Agenda packet — Orange County Power Authority Legislative & Regulatory Committee, December 4, 2025

AGENDA

ORANGE COUNTY POWER AUTHORITY

MEETING OF THE LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY COMMITTEE
Thursday, December 4, 2025
3:30 p.m.

This meeting will proceed as an in-person meeting at 15310 Barranca Parkway, Suite 250, Irvine, CA 92618. In addition, as a convenience to the public, the Orange County Power Authority is also providing an option for members of the public to remotely view and participate in the meeting.

Further details are below. Please note that, in the event of a technical issue causing a disruption in the remote participation option, the meeting may continue unless otherwise required by law.

Note: Any member of the public may provide comments to the Committee on any agenda items by requesting to speak during Item 4, or on any matter not appearing on the agenda but within the jurisdiction of the Committee by requesting to speak during Item 5. When providing comments to the Committee, it is requested that you provide your name and city of residence for the record.

Commenters are requested to address their comments to the Committee as a whole through the Chair. Comments may be provided in the following manner:

To provide comments during the meeting, in-person attendees, please fill out the public speaker slip and provide it to the clerk at the beginning of the meeting. Before Items 4 and 5, the Chair or Clerk will ask members of the public to join the queue to provide public comment. The queue will remain open for a reasonable amount of time to allow members of the public sufficient time to request to speak and inform the Committee of the number of speakers. After such time, the queue will be closed and the members of the public who have joined the queue to speak will be recognized at the appropriate time may speak. To join the queue on Zoom video conference by computer or mobile phone, use the “Raise Hand” feature. If joining the meeting using the Zoom dial-in number, you can raise your hand and join the queue by pressing *9. Members of the public will not be shown on video but will be able to speak when called upon.

Comments shall generally be limited to three minutes when speaking, provided that the Chair may equally reduce each speaker’s time to accommodate a large number of speakers or a large number of agenda items. If you have anything that you wish to be distributed to the Committee, please provide it via [email protected], who will distribute the information to the Members.

The public may participate using the following remote options:

ZOOM WEBINAR
Please click the link below to join the webinar:

Launch Meeting - Zoom
Dial-in: 1-669-900-6833
Webinar ID: 862 6350 0984

1. CALL TO ORDER

2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

3. ROLL CALL

4. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS
Opportunity for members of the public to address the Committee on any items on the agenda.

5. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS
Opportunity for members of the public to address the Committee on any items not on the agenda but within the jurisdiction of the Committee.

6. COMMITTEE MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS
Committee Members may briefly provide information to other members of the Committee and the public, ask questions of staff, or report on conferences, events, or activities related to Authority business. There is to be no discussion or action taken on comments made by Committee Members unless authorized by law.

7. CONSENT CALENDAR
All items listed under the Consent Calendar are considered to be routine and may be enacted by one motion. Prior to the motion to consider any action by the Legislative and Regulatory Committee, any public comments on any of the Consent Items will be heard.

There will be no separate action unless members of the Legislative and Regulatory Committee request specific items be removed from the Consent Calendar.

1. MINUTES FOR THE LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY
COMMITTEE MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 2, 2025
Recommended Action:

Approve as submitted.

8. REGULAR CALENDAR
The following items call for discussion or action by the Committee. The Committee may discuss and/or take action on any item listed below if the Committee is so inclined.

1. ADOPT 2026 LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY COMMITTEE

MEETING CALENDAR
Recommended Action:

Adopt 2026 Legislative & Regulatory Committee Meeting Calendar.

2. DRAFT 2026 OCPA LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY POLICY

PLATFORM
Recommended Action:

Review and Provide Feedback.

3. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Recommended Action:

Receive and file.

4. REGULATORY UPDATE
Recommended Action:

Receive and file.

9. ADJOURNMENT
Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act
OCPA meetings comply with the protections and prohibitions of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Individuals with a disability who require a modification or accommodation, including auxiliary aids or services, in order to participate in the public meeting may contact 949-263-2612. Requests for disability-related modifications or accommodations require different lead times and should be provided at least 72-hours in advance of the public meeting.

Availability of Documents
Copies of the agenda and agenda packet are available at www.ocpower.org. Late-arriving documents related to a Committee meeting item which are distributed to a majority of the Committee prior to or during the Committee meeting are available for public review as required by law. Public records, including agenda-related documents, can be requested electronically at [email protected] or by mail to 15642 Sand Canyon Avenue, P.O. Box 54283, Irvine, CA 92619-4283. The documents may also be posted at the above website.

Such public records are also available for inspection, by appointment, at 15310 Barranca Parkway, Suite 250, Irvine, CA 92618. Please contact [email protected] to arrange an appointment.

MINUTES

REGULAR MEETING

LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY COMMITTEE

ORANGE COUNTY POWER AUTHORITY
Tuesday, September 2, 2025
OCPA Legislative & Regulatory Regular Meeting of September 2, 2025 Page 1

1. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Sonne called to order the Legislative and Regulatory Committee Meeting at 11:00 a.m., on Tuesday, September 2, 2025.

2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Director Jung led the Pledge of Allegiance.

3. ROLL CALL

Present: Chair Susan Sonne City of Buena Park
Director Fred Jung City of Fullerton

4. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS
None

5. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS
None

6. COMMITTEE MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS
None

7. CONSENT CALENDAR
Moved by Director Jung and seconded by Chair Sonne to approve the Consent Calendar The motion carried unanimously by the following vote:

Ayes: Chair Sonne, Director Jung
Noes: None

Absent: None

1. MINUTES FOR THE LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY COMMITTEE MEETING OF JUNE 5, 2025
Action Taken:

Approved as submitted.

OCPA Legislative & Regulatory Regular Meeting of September 2, 2025 Page 2

8. REGULAR CALENDAR

1. LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY UPDATE
Regulatory and Legislative Manager, Steven Halligan provided a summary of legislative highlights and what’s going on in Sacramento. He discussed SB 540 (Becker) West-Wide Governance Pathway Initiative; AB 825 (Petrie-Norris) Affordability; SB 254 (Becker) Energy Affordability; and H.R.1 “One Big Beautiful Bill” signed into law July 4, 2025, which phases out key clean energy tax credits.

Action Taken:

Received and filed.

9. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the Committee, Chair Sonne adjourned the meeting at 11:28 a.m.

Our next regular meeting will be Thursday, December 4, 2025, at 3:30 p.m.

Submitted by:

Lisette Chel Walker, Interim Board Authority Secretary

ORANGE COUNTY POWER AUTHORITY
Staff Report – Item 8.1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: Orange County Power Authority Legislative and Regulatory Committee From: Steven Halligan, Regulatory and Legislative Manager Approved By: Joe Mosca, Chief Executive Officer
Subject: ADOPT 2026 LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY COMMITTEE MEETING

CALENDAR
Date: December 4, 2025
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RECOMMENDED ACTION
Adopt 2026 Legislative & Regulatory Committee Meeting Calendar.

BACKGROUND
After an extensive review of holidays, and meeting dates and times of member agencies, staff recommend Legislative and Regulatory Committee meetings be held at 3:30 p.m. on the dates below. These dates were chosen to reduce any conflicts with other meetings and holidays. • Thursday, March 5, 2026
• Thursday, June 4, 2026
• Thursday, September 3, 2026
• Thursday, December 3, 2026

FISCAL IMPACT
None

ATTACHMENTS
None

ORANGE COUNTY POWER AUTHORITY
Staff Report – Item 8.2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: Orange County Power Authority Legislative and Regulatory Committee From: Steven Halligan, Regulatory and Legislative Manager Matt Chill, Regulatory Analyst
Approved by: Joe Mosca, Chief Executive Officer
Subject: DRAFT 2026 LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY POLICY PLATFORM Date: December 4, 2025
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RECOMMENDED ACTION
Review and Provide Feedback.

BACKGROUND
In December 2023, the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) Board adopted the first OCPA Legislative and Regulatory Policy Platform (Platform) with the intention to review and update the policy annually. The Platform serves as a guide to the OCPA Board of Directors and staff in their advocacy efforts and engagement on policy matters of interest to OCPA. The Platform allows both members of the OCPA Board of Directors and staff to pursue actions at the regional, state, and federal legislative and regulatory levels in a consistent manner and with the understanding that they are pursuing actions in the best interest of the organization and its mission, its customers, and its member agencies.

The Platform enables the organization to move swiftly to respond to issues brought before Legislature and Executive Branch agencies including the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the California Energy Commission (CEC), California Independent System Operator (CAISO), and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) so that OCPA’s views can be heard on important matters in a timely fashion.

The Platform provides direction to OCPA staff on positions that should be taken on regulatory matters and legislative bill proposals. The Platform also provides guidance to the Chief Executive Officer on positions that should be taken on legislative and regulatory matters that come before the California Community Choice Association (CalCCA) Board of Directors.

The 2025 Policy Platform made one main addition compared to the 2024 Policy Platform. The 2025 Policy Platform included a new priority focus area – Regionalization. The 2025 platform includes nine priority focus areas: 1) Affordability and Rates, 2) Clean and Reliable Grid, 3) Climate Change Mitigation, 4) Customer Programs, 5) Data Access, 6) Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, 7) Local Control and Development, 8) Power Resources Planning and Procurement, 9) Regionalization. The 2025 Platform was approved by the Board on January 22, 2025.

DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS
Changes to the 2026 Draft Policy Platform include formatting changes, clarifications about purpose, and function of the platform. Staff have proposed including additional information about policies related to Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA), demand response, dynamic rates, workforce development, and the California Climate Credit. These changes are included due to anticipated priorities in the legislature and at the regulatory agencies. The CPUC has already opened proceedings to discuss changes to PCIA, demand response, and climate credit.

Staff sought feedback from the Community Advisory Committee on December 1, 2025. After collecting additional feedback from internal and external stakeholders, staff will present a final draft of the 2026 Policy Platform for the Board’s consideration in January 2026.

The approved 2025 OCPA Legislative and Regulatory Policy Platform, a redlined 2026 policy (compared to the 2025) policy, and a clean Draft 2026 OCPA Legislative and Regulatory Policy Platform are attached.

FISCAL IMPACT
None

ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A – Approved 2025 OCPA Legislative and Regulatory Policy Platform Attachment B – Draft 2026 OCPA Legislative and Regulatory Policy Platform (Clean) Attachment C – Draft 2026 OCPA Legislative and Regulatory Policy Platform (Redlined from 2024 Platform)
Orange County Power Authority 2025 Legislative and
Regulatory Policy Platform
Approved January 22, 2025
Overview and Purpose
The Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) Legislative and Regulatory Policy Platform (Platform) serves as a guide to the OCPA Board of Directors and staff in their advocacy efforts and engagement on policy matters of interest to OCPA. The Platform allows both members of the OCPA Board of Directors and OCPA staff to pursue actions at the regional, state, and federal legislative and regulatory levels in a consistent manner and with the understanding that they are pursuing actions in the best interest of the organization and its mission, its customers, and its member agencies.

