Electricity: electrical infrastructure: permanently abandoned transmission facilities: emergency response: liaisons.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not provide specific details on the exact penalties for non-compliance, only that violations would be treated as a crime under existing law.

Electricity Rules: Abandoned Power Lines and Emergency Help

The bill requires electrical companies to remove old, unused power lines that could cause wildfires by January 1, 2028, and work with emergency services during disasters.

What This Bill Does

• Requires the Public Utilities Commission to update rules for removing old, unused transmission facilities by January 1, 2028.
• Asks electrical corporations to include plans for removing old power lines in their yearly wildfire prevention reports.
• Makes it a crime if companies do not follow these new rules set by the commission.
• Requires certain electric utilities and emergency services to work together during disasters and assign liaison representatives within local emergency operations centers.

Who It Names or Affects

• Electrical corporations that have old, unused power lines.
• Local publicly owned electric utilities.
• Emergency response agencies in California.

Terms To Know

Transmission facilities

Power lines and equipment used to send electricity over long distances.

Wildfire mitigation plans

Plans made by electrical companies to prevent wildfires caused by their power lines.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how much it will cost local agencies or utilities.
• It is unclear if the bill will be signed into law and when it would take effect.
• The exact details of how liaison representatives will work within emergency operations centers are not fully explained.

Official Summary Text

SB 742, as amended, Pérez.
Electricity: electrical infrastructure: permanently abandoned
transmission
facilities: emergency response: liaisons.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires electrical corporations to construct, maintain, and operate their electrical lines and equipment in a manner that will minimize the risk of catastrophic wildfire, as specified. Existing law requires electrical corporations to annually prepare and submit wildfire mitigation plans to the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety for review and approval.
This bill would require the commission, on or before January 1,
2027,
2028,
to update a general order to require each electrical corporation to remove all
permanently abandoned
transmission
facilities, as specified.
This bill would require that an electrical corporation’s wildfire mitigation plan also include an accounting of all transmission facilities, including permanently abandoned transmission facilities, and include a plan for how and when each permanently abandoned transmission facility will be removed and the wildfire mitigation measures that are being implemented to prevent hazards, as provided.
Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.
Because a violation of a commission action implementing this bill’s requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, establishes, within the office of the Governor, the Office of Emergency Services (OES) under the supervision of the Director of Emergency Services. Existing law requires OES to establish a standardized emergency management system for use by all emergency response agencies.
This bill would require certain electrical corporations and local publicly owned electric utilities, in cooperation with OES and other emergency service agencies, to establish procedures for the coordination of efforts between electrical corporations and local publicly owned electric utilities and their representatives and those of emergency response agencies. The bill would require these electrical corporations and local publicly owned electric utilities to assign liaison representatives to work
within
with
each local
emergency
operations center, as provided.
By imposing new duties on local publicly owned electric utilities, this 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 specified reasons.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF