Load-serving entities: resource adequacy requirements.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not provide details on penalties for non-compliance or specific impacts on customer electricity prices.

Rules for Energy Companies to Ensure Power Supply

The bill allows energy companies (load-serving entities) to demonstrate compliance with resource adequacy requirements by making short-term transactions with other load-serving entities, up to a limit of 25%.

What This Bill Does

• It permits load-serving entities to show they meet resource adequacy requirements through short-term transactions with another entity, covering up to 25% of their compliance obligations.
• The Public Utilities Commission can suspend or adjust the authority for these companies to make such transactions.

Who It Names or Affects

• Energy companies that provide electricity (load-serving entities).
• The Public Utilities Commission, which regulates energy companies.

Terms To Know

Load-Serving Entity

An organization that provides electricity to customers. This includes electrical corporations, electric service providers, and community choice aggregators.

Resource Adequacy Requirements

Rules set by the Public Utilities Commission to ensure energy companies have enough power resources available to meet customer needs.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify what happens if a company fails to comply with these rules.
• It is unclear how much this will affect electricity prices for customers.

Official Summary Text

SB 1138, as amended, Padilla.
Load-serving entities: resource adequacy requirements.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires the commission, in consultation with the Independent System Operator, to establish resource adequacy requirements for all load-serving entities, as provided. Existing law defines load-serving entity, for that purpose, as an electrical corporation, electric service provider, or community choice aggregator. Existing law requires each
load serving
load-serving entity
to be subject to the same requirements for resource adequacy, the renewables portfolio standard program, and the integrated resource planning process that apply to electrical
corporations, as provided.
This bill would require the commission to
permit
authorize
a load-serving entity to demonstrate compliance with resource adequacy requirements by selling to, or otherwise making transactions with, another load-serving entity to meet not more than 25% of its compliance
obligation, on a short-term basis,
obligations with contracts that are of a short-term duration,
and to
permit
authorize
those transactions to be denominated in the same unit of time used to denominate resource adequacy compliance requirements.
The bill would authorize the commission to suspend or adjust that authority of a load-serving entity to sell to, or otherwise make transactions with, another load-serving entity, as specified.
Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.
Because the above provisions would be a part of the act, and because a violation of a commission action implementing the above prohibition 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