Policy Platform
Affordability and Rates
OCPA supports rates that are competitively priced, enable high-value services to OCPA customers, and support cost-of-service that includes funds needed to cover operations, meet reserve targets, and fund decarbonization programs.

Clean and Reliable Grid
OCPA supports investments and removal of barriers in building transmission and renewable projects to enable the transition to a cleaner grid. OCPA supports a reliable electric system, including the smart buildout of the distribution grid to prepare for increased electrification.

OCPA will:
- Support investments in transmission upgrades and efforts to reduce interconnection barriers and distribution grid failures, including addressing permitting challenges and increased transparency.
- Support efforts to ease supply chain challenges and get renewable projects online faster. - Advocate for investments that increase the reliability of the electric system and recognize the role of fossil plants as the system transitions to renewables. - Ensure that penalties increase the production of renewables instead of simply raising the floor price of energy in the market.

Climate Change Mitigation
OCPA supports funding, projects, and programs to decarbonize the economy, especially in the electric, building, and transportation sectors. OCPA seeks opportunities to amplify our programs through regional, state, and federal levels both through policy and funding. OCPA supports efforts to remove barriers to fuel switching/decarbonization.

OCPA will:
- Understand and advocate for funding opportunities to support clean energy and climate change mitigation, including the Federal Inflation Reduction Act. - Support efforts to transition buildings to electric, including removing the obligation to serve gas requirement and efforts to modernize permitting. - Support funding for EV infrastructure and ensure EV policies are technology neutral. - Advocate for the fair valuation of resources, including capturing the value of demand-side resources better in the CAISO. - Advocate for increased funding for clean energy workforce training and investments to reduce fossil damage in low-income communities.
- Support efforts to decarbonize industrial uses and processes, including reducing the use of baseload fuel cells that use natural gas.

Customer Programs
OCPA supports funding to provide energy support services, education, and opportunities for reducing energy costs to all customers including those who are low-income, seniors, veterans, and/or people with disabilities. OCPA supports policies and efforts to ensure that services and education are offered in languages other than English.

OCPA will:
- Support legislation and initiatives that increase funding for energy efficiency, demand response, solar plus storage, and transportation electrification programs, and energy literacy services.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that will enable OCPA to pursue demand response programs and opportunities for its customers.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives to promote electrification of the transportation sector in response to state and federal goals aimed at increasing the usage of zero emission vehicles.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that support the ability of OCPA to promote electrification and the reduction of natural gas usage in the building sector. - Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that support the ability of OCPA and its member agencies to offer local grid management and resiliency solutions to increase local reliability and adaptability that could protect against power outages and extreme heat.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that support the ability of OCPA to offer and utilize distributed energy resources as part of its reliability, resiliency and community engagement strategies.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that support the ability of OCPA to explore new opportunities related to behind the meter clean energy resources.

Data Access
OCPA recognizes the importance of having accurate and timely data. This data is vital to improve billing accuracy and to inform the development and implementation of customer programs. It is important that OCPA is not charged exorbitant fees to obtain this data.

OCPA will:
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that will enable OCPA to obtain timely and accurate access to its customers’ data to improve billing accuracy and inform the development and implementation of customer programs.
- Support policies that enhance timely access by CCAs to quality billing data to enable demand flexibility initiatives and innovative rate design. - Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives to ensure that the fees due to Southern California Edison for data access and management are fairly assessed based on data needs and potential technological improvements.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
OCPA supports policies that consider equitable treatment of low-income and historically underserved communities through affordable electricity rates, priority access to decarbonization and climate mitigation programs.

OCPA will:
- Support programs that invest in low-income and historically disadvantaged communities (communities of concern) either through separate tracks that dedicate funding to or that give deeper levels of subsidies for these groups.
- Support tenant access to the benefits of decarbonization programs and tenant protections. - Support efforts to repeal Proposition 209, which limits public agencies’ ability to engage in equity efforts.
- Support legislation and regulation that supports the ability of communities of concern in the OCPA service area to have affordable, reliable and clean energy. - Support legislation and regulation that strengthens the resilience of vulnerable communities to the impacts of climate change.
- Support legislation and regulation that enables all communities, including emerging and historically marginalized communities in California, to participate in decarbonization efforts.
- Support legislation, regulation and policies that internalize the externalities of carbon, through true cost pricing and social cost accounting.
- Support legislation and initiatives that would reduce local air pollution, reduce other negative local impacts associated with energy production, and boost adoption of distributed energy resources within communities of concern. - Oppose legislation and initiatives that have the potential to disproportionately and negatively impact communities of concern.

Local Control and Development
OCPA supports the CCA model of local government governance, while acknowledging system-wide needs. Any system needs should give maximum flexibility to allow local authority and discretion to meet goals. OCPA will support any legislation, policies, funding, referenda, and budgets that maintain or improve the stability of CCAs by ensuring regulatory structure is equitable and enables CCAs to meet their mission and goals. Maintaining local decision-making authority, including rate-setting authority and procurement of energy, is a key pillar for this stability.

OCPA will:
- Advocate for fair and equitable exit fees that prevent cost-shifting among customers. - Oppose policy mandates that violate CCA ratemaking autonomy. - Engage in conversations about the role of a “Central Procurement Entity” that preserves CCA’s responsibility to procure energy while finding a system that maximizes cost efficiency and reliability.
- Advocate for flexible Brown Act requirements that allow remote access for both the public and board members.
- Advocate for goal-based procurement instead of prescriptive, technology-specific mandates.
- Advocate for increased visibility into the distribution grid and an open access platform to provide clear information and signals about where Distribute Energy Resource buildout is optimal.
- Oppose any legislation, policies, funding, referenda, and budgets that undermine or circumvent CCAs and impede the ability of OCPA to achieve its mission and goals or its value proposition.
- Support any legislation, policy, funding, referenda, and budgets that enhance OCPA’s ability to invest in local clean energy, including infill solar and battery storage, as well as other distributed energy resources, grid resiliency, zero-emission transportation, all while promoting equity in the communities that it serves.
- Oppose any legislation, policy, funding, referenda, and budgets that limit or undermine OCPA’s ability to invest in local clean energy, distributed energy resources, zero-emission transportation, all while promoting equity in the communities that it serves. - Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that support supplier diversity in OCPA’s contracting activities and through women-owned, minority-owned, disabled-veteran-owned, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender owned business enterprises. - Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives to protect OCPA’s ability to expand its service to new member agencies.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives to protect OCPA Board’s authority over OCPA’s procurement, rate-setting, and customer program development activities.

Power Resources Planning and Procurement
The ability for OCPA to fairly and independently plan and procure power resources is vital to the goals of the agency. OCPA acknowledges the many challenges facing California and the transition to renewable energy and seeks to help address Resource Adequacy market issues.

OCPA must ensure stable and fair market access and remove barriers for demand response and microgrid resources.

OCPA will:
- Support legislation and regulation to address shortfalls in the Resource Adequacy market including transmission constraints, interconnection or project delays, and minimizing market power.
- Oppose legislation and regulation that would supplant CCAs’ procurement authority for Resource Adequacy or impose compliance penalties not grounded in market realities. - Support reform of the CPUC Resource Adequacy program to allow for stability in the resource adequacy value of existing resources and allow for departing load to access existing resources at fair market value.
- Advocate for and support efforts to remove barriers to demand response microgrids and behind the meter resources to provide Resource Adequacy. - Oppose legislation and regulation that restricts or limits OCPA’s ability to procure its own energy products to meet state policy goals.
- Support legislation that promotes a level playing field between CCAs and other market participants.
- Support legislation that enhances the flexibility of CCA programs to support statewide procurement policy and develop and expand programs, local options, and rate design to support OCPA’s community and customers.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that will enable OCPA to secure capacity resources to meet its reliability obligations, such as initiatives that evaluate the supply of capacity resources available to load serving entities (LSEs), determine the appropriate market mechanisms for LSEs to procure capacity resources, and develop a durable policy framework that encourages all LSEs to construct their fair share of new capacity resources to maintain grid reliability while pursuing decarbonization efforts. - Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that will maximize OCPA’s ability to procure carbon-free resources to meet or exceed the needs of OCPA’s three product offerings and its long-term carbon-free procurement goal as required by SB 100 and other statutory or regulatory obligations.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that will maximize OCPA’s ability to procure eligible Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) resources to meet the needs of OCPA’s three product offerings and its long-term RPS procurement goal as required by SB 100 and other statutory or regulatory obligations.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that will maximize OCPA’s ability to plan and procure resources to meet various environmental and reliability goals set by state laws and by its Board of Directors, while offering affordable products and programs to serve its customers, including disadvantaged communities. - Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that will provide OCPA adequate access to transmission capacity to maximize its procurement of RPS-eligible or carbon-free resources that meet various statutory and regulatory requirements. - Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that support the research and development of new energy resources that can be procured to meet the reliability and decarbonization goals set by the State and its Board of Directors.

Regionalization
A unified, west-wide market can deliver substantial customer benefits including improving grid reliability, maintaining affordability, and help connect clean energy throughout the West. - Support legislation and regulations to allow for the creation of a regional organization in the West.
- Support the creation of a regional organization that does not interfere with any other OCPA policy goals.
- Ensure that any regional organization that is created supports and strives for the same goals as OCPA.

Any questions regarding this Platform can be directed to Steven Halligan, Regulatory and Legislative Manager, at [email protected].

DRAFT Orange County Power
Authority 2026 Legislative and
Regulatory Policy Platform
Approved: ________

Table of Contents
Overview and Purpose ............................................................................................................................. 3 Mission, Vision, and Engaged Purpose Statement .................................................................... 5 Policy Platform ............................................................................................................................................ 6 Affordability and Rates ....................................................................................................................... 6 Clean and Reliable Grid ...................................................................................................................... 7 Climate Change Mitigation ............................................................................................................... 7 Customer Programs ............................................................................................................................... 8 Data Access ............................................................................................................................................... 9 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion..................................................................................................... 10 Local Control and Development ................................................................................................... 11 Power Resources Planning and Procurement ......................................................................... 12 Regionalization ..................................................................................................................................... 14 Additional Information .......................................................................................................................... 15

Overview and Purpose
The Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) Legislative and Regulatory Policy Platform (Platform) serves as a guide to the OCPA Board of Directors and staff in their advocacy efforts and engagement on policy matters of interest to OCPA. The Platform allows both members of the OCPA Board of Directors and OCPA staff to pursue actions at the regional, state, and federal legislative and regulatory levels in a consistent manner and with the understanding that they are pursuing actions in the best interest of the organization and its mission, its customers, and its member agencies.

OCPA’s legislative and regulatory advocacy is grounded in a commitment to five core principles: affordability, reliability, decarbonization, local control, and equity.

These guiding principles reflect OCPA’s mission to provide clean, competitively priced energy while maintaining flexibility to meet the unique needs of its member agencies and customers. OCPA will pursue policies and partnerships that advance these principles in a balanced and pragmatic manner, ensuring long-term benefits for both customers and the region’s energy future.

