GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME. I
WOULD LIKE TO CONVENE THE
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES
AND ENERGY. SERGEANTS, PLEASE
CALL THE ABSENT MEMBERS, BEFORE
WE MOVE TO THE AGENDA, I WILL
JUST NOTE THAT WE DO HAVE OTHER
COMMITTEES HAPPENING
CONCURRENTLY. AND MEMBERS, MAY
BE COMING IN AND OUT. WE DO NOT
HAVE A QUORUM RIGHT NOW, SO
WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND
BEGIN. WELL, LOOK AT THAT. WE DO
NOT HAVE A QUORUM, BUT WE'LL GO
AHEAD AND BEGIN AS A
SUBCOMMITTEE, LET'S SEE, WE HAVE
TWO MEASURES ON THE AGENDA. ONE
IS ON CONSENT, WE'LL GO AHEAD
AND MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER TWO,
WHICH IS SB 1003 BY SENATOR DODD.
OUR COLLEAGUE, ASSEMBLY MEMBER
BAUER-KAHAN, WILL BE PRESENTING
ON BEHALF OF THE SENATOR.
ASSEMBLY MEMBER, WHEN YOU'RE
READY. OH, AND YOU KNOW, I
ASSEMBLY MEMBER WE DID JUST GET
QUORUM. SO I THINK WE WILL PAUSE
FOR A MOMENT TO TAKE THE ROLL
AND ESTABLISH QUORUM.
PETRIE-NORRIS PRESENT AT THIS
TIME. SIT DOWN. PETRIE-NORRIS
PRESENT. PETRIE-NORRIS PRESENT.
JIM PATTERSON. B¢O BAUER-KAHAN
HERE. BAUER-KAHAN HERE.
CALDERON. HERE. CALDERON. HERE.
CHEN. CHEN. HERE FRIEDMAN.
FRIEDMAN. HERE. HART. HERE.
HART. HERE. HOLDEN. HOLDEN.
HERE. JOE. PATTERSON. REYES.
SANTIAGO. SCHIAVO. TING WALLACE.
WALLACE. HERE WOULD. ZIPPER.
HERE. ZIPPER HERE. THAT'S NOT
HERE. ALL RIGHT. ASSEMBLY
MEMBER, MOVE THE BILL. THANK
YOU, MADAM CHAIR. I KNOW I'M NOT
THE MEMBER FROM NAPA, AND I
DON'T HAVE HIS WINE COLLECTION,
BUT I'M HONORED TO PRESENT ON
BEHALF OF SENATOR DODD, AS
AMENDED THIS WEEK, SB 1003 IS
FOCUSED ON EVOLVING THE UTILITY
WILDFIRE MITIGATION REGULATORY
CONSTRUCT BETWEEN THE CPUC AND
OAS. THIS LARGELY MEANS
IMPROVING PROCESS EFFICIENCIES
WITHIN AND BETWEEN BOTH
AGENCIES, ENSURING BOTH AGENCIES
ARE DRIVING GREATER UTILITY
WILDFIRE RISK REDUCTION BEHAVIOR
AND INVESTMENTS, AND AT THE
LEAST COST TO RATEPAYERS. THE
PROPOSED STATUTORY MODIFICATIONS
DO THE FOLLOWING. CLARIFY THAT
OAS IS A UTILITY. WILDFIRE
MITIGATION EXPERT, AUDITOR AND
EVALUATOR, AND THAT THE CPUC IS
THE ECONOMIC AND SAFETY,
COMPLIANCE, AND ENFORCEMENT
REGULATOR. ENSURE THAT THE RMPS
ARE REDUCING WILDFIRE RISK
THROUGH IMPROVED UTILITY
PERFORMANCE OVERSIGHT. LINK THE
WILDFIRE MITIGATION PLANS TO THE
PRIMARY INVESTMENT COST RECOVERY
APPROVAL PROCESS OF THE CPUC,
BETTER KNOWN AS THE GENERAL RATE
CASE, AT A COST EFFECTIVENESS
LENS TO A PROPOSED UTILITY,
WILDFIRE MITIGATION MEMBER IN
MEASURES IN THE WILDFIRE
MITIGATION PLANS. CLEAN UP
UTILITY WILDFIRE MITIGATION COST
RECOVERY PROCESSES MEMORANDUM
ACCOUNTS AND APPLICATIONS FOR
FORECASTED COSTS, AND STRIKE
LEGACY AND OUTDATED PROVISIONS
THAT WERE DESIGNED FOR WHEN EAS
WAS THE WILDFIRE SAFETY DIVISION
WITHIN THE CPUC. WITH THAT, I
WILL TURN IT OVER TO OUR
WITNESSES WHO ARE HERE IN
SUPPORT. THANK YOU. MY NAME IS
KATIE MORRISON. I'M AN ATTORNEY
WITH THE UTILITY REFORM NETWORK
AND ADVOCATE FOR CALIFORNIA'S
RESIDENTIAL RATEPAYERS AT THE
CPUC. TERM BELIEVES THAT UTILITY
RATEPAYERS DO NOT NEED TO
SACRIFICE THEIR SAFETY OR
RELIABILITY FOR AFFORDABLE RATES.
