Public Utilities Commission: outreach.

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide specific details on how the Public Utilities Commission will implement these changes or what costs and benefits will be involved in infrastructure investments.

Public Utilities Commission: Outreach and Biomethane Procurement

The bill repeals outdated provisions related to outreach studies, updates requirements for biomethane delivery through common carrier pipelines, adds reducing greenhouse gas emissions as an environmental benefit when displacing conventional natural gas with biomethane, and requires the Public Utilities Commission to allow recovery in rates of costs related to infrastructure investments by June 1, 2026.

What This Bill Does

• Repeals a requirement for the Policy and Planning Division to study outreach efforts by other utility regulatory bodies.
• Changes rules for delivering biomethane through common carrier pipelines so that it only needs to meet one of two specified requirements instead of both.
• Adds reducing greenhouse gas emissions as an environmental benefit when displacing conventional natural gas with biomethane.
• Requires the Public Utilities Commission to allow recovery in rates of costs related to infrastructure investments for biomethane production and distribution by June 1, 2026.

Who It Names or Affects

• Public Utilities Commission
• Gas corporations and core transport agents

Terms To Know

biomethane

A type of renewable natural gas made from organic waste.

common carrier pipeline

A pipeline that transports various types of materials for multiple customers, not just one company's products.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how the Public Utilities Commission will implement these changes.
• It is unclear what specific costs and benefits will be involved in infrastructure investments.

Official Summary Text

AB 1436, as amended, Ávila Farías.
Biomethane procurement targets.
Public Utilities Commission: outreach.
Existing law, in effect until January 1, 2020, required the Policy and Planning Division of the Public Utilities Commission to undertake one or more studies of outreach efforts undertaken by other state and federal utility regulatory bodies and make recommendations to the commission to promote effective outreach, including metrics for use in evaluating success.
This bill would repeal that obsolete provision.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including gas corporations. Existing law requires the commission, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, to consider adopting specific biomethane procurement targets or goals for each gas corporation and core transport agent, as specified. Existing law requires, if the commission adopts specific biomethane procurement targets or goals for each gas corporation and core transport agent, the commission to, among other things, ensure that the biomethane available for any procurement program is either delivered to California through a dedicated pipeline, or through a common carrier pipeline and meets 2 specified requirements related to the injection of the biomethane and specified environmental benefits, as prescribed.
This bill would
instead require that biomethane delivered to California through a common carrier pipeline meet either of the specified requirements, rather than both. The bill would also add the displacement of conventional natural gas that results in a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions as one of the specified environmental benefits, as specified.
Existing law requires the commission to consider options to promote the in-state production and distribution of biomethane, including whether to allow recovery in rates of the costs of investments to (1) facilitate direct investment in the procurement and installation of utility infrastructure necessary to achieve interconnection between the
natural gas transmission and distribution pipeline network and biomethane generation and collection equipment and of gathering lines for a dairy cluster biomethane project, (2) provide for the installation of utility infrastructure to achieve interconnection with facilities that generate biomethane, and (3) ensure that these investments for infrastructure are prudent and reasonable and provide a direct benefit to, and are in the interests of, all classes of ratepayers.
This bill would require, on or before June 1, 2026, the commission to allow recovery in rates of the costs of those investments.
Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.
Because the provisions of this bill would be part of the act and because a violation of a commission action implementing its requirements
would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF