text:
(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Current expiration dates” has the same meaning as defined in Section 25548.1 of the Public Resources Code.

(2) “Diablo Canyon powerplant operations” has the same meaning as defined in Section 25548.1 of the Public Resources Code.

(3) “Load-serving entity” has the same meaning as defined in Section 380.

(4) “Operator” has the same meaning as defined in Section 25548.1 of the Public Resources Code.

(b) (1) Ordering paragraphs (1) and (14) of commission Decision 18-01-022 (January 11, 2018) Decision Approving Retirement of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, are hereby invalidated.

(2) The commission shall reopen commission Application 16-08-006 and take other actions as are necessary to implement this section.

(c) (1) (A) Notwithstanding any other law, within 120 days of September 2, 2022, the commission shall direct and authorize the operator of the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 to take all actions that would be necessary to operate the powerplant beyond the current expiration dates, so as to preserve the option of extended operations, until the following retirement dates, conditional upon continued authorization to operate by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission:

(i) For Unit 1, October 31, 2029.

(ii) For Unit 2, October 31, 2030.

(B) If the loan provided for by Chapter 6.3 (commencing with Section 25548) of Division 15 of the Public Resources Code is terminated under that chapter, the commission shall modify its order under this paragraph and direct an earlier retirement date.

(C) Actions taken by the operator pursuant to the commission’s actions under this paragraph, including in preparation for extended operations, shall not be funded by ratepayers of any load-serving entities, but may be funded by the loan provided for by Chapter 6.3 (commencing with Section 25548) of Division 15 of the Public Resources Code or other nonratepayer funds available to the operator. The commission shall not allow the recovery from ratepayers of costs incurred by the operator to prepare for, seek, or receive any extended license to operate by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

(2) (A) No later than December 31, 2023, and notwithstanding the 180-day time limitation in subdivision (a) of Section 25548.2 of the Public Resources Code, the commission shall direct and authorize extended operations at the Diablo Canyon powerplant until the new retirement dates specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).

(B) The commission shall review the reports and recommendations of the Independent Safety Committee for Diablo Canyon described in Section 712.1. If the Independent Safety Committee for Diablo Canyon’s reports or recommendations cause the commission to determine, in its discretion, that the costs of any upgrades necessary to address seismic safety or issues of deferred maintenance that may have arisen due to the expectation of the plant closing sooner are too high to justify incurring, or if the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s conditions of license renewal require expenditures that are too high to justify incurring, the commission may issue an order that reestablishes the current expiration dates as the retirement date, or that establishes new retirement dates that are earlier than provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), to the extent allowable under federal law, and shall provide sufficient time for orderly shutdown and authorize recovery of any outstanding uncollected costs and fees.

(C) If the loan provided for by Chapter 6.3 (commencing with Section 25548) of Division 15 of the Public Resources Code is terminated under that chapter, the commission may issue an order that reestablishes the current expiration dates as the retirement date, or that establishes new retirement dates that are earlier than provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), and shall provide sufficient time for orderly shutdown and authorize recovery of any outstanding uncollected costs and fees.

(D) If the commission determines that new renewable energy and zero-carbon resources that are adequate to substitute for the Diablo Canyon powerplant and that meet the state’s planning standards for energy reliability have already been constructed and interconnected by the time of its decision, the commission may issue an order that reestablishes the current expiration dates as the retirement date, or that establishes new retirement dates that are earlier than provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), and shall provide sufficient time for orderly shutdown and authorize recovery of any outstanding uncollected costs and fees.

(E) Any retirement date established under this paragraph shall be conditioned upon continued authorization to operate by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. If the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not extend the current expiration dates or renews the licenses for Diablo Canyon Units 1 or 2 for a period shorter than the extended operations authorized by the commission, the commission shall modify any orders issued under this paragraph to direct a retirement date that is the same as the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission license expiration date.

(3) The commission shall do all things necessary and appropriate to implement this section, including, but not limited to, allocating financial responsibility for the extended operations of the Diablo Canyon powerplant to customers of all load-serving entities and ensuring completion of funding of the community impacts mitigation settlement described in Section 712.7. The commission shall not require any funds already disbursed or committed under the community impacts mitigation settlement described in Section 712.7 to be returned because of extended operations of the Diablo Canyon powerplant.

(4) Except as authorized by this section, customers of load-serving entities shall have no other financial responsibility for the costs of the extended operations of the Diablo Canyon powerplant. In no event shall load-serving entities other than the operator and their customers have any liability for the operations of the Diablo Canyon powerplant.

(5) Consistent with Section 25548.4 of the Public Resources Code, the commission shall collaborate with the Department of Water Resources to oversee the operator’s actions that are funded by the loan provided for by Chapter 6.3 (commencing with Section 25548) of Division 15 of the Public Resources Code.

(d) The commission shall not increase cost recovery from ratepayers for operations and maintenance expenses incurred by the operator during the period from August 1, 2022, to November 2, 2024, for Diablo Canyon Unit 1 and from August 1, 2022, to August 26, 2025, for Diablo Canyon Unit 2, above the amounts approved in the most recent general rate case for the operator pursuant to commission proceeding A.21-06-021 (June 30, 2021) Application of Pacific Gas and Electric Company for Authority, Among Other Things, to Increase Rates and Charges for Electric and Gas Service Effective on January 1, 2023.

(e) The commission shall order the operator to track all costs associated with continued and extended operations of Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2. The commission shall authorize the operator to establish accounts as necessary to track all costs incurred under paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), all costs incurred under the loan provided for by Chapter 6.3 (commencing with Section 25548) of Division 15 of the Public Resources Code, all costs to be borne only by the operator’s ratepayers, all costs to be borne by ratepayers of all load-serving entities, consistent with this section, and any other costs as determined by the commission. Among these accounts shall be a Diablo Canyon Extended Operations liquidated damages balancing account, described in subdivisions (g) and (i).

(f) (1) Notwithstanding any approval of extended operations, the commission shall continue to authorize the operator to recover in rates all of the reasonable costs incurred to prepare for the retirement of Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2, including any reasonable additional costs associated with decommissioning planning resulting from the license renewal applications or license renewals. The reasonable costs incurred to prepare for the retirement of Diablo Canyon Power Plant Units 1 and 2 shall be recovered on a fully nonbypassable basis from customers of all load-serving entities subject to the commission’s jurisdiction in the operator’s service territory, as determined by the commission, except that the reasonable additional costs associated with decommissioning planning resulting from the license renewal applications or license renewals shall be recovered on a fully nonbypassable basis from customers of all load-serving entities subject to the commission’s jurisdiction in the state.

(2) The commission shall continue to fund the employee retention program approved in Decision 18-11-024 (December 2, 2018) Decision Implementing Senate Bill 1090 and Modifying Decision 18-01-022, as modified to incorporate 2024, 2025, and additional years of extended operations, on an ongoing basis until the end of operations of both units with program costs tracked under subdivision (e) and fully recovered in rates. Any additional funding for the employee retention program beyond what was already approved in commission Decision 18-11-024 shall be submitted by the operator in an application for review by the commission.

(3) The commission shall determine the amount or allocation that the customers of all load-serving entities subject to the commission’s jurisdiction shall contribute towards the reasonable additional costs of decommissioning planning resulting from the license renewal applications or license renewals and shall authorize the operator to recover in rates those costs through a nonbypassable charge applicable to the customers of all load-serving entities subject to the commission’s jurisdiction in the state as set forth in paragraph (1) of subdivision (l).

(4) The commission shall authorize the operator to recover in rates all of the reasonable costs incurred to prepare for, respond to, provide information to, or otherwise participate in or engage the independent peer review panel under Section 712.

(5) In lieu of a rate-based return on investment and in acknowledgment of the greater risk of outages in an older plant that the operator could be held liable for, the commission shall authorize the operator to recover in rates a volumetric payment equal to six dollars and fifty cents ($6.50), in 2022 dollars, for each megawatthour generated by the Diablo Canyon powerplant during the period of extended operations beyond the current expiration dates, to be borne by customers of all load-serving entities, and an additional volumetric payment equal to six dollars and fifty cents ($6.50), in 2022 dollars, to be borne by customers in the service territory of the operator. The amount of the operating risk payment shall be adjusted annually by the commission using commission-approved escalation methodologies and adjustment factors.

(6) (A) In lieu of a rate-based return on investment and in acknowledgment of the greater risk of outages in an older plant that the operator could be held liable for, the commission shall authorize the operator to recover in rates a fixed payment of fifty million dollars ($50,000,000), in 2022 dollars, for each unit for each year of extended operations, subject to adjustment in subparagraphs (B) to (D), inclusive. The amount of the fixed payment shall be adjusted annually by the commission using commission-approved escalation methodologies and adjustment factors.