AND TERN STRONGLY SUPPORTS SB
1003, AS AMENDED. AS AMENDED,
THE BILL MAKES MEANINGFUL
CHANGES TO THE REVIEW APPROVAL
AND OVERSIGHT OF THE WILDFIRE
MITIGATION PLANS. THE BILL
REQUIRES RELIANCE ON EXISTING
CPUC COST BENEFIT RATIOS TO
CONSIDER THE COST EFFICIENCY OF
PROPOSED MITIGATIONS. THESE ARE
POWERFUL TOOLS FOR EXAMPLE, IN
PG AND E 2023, GENERAL RATE
CASE, THE UTILITY REQUESTED $6
BILLION FOR 2000 MILES OF
UNDERGROUNDING. USING THE CPUC
COST EFFECTIVENESS MEASURE, TURN
DEMONSTRATED THAT BY RELYING
MORE EXTENSIVELY ON INSULATED
POWER LINES, THE UTILITY COULD
ACHIEVE SIMILAR RISK REDUCTIONS
FOR $2.1 BILLION. UTILITIES WILL
ALSO BE REQUIRED TO TAKE INTO
ACCOUNT THE SPEED WITH WHICH
MITIGATIONS ARE DEPLOYED, AND
THE RISK REDUCE FOR THE COST OF
THE MITIGATION. SB 1003
CLARIFIES THAT THE WILDFIRE
MITIGATION PLAN IS ONLY APPROVED
ONCE THE COMMISSION HAS
DETERMINED THAT THE COST OF THE
PLAN IS JUST AND REASONABLE
WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF ALL
UTILITY SPENDING PROPOSALS IN
THEIR GENERAL RATE CASE. THIS
ENABLES THE COMMISSION AND
STAKEHOLDERS TO BETTER
UNDERSTAND THE BALANCING
REQUIRED TO MAINTAIN AFFORDABLE
RATES. SB 1003 WILL RESULT IN
FISCAL DISCIPLINE BY AUTHORIZING
MEMORANDUM MEMORANDUM ACCOUNTS
ONLY FOR THOSE COSTS THAT ARE
UNFORESEEN AND INCREMENTAL TO
THE REVENUE REQUIREMENT ADOPTED
BY THE COMMISSION. THIS WILL
LOWER COSTS AND ADMINISTRATIVE
AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN OF
TODAY'S FREQUENT COST RECOVERY
CASES. TO RESPECTFULLY REQUEST
YOUR AYE VOTE. HELLO, CHAIRMAN,
CHAIR. CHAIR PETRIE-NORRIS AND
MEMBERS, I'M TARA DÍAS FROM THE
PUBLIC ADVOCATE'S OFFICE. I'M
HERE TO EXPRESS OUR SUPPORT FOR
SB 1003 AND AS AMENDED, BECAUSE
IT WOULD ENHANCE OVERSIGHT OF
UTILITY SAFETY AND TRANSPARENCY
REGARDING THE COST OF WILDFIRE
MITIGATION WORK, SB 1003 WILL
ADJUST THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
FOR HOW THE STATE REVIEWS AND
OVERSEES THE UTILITY'S WILDFIRE
MITIGATION EFFORTS BY BRINGING
MUCH NEEDED ALIGNMENT BETWEEN
THE UTILITY'S WILDFIRE
MITIGATION PLANS AND UTILITIES
OVERALL BUDGETS. SB 1003 MAKES
SEVERAL IMPORTANT CHANGES IN
THIS REGARD. THE BILL ALIGNS THE
UTILITIES WILDFIRE MITIGATION
PLANS, WHICH THEY FILE WITH THE
OFFICE OF ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE
SAFETY WITH THE RISK MANAGEMENT
RISK ASSESSMENTS OF ALL ASPECTS
OF UTILITY SAFETY, WHICH THEY
FILE AT THE PUC. THIS ALIGNMENT
ENSURES THAT WHILE WILDFIRE
MITIGATION IS PRIORITIZED, IT IS
ALSO CONSIDERED IN THE BROADER
CONTEXT OF ALL OTHER CRITICAL
SAFETY RISKS FORESEEN BY THE
UTILITIES. SB TEN 003 ALSO
SYNCHRONIZES THE TIMELINES FOR
THE WILDFIRE MITIGATION PLANS,
WITH THE GENERAL RATE CASE
PROCESS, WHICH WILL FACILITATE A
DIRECT COMPARISON OF WILDFIRE
MITIGATION COSTS WITH OTHER
UTILITY EXPENSE EXPENDITURES.