OCPA collaborates closely with its member agencies to strengthen and align advocacy efforts across the region. Through regular communication and coordinated policy engagement, OCPA ensures that legislative and regulatory positions reflect shared local priorities and maximize benefits for all communities in its service area.

Mission, Vision, and Engaged Purpose Statement
Mission:

To provide the option of renewable energy at competitive rates and equitably reinvest to support sustainable communities.

Vision:

Think globally and act locally by empowering our communities with choice, transforming the energy landscape, driving a sustainable future, and ensuring that no community is left behind in the transition to renewable energy.

Engaged Purpose Statement:

The OCPA team is dedicated to making a positive impact by empowering one another and the communities we serve. We emphasize sustainability and resilience, fostering strong relationships through collaboration, transparency, and trust.

Together, we strive to lead by example and nurture a culture of accountability and shared success, paving the way for a brighter and healthier future powered by clean energy.

OCPA will:
- Support policies that promote affordable rates for all Californians while ensuring ratepayer equity and maintaining ratemaking autonomy for Community Choice Aggregators (CCA).
- Support policies that minimize the cost of service and eliminate unnecessary costs so OCPA can provide more affordable electricity to customers. - Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that will ensure that non-bypassable charges, including PCIA, assessed for OCPA customers are fair, and that OCPA’s customers are not unnecessarily burdened by non-bypassable charges. - Support reforms to the PCIA that ensure customers pay only their fair share of costs for resources procured before they joined a CCA and ensure that the PCIA reflects true market value.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives to ensure that OCPA is eligible to apply and receive funding made available to the electricity sector for decarbonization, reliability, and affordability purposes, and that OCPA’s financial health is not disparately impacted by new regulations. - Advocate for Provider of Last Resort fees that appropriately factor in the risk of LSE failure.
- Support rate structures that encourage electrification.Support maintaining local autonomy in the development of electric rate structures to ensure they are tailored to meet the needs and interests of our customers. Oppose mandates that would require implementation of rate designs that do not provide clear benefits to our communities.
- Advocate for rate reform so programs like wildfire mitigation and public purpose programs are funded outside of rates.
- Support continuation of the California Climate Credit as a customer benefit that offsets energy costs and demonstrates the value of state climate investments. Ensure the California Climate Credit is distributed equitably and maximizes community benefit.
- Advocate for the development of optional real-time-rates that can empower customers to maximize bill savings if they are willing to adjust their behavior in alignment with wholesale electricity pricing.

OCPA will:
- Advocate for policies and investments that accelerate the transition to a clean energy system while maintaining grid reliability, ensuring fair cost allocation, and maximizing local benefits for customers and member communities.
- Support investments in transmission upgrades and efforts to reduce interconnection barriers and distribution grid failures, including addressing permitting challenges and increased transparency.
- Support efforts to ease supply chain challenges and get renewable projects online faster.
- Advocate for investments that increase the reliability of the electric system and recognize the role of fossil plants as the system transitions to renewables.
- Ensure that penalties increase the production of renewables instead of simply raising the floor price of energy in the market.

OCPA will:
- Understand and advocate for funding opportunities to support clean energy and climate change mitigation, including the Federal Inflation Reduction Act.
- Support efforts to transition buildings to electric, including removing the obligation to serve gas requirement and efforts to modernize permitting. - Support funding for EV infrastructure and ensure EV policies are technology neutral.
- Advocate for the fair valuation of resources, including capturing the value of demand-side resources better in the CAISO.
- Advocate for increased funding for clean energy workforce training and investments to reduce fossil damage in low-income communities. - Advocate for pathways that enable optional contributions to clean and renewable electricity procurement above and beyond required levels by the RPS, such as the Voluntary Renewable Energy (VRE) Program through the Cap and Invest Program.
- Support efforts to decarbonize industrial uses and processes, including reducing the use of baseload fuel cells that use natural gas.

OCPA will:
- Support legislation and initiatives that increase funding for energy efficiency, demand response, solar plus storage, and transportation electrification programs, workforce development, and energy literacy services.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that will enable OCPA to pursue demand response programs and opportunities for its customers. - Support legislation and regulation that enhances the value of distributed energy resources (DERs) for OCPA customers by enabling them to provide beneficial grid services in harmony with non-OCPA customer DERs, participate in the wholesale market, and access other potential DER value streams.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives to promote electrification of the transportation sector in response to state and federal goals aimed at increasing the usage of zero emission vehicles.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that support the ability of OCPA to promote electrification and the reduction of natural gas usage in the building sector.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that support the ability of OCPA and its member agencies to offer local grid management and resiliency solutions to increase local reliability and adaptability that could protect against power outages and extreme heat.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that support the ability of OCPA to offer and utilize distributed energy resources as part of its reliability, resiliency and community engagement strategies. - Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that support the ability of OCPA to explore new opportunities related to behind the meter clean energy resources.

OCPA will:
- Support a PCIA structure that is transparent, accurate, and aligned with actual procurement costs. Advocate for consistent and fair PCIA calculations to ensure customers are not overcharged for legacy utility resources and that local programs can continue delivering affordable, clean energy. - Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that will enable OCPA to obtain timely
and accurate access to its customers’ data to improve billing accuracy and inform the development and implementation of customer programs. - Support policies that enhance timely access by CCAs to quality billing data to enable demand flexibility initiatives and innovative rate design. - Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives to ensure that the fees due to Southern California Edison for data access and management are fairly assessed based on data needs and potential technological improvements.

OCPA will:
- Support programs that invest in low-income and historically disadvantaged communities (communities of concern) either through separate tracks that dedicate funding to or that give deeper levels of subsidies for these groups. - Support tenant access to the benefits of decarbonization programs and tenant protections.
- Support efforts to repeal Proposition 209, which limits public agencies’ ability to engage in equity efforts.
- Support legislation and regulation that supports the ability of communities of concern in the OCPA service area to have affordable, reliable and clean energy.
- Support legislation and regulation that strengthens the resilience of vulnerable communities to the impacts of climate change. - Support legislation and regulation that enables all communities, including emerging and historically marginalized communities in California, to participate in decarbonization efforts.
- Support legislation, regulation and policies that internalize the externalities of carbon, through true cost pricing and social cost accounting. - Support legislation and initiatives that would reduce local air pollution, reduce other negative local impacts associated with energy production, and boost adoption of distributed energy resources within communities of concern.
- Oppose legislation and initiatives that have the potential to disproportionately and negatively impact communities of concern.

OCPA will:
- Advocate for fair and equitable exit fees that prevent cost-shifting among customers.
- Oppose policy mandates that violate CCA ratemaking autonomy. - Engage in conversations about the role of a “Central Procurement Entity” that preserves CCA’s responsibility to procure energy while finding a system that maximizes cost efficiency and reliability.
- Advocate for flexible Brown Act requirements that allow remote access for both the public and board members.
- Advocate for goal-based procurement instead of prescriptive, technology-specific mandates. - Advocate for increased visibility into the distribution grid and an open access platform to provide clear information and signals about where Distribute Energy Resource buildout is optimal.
- Oppose any legislation, policies, funding, referenda, and budgets that undermine or circumvent CCAs and impede the ability of OCPA to achieve its mission and goals or its value proposition.
- Support any legislation, policy, funding, referenda, and budgets that enhance OCPA’s ability to invest in local clean energy, including infill solar and battery storage, as well as other distributed energy resources, grid resiliency, zero-emission transportation, all while promoting equity in the communities that it serves.
- Oppose any legislation, policy, funding, referenda, and budgets that limit or undermine OCPA’s ability to invest in local clean energy, distributed energy resources, zero-emission transportation, all while promoting equity in the communities that it serves.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that support supplier diversity in OCPA’s contracting activities and through women-owned, minority-owned, disabled-veteran-owned, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender owned business enterprises.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives to protect OCPA’s ability to expand its service to new member agencies.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives to protect OCPA Board’s authority over OCPA’s procurement, rate-setting, and customer program development activities.

OCPA will:
- Support legislation and regulation to address shortfalls in the Resource Adequacy market including transmission constraints, interconnection or project delays, and minimizing market power.
- Oppose legislation and regulation that would supplant CCAs’ procurement authority for Resource Adequacy or impose compliance penalties not grounded in market realities.
- Support reform of the CPUC Resource Adequacy program to allow for stability in the resource adequacy value of existing resources and allow for departing load to access existing resources at fair market value. - Advocate for and support efforts to remove barriers to demand response microgrids and behind the meter resources to provide Resource Adequacy. - Oppose legislation and regulation that restricts or limits OCPA’s ability to procure its own energy products to meet state policy goals, such as the use of a central procurement entity (CPE) to procure energy products on behalf of many regional LSEs.Support legislation that promotes a level playing field between CCAs and other market participants.
- Support legislation that enhances the flexibility of CCA programs to support statewide procurement policy and develop and expand programs, local options, and rate design to support OCPA’s community and customers.Support legislation and regulation that promotes a high confidence in the load forecasting activities that inform OCPA energy product obligations such that additional capacity buildout is prudent and OCPA’s customers are not unnecessarily burdened financially, especially as it pertains to large loads such as data centers whose deployment comes with a level of uncertainty.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that will enable OCPA to secure capacity resources to meet its reliability obligations, such as initiatives that evaluate the supply of capacity resources available to load serving entities (LSEs), determine the appropriate market mechanisms for LSEs to procure capacity resources, and develop a durable policy framework that encourages all LSEs to construct their fair share of new capacity resources to maintain grid reliability while pursuing decarbonization efforts. - Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that will maximize OCPA’s ability to procure carbon-free resources to meet or exceed the needs of OCPA’s three product offerings and its long-term carbon-free procurement goal as required by SB 100 and other statutory or regulatory obligations. - Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that will maximize OCPA’s ability to procure eligible Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) resources to meet the needs of OCPA’s three product offerings and its long-term RPS procurement goal as required by SB 100 and other statutory or regulatory obligations.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that will maximize OCPA’s ability to plan and procure resources to meet various environmental and reliability goals set by state laws and by its Board of Directors, while offering affordable products and programs to serve its customers, including disadvantaged communities.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that will provide OCPA adequate access to transmission capacity to maximize its procurement of RPS-eligible or carbon-free resources that meet various statutory and regulatory requirements.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that support the research and development of new energy resources that can be procured to meet the reliability and decarbonization goals set by the State and its Board of Directors.

Regionalization
A unified, west-wide market can deliver substantial customer benefits including improving grid reliability, maintaining affordability, and help connect clean energy throughout the West.
- Support legislation and regulations to allow for the creation of a regional organization in the West.
- Support the creation of a regional organization that does not interfere with any other OCPA policy goals.
- Ensure that any regional organization that is created supports and strives for the same goals as OCPA.

Additional Information
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), or their designee, is authorized to take positions on legislative and regulatory matters consistent with the goals and priorities outlined in this Policy Platform. This ensures that OCPA can act swiftly and effectively in dynamic policy environments. Any proposed positions that fall outside the scope of the Platform, or that may present significant new policy implications, will be brought to the Board of Directors for consideration and direction.

Any questions regarding this Platform can be directed to Steven Halligan, Regulatory and Legislative Manager, at [email protected].