(B) In the first year of extended operations for each unit, the operator shall continue to receive the full fixed payment during periods in which a unit is out of service due to an unplanned outage for nine months or less, and shall receive 50 percent of the payment for months in excess of nine months that a unit is down.

(C) In the second year of extended operations, the operator shall continue to receive the fixed payment during periods in which a unit is out of service due to an unplanned outage for eight months or less, and shall receive 50 percent of the payment for months in excess of eight months that a unit is down.

(D) In each subsequent year of extended operations, the period in which the full fixed payment is received during periods when a unit is out of service due to an unplanned outage shall decline by one additional month.

(g) The commission shall authorize and fund as part of the charge under paragraph (1) of subdivision (l), the Diablo Canyon Extended Operations liquidated damages balancing account in the amount of twelve million five hundred thousand dollars ($12,500,000) each month for each unit until the liquidated damages balancing account has a balance of three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000).

(h) (1) The commission shall authorize the operator to recover all reasonable costs and expenses necessary to operate Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 beyond the current expiration dates, including those in subdivisions (f) and (g), net of market revenues for those operations and any production tax credits of the operator, on a forecast basis in a new proceeding structured similarly to its annual Energy Resource Recovery Account forecast proceeding with a subsequent true-up to actual costs and market revenues for the prior calendar year via an expedited Tier 3 advice letter process, provided that there shall be no further review of the reasonableness of costs incurred if actual costs are below 115 percent of the forecasted costs. All costs shall be recovered as an operating expense and shall not be eligible for inclusion in the operator’s rate base.

(2) As the result of any significant one-time capital expenditures during the extended operation period, the commission may authorize, and the operator may propose, cost recovery of these expenditures as operating expenses amortized over more than one year for the purpose of reducing rate volatility, at an amortization interest rate determined by the commission. The commission shall allow cost recovery if the costs and expenses are just and reasonable. Those costs and expenses are just and reasonable if the operator’s conduct is consistent with the actions that a reasonable utility would have undertaken in good faith under similar circumstances, at the relevant point in time and with information that the operator should have known at the relevant point in time.

(3) If, as a result of the annual true-up for extended operations in paragraph (1), the commission determines that market revenues for the prior year exceeded the annual costs and expenses, including those in subdivisions (f) and (g), the commission shall direct that any available surplus revenues in an account created under subdivision (e) be credited solely to customers in the operator’s service territory. For customers outside the operator’s service territory, market revenues may be credited up to, but not to exceed, their respective annual costs and expenses. If excess funds remain in an account created under subdivision (e) as a result of market revenues exceeding costs and expenses in the final year of the extended operating period, after truing up the final operating year’s market revenues against costs and expenses, the remaining funds shall be the sole source of loan repayment per the requirements provided under Chapter 6.3 (commencing with Section 25548) of Division 15 of the Public Resources Code, except that any federal funds received as described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 25548.3 of the Public Resources Code shall also be used to repay the loan. Ratepayer funds shall not otherwise be used in any manner to repay the loan provided for under Chapter 6.3 (commencing with Section 25548) of Division 15 of the Public Resources Code.

(i) (1) During any unplanned outage periods, the commission shall authorize the operator to recover reasonable replacement power costs, if incurred, associated with Diablo Canyon powerplant operations. If the commission finds that replacement power costs incurred when a unit is out of service due to an unplanned outage are the result of a failure of the operator to meet the reasonable manager standard, then the commission shall authorize payment of the replacement power costs from the Diablo Canyon Extended Operations liquidated damages balancing account described in subdivision (g).

(2) After commencing payments from the Diablo Canyon Extended Operations liquidated damages balancing account under the conditions described in paragraph (1), the commission shall authorize the replenishment of the Diablo Canyon Extended Operations liquidated damages balancing account in the amount of twelve million five hundred thousand dollars ($12,500,000) for each unit for each month up to a maximum account balance of three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000).

(j) If the commission finds that the operator is requesting recovery of costs that were previously authorized by the commission or other state or federal agency or paid to the operator for cost recovery, the commission may fine the operator an amount up to three times the amount of the penalty provided in Section 2107 for each violation.

(k) If at any point during the license renewal process or extended operations period the operator believes that, as a result of an unplanned outage, an emergent operating risk, or a new compliance requirement, the cost of performing upgrades needed to continue operations of one or both units exceed the benefits to ratepayers of the continued operation of doing so, the operator shall promptly notify the commission. The commission shall promptly review and determine whether expending funds to continue operations is reasonable, will remain beneficial to ratepayers, and is in the public interest or direct the operator to cease operations. The operator shall take all actions necessary to safely operate or maintain the Diablo Canyon powerplant pending the commission determination.

(l) (1) Any costs the commission authorizes the operator to recover in rates under this section shall be recovered on a fully nonbypassable basis from customers of all load-serving entities subject to the commissions’s jurisdiction, as determined by the commission, except as otherwise provided in this section. The recovery of these nonbypassable costs by the load-serving entities shall be based on each customer’s gross consumption of electricity regardless of a customer’s net metering status or purchase of electric energy and service from an electric service provider, community choice aggregator, or other third-party source of electric energy or electricity service.

(2) The commission shall establish mechanisms, including authorizing balancing and memorandum accounts and, as needed, agreements with, or orders with respect to, electrical corporations, community choice aggregators, and electric service providers, to ensure that the revenues received to pay a charge or cost payable pursuant to this section are recovered in rates from those entities and promptly remitted to the entity entitled to those revenues.

(m) This section does not alter the recovery of costs, including those previously approved by the commission, to operate Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 until the current expiration dates.

(n) The commission shall halt disbursements from the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Decommissioning Non-Qualified Trust, excluding refunds to ratepayers.

(o) The commission, in consultation with the relevant federal and state agencies and appropriate California Native American tribes, shall, in a new or existing proceeding, determine the disposition of the Diablo Canyon powerplant real property and its surrounding real properties owned by the applicable public utility or any legally related, affiliated, or associated companies, in a manner that best serves the interests of the local community, ratepayers, California Native America tribes, and the state. It is the intent of the Legislature that the existing efforts to transfer lands owned by the operator and Eureka Energy shall not be impeded by the extension of the Diablo Canyon powerplant.

(p) Except as otherwise provided in this section, this section does not alter or limit any proceeding of the commission relating to the decommissioning of the Diablo Canyon powerplant.

(q) The Legislature finds and declares that the purpose of the extension of the Diablo Canyon powerplant operations is to protect the state against significant uncertainty in future demand resulting from the state’s greenhouse gas reduction efforts involving electrification of transportation and building energy end uses and regional climate-related weather phenomenon, and to address the risk that currently ordered procurement will be insufficient to meet this supply or that there may be delays in bringing the ordered resources online on schedule. Consequently, the continued operation of Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 beyond their current expiration dates shall not be factored into the analyses used by the commission or by load-serving entities not subject to the commission’s jurisdiction when determining future generation and transmission needs to ensure electrical grid reliability and to meet the state’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. To the extent the commission decides to allocate any benefits or attributes from extended operations of the Diablo Canyon powerplant, the commission may consider the higher cost to customers in the operator’s service area.

(r) Any sale, mortgage, transfer of operational control, or any other encumbrance of disposition of the Diablo Canyon powerplant shall continue to be subject to Article 6 (commencing with Section 851).

(s) (1) The operator shall submit to the commission for its review, on an annual basis the amount of compensation earned under paragraph (5) of subdivision (f), how it was spent, and a plan for prioritizing the uses of such compensation the next year. Such compensation shall not be paid out to shareholders. Such compensation, to the extent it is not needed for Diablo Canyon, shall be spent to accelerate, or increase spending on, the following critical public purpose priorities:

(A) Accelerating customer and generator interconnections.

(B) Accelerating actions needed to bring renewable and zero-carbon energy online and modernize the electrical grid.

(C) Accelerating building decarbonization.

(D) Workforce and customer safety.

(E) Communications and education.

(F) Increasing resiliency and reducing operational and system risk.

(2) The operator shall not earn a rate of return for any of the expenditures described in paragraph (1) so that no profit shall be realized by the operator’s shareholders. Neither the operator nor any of its affiliates or holding company may increase existing public earning per share guidance as a result of compensation provided under this section. The commission shall ensure no double recovery in rates.

