California AB 1020

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations. Existing law requires electrical corporations and gas corporations to submit various information to the commission, and requires the commission to annually report to the Legislature on, among other things, all sources and amounts of funding and actual and proposed expenditures, including any costs to ratepayers, related to entities or programs established by the commission, as specified. This bill would require each utility, defined as an investor-owned electrical corporation or gas corporation, to report certain information for any taxpayer funding, as defined, greater than or equal to $1,000,000 that the utility has applied for or received. The bill would require the commission, for each application in which a utility is seeking ratepayer funding, to require the utility to report all relevant taxpayer funding greater than or equal to $1,000,000 that the utility is pursuing or has secured, and, if the commission determines that a utility is not in compliance with that requirement, the bill would authorize the commission to impose a penalty against the utility, as specified. The bill would require the commission to require each utility to promptly deliver to ratepayers the financial benefits of taxpayer funding received, as provided. This bill would require the commission to provide an annual report to the Legislature with a summary of the information on taxpayer funding reported by each utility, including the number of grants or loans, the source of those grants or loans, the dollar amount received, the projects funded by the grants or loans, and the demonstrated ratepayer savings. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2036. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and because a violation of a commission action implementing the bill's requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.