DRAFT Orange County Power
Authority 2026 Legislative and
Regulatory Policy Platform
Approved: ________

Table of Contents
Overview and Purpose ............................................................................................. 33 Mission, Vision, and Engaged Purpose Statement .................................................. 55 Policy Platform ........................................................................................................ 66 Affordability and Rates ......................................................................................... 66 Clean and Reliable Grid ........................................................................................ 77 Climate Change Mitigation ................................................................................... 87 Customer Programs ............................................................................................... 88 Data Access ........................................................................................................... 99 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion .......................................................................... 109 Local Control and Development ....................................................................... 1110 Power Resources Planning and Procurement ................................................... 1212 Regionalization ................................................................................................. 1414 Additional Information ........................................................................................ 1614

OCPA’s legislative and regulatory advocacy is grounded in a commitment to five core principles: affordability, reliability, decarbonization, local control, and equity.

Mission, Vision, and Engaged Purpose Statement
Mission:

To provide the option of renewable energy at competitive rates and equitably reinvest to support sustainable communities.

Vision:

Engaged Purpose Statement:

Together, we strive to lead by example and nurture a culture of accountability and shared success, paving the way for a brighter and healthier future powered by clean energy.

Support rate structures that encourage electrification. - Support maintaining local autonomy in the development of electric rate structures to ensure they are tailored to meet the needs and interests of our customers. Oppose mandates that would require implementation of rate designs that do not provide clear benefits to our communities. - Advocate for rate reform so programs like wildfire mitigation and public purpose programs are funded outside of rates.
- Support continuation of the California Climate Credit as a customer benefit that offsets energy costs and demonstrates the value of state climate investments. Ensure the California Climate Credit is distributed equitably and maximizes community benefit.
- Advocate for the development of optional real-time-rates that can empower customers to maximize bill savings if they are willing to adjust their behavior in alignment with wholesale electricity pricing.

OCPA will:
- Understand and advocate for funding opportunities to support clean energy and climate change mitigation, including the Federal Inflation Reduction Act.
- Support efforts to transition buildings to electric, including removing the obligation to serve gas requirement and efforts to modernize permitting. - Support funding for EV infrastructure and ensure EV policies are technology neutral.
- Advocate for the fair valuation of resources, including capturing the value of demand-side resources better in the CAISO.
- Advocate for increased funding for clean energy workforce training and investments to reduce fossil damage in low-income communities. - Advocate for pathways that enable optional contributions to clean and renewable electricity procurement above and beyond required levels by the RPS, such as the Voluntary Renewable Energy (VRE) Program through the Cap and Invest Program.
- Support efforts to decarbonize industrial uses and processes, including reducing the use of baseload fuel cells that use natural gas.

OCPA will:
- Support legislation and initiatives that increase funding for energy efficiency, demand response, solar plus storage, and transportation electrification programs, workforce development, and energy literacy services.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that will enable OCPA to pursue demand response programs and opportunities for its customers. - Support legislation and regulation that enhances the value of distributed energy resources (DERs) for OCPA customers by enabling them to provide beneficial grid services in harmony with non-OCPA customer DERs, participate in the wholesale market, and access other potential DER value streams.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives to promote electrification of the transportation sector in response to state and federal goals aimed at increasing the usage of zero emission vehicles.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that support the ability of OCPA to promote electrification and the reduction of natural gas usage in the building sector.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that support the ability of OCPA and its member agencies to offer local grid management and resiliency solutions to increase local reliability and adaptability that could protect against power outages and extreme heat.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that support the ability of OCPA to offer and utilize distributed energy resources as part of its reliability, resiliency and community engagement strategies. - Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that support the ability of OCPA to explore new opportunities related to behind the meter clean energy resources.

OCPA will:
- Support programs that invest in low-income and historically disadvantaged communities (communities of concern) either through separate tracks that dedicate funding to or that give deeper levels of subsidies for these groups. - Support tenant access to the benefits of decarbonization programs and tenant protections.
- Support efforts to repeal Proposition 209, which limits public agencies’ ability to engage in equity efforts.
- Support legislation and regulation that supports the ability of communities of concern in the OCPA service area to have affordable, reliable and clean energy.
- Support legislation and regulation that strengthens the resilience of vulnerable communities to the impacts of climate change. - Support legislation and regulation that enables all communities, including emerging and historically marginalized communities in California, to participate in decarbonization efforts.
- Support legislation, regulation and policies that internalize the externalities of carbon, through true cost pricing and social cost accounting. - Support legislation and initiatives that would reduce local air pollution, reduce other negative local impacts associated with energy production, and boost adoption of distributed energy resources within communities of concern.
- Oppose legislation and initiatives that have the potential to disproportionately and negatively impact communities of concern.

OCPA will:
- Advocate for fair and equitable exit fees that prevent cost-shifting among customers.
- Oppose policy mandates that violate CCA ratemaking autonomy. - Engage in conversations about the role of a “Central Procurement Entity” that preserves CCA’s responsibility to procure energy while finding a system that maximizes cost efficiency and reliability.
- Advocate for flexible Brown Act requirements that allow remote access for both the public and board members.
- Advocate for goal-based procurement instead of prescriptive, technology-specific mandates. - Advocate for increased visibility into the distribution grid and an open access platform to provide clear information and signals about where Distribute Energy Resource buildout is optimal.
- Oppose any legislation, policies, funding, referenda, and budgets that undermine or circumvent CCAs and impede the ability of OCPA to achieve its mission and goals or its value proposition.
- Support any legislation, policy, funding, referenda, and budgets that enhance OCPA’s ability to invest in local clean energy, including infill solar and battery storage, as well as other distributed energy resources, grid resiliency, zero-emission transportation, all while promoting equity in the communities that it serves.
- Oppose any legislation, policy, funding, referenda, and budgets that limit or undermine OCPA’s ability to invest in local clean energy, distributed energy resources, zero-emission transportation, all while promoting equity in the communities that it serves.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that support supplier diversity in OCPA’s contracting activities and through women-owned, minority-owned, disabled-veteran-owned, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender owned business enterprises.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives to protect OCPA’s ability to expand its service to new member agencies.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives to protect OCPA Board’s authority over OCPA’s procurement, rate-setting, and customer program development activities.

OCPA will:
- Support legislation and regulation to address shortfalls in the Resource Adequacy market including transmission constraints, interconnection or project delays, and minimizing market power.
- Oppose legislation and regulation that would supplant CCAs’ procurement authority for Resource Adequacy or impose compliance penalties not grounded in market realities.
- Support reform of the CPUC Resource Adequacy program to allow for stability in the resource adequacy value of existing resources and allow for departing load to access existing resources at fair market value. - Advocate for and support efforts to remove barriers to demand response microgrids and behind the meter resources to provide Resource Adequacy. - Oppose legislation and regulation that restricts or limits OCPA’s ability to procure its own energy products to meet state policy goals, such as the use of a central procurement entity (CPE) to procure energy products on behalf of many regional LSEs.
- Support legislation that promotes a level playing field between CCAs and other market participants.
- Support legislation that enhances the flexibility of CCA programs to support statewide procurement policy and develop and expand programs, local options, and rate design to support OCPA’s community and customers. - Support legislation and regulation that promotes a high confidence in the load forecasting activities that inform OCPA energy product obligations such that additional capacity buildout is prudent and OCPA’s customers are not unnecessarily burdened financially, especially as it pertains to large loads such as data centers whose deployment comes with a level of uncertainty.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that will enable OCPA to secure capacity resources to meet its reliability obligations, such as initiatives that evaluate the supply of capacity resources available to load serving entities (LSEs), determine the appropriate market mechanisms for LSEs to procure capacity resources, and develop a durable policy framework that encourages all LSEs to construct their fair share of new capacity resources to maintain grid reliability while pursuing decarbonization efforts. - Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that will maximize OCPA’s ability to procure carbon-free resources to meet or exceed the needs of OCPA’s three product offerings and its long-term carbon-free procurement goal as required by SB 100 and other statutory or regulatory obligations. - Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that will maximize OCPA’s ability to procure eligible Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) resources to meet the needs of OCPA’s three product offerings and its long-term RPS procurement goal as required by SB 100 and other statutory or regulatory obligations.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that will maximize OCPA’s ability to plan and procure resources to meet various environmental and reliability goals set by state laws and by its Board of Directors, while offering affordable products and programs to serve its customers, including disadvantaged communities.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that will provide OCPA adequate access to transmission capacity to maximize its procurement of RPS-eligible or carbon-free resources that meet various statutory and regulatory requirements.
- Pursue administrative and legislative initiatives that support the research and development of new energy resources that can be procured to meet the reliability and decarbonization goals set by the State and its Board of Directors.

Regionalization
A unified, west-wide market can deliver substantial customer benefits including improving grid reliability, maintaining affordability, and help connect clean energy throughout the West.
- Support legislation and regulations to allow for the creation of a regional organization in the West.
- Support the creation of a regional organization that does not interfere with any other OCPA policy goals.
- Ensure that any regional organization that is created supports and strives for the same goals as OCPA.

Any questions regarding this Platform can be directed to Steven Halligan, Regulatory and Legislative Manager, at [email protected].

ORANGE COUNTY POWER AUTHORITY
Staff Report – Item 8.3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: Orange County Power Authority Legislative and Regulatory Committee From: Steven Halligan, Regulatory and Legislative Manager Approved By: Joe Mosca, Chief Executive Officer
Subject: LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Date: December 4, 2025
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STRATEGIC GOALS
☐ Enrich & Grow the OCPA Community:
☐ Prioritize Fiscal Sustainability & Affordability:
☐ Design & Deploy Community-Aligned Customer Programs:
☐ Energize Our Community with Renewable Energy:
☒ Raise Awareness of Community Energy & Advocate for Our Customers:
☐ Not Applicable:

RECOMMENDED ACTION
Receive and file.

BACKGROUND
Staff conducted ongoing analysis and monitoring of state legislation throughout the 2025 legislative session and identified 120 bills relevant to OCPA operations, customer impacts, or broader energy-sector policy (Attachment A – 2025 Orange County Power Authority Bill Tracker).

Of these, 11 were designated as high priority based on potential implications for affordability, procurement, compliance obligations, governance, or operational flexibility.

Of the 120 bills monitored:
• 79 bills failed to meet statutory deadlines and will not move forward this year. • 41 bills advanced to the Governor’s desk.
• 29 bills were signed by the Governor, while the remainder were vetoed.

Staff track legislation across multiple categories critical to OCPA and its member agencies, including affordability programs, building energy standards, resource procurement and energy sources, CEQA and environmental compliance, transmission policy, decarbonization strategy, demand forecasting, electrification, IOU rate case proposals, regulatory oversight reforms, and workforce development. These categories help staff identify cross-cutting risks and opportunities early in the legislative process and ensure alignment with OCPA’s policy platform.

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
The 2025 legislative session concluded on Saturday, September 13, 2025. Lawmakers introduced more than 2,800 measures, with over 900 ultimately reaching Governor Newsom for consideration.