(t) The commission shall verify at the conclusion of extended operations that the operator’s sole compensation during the period of extended operations is limited to and in accordance with paragraphs (5) and (6) of subdivision (f) and shall be in lieu of a rate-based return on investment in the Diablo Canyon powerplant. Any excess funds remaining in an account created under subdivision (e) as a result of market revenues exceeding costs and expenses across the extended operating period, after truing up the final operating year’s market revenues against costs and expenses, following loan repayment under paragraph (3) of subdivision (h), shall not be paid out to shareholders. Instead, such excess funds shall be returned in full to customers in a manner to be determined by the commission, except that any funds remaining in the Diablo Canyon Extended Operations liquidated damages balancing account specified in subdivisions (g) and (i), shall be returned to customers in the operator’s service territory in a manner to be determined by the commission.

(u) The efforts to transfer lands owned by the operator and Eureka Energy, including North Ranch, Parcel P, South Ranch, and Wild Cherry Canyon, shall not be impeded by the extension of the operation of the Diablo Canyon powerplant.

(v) In the event of a final determination by the United States Department of Energy that the Diablo Canyon powerplant is not eligible for the Civil Nuclear Credit Program established by Section 18753 of Title 42 of the United States Code, subdivisions (d) to (m), inclusive, (p), (q), (s), and (t) shall cease to be operative, and the commission shall instead undertake ordinary ratemaking with respect to the Diablo Canyon powerplant.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 53, Sec. 10. (SB 124) Effective July 10, 2023.)

article: 1. Generally


kind: section

code: PUC

citation: PUC § 713

text:
(a) (1) Golden State Energy may commence an eminent domain action to acquire all or substantially all of Pacific Gas and Electric Company only if the commission determines that Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s certificate of public convenience and necessity for the provision of electrical or gas service should be revoked pursuant to any process or procedures adopted by the commission in its Decision 20-05-053. Golden State Energy may exclude from the acquisition only property not directly related to providing electrical or gas service.

(2) Golden State Energy may take possession of Pacific Gas and Electric Company property upon deposit in court, and prompt release, of an amount determined by the court to be the probable amount of just compensation.

(b) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Decision 20-05-053” means Decision 20-05-053 (May 28, 2019) Decision Approving Reorganization Plan in Investigation 19-09-016 (September 26, 2019) Order Instituting Investigation on the Commission’s Own Motion to Consider the Ratemaking and Other Implications of a Proposed Plan for Resolution of Voluntary Case filed by Pacific Gas and Electric Company Pursuant to Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, in the United States Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, In re Pacific Gas and Electric Corporation and Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Case No. 19-30088.

(2) “Pacific Gas and Electric Company” means Pacific Gas and Electric Company, PG&E Corporation, any subsidiary or affiliate of the foregoing holding any assets related to the provision of electrical or gas service within Pacific Gas and Electric Company‘s service territory, and any successor to any of the foregoing.

(3) “Property” has the same meaning as defined in Section 1235.170 of the Code of Civil Procedure, including any franchise rights and stock.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 2020, Ch. 27, Sec. 6. (SB 350) Effective January 1, 2021.)

division: 1. REGULATION OF PUBLIC UTILITIES

part: 1. PUBLIC UTILITIES ACT

chapter: 4. Regulation of Public Utilities

article: 1. Generally

path: 1. REGULATION OF PUBLIC UTILITIES > 1. PUBLIC UTILITIES ACT > 4. Regulation of Public Utilities > 1. Generally


citation: PUC § 716

text:
(a) If an incumbent local exchange carrier files a forbearance petition with the Federal Communications Commission pursuant to Section 10 of the federal Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. Sec. 160), requesting that the Federal Communications Commission forbear from enforcing that carrier’s duty to provide to any requesting telecommunications carrier, nondiscriminatory access to network elements on an unbundled basis at any technically feasible point on rates, terms, and conditions that are just, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory (47 U.S.C. Sec. 251(c)(3) and Sec. 271 (c)(2)(B)(ii)), within any metropolitan statistical area located in the state, the commission shall participate in that forbearance proceeding by filing comments on the petition, providing data on competition in the metropolitan statistical area that is the subject of the petition, and taking any other action that advances the state’s policies promoting competition in telecommunications markets.

(b) (1) In order to be prepared to timely comply with subdivision (a), the commission shall develop a sample data request for collecting data on competition in any California metropolitan statistical area. The data shall include, but not be limited to, separate data on competitive options for residential, business, and wholesale services.

(2) All providers of voice communications services, including, but not limited to, local exchange carriers, interexchange carriers, mobile telephony service providers, and providers of facilities-based interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service, shall provide all data and other information relevant to the forbearance petition requested by the commission pursuant to this section.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 2010, Ch. 358, Sec. 2. (AB 1315) Effective January 1, 2011.)

article: 1. Generally


citation: PUC § 717

text:
(a) The commission shall require an electrical or gas corporation to do all of the following:

(1) Develop a program no later than January 1, 2017, within the electrical or gas corporation’s demand-side management programs authorized by the commission, to provide incentives to a residential or small or medium business customer to acquire energy management technology for use in the customer’s home or place of business. The electrical or gas corporation may allow third parties or local governments to apply for incentives on behalf of customers. The electrical or gas corporation shall work with third parties, local governments, and other interested parties in developing the program. The electrical or gas corporation shall establish incentive amounts based on savings estimation and baseline policies adopted by the commission.

(2) Develop a plan by September 30, 2016, to educate residential customers and small and medium business customers about the incentive program developed pursuant to paragraph (1). The commission may require that the plan be integrated into, or coordinated with, any education campaign required by the commission.

(3) Annually report to the commission on actual customer savings resulting from the incentive program established pursuant to this section. The commission shall evaluate all electrical or gas corporation energy savings claims achieved pursuant to the incentive program in a manner consistent with commission-adopted evaluation protocols and determine if the program shall continue or be modified.

(b) For purposes of this section, “energy management technology” may include a product, service, or software that allows a customer to better understand and manage electricity or gas use in the customer’s home or place of business.

(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to amend or limit the ability of a community choice aggregator to apply to administer an energy efficiency or conservation program or a demand-side management program as set forth in Section 381.1.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 2015, Ch. 589, Sec. 1. (AB 793) Effective January 1, 2016.)

article: 1. Generally


citation: PUC § 718

text:
(a) The commission shall develop policies, rules, or regulations with a goal of reducing, by January 1, 2024, the statewide level of gas and electric service disconnections for nonpayment by residential customers, including policies, rules, or regulations specific to the four gas and electrical corporations that have the greatest number of customers. The commission shall convene stakeholders, including, but not limited to, public health officials, consumer advocates, and organizations representing low-income communities, to assist with the development of the policies, rules, or regulations.

(b) (1) In each gas and electrical corporation general rate case, the commission shall do both of the following:

(A) Designate the impact of any proposed increase in rates on disconnections for nonpayment as an issue in the scope of the proceeding.

(B) Conduct an assessment of and properly identify the impact of any proposed increase in rates on disconnections for nonpayment, which shall be included in the record of the proceeding.

(2) The commission shall adopt residential utility disconnections for nonpayment as a metric and incorporate the metric into each gas and electrical corporation general rate case.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 2017, Ch. 362, Sec. 2. (SB 598) Effective January 1, 2018.)

article: 1. Generally


citation: PUC § 719

text:
(a) For purposes of this section, terms used in this section shall have the same meaning as those terms are defined in Section 3280.

(b) On or before April 1, 2026, the administrator, in consultation with the commission, the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, the Department of Insurance, the Office of Emergency Services, and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and with feedback solicited from stakeholders, including, but not limited to, ratepayer advocates, insurance policyholder advocates, electrical corporations, insurance companies, and claimant attorneys, shall prepare and submit to the Legislature, and to the Governor, a report that evaluates and sets forth recommendations on new models or approaches that mitigate damage, accelerate recovery, and responsibly and equitably allocate the burdens from natural catastrophes, including catastrophic wildfires, earthquakes, and other natural disasters, across stakeholders, including insurers, communities, homeowners, landowners, governments, electrical corporations, and local publicly owned electric utilities, to complement or replace the fund.

(c) The report shall include specific recommendations, including, but not limited to, on all of the following:

(1) Accessibility and affordability of property insurance in California in light of the accelerating costs of climate change-induced and other natural catastrophes.

(2) An evaluation of alternative structures to socialize risk of damage from natural catastrophes, including catastrophic wildfires, that most efficiently and expeditiously compensate those harmed while maintaining accessibility to property insurance and access to safe, affordable, and reliable energy for Californians.

(3) Additional mitigation measures and technology solutions to reduce the risk of ignition of wildfires and limit the spread of and damage from wildfires.

(4) Financing, insurance, and other mechanisms to expedite recovery for communities impacted by natural catastrophes, including wildfires, and to expedite compensation for property loss.

(5) Additional measures to benefit ratepayers through reducing costs caused by fiscal uncertainty while holding electrical corporations accountable for improving safety and reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires.

(6) Options for enactment of a streamlined, low-cost mechanism to provide injured parties full compensation for damages resulting from wildfires.

(7) An analysis of the potential benefits and potential negative impacts on homeowners related to reasonable limitations on changes to recoveries in wildfire litigation arising from ignitions caused by electrical or gas utility infrastructure, including, but not limited to, restrictions on the recovery of attorney’s fees, limitations on economic and noneconomic damages, including claims by insurers, limitations on public entity claims, limitations on claims by those outside the fire perimeter, and aggregate limitations on liability per event.

(8) Options for enactment of programs to reduce the risk of wildfires spreading and becoming high-severity catastrophes, including improved state and local catastrophic event response capability, home fire risk reduction standards, vegetation management practices, and communitywide wildfire hardening requirements.

(9) Options for reducing the economic damage resulting from wildfires and potentially other catastrophic natural disasters, including minimum insurance requirements, mechanisms to ensure insurance rates appropriately account for home and community hardening measures taken, special assessments to support infrastructure investments and emergency response, and improved land use planning.

(10) Options for new models to complement or replace the fund, such as state-supported property insurance, or reinsurance, or both insurance and reinsurance, for wildfires and potential catastrophic natural disasters; a mutual wildfire insurance fund; a publicly supported financial safety net to enhance long-term resilience and utility and insurance rate affordability; and improvements to the fund to enhance its durability.

(d) The administrator may retain consultants, academic experts, and other professionals as may be necessary for the efficient preparation of the report pursuant to this section and may compensate those retained consultants, academic experts, and other professionals using the Wildfire Fund assets or account assets.

(e) (1) The report to be submitted pursuant to this section shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

(2) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this section is repealed on January 1, 2030.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 2025, Ch. 119, Sec. 32. (SB 254) Effective September 19, 2025. Repealed as of January 1, 2030, by its own provisions.)

article: 1. Generally


citation: PUC § 727

text: It is the policy of the state that the use of all waterways, ports, and harbors of this state shall be encouraged, and to that end the commission is directed in the establishment of rates for water carriers applying to business moving between points within this state to fix those rates at such a differential under the rates of competing land carriers that the water carriers shall be able fairly to compete for such business. In fixing the rates there shall be taken into consideration quality and regularity of service and class and speed of vessels.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 1042, Sec. 18. Effective September 29, 1996.)

article: 2. Rates

path: 1. REGULATION OF PUBLIC UTILITIES > 1. PUBLIC UTILITIES ACT > 4. Regulation of Public Utilities > 2. Rates


text:
(a) In establishing rates for water service, the commission shall consider, and may establish, separate charges for costs associated with customer service, facilities, variable operating costs, including fixed and variable costs associated with supplying the water, or other components of the water service provided to water users.

(b) The commission shall consider, and may authorize, a water corporation to assess a fee for future water service, or a reservation charge for future water service, for persons or entities occupying or owning property within the service territory of the water corporation.

(c) The commission shall consider, and may authorize, a water corporation to establish a balancing account, rate stabilization fund, or other contingency fund, the purpose of which shall be the long-term stabilization of water rates.

(d) (1) The commission shall consider, and may authorize, a water corporation to establish programs, including rate designs, for achieving conservation of water and recovering the cost of these programs through the rates.

(2) (A) Upon application by a water corporation with more than 10,000 service connections, the commission shall consider, and may authorize, the implementation of a mechanism that separates the water corporation’s revenues and its water sales, commonly referred to as a “decoupling mechanism.”

(B) An authorized decoupling mechanism shall be designed to ensure that the differences between actual and authorized water sales do not result in the overrecovery or underrecovery of the water corporation’s authorized water sales revenue.

(C) An authorized decoupling mechanism shall not enable the water corporation to earn a revenue windfall by encouraging higher sales.

(D) The water corporation may only submit an application to the commission pursuant to this paragraph as part of its triennial general rate case application described in Section 455.2, unless the commission and the water corporation mutually agree for the application to be otherwise submitted.

(e) In establishing rates for recovery of the costs of used and useful water plant, the commission may use a capital structure and payback methodology that maintains the reliability of water service, minimizes the long-term cost to ratepayers, provides equity between present and future ratepayers, and affords the utility an opportunity to earn a reasonable return on its used and useful investment, attract capital for investment on reasonable terms, and ensure the financial integrity of the utility.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 890, Sec. 2. (SB 1469) Effective January 1, 2023.)

article: 2. Rates


citation: PUC § 728

text:
Whenever the commission, after a hearing, finds that the rates or classifications, demanded, observed, charged, or collected by any public utility for or in connection with any service, product, or commodity, or the rules, practices, or contracts affecting such rates or classifications are insufficient, unlawful, unjust, unreasonable, discriminatory, or preferential, the commission shall determine and fix, by order, the just, reasonable, or sufficient rates, classifications, rules, practices, or contracts to be thereafter observed and in force.

In determining and fixing rates for a telephone corporation pursuant to this section or pursuant to Section 455, or in determining whether or not a proposed rate increase is justified pursuant to Section 454, the commission shall, among other things, take into consideration any evidence offered concerning the quality of the particular telephone corporation’s services as compared with that of telephone corporations in adjacent territory, and the permissible rates for comparable service charged by telephone corporations in adjacent territory.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1948.)

article: 2. Rates


text:
(a) For purposes of this section, “plant held for future use account” means account number 105 of the Uniform System of Accounts Prescribed for Public Utilities and Licensees, as adopted by the commission.

(b) The commission shall review the status of all property owned by a gas or electrical corporation and held within the plant held for future use account at least once every three years or during a proceeding conducted pursuant to Section 728, for the purpose of determining and fixing the rates of that gas or electrical corporation, as determined by the commission.

(c) If a gas or electrical corporation sells property which was carried within the plant held for future use account and which was included in determining the rates of the corporation, the commission shall determine what portion of any gains from the sale shall be allocated to the customers of the corporation in a manner consistent with the procedures specified in account number 105 of the Uniform System of Accounts Prescribed for Public Utilities and Licensees. The portion of the gains allocated to customers shall not be less than the amount the corporation has recovered through rates for the carrying costs and other expenses of the property during the period it was carried in the plant held for future use, and shall not exceed the gain on the sale, net of any tax, resulting from the sale.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1986, Ch. 1204, Sec. 1.)

article: 2. Rates


text:
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the commission shall have no jurisdiction or control over classified telephone directories or commercial advertising included as part of the corporation’s alphabetical telephone directories, including the charges for and the form and content of such advertising, except that the commission shall investigate and consider revenues and expenses with regard to the acceptance and publication of such advertising for purposes of establishing rates for other services offered by telephone corporations.

(b) If the commission determines, after a hearing, that any federal action would impair its ability to investigate and consider revenues and expenses with regard to the acceptance and publication of telephone directory advertising for the purpose of establishing rates for other services offered by any telephone corporation, the commission shall have the jurisdiction to regulate commercial advertising in alphabetical and classified directories of telephone corporations, except as provided in this subdivision.

(1) The commission’s jurisdiction to regulate commercial advertising in alphabetical and classified directories of telephone corporations under this subdivision shall be limited to the rates and charges for commercial directory advertising, except that the commission shall investigate and consider revenues and expenses of telephone corporations related to that advertising for purposes of establishing rates for other services offered by telephone corporations.

(2) The commission shall also have no jurisdiction over the following:

(i) The form and content of the advertising in alphabetical and classified directories of telephone corporations.

(ii) The form and content of the directories in which that advertising appears.

(iii) Directory advertising practices.

(iv) The determination of the geographic areas served by those directories.

(v) Complaints by any corporation or person regarding directory advertising.

(3) The commission, by its own motion or on petition of any telephone corporation, may, after a hearing, issue an order relinquishing the jurisdiction assumed under this subdivision, except its jurisdiction to investigate and consider the revenues and expenses specified in paragraph (1) if the commission determines that relinquishing the jurisdiction will not affect its ability to investigate and consider those revenues and expenses. As used in this subdivision, “federal action” means the introduction of a bill in Congress, an order of the Federal Communications Commission, or an order or decision of any federal court which would prohibit state regulatory agencies which have no jurisdiction over directory advertising from considering revenues from this source for ratemaking purposes.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1175, Sec. 1. Effective September 20, 1982.)

article: 2. Rates


text:
(a) No telephone corporation operating within a service area shall remove any public telephone unless it has posted on the public telephone for not less than 30 days a notice, in a manner and form approved by the commission, indicating that the public telephone is to be removed and containing the appropriate telephone number of the commission which a customer may call for further information.