THIS CHANGE IN TIMING MEANS THAT
THE PUC CAN APPROVE FUNDING
LEVELS BASED ON A MORE
COMPREHENSIVE SET OF FACTS AND
INFORMATION, THEREBY ENHANCING
RATEPAYERS PROTECTIONS. THIS
BILL ALSO EXPANDS THE ROLE OF
THE OFFICE OF ENERGY
INFRASTRUCTURE, SAFETY AND
CONDUCTING FIELD AUDITS AND
PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS, WHICH
BUILD ON THE AGENCY'S EXCELLENT
WORK IN THIS AREA. THEIR AUDITS
HAVE HELPED HIGHLIGHT AREAS OF
IMPROVEMENT IN THE WORK AND
UTILITIES PERFORM WITH RATEPAYER
FUNDS. ADDITIONALLY, THE BILL
MANDATES THAT MANAGERS MANDATES
THE UTILITIES INCLUDE THE SPEED
OF IMPLEMENTATION AS A CRITERIA
IN THEIR WILDFIRE MITIGATION
PLANS. THIS THIS REQUIREMENT
WILL HELP ACCURATELY WEIGH THE
BENEFITS OF EFFECTIVE AND FAST
TO IMPLEMENT MITIGATIONS SUCH AS
COVERED CONDUCTORS AND FAST TRIP
TECHNOLOGIES, WITH THAT, WE
RESPECTFULLY REQUEST YOUR AYE
VOTE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ARE
THERE ADDITIONAL WITNESSES IN
SUPPORT IN THE ROOM? YOU CAN GO
AHEAD AND APPROACH THE
MICROPHONE AT THIS TIME. THANK
YOU, MADAM CHAIR AND MEMBERS.
JASON EICHER, ON BEHALF OF THE
CALIFORNIA MUNICIPAL UTILITIES
ASSOCIATION. HAPPY TO BE HERE IN
SUPPORT. MARGIE LEE ON BEHALF OF
THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUBLIC
POWER AUTHORITY IN SUPPORT.
THANK YOU. REBECCA. REBECCA.
MARCUS REPRESENTING CALPERS AND
THE UNION OF CONCERNED
SCIENTISTS. THANK YOU, BRANDON
EBCLC, PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC.
I FEEL LIKE IT'S APPROPRIATE TO
GO NOW BECAUSE WE DO NOT OPPOSE
THE BILL. WE DO NOT HAVE A
POSITION, WE VERY MUCH WANT TO
JUST COMMUNICATE APPRECIATION
FOR THE AUTHOR. NOT ON JUST THIS
BILL, BUT THE PRIOR WORK ON THIS
BILL. WE WERE HAD CONCERNS WITH
THE ORIGINAL VERSION. WE STILL
HAVE SOME, CONCERNS ABOUT THE
BILL IN PRINT AND HOW IT'S GOING
TO PLAY OUT IN THE NEXT FIVE
YEARS UNTIL WE TRANSITION FOR PG
AND E TO THE NEW PARADIGM.
THERE'S A LOT OF BENEFITS.
WIENER A WIENER. ALL RIGHT.
THERE'S EXCELLENT. CERTAINLY A
LOT OF BENEFITS TO THE NEW
STRUCTURE. WE GOT TO KEEP. WE
GOT TO LET THE NEXT PERSON GO.
HE'S GOING TO SAY THE SAME
THING. OKAY. WELL OKAY. SO NO IF
YOU'RE NOT THE PRIMARY WITNESS
IN SUPPORT OR OPPOSITION, WE
UNDERSTAND YOU HAVE SOME
CONCERNS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.
OKAY, GOOD. GOOD EVENING MADAM
CHAIR. MEMBERS. BRADY VAN
ENGLAND HERE ON BEHALF OF
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON, I'D
JUST LIKE TO ALIGN MY COMMENTS
WITH PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC.
WE'RE NOT OPPOSED AT ALL. WE DO
APPRECIATE THE WORK BY SENATOR
DODD IN THIS COMMITTEE. AND
CLARIFYING, AND DO LOOK FORWARD
TO WORKING WITH THE COMMITTEE
AND THE IMPLEMENTATION MEASURES.
THANKS. THANK YOU. OKAY. NOW,
WITNESSES IN OPPOSITION. OKAY
SO. OH, I SEE WHAT THEY'VE DONE.
ARE THERE THERE'S NO WAY THAT'S
ME OKAY. YES. ALL RIGHT. SEEING
AND HEARING NONE, I'LL BRING IT
BACK TO THE COMMITTEE FOR
QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS. OKAY. I
HAVE TO SEND A TEXT. AM I
ALLOWED TO MAKE A COMMENT? I'M A
COMMITTEE MEMBER AND PRESENTER.
YES YOU ARE. YOU CAN TAKE OFF
YOUR PRESENTER HAT AND PUT ON
YOUR COMMITTEE MEMBER HAT. THANK
YOU, MADAM CHAIR, I WANT TO SAY
THAT I THINK WHAT SENATOR DODD
IS DOING HERE IS INCREDIBLY
IMPORTANT. WE HAVE SEEN PG AND E
USING THE WILDFIRE MITIGATION
PLANS TO GO, I BELIEVE, BEYOND
WHAT IS NECESSARY TO ENSURE A
GUARANTEED RATE OF RETURN ON THE
INFRASTRUCTURE. THEY'RE
BUILDING. AND THERE REALLY
SHOULD BE OVERSIGHT TO MAKE SURE
THEY ARE MAKING INVESTMENTS THAT
WE NEED AND PROTECTING
RATEPAYERS AT THE SAME TIME. AND
I THINK THIS DOES THIS I'M
CONCERNED BY THE DELAYED
IMPLEMENTATION THAT, PG AND E
WILL GAME IT, TO BE FRANK WITH
YOU AND GET EVERYTHING APPROVED
IN ADVANCE OF THE IMPLEMENTATION
OF THIS BILL. SO I HOPE WE WILL
WATCH OUT FOR THAT AND ENSURE
THAT WE WATCH THEIR SPENDING.
ALL RIGHT. ANY ADDITIONAL
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM
COMMITTEE MEMBERS? SEEING AND
HEARING NONE. ASSEMBLY MEMBER,
WOULD YOU LIKE TO CLOSE ON
BEHALF OF SENATOR DODD? SENATOR
DODD RESPECTFULLY ASKS FOR YOUR
I VOTE. THANK YOU. OKAY. MOTION
IS DUE. PASS TO THE FLOOR. MADAM
SECRETARY, PLEASE CALL THE ROLL.
SB 1003 DUE PASS TO THE FLOOR.
PETRIE-NORRIS. AYE.
PETRIE-NORRIS. AYE. JIM
PATTERSON. BAUER-KAHAN. AYE B¢O.
KHN. AYE. CALDERON. AYE
CALDERON. AYE. CHEN. AYE. CHEN.
AYE. FRIEDMAN AYE. FRIEDMAN.
AYE. HART. HART. AYE HOLDEN.
HOLDEN. AYE JOE. PATTERSON.
REYES SANTIAGO. SCHIAVO SCHIAVO.
AYE. TING TING. AYE WALLACE.
WALLACE I WOULD, I WOULD. AYE.
ZUBIATE. ZUBIATE. AYE I NEVER
FEEL GOOD WITH THAT. 12 ZERO.
THAT BILL IS OUT. WE'LL LEAVE
THE ROLL OPEN FOR ABSENT MEMBERS
TO ADD ON, MOVING TO ITEM NUMBER
ONE, WHICH IS THE CONSENT
CALENDAR. CONSENT CALENDAR.
THANK YOU. WE HAVE A MOTION AND
A SECOND. ALL RIGHT. ONE ITEM ON
THE CONSENT CALENDAR A B 1533.
MADAM SECRETARY, PLEASE CALL THE
ROLL. ITEM NUMBER 1AB 1533. THE
MOTION IS THAT THE SENATE
AMENDMENTS BE CONCURRED IN
RECOMMENDED CONSENT.
PETRIE-NORRIS I PETRIE-NORRIS I
JIM PATTERSON, BAUER-KAHAN. Ó.
AYE. B¢O. BAUER-KAHAN. AYE
CALDERON. CALDERON. AYE. CHEN
CHEN. AYE. FRIEDMAN. FRIEDMAN.
AYE HART. HART. AYE. HOLDEN A.
HOLDEN. AYE. JO. PATTERSON.
REYES SANTIAGO. SCHIAVO A.
SCHIAVO AYE. TING TING. AYE.
WALLACE. WALLACE I WOULD, I
WOULD AYE. ZUBIATE ZUBER.
REBECCA. ZUBER. AYE KNOW WHERE
WE'RE GOING? NOWHERE 12 OKAY. 12
ZERO THE CONSENT CALENDAR IS
OUT, AND WE'LL LEAVE THE ROLL
OPEN FOR ABSENT MEMBERS TO ADD
ON. SO THAT'S A TWO. FOR ONE TO
MAKE IT EASIER TO MAKE.
ALL RIGHT. LET'S OPEN THE ROLL
SO THAT OUR RETURNING MEMBERS
MAY ADD ON. IT FEELS GOOD TO SAY
YES. SOMETIMES I DON'T LIKE
SAYING YES. RIGHT. YOU KNOW, I
PROBABLY VOTE YES. MORE ON.
OKAY. HOLD ON GUYS. OH, WOW.
THIS SEEMS LIKE REALLY EASY
HERE. HERE. YEAH ALL RIGHT. I
JUST FEEL LIKE THAT ITEM ON THIS
IN THIS CASE. SO THIS IS THE
CONSENT FILE. ITEM NUMBER ONE AB
1533 JIM PATTERSON JOE PATTERSON
JOE PATTERSON. AYE SANTIAGO.
SANTIAGO. I. THAT'S 14. OKAY
THAT IS 14 ZERO. WE WILL LEAVE
THE ROLL OPEN FOR ABSENT MEMBERS
TO ADD ON. ITEM NUMBER TWO, SB
1003. JIM PATTERSON JOE
PATTERSON. AYE JOE PATTERSON.
AYE. REYES SANTIAGO. AYE.
SANTIAGO. AYE. 14 SEVEN OKAY. 14
ZERO. THAT BILL IS OUT, BUT
WE'LL LEAVE THE ROLL OPEN FOR
ABSENT MEMBERS TO ADD ON. THAT'S
IT. THANK YOU. GENTLEMEN.
OKAY, LET'S OPEN THAT ROLL FOR
OUR ABSENT MEMBERS. TO ADD ON,
THIS IS THE CONSENT FILE. ITEM
NUMBER ONE, AB 1533 REYES Ã
REYES I, ITEM NUMBER TWO, SB
1003 REYES I REYES. AYE. THANK
YOU. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. WE
ARE NOW AT 14 ZERO FOR OUR
CONSENT ITEM, 15 ZERO FOR OUR
CONSENT ITEM 15 ZERO FOUR. I SB
1003. WE DID CONCLUDE OUR
BUSINESS AT 630, SO WE'LL BE
LEAVING THE ROLL OPEN UNTIL 645.
SHOULD ADDITIONAL ABSENT MEMBERS
WISH TO ADD ON.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S REOPEN THE
ROLL. THIS IS ITEM NUMBER ONE.
THE CONSENT FILE AB 1533. JIM
PATTERSON. YES, JIM PATTERSON.
AYE THAT'S 15 ZERO 15 ZERO. THAT
BILL IS OUT. ITEM NUMBER TWO, SB
1003 JIM PATTERSON JIM
PATTERSON. AYE. 15 ZERO 15 ZERO
16 ZERO 16 ZERO 16 ZERO. SO 16
ZERO FOR OUR CONSENT ITEM AB
1533 AND 16 ZERO FOR SB 1003,
THOSE BILLS ARE OUT. THAT
CONCLUDES TODAY'S BUSINESS. WE
ARE ADJOURNED.