As the first year of the two-year legislative cycle, approximately 1,100 bills were designated “two-year” bills, meaning they did not advance this year but may return when the Legislature reconvenes in January 2026. Many of these two-year bills are expected to be central to next year’s policymaking, particularly those related to affordability, reliability, and California’s clean energy transition.

The Governor had until October 12, 2025, to sign or veto legislation. Of the 11 high-priority bills tracked by OCPA this session, the Governor signed nine and vetoed two:
• AB 527 (Papan) – Vetoed. OCPA monitored this bill because it aligned with CalCCA’s support for limited CEQA exemptions for geothermal exploratory projects. The Governor’s veto message stated that similar changes enacted last year under AB 1359 (Papan) require additional time to evaluate before further statutory adjustments are made. • SB 541 (Becker) – Vetoed. CalCCA opposed this bill. The Governor determined it to be “largely redundant and, in some cases, disruptive” to ongoing CPUC, CEC, and CAISO efforts to enhance statewide electric load-management strategies.

These outcomes will influence OCPA’s legislative engagement heading into 2026.

The California Legislature will reconvene on January 5, 2026. Key early-session deadlines include:
• January 16, 2026 – Last day for policy committees to hear and report fiscal bills introduced in their house to fiscal committees.
• January 31, 2026 – Deadline for all bills to be introduced. • February – April 2026 – Policy committee hearings and amendments period for two-year bills.
• May 2026 – Governor’s May Revision will inform budget-related clean energy and affordability proposals with direct impacts on customers and load-serving entities.

Staff will continue tracking two-year bills and newly introduced legislation, prioritizing measures that could impact OCPA’s power procurement, rate affordability, regulatory compliance, or long-term planning efforts.

FISCAL IMPACT
None

ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A – 2025 Orange County Power Authority Bill Tracker Orange County Power Authority
2025 California Bill Tracker (Updated 10/23/2025)
High Priority
Bill # Author Title Category Summary Status Position
AB 527 Papan California Environmental
Quality Act: geothermal
exploratory projects
Geothermal This bill provides that “geothermal exploratory project” includes, among other things, equipment and activities necessary to establish interconnectivity between wells and reservoirs. The bill would exempt geothermal exploratory projects for which the county is the lead agency that meet specified conditions from CEQA. The bill would require the lead agency, at least 30 days before the making the determination to approve or carry out a change in use pursuant to this exemption, to post a written notice on its internet website and at the project site. Because the exemption would apply to projects where the county is the lead agency and the county would be required to determine if a project qualifies for this exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Vetoed by Governor CalCCA
Support
AB 531 Rogers Geothermal powerplants
and geothermal field
development projects:
certification and
environmental review
Geothermal This bill would expand the types of facilities eligible to be certified as environmental leadership development projects by the Energy Commission to include geothermal powerplants and geothermal field development projects, as defined.

Approved by Governor
on October 6
CalCCA
Support
AB 825 Petrie-Norris Independent System
Operator: independent
regional organization
Regional Organization The bill would authorize the ISO and the electrical corporations that are participating transmission owners whose transmission systems are operated by the ISO to use voluntary energy markets governed by an independent regional organization, only if specified requirements are satisfied.

Approved by Governor
on September 19
Orange County Power Authority
2025 California Bill Tracker (Updated 10/23/2025)
High Priority
AB 1207 Irwin Climate change: market-based compliance
mechanism: price ceiling
Cap-and-Trade Extends Cap and Invest to January 1, 2046. The bill would require that moneys generated from the sale of additional allowances at the price ceiling be deposited into the California Climate Mitigation Fund, which the bill would create in the State Treasury. The bill would require moneys in the California Climate Mitigation Fund be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes of providing direct rebates and investments to reduce household energy costs. This bill would require the credits provided to residential customers to be provided on the bills of those customers in no more than 4 high-billed months of each year to maximize customer electric bill affordability or as otherwise directed by the commission to address extreme, unforeseen, and temporary circumstances. This bill would make the 15% allocation for clean energy and energy efficiency projects inoperative on July 1, 2026. The bill would require, from July 1, 2026, to January 1, 2031, inclusive, 5% of those revenues be remitted to the State Treasury for deposit into the California Transmission Accelerator Revolving Fund and be available to California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank for purposes of the California Transmission Accelerator Revolving Fund Program.

Approved by Governor
on September 19
SB 57 Padilla Electrical corporations:
data centers: report
Data Centers This bill would authorize the commission to assess the extent to which electrical corporation costs associated with new loads from data centers result in cost shifts to other electrical corporation customers provided. The bill would require the commission to submit an assessment completed pursuant to that authorization to the relevant policy committees of the Legislature and to publicly post a copy of the assessment on the commission’s internet website on or before January 1, 2027.

Approved by Governor
on October 11
Orange County Power Authority
2025 California Bill Tracker (Updated 10/23/2025)
High Priority
SB 254 Becker Energy Affordability • Includes an $18 billion replenishment of a wildfire fund to be split between shareholders and ratepayers (not to be used for Eaton Fire).
• Includes both a $6 billion limit on the wildfire prevention costs utilities can pass along to ratepayers and the creation of a state loan program for building new transmission lines. • Requires the Energy Unit within Go-Biz to establish a Transmission Infrastructure Accelerator (accelerator) to develop a financing and development strategy for eligible transmission projects receiving California Transmission Accelerator financing and sunsets this authority January 1, 2031.

Requires the accelerator, before December 31, 2026, to coordinate the state’s ongoing activities related to transmission planning and development and to ensure accelerator projects meet specified criteria
o Accelerator will receive funding from Cap & Invest
• Extends the date by one year, to June 30, 2030, that a person proposing an eligible facility is authorized to apply to the CEC for certification within the AB 205 “Opt-in” program. • Allows the CA Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority program to finance, own, lease, and sponsor transmission projects.
• Allows the CPUC to consider tying energization timelines to executive compensation.

Approved by Governor
on September 19
CalCCA
Support
Orange County Power Authority
2025 California Bill Tracker (Updated 10/23/2025)
High Priority
SB 283 Laird Energy Storage Systems Battery Storage This bill would require an application submitted to the Energy Commission in accordance with the above-described provisions relating to certification of facilities by the Energy Commission, and an application submitted to a local jurisdiction for an energy storage management system, to include the applicant’s certification that the facility has been designed in accordance with the NFPA 855, Standard for the Installation of Stationary Energy Storage Systems, and, at least 30 days before submitting an application, the applicant met and conferred with the local fire department responsible for fire suppression in the area where the facility or system is proposed, as provided.

The bill would also prohibit the approval of those applications unless the local jurisdiction requires as a condition of approval that the system be constructed, installed, commissioned, operated, maintained, and decommissioned in accordance with NFPA 855, that after installation is complete, but before commencing operations, the system be inspected by the local fire department responsible for fire suppression or by a representative or designee of the State Fire Marshal, and that the applicant bear the cost of the inspection. By imposing additional duties on local officers, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Approved by Governor
on October 6
CalCCA
Support if
Amended
SB 302 Padilla Personal Income Tax Law
and Corporation Tax Law:
exclusions:
environmental credits
Tax Credits This bill, in conformity with federal law, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2023, would exclude from gross income a refund payment made for the specified federal environmental credits described above and any payment received by a transferor as consideration for a transfer, as provided. The bill would also prohibit a transferee from deducting the amount paid as consideration for the transfer, in conformity with federal law.

Approved by Governor
on October 1
CalCCA
Support
Orange County Power Authority
2025 California Bill Tracker (Updated 10/23/2025)
High Priority
SB 541 Becker Electricity: load shifting Dynamic Rates This bill would require the Energy Commission, in consultation with specified entities, to analyze the cost-effectiveness of specific load and programs and other types of load-shifting interventions and identify both the approximate amount of load shifting and the cost-effectiveness of each type of load-shifting intervention in the next update to the biennial integrated energy policy report after January 1, 2027, as provided. The bill would require the Energy Commission, as part of each integrated energy policy report, to estimate each retail supplier’s load-shifting potential, giving consideration to certain factors, as specified. The bill would require the Energy Commission, on or before July 1, 2028, and biennially thereafter, to analyze and publish the amount of load shifting that each retail supplier achieved in the prior calendar year.

Vetoed by Governor CalCCA
Oppose
SB 707 Durazo Open meetings: meeting
and teleconference
requirements.

Brown Act This bill would, until January 1, 2030, require an eligible legislative body, as defined, to comply with additional meeting requirements, including that, except as specified, all open and public meetings include an opportunity for members of the public to attend via a 2-way telephonic service or a 2- way audiovisual platform, as defined, and that the eligible legislative body take specified actions to encourage residents to participate in public meetings, as specified. This bill would revise and recast the above-described definition of a legislative body and would specify that advisory committees with a continuing subject matter jurisdiction or a fixed meeting schedule, as specified, are legislative bodies. This bill would also require the agenda for each meeting of an eligible legislative body, as defined, to be translated into all applicable languages. The bill would define “applicable languages” to mean languages spoken jointly by 20% or more of the population in the city or county in which the eligible legislative body is located that, among other things, speaks English less than “very well,” as specified, and except as provided.

Approved by Governor
on October 3
Orange County Power Authority
2025 California Bill Tracker (Updated 10/23/2025)
High Priority
SB 840 Limon and McGuire Greenhouse gases:

Greenhouse Gas
Reduction Fund: studies
Cap-and-Trade This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to direct specific percentages of the revenues deposited into the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to individual funds dedicated to funding clean transportation, housing and community investment, clean air and water, wildfire prevention and resilience, agriculture, clean energy, and climate-focused innovation. The bill would make the continuous appropriations from the fund inoperative on July 1, 2026. The bill would, beginning with the 2026–27 fiscal year, allocate moneys in the fund in a specified priority and would continuously appropriate a certain amount of moneys in the fund for certain purposes.

Approved by Governor
on September 19
Medium Priority
Bill # Author Title Category Summary Status
AB 39 Zbur General plans: Local
Electrification Planning
Act.

Local Programs This bill, the Local Electrification Planning Act, would require a city, county, or city and county, on or after January 1, 2027, but no later than January 1, 2030, to prepare and adopt a specified plan, or integrate a plan in the next adoption or revision of the general plan, that includes locally based goals, objectives, policies, and feasible implementation measures that include, among other things, the identification of opportunities to expand electric vehicle charging and other zero-emission vehicle fueling infrastructure, as specified, and includes policies and implementation measures that address the needs of disadvantaged communities, low-income households, and small businesses for equitable and prioritized investments in zero-emission technologies that directly benefit these groups. For these purposes, the bill would authorize a city, county, or city and county to designate a previously adopted similar plan that meets the above-described requirements, as specified. By increasing the duties of local public officials, the bill would establish a state-mandated local program.

Approved by Governor on
October 6
AB 44 Schultz Energy: electrical
demand forecasts.

Demand Forecasts This bill would require the commission, on or before December 1, 2026, and in consultation with load-serving entities and resource aggregators, to define and publicize methodologies for load modification protocols by which a load-serving entity may reduce or modify its electrical demand forecast upon aggregated system operation of behind-the-meter load modifying technologies and programmatic measures deemed to reliably reduce or modify the load-serving entity’s electrical demand, as specified.