(b) This section shall not apply when a public telephone is removed for public safety or public nuisance purposes or at the request of the owner or lessee of the property on which the public telephone is located.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 1987, Ch. 1172, Sec. 2.)

article: 2. Rates


text: A telephone corporation shall list a telephone number as the number for a facsimile machine in its alphabetical or classified directory only if requested to do so by the subscriber.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 1990, Ch. 973, Sec. 2.)

article: 2. Rates


text:
(a) The commission may establish rates or charges for the transportation of passengers and freight by railroads and other transportation companies, except motor carriers of property, and no railroad or other transportation company under its jurisdiction, except motor carriers of property, shall charge or demand or collect or receive a greater or less or different compensation for that transportation of passengers or freight, or for any service in connection therewith, between the points named in any tariff of rates established by the commission than the rates, fares and charges which are specified in that tariff. The commission may examine books, records and papers of all railroad and other transportation companies, except motor carriers of property; may hear and determine complaints against railroad and other transportation companies; and may issue subpoenas and all necessary process and send for persons and papers. The commission and each of the commissioners may administer oaths, take testimony and punish for contempt in the same manner and to the same extent as courts of record. The commission may prescribe a uniform system of accounts to be kept by all railroad and other transportation companies, except motor carriers of property.

(b) Subdivision (a) is not applicable to network railroad transportation.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1999, Ch. 1005, Sec. 35. Effective January 1, 2000.)

article: 2. Rates


text:
(a) Prior to authorizing any change in the amount of the payment required of a telephone corporation which provides service between service areas to a telephone corporation which provides service within a service area for the use of its telephone lines, and prior to assigning to subscribers of a telephone corporation operating within a service area any charge, surcharge, or rate increase that is a result of a decrease in the amount of that payment, the commission shall do all of the following:

(1) Require the telephone corporation requesting authorization to increase subscriber rates or to impose a charge or surcharge on subscribers as a result of a change in the payments, to notify its subscribers, whenever the commission commences a proceeding on its own motion or in response to a petition to authorize a change in the amount of those payments or to impose that charge, surcharge, or rate increase as a result of a change in the amount of those payments.

(2) Require the telephone corporation to provide its subscribers with an exact description of, and explanation for, the change in the amount of the payment or the imposition of a charge, surcharge, or rate increase, within 90 days of the authorized change in the amount of payment or charge, surcharge, or rate increase. The description and explanation shall include a reasonably accurate quantitative assessment of the results of, and the reasons for, the change in the amount of payment or imposition of a charge, surcharge, or rate increase for each class of subscriber.

(b) The commission shall provide the Legislature with the information required of a telephone corporation pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), for any change in payments, or imposition of a charge, surcharge, or rate increase as a result of a change in payment, made prior to January 1, 1987, within 60 days after that date.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 1047, Sec. 2.)

article: 2. Rates


citation: PUC § 729

text: The commission may, upon a hearing, investigate a single rate, classification, rule, contract, or practice, or any number thereof, or the entire schedule or schedules of rates, classifications, rules, contracts, and practices, or any thereof, of any public utility, and may establish new rates, classifications, rules, contracts, or practices or schedule or schedules in lieu thereof.

history: (History: Enacted by Stats. 1951, Ch. 764.)

article: 2. Rates


text: A public utility, other than one-way radio paging services, shall not change a group of customers from one rate schedule to another rate schedule, if the change would result in an increase of more than 10 percent in the rate charged to the affected customers, without first notifying customers of the change. Upon the request of an affected customer, the commission may hold a hearing on the change.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 1993, Ch. 739, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1994.)

article: 2. Rates


citation: PUC § 730

text:
(a) The commission shall, upon a hearing, determine the kind and character of facilities and the extent of the operation thereof, necessary reasonably and adequately to meet public requirements for service furnished by common carriers between any two or more points, and shall fix and determine the just, reasonable, and sufficient rates for such service. Whenever two or more common carriers are furnishing service in competition with each other, the commission may, after hearing, when necessary for the preservation of adequate service and when public interest demands, prescribe uniform rates, classifications, rules, and practices to be charged, collected, and observed by all such common carriers.

(b) Subdivision (a) is not applicable to network railroad transportation.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1999, Ch. 1005, Sec. 36. Effective January 1, 2000.)

article: 2. Rates


text: The commission shall notify every state and local public agency and corporation operating a passenger transit system making a written request for such notification before approving any rate increase for the passenger transportation services of any railroad or passenger state corporation within the territory served by such public transit system.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1031, Sec. 3.)

article: 2. Rates


text: In determining reimbursement to railroad corporations for the operation of rail passenger service, the commission shall not exceed that compensation which would be payable if calculated pursuant to the standards of the Rail Services Planning Office of the Interstate Commerce Commission contained in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1127.

history: (History: Repealed and added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 732, Sec. 5. Effective September 8, 1982.)

article: 2. Rates


text: Whenever a state agency files with the commission an application for an increase in rates or fares or for any change in the level of service for passenger transportation by a railroad corporation and the state agency has prior to the application held a public hearing on the matter which the commission finds to be complete and adequate, the commission may determine not to hold any further hearing on the matter and in this event shall approve, modify and approve as so modified, or disapprove the application within 90 days of the date of filing with the commission.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 732, Sec. 6. Effective September 8, 1982.)

article: 2. Rates


citation: PUC § 731

text:
(a) (1) On or before June 30, 2024, the commission, in coordination and consultation with the Department of Community Services and Development and other relevant state agencies that provide low-income electric or gas utility customer assistance programs, shall develop a process that, to the extent possible, enables customers to concurrently apply, or begin to apply, to multiple low-income customer assistance programs using data collected during the original application process, including, but not limited to, all of the following programs:

(A) The California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) program described in Section 739.1.

(B) The Family Electric Rate Assistance program described in Section 739.12.

(C) The Energy Savings Assistance program described in Section 2790.

(2) The process developed pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be known as the concurrent application process.

(b) The commission shall work with state agencies, electrical corporations, and gas corporations to notify, to the extent possible, eligible individuals that they have been successfully enrolled or are in the process of being enrolled into other programs.

(c) The concurrent application process shall complement, rather than replace, other application processes.

(d) Before sharing data, an electrical corporation or gas corporation shall receive consent from its low-income applicants to use already-obtained application information to begin the enrollment process for other low-income electric or gas utility customer assistance programs.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 840, Sec. 2. (SB 1208) Effective January 1, 2023.)

article: 2. Rates


citation: PUC § 732

text:
(a) Whenever the commission, after a hearing finds that the rates, fares, or charges in force over two or more common carriers, between any two points in this state, are unjust, unreasonable, or excessive, or that no satisfactory through route or joint rate, fare, or charge exists between such points, and that the public convenience and necessity demand the establishment of such a through route and joint rate, fare, or charge, the commission may order such common carriers to establish such through route and may establish and fix a joint rate, fare, or charge which will be fair, just, reasonable, and sufficient, to be charged and collected in the future, and the terms and conditions under which such through route shall be operated. The commission may order that freight moving between such points shall be carried by the common carriers participating in such through route and joint rate, without being transferred from the originating cars.

(b) Subdivision (a) is not applicable to network railroad transportation.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1999, Ch. 1005, Sec. 38. Effective January 1, 2000.)

article: 2. Rates


citation: PUC § 733

text:
(a) If the common carriers do not agree upon the division between them of the joint rates, fares, or charges established by the commission over through routes, the commission shall, after hearing, by supplemental order, establish that division. Where any railroad, or passenger stage corporation that is made a party to a through route has itself over its own line an equally satisfactory through route between the termini of the through route established, that railroad, or passenger stage corporation may require as its division of the joint rate, fare, or charge its local rate, fare, or charge over the portion of its line comprised in the through route, and the commission may, in its discretion, allow to that railroad or passenger stage corporation, more than its local rate, fare, or charge if the commission determines that it will be equitable so to do. The commission may establish and fix through routes and joint rates, fares, or charges over common carriers and stage or auto stage lines which may not be otherwise subject to the provisions of this part, and may fix the division of those joint rates, fares, or charges.

