
“Victims should not be left holding the bag,” Gallagher told the committee. He said his bill seeks to ensure that those lives and properties harmed by the fires “get what they settled for.”
His bill passed on an 11-0 vote and will be heard next by the Appropriations Committee.
Two other bills seek to help decarbonize the grid and lower costs.
AB 2587 by Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia (D-Imperial Valley ) aims to have round-the-clock geothermal energy and biomass fill the void left by closed out-of-state coal plants that sent electricity to the grid and the upcoming closure of the 2,200 MW Diablo Canyon Nuclear Generating Station.
Not only must generation be green, “we need the resources to do the work of the grid” 24/7, V. John White, Center for Energy Efficiency & Renewable Technologies executive director, told the committee. He said grid resources need to be geographically and technologically diverse.
AB 2587 also heads to the Appropriations Committee after passing the committee on a 11-0 vote
Another Garcia bill, AB 2696, which passed 13-0, directs the California Energy Commission to work with the grid operator, the CPUC and the governor’s office to investigate alternative sources of funding, including from the federal government, to help pay for much needed new transmission to move remote renewable power to large and small energy consumers.
The state needs to triple its electricity resources to support the electrification of transportation and buildings, said Jan Smutny-Jones, Independent Energy Producers executive director. He said the bill aimed at funding options was “a really good first step.”
Two other measures seek to ensure that far fewer electric vehicle chargers break down and provide financial help for those in low-income and disadvantaged communities to access chargers.
AB 2061 by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) directs the CEC to develop a framework for collecting and analyzing data on the functionality of charging stations funded by ratepayers and the state. ChargerHelp, a nonprofit organization, assessed 11,000 chargers and found that about 30% were not working. “This is not acceptable,” said the organization’s Samantha Ortega.
Reed Addis, a lobbyist for EV charging installer Flo, said the state must ensure charging stations are reliable and that it should better understand the extent of the problem of charger breakdowns.
AB 2703, a related bill by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Los Angeles), would direct the CEC to provide financial assistance to increase the operability and number of chargers in poor communities. According to a recent report by University of California at Berkeley, charger outages and malfunctions “significantly” reduce charger availability, with only 72.5% of the chargers in the Bay Area functioning, according to the committee bill analysis.
Muratsuchi said his measure does not specify how much funding should be provided to improve charger reliability and provide additional EV ports so it aligns with the pending state budget.
The bill passed on a 10-2 vote and heads to the Senate Transportation Committee.
Sen Bill Dodd (D-Napa) took issue with the bill, insisting the state not invest in level one chargers because of the amount of time it takes to charge an EV. “The last thing people want to do is be late for work or school,” he said.
The final bill was AB 2700 by Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), which passed- 9-0. It directs the CEC to share data on electric fleets with investor-owned utilities so they can work it into their infrastructure plans.