Vetoed by Governor
AB 368 Ward Energy: building
standards: passive house
standards
Building Standards This bill would require the commission to evaluate the passive house energy efficiency standards, and, if appropriate, adopt those standards, or any elements that align with the state’s existing requirements, as an alternative compliance pathway for the building efficiency standards established by the Energy Commission.

Approved by Governor on
October 1
AB 420 Petrie-Norris Public Utilities
Commission:
proceedings
CPUC This bill would authorize an interested person to submit a written ex parte communication during a quiet period if the commission modifies, rather than materially modifies, a proposed decision. The bill would require each public utility, as a part of its general rate case, to report all transactions performed pursuant to this exemption, enumerated by date, value, location, and party.

Approved by Governor on
October 1
Medium Priority
AB 615 Davies Power facilites:
emergency response and
action plan
Power Facilities This bill would require that those applications also contain emergency response and action plans, to be paid for by the applicant, that incorporate impacts to the surrounding areas in the event of an emergency and that would be conducted and coordinated with local emergency management agencies, unified program agencies, and local first response agencies. The bill would require that applications for an energy storage system also contain emergency response and action plans, to be paid for by the applicant, and that the plan plans include analysis and feedback from the local emergency management agencies as to whether the proposed facilities require supplemental first responder capabilities and meet National Fire Protection Association 855 Standard as it relates to setbacks, as specified.

Vetoed by Governor
AB 737 Qurik-Silva Energy: building
decarbonization: notice
and recordation of a
decarbonization charge
Decarbonization This bill would additionally add gas corporations to the definition of “energy supplier” for purposes of the above-described provisions.

Approved by Governor on
October 3
AB 738 Tangipa and
Patterson
Energy: building
standards: photovoltaic
requirements
Building Standards This bill would, until January 1, 2028, require residential construction intended to repair, restore, or replace a residential building damaged or destroyed as a result of a disaster in an area in which a state of emergency has been proclaimed by the Governor to comply only with the requirements regarding photovoltaic systems pursuant to those regulations, if any, that were in effect at the time the damaged or destroyed building was originally constructed and would prohibit that construction from being required to comply with any additional or conflicting photovoltaic system requirements in effect at the time of repair, restoration, or replacement. The bill would only apply to the construction of a building if certain conditions are met with respect to the building owner’s income and insurance coverage, and to the location and square footage of the construction.

Vetoed by Governor
AB 740 Harabedian Integrated energy policy
report: virtual power
plants
VPP This bill would require the Energy Commission, on or before November 1, 2026, to adopt a virtual power plant deployment plan. The bill would require the Energy Commission, in developing the plan, to take certain actions, and would require that the plan meet specified requirements. The bill would require the plan adopted pursuant to these provisions to be included in the above-described integrated energy policy report.

Vetoed by Governor
Medium Priority
AB 777 Rodriguez Food assistance:
disasters: utilities.

Data Sharing This bill would require electrical corporations, gas corporations, water corporations, and local publicly owned electric utilities to respond to data requests from the department, and would require the commission to establish any memoramdum memorandum of understanding or other data sharing agreements agreement necessary to direct those utilities to provide data to the department to maximize food assistance, as provided. The bill would require the department to maximize the amount of assistance requested and received through D-SNAP and all other federally funded nutrition assistance, including utilizing that provided utility data, in order to timely seek automated mass replacement of specified federally funded nutrition assistance programs. The bill would require the department, on or before December 31, 2026, to submit a report to the Legislature related to food assistance, as specified.

Approved by Governor on
October 13
AB 841 Patel State Fire Marshal:
personal protective
equipment: fires
Battery Storage This bill would require the State Fire Marshal, in consultation with the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, to develop a working group with specified membership to make recommendations regarding personal protective equipment used in responding to lithium-ion battery fires. The bill would require, at a minimum, the working group to review, and for the purpose of making the recommendations to consider, the latest personal protective equipment to limit exposure to lithium and other heavy metals, technology to clean personal protective equipment, whether different types of personal protective equipment should be used for different types of lithium-ion battery fires, and current decontamination practices at the fire scene, as specified. The bill would require the recommendations to be submitted to the Legislature on or before September 1, 2026.

Approved by Governor on
October 6
AB 1104 Pellerin Net energy metering:
construction of
renewable electrical
generation facilities:
public works project
requirements.

Solar Existing law provides for various enforcement mechanisms related to ensuring a contractor pays each construction worker the prevailing rate of per diem wages, and provides that an enforcement of a willful violation of any of these mechanisms against a contractor for the construction of a renewable electrical generation facility disqualifies that facility from eligibility being eligible to receive service pursuant to NEM

1.0, NEM 2.0, or the net billing tariff. This bill instead would make a renewable electrical generation facility eligible to receive service pursuant to NEM 1.0, NEM 2.0, or the net billing tariff despite enforcement of a willful violation against a contractor for the construction of the facility, as described above, if restitution has been made to the affected workers and all associated penalties and fines have been paid.

Approved by Governor on
October 11
Medium Priority
AB 1167 Berman Electrical corporations
and gas corporations:
rate recovery: political
activities and promotional
advertising.

IOUs This bill would prohibit, except as provided, an electrical corporation or gas corporation from recording various expenses associated with political influence activities, as defined, or with promotional public messages, as defined, to accounts that contain expenses that the electrical corporation or gas corporation recovers from ratepayers. The bill would require electrical corporations and gas corporations to clearly and conspicuously disclose in all of its public messages whether the costs of the advertising are paid for by the corporation’s shareholders or ratepayers. The bill would require an electrical corporation or gas corporation, on or before May 31, 2026, and annually thereafter, to include, as part of a specified statement to the commission, certain information.

Approved by Governor on
October 11
AB 1273 Patterson Public utilities:
ratesetting proceedings:
local publicly owned
electric utilities:

California Renewables
Portfolio Standard
Program
Rates This bill would prohibit the commission from placing the consideration of an application from an electrical corporation for a rate increase on its consent calendar.

Vetoed by Governor
AB 1280 Garcia Energy Energy This bill would authorize the I-bank to provide financial assistance in connection with the financing or refinancing of a new category of climate catalyst projects, those that enable the decarbonization of industrial facilities’ use of heat and power, including, but not limited to, industrial heat pump and thermal energy storage projects, as specified, with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and the State Air Resources Board as consulting agencies. This bill would establish and implement an Industrial Facilities Thermal Energy Storage Program within the Long-Duration Energy Storage Program to provide financial incentives for eligible projects to decarbonize industrial facilities’ use of heat and power, as specified.

Approved by Governor on
October 6
AB 1285 Committee on
Emergency
Management
State Fire Marshal:
lithium-ion battery
facilities: guidance
Battery Storage This bill would require the State Fire Marshal, in consultation with the Office of Emergency Services, to develop fire prevention, response, and recovery measures for utility grade lithium-ion battery storage facilities, as specified.

Approved by Governor on
October 11
AB 1408 Irwin Electricity:
interconnections
Interconnections This bill would require each electrical corporation, and each local publicly owned utility with an annual electrical demand exceeding 700 gigawatthours, to require the evaluation of surplus interconnection options and to consider surplus interconnection options, for purposes of its integrated resource plan.

Vetoed by Governor
Medium Priority
AB 1410 Garcia Utilities: service outages
and updates: alerts
Outages This bill would require each electrical corporation, gas corporation, water corporations, or local publicly owned electric utility to automatically enroll customers in alerts for service outages and updates. The bill would require customers to be provided with the opportunity to opt-out of any alerts they do not wish to receive, except as provided. The bill would require each public utility to provide information on customers’ bills on how to update their preferred contact methods and to allow customers to update their contact information by email or telephone.

Approved by Governor on
October 6
AB 1423 Irwin Transportation
electrification: electric
vehicle charging stations:
payment methods.

EVSE This bill would authorize the commission to modify, add to, or subtract from those required payment methods, as appropriate in light of changing technologies or cost impacts.

Approved by Governor on
October 1
SB 24 McNerney Public utilities: review of
accounts: electrical and
gas corporations: rates:
political influence
activities and promotional
advertising.

IOU This bill would prohibit, except as provided, an electrical corporation or gas corporation from recording various expenses associated with political influence activities, as defined, promotional advertising, as defined, or opposing the municipalization of electrical or gas service, to accounts that contain expenses that the electrical corporation or gas corporation recovers from ratepayers. The bill would require electrical corporations and gas corporations to clearly and conspicuously disclose in all of its advertising whether the costs of the advertising are paid for by the corporation’s shareholders or ratepayers. The bill would require an electrical corporation or gas corporation, on or before May 31, 2026, and annually thereafter, to provide the commission with a report of expenses from the previous calendar year and would require that, for each business unit of the corporation that performs work associated with political influence activities or promotional advertising, the report contain specified information. The bill would require the commission to make the report publicly available.

Vetoed by Governor
SB 80 Caballero The Fusion Research and
Development Innovation
Hub Program.

Fusion This bill would establish the Fusion Research and Development Innovation Hub Program within the commission to accelerate the development and growth of fusion energy by advancing fusion science and technology with the goal of delivering the world’s first fusion energy pilot plant in the state by the 2040s.

The bill would require, among other things, the commission to designate fusion research and development innovation hubs representing regions of southern California, the central valley, adn the San Francisco Bay.

Approved by Governor on
October 3
Medium Priority
SB 86 McNerney California Alternative
Energy and Advanced
Transportation Financing
Authority Act: sales and
use tax exclusion.

Fusion This bill would extend to January 1, 2031 the authorization to provide financial assistance in the form of a sales and use tax exclusion for projects approved by the authority. The bill would increase the maximum cumulative amount of the sales and use tax exclusions authorized under these provisions to $200,000,000 per calendar year. The bill would add electrical generation facilities using nuclear fusion technology to the types of projects qualifying for this sales and use tax exclusion. The bill would make other conforming changes.

Approved by Governor on
October 1
SB 88 Caballero Air resources: carbon
emissions: biomass.

Biomass The bill would require the state board, on or before January 1, 2028, to adopt a method of quantification of the life-cycle emissions from alternative uses of forest and agricultural biomass residues. The bill would require the state board, on or before January 1, 2029, to include in the next scoping plan update a strategy to support beneficial carbon removal products, including, but not limited to, biochar, that are generated from agricultural or forest biomass resources.

Vetoed by Governor
SB 298 Caballero State Energy Resources
Conservation and
Development
Commission: seaports:
plan: alternative fuels
Alternative Fuels This bill would require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission), in coordination with the State Lands Commission, the Transportation Agency, and the state board, to develop a plan on or before December 31, 2030, for the alternative fuel needs of oceangoing vessels at California’s public seaports that will enable the seaports to meet their emissions reduction goals. The bill would require the plan to do specified things, including, among other things, identifying barriers to permitting alternative fuel facilities at seaports and opportunities to address those barriers. The bill would require the Energy Commission to convene a working group to advise the Energy Commission on the development of information required by the plan, as specified. The bill would require the state board to provide the Energy Commission with information regarding fuels for oceangoing vessels that comply with the state board’s regulations for those vessels.