(b) Subdivision (a) is not applicable to network railroad transportation.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1999, Ch. 1005, Sec. 39. Effective January 1, 2000.)

article: 2. Rates


citation: PUC § 734

text: When complaint has been made to the commission concerning a rate for a product or commodity furnished or service performed by a public utility, and the commission has found, after investigation, that the public utility has charged an unreasonable, excessive, or discriminatory amount therefor in violation of any of the provisions of this part, the commission may order that the public utility make due reparation to the complainant therefor, with interest from the date of collection if no discrimination will result from that reparation. No order for the payment of reparation upon the ground of unreasonableness shall be made by the commission when the rate in question has, by formal finding, been declared by the commission to be reasonable, and no assignment of a reparation claim shall be recognized by the commission except assignments by operation of law as in cases of death, lack of legal capacity to make decisions, bankruptcy, receivership, or order of court.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 144, Sec. 51. (AB 1847) Effective January 1, 2015.)

article: 2. Rates


citation: PUC § 735

text: If the public utility does not comply with the order for the payment of reparation within the time specified in the order, suit may be instituted in any court of competent jurisdiction to recover the payment within one year from the date of the order, and not after. All complaints for damages resulting from a violation of any of the provisions of this part, except Sections 494 and 532, shall either be filed with the commission, or where concurrent jurisdiction of the cause of action is vested by the Constitution and laws of this State in the courts, in any court of competent jurisdiction, within two years from the time the cause of action accrues, and not after.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1953, Ch. 702.)

article: 2. Rates


citation: PUC § 736

text:
All complaints for damages resulting from the violation of any of the provisions of Sections 494 or 532 shall either be filed with the commission, or, where concurrent jurisdiction of the cause of action is vested in the courts of this state, in any court of competent jurisdiction within three years from the time the cause of action accrues, and not after. If claim for the asserted damages has been presented in writing to the public utility concerned within the period of three years, the period shall be extended to include six months from the date notice in writing is given by the public utility to the claimant of the disallowance of the claim, or of any part or parts thereof specified in the notice.

Whenever the commission institutes an investigation of unauthorized undercharge by any public utility, the institution of the investigation by the commission shall toll the three-year period specified in this section until the commission has rendered its initial decision on the matter. The commission shall render its final decision within two years of the date of the order instituting the investigation.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1004, Sec. 1.)

article: 2. Rates


citation: PUC § 737

text:
All complaints for the collection of the lawful tariff charges or any part thereof, of public utilities may be filed in any court of competent jurisdiction within three years from the time the cause of action accrues, and not after, but if a public utility presents its claim or demand in writing to the person from whom the tariff charges, or any part thereof, are alleged to be due within such period of three years, that period shall be extended to include six months from the date notice in writing is given to the public utility, by such person, or refusal to pay the demand, or any part or parts thereof specified in the notice of refusal.

If suit for the collection of the lawful tariff charges or any portion thereof of a public utility is filed in any court in accordance with the terms of this section, or if such collection is made by the public utility without filing suit, the person against whom such suit is filed or from whom such collection is made may, within 90 days from the date of service of summons in the suit, or the date of the collection, file with the commission, or with any court of competent jurisdiction, a complaint for damages resulting from the violation of any of the provisions of this part with respect to the transaction to which the suit of the public utility relates, or for which such collection has been made.

article: 2. Rates


text:
(a) (1) A highway carrier, as defined by subdivision (c), a freight forwarder, a party representing a carrier or freight forwarder, or an assignee of a carrier or freight forwarder shall not, based on a filed tariff or a filed contract, collect or attempt to collect any additional charge in excess of the charge originally billed by the carrier or freight forwarder for transportation service previously provided subject to the jurisdiction of the commission, except where there are mistakes in billing that are acknowledged by both parties or that are the result of intentional misrepresentation by the shipper.

(2) Similarly, the person or entity against whom a claim has been made under the circumstances described in paragraph (1) shall not be liable for additional amounts based on a filed tariff or a filed contract, except where there are mistakes in billing acknowledged by both parties or that are the result of intentional misrepresentation by the shipper.

(b) For the purposes of this section, the term “claimant” shall mean the carrier or freight forwarder, or its assignee or representative making a claim for the collection of rates and charges in addition to those originally billed and collected for the transportation.

(c) “Highway carrier” or “carrier” means every corporation or person, their lessees, trustees, receivers or trustees appointed by any court whatsoever, engaged in transportation of property for compensation or hire as a business over any public highway in this state by means of a motor vehicle, except that “highway carrier” does not include:

(1) Any farmer resident of this state who occasionally transports from the place of production to a warehouse, regular market, place of storage, or place of shipment the farm products of neighboring farmers in exchange for like services or for a cash consideration or farm products for compensation.

(2) Persons or corporations hauling their own property.

(3) Any farmer operating a motor vehicle used exclusively in the transportation of his or her livestock and agricultural commodities or in the transportation of supplies to his or her farm.

(4) Any nonprofit agricultural cooperative association organized and acting within the scope of its powers under Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 54001) of Division 20 of the Agricultural Code to the extent only that it is engaged in transporting its own property or the property of its members.

(5) Any person exclusively transporting United States mail pursuant to a contract with the United States government.

(6) Any integrated intermodal small package carrier which is registered subject to Chapter 2.7 (commencing with Section 4120).

(7) Any household goods carrier, as defined in Section 5109.

(d) For purposes of this section, “mistakes in billing” include, but are not limited to, matters such as clerical errors, billing for transportation of a different commodity than the commodity actually shipped, and billing for transportation of a smaller amount of the commodity than the amount actually shipped.

(e) This section shall apply to all claims arising from transportation performed (in whole or in part) before January 1, 1995, including all lawsuits or claims pending on the effective date of this section.

(f) If any claim that qualifies under this section was settled by mutual agreement of the parties to the claim, or resolved by a final adjudication of a federal or state court, before the effective date of this section, the settlement or adjudication shall be treated as binding, enforceable, and not contrary to law, unless the settlement was agreed to as a result of fraud or coercion.

(g) If the claimant has filed, on or before the effective date of this section, a suit for the collection of additional freight charges, the claimant shall notify the person, or entity, from whom additional freight charges are sought of the provisions of this section within 30 days of the effective date of this section.

(h) If, on or before the effective date of this section, the claimant has demanded the payment of additional freight charges and has not filed a suit for the collection of additional freight charges, the claimant shall notify the person, or entity, from whom additional freight charges are sought of the provisions of this section within 30 days of the effective date of this section.

history: (History: Repealed and added by Stats. 1996, Ch. 72, Sec. 3. Effective June 21, 1996.)

article: 2. Rates


citation: PUC § 738

text: For the purpose of Sections 734 to 737, inclusive, the cause of action shall accrue upon the delivery or tender of delivery of the shipment or the performance of the service or the furnishing of the commodity or product with respect to which complaint is filed or claim made. The remedies in those sections shall be cumulative and in addition to any other remedy or remedies in this part provided in case of failure of a public utility to obey an order or decision of the commission.

article: 2. Rates


text: In establishing rates for a public utility operating any portion of its line, plant, or system within a federally designated nonattainment area, the commission shall determine which expenses related to compliance with state and local air pollution control requirements for using clean-burning fuels in that area are reasonable and necessary and shall approve those expenses.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 1988, Ch. 1546, Sec. 6.)

article: 2. Rates


citation: PUC § 739

text:
(a) As used in this section:

(1) “Baseline quantity” means a quantity of electricity or gas allocated by the commission for residential customers based on from 50 to 60 percent of average residential consumption of these commodities, except that, for residential gas customers and for all-electric residential customers, the baseline quantity shall be established at from 60 to 70 percent of average residential consumption during the winter heating season. In establishing the baseline quantities, the commission shall take into account climatic and seasonal variations in consumption and the availability of gas service. The commission shall review and revise baseline quantities as average consumption patterns change in order to maintain these ratios and may do so during the rate case or other ratesetting proceeding of a gas corporation or electrical corporation. The commission shall make efforts to minimize bill volatility for residential customers, including all-electric residential customers. Those efforts may include modifying the length of the baseline seasons or defining additional baseline seasons.

(2) “Residential customer” means those customers receiving electrical or gas service pursuant to a domestic rate schedule and excludes industrial, commercial, and every other category of customer.

(b) The commission shall designate a baseline quantity of gas and electricity which is necessary to supply a significant portion of the reasonable energy needs of the average residential customer. In estimating those quantities, the commission shall take into account differentials in energy needs between customers whose residential energy needs are currently supplied by electricity alone or by both electricity and gas. The commission shall develop a separate baseline quantity for all-electric residential customers. For these purposes, “all-electric residential customers” are residential customers having electrical service only or whose space heating is provided by electricity, or both. The commission shall also take into account differentials in energy use by climatic zone and season.

