By Wyatt Page
On September 17, 2024, the California Public Utilities Commission issued D.24-09-020 to set statewide average and maximum energization target timelines for the three large IOUs: Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E), and Southern California Edison Company (SoCal). The decision explains how the CPUC plans to implement its authority under Public Utilities Code sections 930–939, as created by AB 50 (Wood) (Chapter 317, Statutes of 2023) and SB 410 (Becker) (Chapter 394, Statutes of 2023) (Powering Up Californians Act). Energization is defined in Public Utilities Code section 931 and refers to connecting customers to the electricity grid with adequate electrical distribution capacity for projects such as new homes, businesses, vehicle charging stations, etc. It also applies to upgrading electrical capacity to existing customers.
The CPUC states that the goal of this decision is to accomplish three things: speed up the process of energization to customers, increase the IOU’s transparency about the parts of the process in their control, and for the CPUC to clarify the process for customers so customers can adequately report delays to the CPUC. Prior to this decision, the IOUs only had to follow specific energization timelines for electric vehicle infrastructure. This decision is phase 1 out of 2 to address these goals.
The Project is broken into two phases because specific provisions required the CPUC to act by September 30, 2024, to help meet the state’s decarbonization goals. In contrast, Phase 2 will address the components that are not given a statutory deadline, such as enforcement measures for non-compliance. Phase 1 established the average and maximum times that the IOUs should take to complete the tasks they have control over for a customer’s energization request. As well as establish a method for customers to report non-compliance with these timelines. The timelines are categorized using the CPUC’s existing Electric Tariff Rules 15,16, 29, and 45; each rule covers different projects. The CPUC provides charts with the maximum time IOUs can take to give the energy connection to the grid (refer to pages 30, 33, and 47 of the decision). Further, since residential and small business customer energization requests generally do not require dramatic infrastructure upgrades beyond the customer’s property site, the utility work for these requests must be completed within a 30 to 45-day period.
Turning towards transparency with the public, to try and assist customers with understanding which parts of the energization process the IOUs are responsible for, the decision creates an 8-step overview of the energization process and states that steps 2, 4, 6, 7, and 8 as solely under the large electric IOUs’ control. (refer to pages 24-26 of the decision). Also, the IOUs must provide clear descriptions and data to support their efforts to engage local and Tribal governments to ensure the IOU’s energization processes are clear. The IOUs must also produce a report twice a year that states their compliance with all of the energization measures, and if they fail to comply or meet a target, they have to explain how they will remedy their shortfall by the following year.
Lastly, for customer reporting, the CPUC created a “Customer Energization Delay Reporting Form.” This form includes information on the energization timelines and other helpful information for customers facing delays, as well as stating how to report an IOU’s non-compliance with these energization timelines to the CPUC.