Vetoed by Governor
SB 326 Becker and Laird Wildfire safety: The
California Wildfire
Mitigation Strategic
Planning Act
Wildfires This bill would require the deputy director, on or before January 1, 2027, and every 3 years thereafter, to prepare a Wildfire Risk Mitigation Planning Framework sufficient to quantitatively evaluate wildfire risk mitigation actions, as provided. The bill would require the framework to allow for geospatial evaluation and comparison of wildfire risk mitigation actions, as defined, sufficient to direct coordinated mitigation efforts and long-term collaborative mitigation planning. The bill would require the deputy director to, each year the framework is completed, submit a copy of the framework to the Legislature, the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, and the Public Utilities Commission for review and consideration.

Vetoed by Governor
Medium Priority
SB 500 Stern Energy: usage data Energy Data Existing law requires each utility, on and after January 1, 2017, to, upon the request and authorization of the owner, owner’s agent, or operator of a covered building, as defined, deliver or otherwise provide aggregated energy usage data for a covered building to the owner, owner’s agent, or building operator, or to the owner’s account in the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, as specified.

This bill would authorize a utility to satisfy that requirement by delivering or otherwise providing aggregated energy usage data to the owner’s account in any alternative system or tool approved by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission.

Approved by Governor on
October 13
SB 533 Richardson Electric vehicle charging
stations: arenas:
payments: internet based
applications
EVSE This bill would create an exception to the above-described provisions that authorizes an electric vehicle charging station to require that payment for charging services be made through the use of an internet-based application and require the use of that internet-based application for admission to an arena that has a seating capacity of at least 15,000 seats and can only be accessed through the use of that internet-based application.

Approved by Governor on
October 13
Medium Priority
SB 567 Limon Gravity-Based Energy
Storage Well Pilot
Program
Energy Storage This bill would, until January 1, 2035, establish the Gravity-Based Energy Storage Well Pilot Program and would authorize the supervisor to authorize the conversion of not more than 250 wells for use as gravity-based energy storage wells, as defined, to evaluate their use, including the establishment of appropriate operating conditions and physical parameters to safely generate energy. The bill would require idle wells that are authorized for use as gravity-based energy storage wells to be identified as gravity-based energy storage wells in a plan for the management and elimination of idle wells or updates to the plan required to be filed with the supervisor. The bill would require the mechanical integrity of gravity-based energy storage wells to be assessed by the Geologic Energy Management Division not less than annually. The bill would require an operator of a gravity-based energy storage well, in the event of a loss of mechanical integrity of the well or a leak to the environment, to notify the division, the State Air Resources Board, the appropriate regional water quality control board, and schools and community members within 3,200 feet of the well and to cease operation until the mechanical integrity is restored or to plug and abandon the well, as provided. The bill would require gravity-based energy storage wells to be continuously monitored for fluid leaks. The bill would specify that the authorization for wells to be used as gravity-based energy storage wells end at the termination of the pilot program. The bill would, by January 1, 2033, require the Secretary for Environmental Protection, in consultation with certain entities, to evaluate the pilot program and make recommendations to the Legislature for a framework to implement an ongoing Gravity-Based Energy Storage Well Program to regulate the operation of gravity-based energy storage wells, as provided.

Approved by Governor on
October 6
SB 593 Hurtado Voltage changes:
consumer protection.

Notice This bill would require the commission, on or before July 1, 2027, to require electrical corporations to adjust their consumer protections to better protect customers from significant voltage changes that can result in damage to customers’ equipment and appliances if the commission determines adjustments to the consumer protections are necessary. The bill would specify the factors that the commission would be required to evaluate when determining whether to adjust the consumer protections, as provided.

Approved by Governor on
October 6
SB 710 Blakespear Property taxation: active
solar energy systems:
extension
Solar Under existing property tax law, this exclusion remains in effect only until there is a subsequent change in ownership, but an active solar energy system that qualifies for the exclusion before January 1, 2027, will continue to receive the exclusion until there is a subsequent change in ownership. Existing law repeals these exclusion provisions on January 1, 2027. This bill would, beginning with the 2026–27 fiscal year, extend the exclusion indefinitely, and would limit the exclusion to customer-sited active solar energy systems, as defined.

Approved by Governor on
October 3
Medium Priority
SB 782 Perez Enhanced infrastructure
financing district: climate
resilience districts.

Enhanced
infrastructure climate
district
This bill would authorize a city or county to adopt a resolution providing for the division of taxes of any participating entity without following specified procedures for the preparation and adoption of an infrastructure financing plan, if certain conditions are met. The bill would require the district to hold a public meeting to consider the resolution of intention to establish the district and a second public meeting to consider the adoption of the infrastructure financing plan, and would require the district to post specified notices prior to the meetings. The bill would require the resolution to include specified information, including that incremental property tax revenue from the city or county and all affected taxing entities within the district may be used to finance the district’s activities. The bill would require the district to make the infrastructure financing plan available for public inspection at least 10 days before the hearing to approve the formation of the district, and would require the designated official of the district to consult with each affected taxing entity prior to development of the infrastructure financing plan.

Approved by Governor on
October 10
Medium Priority
SB 787 McNerney Energy: Task Force on
Equitable Clean Energy
Supply Chains and
Industrial Policy in
California
Task Force on
Equitable Clean
Energy Supply Chains
This bill would require the commission, on or before March 1, 2026, to designate a person, within the commission, to serve as the Senior Counselor on Industrial Policy and Clean Energy Development and would specify the senior counselor’s duties. The bill would require the Senior Counselor on Industrial Policy and Clean Energy Development to convene working groups that focus on certain issues, as provided. The bill would require the commission, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the Public Utilities Commission, the Department of Water Resources, the Department of General Services, and the office of the Treasurer, on or before March 1, 2026, to enter into an a memorandum of understanding on equitable clean energy supply chains and industrial policy in California to, among other things, review, investigate, and develop strategies for building integrated industrial bases in California to support the zero-emission vehicle and battery supply chain industries, offshore wind and offshore wind component industries, and building decarbonization and heat pump industries through industrial planning and public investment, procurement, and subsidization, as provided. The bill would require the Senior Counselor on Industrial Policy and Clean Energy Development to track and coordinate the work taken under the memorandum of understanding and to prepare an annual report summarizing the key findings and recommendations resulting from that work. The bill would require that the report be presented at a public meeting of the commission and be published on the commission’s internet website. The bill would establish in the State Treasury the Equitable Clean Energy Supply Chain and Industrial Policy Fund and would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, authorize the moneys in the fund be expended for the purposes of the bill.

Vetoed by Governor
Failed Deadline
Bill # Author Title Category Summary Status
AB 13 Ransom Public Utilities
Commission:
membership: reports.

CPUC Reporting The bill would require the Governor, in selecting, and the Senate, in confirming, members of the commission to consider regional diversity in the membership of the commission. The bill would require the Governor, in appointing a candidate for membership in the commission, to consider using a candidate pool that comprises persons with permanent residences in certain regions of the state, as specified.

Read second time and
amended. Re-referred to Com.
on APPR.

AB 23 DeMaio The Cost of Living
Reduction Act of 2025.

Affordability This bill would require the Energy Commission to develop a rebate methodology to compensate Californians for the higher cost of gasoline, electricity, and natural gas compared to the national average, and, beginning with the 2026–27 fiscal year, in any year where the average prices for gasoline, electricity, or natural gas have exceeded the national average for those energy sources by more than 10% in the preceding 12 months, would require the Controller to provide rebates to households consistent with the methodology developed by the commission. The bill would establish the Cost of Living Reduction Fund and would require an amount necessary to fund the rebates, as specified, to be transferred from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to the Cost of Living Reduction Fund, the moneys in which would be continuously appropriated to the Controller for the purpose of making the rebate payments. By requiring the transfer of moneys into a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation.

Re-referred to Com. on U. & E.

AB 61 Pacheco Electricity and natural
gas: legislation
imposing mandated
program and
requirements: third-party review.

Programs This bill would request the office to establish, by January 1, 2027, a program to, upon request of the Legislature, analyze legislation that would establish a mandated requirement or program or otherwise affect electrical or gas ratepayers, as specified. The bill would request the office to develop and implement conflict-of-interest provisions that would prohibit a person from participating in an analysis for which the person knows or has reasons to know that the person has a financial interest. The bill would establish the Energy Programs Benefit Fund in the State Treasury and continuously appropriate the moneys in the fund to the office to support the work of the office in providing analyses under the bill. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2031.

Read second time and
amended. Re-referred to Com.
on APPR.

AB 99 Ta Electrical
corporations: rates.

Affordability This bill would prohibit an electrical corporation from proposing a rate increase above the rate of inflation as defined, as a systemwide average for any general rate case cycle, except the bill would expressly authorize the commission to approve a rate increase above the rate of inflation if the commission determines that the costs underlying the rate increase are directly related to safety enhancements and modernization or to higher commodity or fuel costs.

In committee: Held under
submission.

Failed Deadline
AB 222 Bauer-Kahan Data centers: power
usage effectiveness:
cost shifts.

Data Centers This bill would require the Energy Commission to establish a process for the owner of a data center, as defined, to submit the power usage effectiveness ratio, as defined, for the data center to the Energy Commission on a biannual basis, and require the owner of a data center to submit this information for the data center in the manner and timeframe specified by the Energy Commission. The bill would require the Energy Commission, as part of the 2027 edition of the integrated energy policy report, to include an assessment of electrical load trends for data centers, as provided.

From committee: Do pass and
re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes

11. Noes 2.) (July 15). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

AB 267 Macedo Greenhouse Gas
Reduction Fund: high-speed rail: water
infrastructure and
wildfire prevention
GGRF This bill would suspend the appropriation to the High-Speed Rail Authority for the 2026–27 and 2027–28 fiscal years and would instead require those amounts from moneys collected by the state board to be transferred to the General Fund. The bill would specify that the transferred amounts shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to augment funding for water infrastructure and wildfire prevention.

Referred to Coms. on TRANS.
and NAT. RES.

AB 273 Sanchez Greenhouse Gas
Reduction Fund: high-speed rail:
infrastructure
improvements
GGRF This bill would eliminate the continuous appropriation of 25% of the annual proceeds of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to the High-Speed Rail Authority on June 30, 2026. The bill, beginning with the 2026–27 fiscal year, would instead require 25% of the annual proceeds of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to be transferred to the General Fund and for those moneys, upon appropriation, to be used to augment funding provided to local governments to improve infrastructure.

Referred to Coms. on TRANS.
and NAT. RES.