(c) (1) The commission shall establish a standard limited allowance which shall be in addition to the baseline quantity of gas and electricity for residential customers dependent on life-support equipment, including, but not limited to, emphysema and pulmonary patients. A residential customer dependent on life-support equipment shall be allocated a higher energy allocation than the average residential customer.

(2) “Life-support equipment” means that equipment which utilizes mechanical or artificial means to sustain, restore, or supplant a vital function, or mechanical equipment which is relied upon for mobility both within and outside of buildings. “Life-support equipment,” as used in this subdivision, includes all of the following: all types of respirators, iron lungs, hemodialysis machines, suction machines, electric nerve stimulators, pressure pads and pumps, aerosol tents, electrostatic and ultrasonic nebulizers, compressors, IPPB machines, and motorized wheelchairs.

(3) The limited allowance specified in this subdivision shall also be made available to paraplegic and quadriplegic persons in consideration of the increased heating and cooling needs of those persons.

(4) The limited allowance specified in this subdivision shall also be made available to multiple sclerosis patients in consideration of the increased heating and cooling needs of those persons.

(5) The limited allowance specified in this subdivision shall also be made available to scleroderma patients in consideration of the increased heating needs of those persons.

(6) The limited allowance specified in this subdivision shall also be made available to persons who are being treated for a life-threatening illness or have a compromised immune system, if a licensed physician and surgeon, a physician assistant practicing within his or her scope of practice in compliance with the Physician Assistant Practice Act (Chapter 7.7 (commencing with Section 3500) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code), or a person licensed pursuant to the Osteopathic Initiative Act certifies in writing to the utility that the additional energy, heating, or cooling allowance, or both, is medically necessary to sustain the life of the person or prevent deterioration of the person’s medical condition.

(d) (1) The commission shall require that every electrical and gas corporation file a schedule of rates and charges providing baseline rates. The baseline rates shall apply to the first or lowest block of an increasing block rate structure which shall be the baseline quantity. In establishing these rates, the commission shall avoid excessive rate increases for residential customers, and shall establish an appropriate gradual differential between the rates for the respective blocks of usage.

(2) In establishing residential electric and gas rates, including baseline rates, the commission shall ensure that the rates are sufficient to enable the electrical corporation or gas corporation to recover a just and reasonable amount of revenue from residential customers as a class, while observing the principle that electricity and gas services are necessities, for which a low affordable rate is desirable and while observing the principle that conservation is desirable in order to maintain an affordable bill.

(3) At least until December 31, 2003, the commission shall require that all charges for residential electric customers are volumetric, and shall prohibit any electrical corporation from imposing any charges on residential consumption that are independent of consumption, unless those charges are in place prior to April 12, 2001.

(e) (1) Each electrical corporation and each gas corporation shall, in a timeframe consistent with each electrical and gas corporation’s next general rate case, disclose on the billing statement of a residential customer all of the following:

(A) Cost per kilowatthour or gas therm per tier.

(B) Allocation of kilowatthour or gas therm per tier.

(C) Visual representation of usage and cost per tier.

(D) Usage comparison with prior periods.

(E) Itemized cost components in the bill to identify state and local taxes.

(F) Identification of delivery, generation, public purpose, and other charges.

(G) Contact information for the commission’s Consumer Affairs Branch.

(2) An electrical corporation and a gas corporation shall make available online to residential customers both of the following:

(A) Examples of how conservation measures, including changing thermostat settings and turning off unused lights, could reduce energy usage and costs.

(B) Examples of how energy-saving devices and weatherization measures could reduce energy usage and costs.

(3) The commission may modify, adjust, or add to the requirements of this subdivision as the individual circumstances of each electrical corporation or gas corporation merits, or for master-meter customers, as individual circumstances merit.

(4) The commission shall, as part of the general rate case of an electrical corporation or gas corporation, assess opportunities to improve the quality of information contained in the utility’s periodic billings.

(f) Wholesale electrical or gas purchases, and the rates charged therefor, are exempt from this section.

(g) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit experimentation with alternative gas or electrical rate schedules for the purpose of achieving energy conservation.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 518, Sec. 1. (SB 1338) Effective January 1, 2019.)

article: 2. Rates


text:
(a) The commission shall continue a program of assistance to low-income electricity and gas customers with annual household incomes that are no greater than 200 percent of the federal poverty guideline levels, the cost of which shall not be borne solely by any single class of customer. For one-person households, program eligibility shall be based on two-person household guideline levels. The program shall be referred to as the California Alternate Rates for Energy or CARE program. The commission shall ensure that the level of discount for low-income electricity and gas customers correctly reflects the level of need.

(b) The commission shall establish rates for CARE program participants, subject to both of the following:

(1) That the commission ensure that low-income ratepayers are not jeopardized or overburdened by monthly energy expenditures, pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 382.

(2) That the level of the discount for low-income electricity and gas ratepayers correctly reflects the level of need as determined by the needs assessment conducted pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 382.

(c) In establishing CARE program discounts for an electrical corporation with 100,000 or more customer accounts in California, the commission shall ensure all of the following:

(1) The average effective CARE program discount shall not be less than 30 percent or more than 35 percent of the revenues that would have been produced for the same billed usage by non-CARE program customers. The average effective discount determined by the commission shall not reflect any charges for which CARE program customers are exempted, discounts to fixed charges or other rates paid by non-CARE program customers, or bill savings resulting from participation in other programs, including the medical baseline allowance pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 739. The average effective CARE program discount shall be calculated as a weighted average of the CARE program discounts provided to individual customers.

(2) If an electrical corporation provides an average effective CARE program discount in excess of the maximum percentage specified in paragraph (1), the electrical corporation shall not reduce, on an annual basis, the average effective CARE program discount by more than a reasonable percentage decrease below the discount in effect on January 1, 2013, or that the electrical corporation had been authorized to place in effect by that date.

(3) The entire CARE program discount shall be provided in the form of a reduction in the overall bill for the eligible CARE program customer.

(d) The commission shall work with electrical and gas corporations to establish penetration goals. The commission shall authorize recovery of all administrative costs associated with the implementation of the CARE program that the commission determines to be reasonable, through a balancing account mechanism. Administrative costs shall include, but are not limited to, outreach, marketing, regulatory compliance, certification and verification, billing, measurement and evaluation, and capital improvements and upgrades to communications and processing equipment.

(e) The commission shall examine methods to improve CARE program enrollment and participation. This examination shall include, but need not be limited to, comparing information from the CARE program and the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service (ULTS) program to determine the most effective means of using that information to increase CARE program enrollment, automatic enrollment of ULTS program customers who are eligible for the CARE program, customer privacy issues, and alternative mechanisms for outreach to potential enrollees. The commission shall ensure that a customer consents before enrollment. The commission shall consult with interested parties, including ULTS program providers, to develop the best methods of informing ULTS program customers about other available low-income programs and the best mechanism for telephone providers to recover reasonable costs incurred pursuant to this section.

(f) (1) The commission shall improve the CARE program application process by cooperating with other entities and representatives of California government, including the California Health and Human Services Agency and the Secretary of California Health and Human Services, to ensure that all gas and electricity customers eligible for public assistance programs in California that reside within the service territory of an electrical corporation or gas corporation, are enrolled in the CARE program. The commission may determine that gas and electricity customers are categorically eligible for CARE program assistance if they are enrolled in other public assistance programs with substantially the same income eligibility requirements as the CARE program. To the extent practicable, the commission shall develop a CARE program application process using the existing ULTS program application process as a model. The commission shall work with electrical corporations, gas corporations, and the Low-Income Oversight Board established in Section 382.1 to meet the low-income objectives in this section.

(2) The commission shall ensure that an electrical corporation or gas corporation with a commission-approved program to provide discounts based on economic need in addition to the CARE program, including a Family Electric Rate Assistance program, uses a single application form, to enable an applicant to alternatively apply for any assistance program for which the applicant may be eligible. It is the intent of the Legislature to allow applicants under one program, who may not be eligible under that program, but who may be eligible under an alternative assistance program based on economic need, to complete a single application for any commission-approved assistance program offered by the public utility.

(g) It is the intent of the Legislature that the commission ensure CARE program participants receive affordable electrical and gas service that does not impose an unfair economic burden on those participants.

