California AB 1761

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. This bill would require the commission to ensure that all data serving as a basis for any decision or ruling issued by the commission, or in any proposal or analysis provided by commission staff, for the determination or application of a calculation methodology for any nonbypassable charge imposed on customers of a load-serving entity to recover costs associated with contracts, electrical corporation-owned generation, or any other resource or value included in that charge and any other charge derived from those costs, is made available to load-serving entities and ratepayer advocates on behalf of customers. The bill would require the commission to require an electrical corporation, member association, load-serving entity, or other party, in submitting a proposal or analysis for the determination or application of a calculation methodology for any nonbypasssable charge imposed on customers of a load-serving entity to recover costs associated with contracts, electrical corporation-owned generation, or any other resource or value included in that charge and any other charge derived from those costs, to make all data serving as a basis for that proposal or analysis available to load-serving entities and ratepayer advocates on behalf of customers. The bill would require that the data exclude any information that can reasonably be used to identify an individual, family, household, residence, or nonresidential customer. The bill would require that the data meet specified requirements, including that it is made available through a public disclosure, except for market-sensitive data, as provided. 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 above provisions would be a part of the act, and because a violation of a commission action implementing the above provisions 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.