(h) The CARE program shall, as soon as practicable, include nonprofit group living facilities specified by the commission, if the commission finds that the residents in these facilities substantially meet the commission’s low-income eligibility requirements and there is a feasible process for certifying that the assistance shall be used for the direct benefit, such as improved quality of care or improved food service, of the low-income residents in the facilities. The commission shall authorize electrical corporations and gas corporations to offer discounts to eligible facilities licensed or permitted by appropriate state or local agencies, and to facilities, including women’s shelters, hospices, and homeless shelters, that may not have a license or permit but provide other proof satisfactory to the electrical corporation or gas corporation that they are eligible to participate in the CARE program.

(i) The CARE program shall, as soon as practicable, include public housing authority owned or administered Homekey housing facilities, as described in Section 50675.1.1 of the Health and Safety Code, where the residents of the facility substantially meet the CARE program’s income eligibility requirements, as determined by the commission, and the account is in the name of Homekey, a nonprofit funded by Homekey, or the public housing authority that owns or administers the facility. The commission shall authorize electrical corporations and gas corporations to offer discounts to those identified facilities and to establish feasible processes for certifying that the assistance is used for the direct benefit of the residents of those facilities.

(j) (1) In addition to existing assessments of eligibility, an electrical corporation may require proof of income eligibility for those CARE program participants whose electricity usage, in any monthly or other billing period, exceeds 400 percent of baseline usage. The authority of an electrical corporation to require proof of income eligibility is not limited by the means by which the CARE program participant enrolled in the program, including if the participant was automatically enrolled in the CARE program because of participation in a governmental assistance program. If a CARE program participant’s electricity usage exceeds 400 percent of baseline usage, the electrical corporation may require the CARE program participant to participate in the Energy Savings Assistance Program (ESAP), which includes a residential energy assessment, in order to provide the CARE program participant with information and assistance in reducing the CARE program participant’s energy usage. Continued participation in the CARE program may be conditioned upon the CARE program participant agreeing to participate in ESAP within 45 days of notice being given by the electrical corporation pursuant to this paragraph. The electrical corporation may require the CARE program participant to notify the electrical corporation of whether the residence is rented, and, if so, a means by which to contact the landlord, and the electrical corporation may share any evaluation and recommendation relative to the residential structure that is made as part of an energy assessment with the landlord of the CARE program participant. Requirements imposed pursuant to this paragraph shall be consistent with procedures adopted by the commission.

(2) If a CARE program participant’s electricity usage exceeds 600 percent of baseline usage, the electrical corporation shall require the CARE program participant to participate in ESAP, which includes a residential energy assessment, in order to provide the CARE program participant with information and assistance in reducing the CARE program participant’s energy usage. Continued participation in the CARE program shall be conditioned upon the CARE program participant agreeing to participate in ESAP within 45 days of a notice made by the electrical corporation pursuant to this paragraph. The electrical corporation may require the CARE program participant to notify the electrical corporation of whether the residence is rented, and, if so, a means by which to contact the landlord, and the electrical corporation may share any evaluation and recommendation relative to the residential structure that is made as part of an energy assessment with the landlord of the CARE program participant. Following the completion of the energy assessment, if the CARE program participant’s electricity usage continues to exceed 600 percent of baseline usage, the electrical corporation may remove the CARE program participant from the program if the removal is consistent with procedures adopted by the commission. This paragraph does not prevent a CARE program participant with electricity usage exceeding 600 percent of baseline usage from participating in an appeals process with the electrical corporation to determine whether the participant’s usage levels are legitimate.

(3) A CARE program participant in a rental residence shall not be removed from the program in situations where the landlord is nonresponsive when contacted by the electrical corporation or does not provide for ESAP participation.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 732, Sec. 1. (AB 2672) Effective January 1, 2025.)

article: 2. Rates


text:
(a) The commission’s program of assistance to low-income electric and gas customers shall also include the following facilities, provided the commission finds that the occupants of the facilities substantially meet the commission’s low-income eligibility requirements and there is a feasible process for certifying that the assistance shall be used for the direct benefit of the occupants of the facilities:

(1) Migrant farmworker housing centers provided pursuant to Section 50710 of the Health and Safety Code.

(2) Employee housing, as defined in Section 17008 of the Health and Safety Code, that is licensed and inspected by state or local agencies pursuant to Part 1 (commencing with Section 17000) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code.

(3) Housing for agricultural employees, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1140.4 of the Labor Code, that has received an exemption from local property taxes pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 214 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

(b) The assistance provided pursuant to subdivision (a) shall only apply to gas and electricity, or both, used for the housing occupied by the workers and employees specified in subdivision (a).

history: (History: Added by Stats. 1994, Ch. 946, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1995.)

article: 2. Rates


text:
(a) Subject to direction and supervision by the commission, each electrical corporation and gas corporation shall develop and implement a program of rate assistance to eligible food banks at a fixed percentage to be determined by the commission. The commission may adjust the fixed percentage as appropriate. The funding source for the rate assistance program is subject to the approval of the commission.

(b) The Legislature encourages the governing board of each local publicly owned electric utility to develop and implement a program of rate assistance to eligible food banks at a fixed percentage, to be determined by the governing board, but consistent with that fixed by the commission for electrical corporations.

(c) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) “Eligible food bank” means a qualified eligible recipient agency that has executed an agreement with the State Department of Social Services in order to participate in The Emergency Food Assistance Program administered by the Food and Nutrition Service of the United States Department of Agriculture.

(2) “Eligible recipient agency” has the same meaning as defined in Section 251.3(d) of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(3) “Agreement” means an agreement executed in compliance with Section 251.2 of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 2014, Ch. 581, Sec. 1. (AB 2218) Effective January 1, 2015.)

article: 2. Rates


text:
(a) Any natural gas customer who enrolls in the CARE program after the effective date of this section, but before October 1, 2001, shall receive the same one-time bill credit based on the amount of each gas corporation’s average CARE customer discount applied for each month in October 2000 to March 2001, inclusive. The credit does not apply to a customer who initiates service with a gas corporation after the effective date of this section, and who has no prior history of service with the gas corporation. CARE program funds shall be used for the purpose of providing these credits. The commission shall adjust CARE program income requirements annually to reflect the increased cost-of-living due to inflation.

(b) The commission shall require all electrical and gas utilities through which CARE program rates are available to do all of the following, in multilingual formats to the extent printed and recorded information is provided, to facilitate better penetration rates for the CARE program and to protect low-income and senior households from unwarranted disconnection of necessary electric and gas services:

(1) Provide an outgoing message on all calls, where the customer is seeking to establish service or is put on hold, to customer service lines that briefly describes the CARE program in standard language approved by the commission, and that provides a toll-free phone number for customers to call to subscribe to the program or for further information.

(2) Provide information to customers about the CARE program and facilitate subscription to CARE, on all calls in which customers are making payment arrangements, on all collections calls, and on all calls for reconnection of service.

(3) (A) Provide information about the CARE program and other assistance programs, and attempt to qualify customers for CARE, and provide information about individual payment arrangements that allow customers to pay the amounts due over a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 12 months, and attempt to enroll customers in a payment arrangement program, before effecting any disconnection of service for nonpayment or inability to pay energy bills in full.

(B) (i) Offer individual payment arrangements to customers so that the customer is able to pay amounts due over a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 12 months.

(ii) Prohibit the disconnection of customers that have made, and are in compliance with, payment arrangements offered by an electric or gas utility pursuant to this subparagraph.

(C) Prohibit the disconnection of a delinquent residential customer for amounts due in which the electric or gas utility receives a commitment pledge, letter of intent, purchase order, or other notification that a provider of energy assistance is forwarding payment sufficient to prevent disconnection.

(D) (i) Advise residential customers facing disconnection or who contact the utility to make payment arrangements of the levelizing payment program that allows them to pay a monthly average bill based on 12 months usage.

(ii) Advise residential customers about enrollment in the levelizing payment program in conjunction with completion of payment arrangements, payment under terms of subparagraph (B), or at the customer’s request absent those arrangements.

(E) Nothing in this paragraph is intended to reduce the revenues of any utility extending payment arrangements subject to the terms of the paragraph.

(4) Provide information on customer bills, presented in a conspicuous manner on a front facing page, that indicates that a customer may be eligible for the CARE program. This notice shall be provided quarterly on customer bills.

(c) The commission shall conduct targeted outreach about the program using census block data to effectively target low-income and senior households throughout the state.

(d) CARE program funds shall be used for the purposes of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) and outreach pursuant to subdivision (c). The commission’s costs for outreach pursuant to subdivision (c) may not exceed five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) above the amount that the commission currently expends on similar activities related to the CARE program. Energy corporations may recover all reasonable costs from the CARE program funds of implementing this section.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 2001, 1st Ex. Sess., Ch. 11, Sec. 2. Effective May 22, 2001.)

article: 2. Rates