AB 275 Petrie-Norris Office of Emergency
Services: wildfire
aerial response:
program
Wildfires This bill would require the Office of Emergency Services, in consultation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, to establish, on or before December 31, 2026, a working group to evaluate and develop recommendations for implementing a wildfire aerial response program to provide year-round, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, rapid aerial suppression capabilities. The bill would require the working group to consider specified elements to ensure effective statewide aerial wildfire suppression and to develop recommendations, including whether the program should be implemented as a pilot program, a full-scale statewide initiative, or if implementation is not recommended based on feasibility findings. The bill would require the Director of Emergency Services, in consultation with the department, to appoint members to the working group who are familiar with wildfire aviation response programs, as provided. The bill would require the working group to report its findings and implementation recommendations to the Assembly Committee on Emergency Management and the Senate Committee on Governmental Organization on or before December 31, 2027, as provided.

In committee: Set, second
hearing. Hearing canceled at the
request of author.

Failed Deadline
AB 286 Gallagher Electricity: mandatory
rate reduction.

Rates This bill would require the commission to generate a report outlining recommendations to decrease the kilowatt-per-hour rate for electricity charged to ratepayers by not less than 30% by January 1, 2027. The bill would require the commission, in making those reduction recommendations, to take certain actions, as specified.

In committee: Held under
submission.

AB 303 Addis Battery energy storage
facilities
Battery Storage This bill would prohibit the authorization of a development project that includes a battery energy storage system capable of storing 200 megawatthours or more of energy if the development project is located within 3,200 feet of a sensitive receptor or is located on an environmentally sensitive site, as specified.

In committee: Hearing
postponed by committee.

AB 305 Arambula Energy: nuclear
facilities
Nuclear Power This bill would exempt small modular reactors, as defined, from those provisions. This bill would require the PUC, on or before January 1, 2028, to adopt a plan to increase the procurement of electricity generated from nuclear facilities and to phase out the procurement of electricity generated from natural gas facilities.

In committee: Hearing
postponed by committee.

AB 306 Schultz and Riv Building regulations:
state building
standards
Building Standards This bill would, from June 1, 2025, until June 1, 2031, inclusive, prohibit a city or county from making changes to the above-described building standards unless a certain condition is met, including that the commission deems those changes or modifications necessary as emergency standards to protect health and safety.

From committee chair, with
author's amendments: Amend,
and re-refer to committee. Read
second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on HOUSING.

AB 388 Rogers Electricity Electrical
Corporations
This bill would revise the definition of “electrical corporation” to exclude a corporation or person employing certain solar or wind generating technology if electricity is transmitted exclusively and directly through private electrical lines to a single facility owned by a different corporation or person that uses the electricity only for new load, not for departing load, and for an electrolytic hydrogen production facility, as defined, or a facility using the electricity to provide industrial process heat, or both.

In committee: Held under
submission.

Failed Deadline
AB 434 DeMaio Construction and
safety standards:
battery storage
facilities
Battery Storage This bill would prohibit, until January 1, 2028, a public agency from authorizing the construction of a battery energy storage facility, as defined. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal, on or before January 1, 2028, to adopt guidelines and minimum standards for the construction of a battery energy storage facility to prevent fires and protect nearby communities from any fire hazard posed by the facility. The bill would require a public agency, when authorizing the construction of a battery energy storage facility on or after January 1, 2028, to require the facility to meet the guidelines and minimum standards adopted by the State Fire Marshal or more stringent guidelines and minimum standards as determined appropriate by the public agency.

In committee: Set, first hearing.

Referred to suspense file.

AB 441 Hadwick Wildfire prevention:

Office of Wildfire
Technology Research
and Development:
wildfire mitigation
program
Wildfires Would repeal provisions related to the Office of Wildifre Technology Research and Development. In committee: Set, first hearing.

Hearing canceled at the request
of author.

AB 443 Bennett Energy Commission:
integrated resource
policy report: curtailed
solar and wind
generation: hydrogen
production
Hydrogen This bill would require the Energy Commission, as part of the 2027 edition of the integrated energy policy report and each edition thereafter, and contingent upon an appropriation for this purpose, to include an assessment of funding needs for port infrastructure for offshore wind energy development, as specified. The bill would require the Energy Commission, in consultation with specified entities, to include in the assessment any federal, state, and local funding opportunities, including general obligation bonds and funding from the private sector, that can help build port infrastructure for offshore wind energy development.

In committee: Referred to APPR.
suspense file.

AB 472 Rogers and
Connolly
Energy: offshore wind
generation
Offshore Wind This bill would amend the definition of “infrastructure” described above to include port infrastructure for offshore wind energy development, and would require the 5-year infrastructure plan to include, beginning in the 2027–28 fiscal year, and contingent upon an appropriation for this purpose, an assessment of funding needs for port infrastructure for offshore wind energy development, as specified. The bill would require the Governor, in consultation with specified entities, to assess federal, state, and local funding opportunities, including general obligation bonds and funding from the private sector, that can help build port infrastructure for offshore wind energy development.

In committee: Held under
submission.

Failed Deadline
AB 526 Papan Energy: new in-state
geothermal energy
generation
Geothermal The bill would require the Energy Commission, on or before June 1, 2026, to evaluate and quantify the maximum feasible capacity of new in-state geothermal energy to achieve reliability, ratepayer, employment, and decarbonization benefits, and to establish megawatt in-state next-generation geothermal planning goals for 2035 and 2045, as specified.

In committee: Held under
submission.

AB 705 Boerner Public Utilites
Comission:

Independent Office of
Audits and
Investigations
CPUC This bill would delete the provision providing for the appointment of the chief internal auditor and instead provide that, effective January 1, 2026, the internal audit unit of the commission and its staff are transferred to the Independent Office of Audits and Investigations, which the bill would establish within the commission, as specified. The bill would provide for the appointment and removal of the director of the office, who would have the title of Inspector General. The bill would require that the office have access and authority to examine all records, files, documents, accounts, reports, correspondence, or other property of the commission, public utilities, and other entities regulated by the commission, as specified. The bill would require the Inspector General to report to the Governor and the Legislature, as provided.

From committee: Do pass and
re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes

15. Noes 1.) (July 15). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

AB 716 Carillo Fire safety standards:
hydrogen facilities
Hydrogen This bill would require the State Fire Marshal to to appoint a hydrogen fire expert to answer questions and provide clarification on the implementation of hydrogen production, storage, and distribution facilities, ensuring that hydrogen facilities comply with the most up-to-date fire safety standards. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal to provide ongoing training to local fire departments and building inspectors to ensure that hydrogen-related safety protocols are understood and enforced statewide.

Read second time and
amended. Re-referred to Com.
on APPR.

AB 729 Zbur Public utilities: climate
credits
Climate Credits This bill would require that the electric California Climate Credit be provided to the residential and small business retail customers of electrical corporations on the bills of those customers for the months of August and September of each year, and to the emissions-intensive trade-exposed retail customers of electrical corporations on the bills of those customers for the month of August of each year, unless otherwise directed by the commission, as specified. The bill would require that the natural gas California Climate Credit be provided to residential customers on the bills of those customers for the month of February of each year unless otherwise directed by the commission, as specified.

From committee chair, with
author's amendments: Amend,
and re-refer to committee. Read
second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on E., U & C.

AB 745 Irwin Electricity: climate
credits
Climate Credits This bill would require the credit provided to residential customers of an electrical corporation to be provided on the bills of those customers for the months of July, August, and September of each year, or as otherwise directed by the commission to address extreme, unforeseen, and temporary circumstances. The bill would require the credit to be volumetric, rather than independent of consumption.

From committee: Do pass and
re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes

16. Noes 0.) (July 15). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

Failed Deadline
AB 864 Ward Hazardous waste:
solar photovoltaic
modules
Solar Panel
Recycling
This bill would exempt solar photovoltaic modules not identified as hazardous waste and treated, except as provided, as universal waste, as defined, from state hazardous waste regulations, if transferred to a designated recycler for legitimate recycling, as described, and if the facility meets specified criteria relating to registration permits, as provided. The bill would make the universal waste designation applicable to a solar photovoltaic module that is intended for recycling and cannot otherwise be resold, reused, or refurbished only until the department adopts regulations implementing alternative management standards for solar photovoltaic modules.

The bill would also designate a solar photovoltaic module that can be resold, reused, or refurbished as surplus material. The bill would make a conforming change.

Read second time and
amended. Re-referred to Com.
on APPR.

AB 884 Essayli Campaign
contributions: investor-owned utilities
IOU This bill would prohibit an investor-owned utility from making a contribution to a candidate for elective state office and would prohibit a candidate for elective state office from accepting a contribution from an investor-owned utility.

In committee: Hearing
postponed by committee.

AB 941 Zbur California
Environmental Quality
Act: electrical
infrastructure projects
CEQA This bill would require the commission to determine whether to certify the environmental impact report for an electrical infrastructure project that is a priority project, as defined, no later than 270 days after the commission determines that an application for an electrical infrastructure project is complete, except as specified.

In committee: Held under
submission.

AB 942 Calderon Electricity: climate
credits
Climate Credits This bill would exclude residential customers from receiving the California Climate Credit if they are not enrolled in the CARE or FERA program and their total electricity bills for the previous year were less than $300.

Read second time and
amended. Re-referred to Com.
on APPR.

Failed Deadline
AB 1016 Gonzalez Power facility and site
certifications: thermal
powerplants:
geothermal resources
Geothermal This bill would additionally authorize the commission to exempt from the certification requirement, only until January 1, 2030, a thermal powerplant that generates electricity using geothermal resources and meets specified criteria, including that a person proposing an eligible thermal powerplant files an application on or before June 30, 2029, for certification with the local governmental agency that has land use and related jurisdiction over the area in which the powerplant is located to certify the site and related facility, and that the powerplant has a generating capacity of up to 150 megawatts, or that modifications are being made to a thermal powerplant that generates electricity using geothermal resources that do not add capacity in excess of 150 megawatts and for any plan for multiple geothermal powerplants that use at least one common infrastructure component and those powerplants, in total, have a net generating capacity of 50 or more megawatts.. Upon the commission granting an exemption, the bill would require the local governmental agency to be the lead agency to certify the site and related facility, as provided. The bill would make the local governmental agency that has land use and related jurisdiction over the area of the proposed site and related facility the lead agency pursuant to CEQA for any project that the commission exempts from the certification requirement and that generates electricity using geothermal resources as provided.

In committee: Set, first hearing.

Hearing canceled at the request
of author.

AB 1017 Boerner Energy: electrical and
gas corporations:
general rate cases.

General Rate
Cases
This bill would require an electrical corporation or gas corporation, as a part of its general rate case, to provide to the commission certain information, including, among other things, the authorized and actual rate of return and return on equity for the past 10 years and projects related to the corporation’s distribution capacity that include the forecast submitted in the prior general rate case of the corporation.

In committee: Hearing
postponed by committee.

AB 1020 Schiavo Public utilities: energy:
taxpayer funding:
reporting.

IOU This bill would require each utility, defined as an investor-owned electrical corporation or gas corporation, to report certain information for any taxpayer funding, as defined, greater than or equal to $1,000,000, that the utility has applied for or received. The bill would require the commission, for each application in which a utility is seeking ratepayer funding, to require the utility to report all relevant taxpayer funding the utility is pursuing or has secured, and, if the commission determines that a utility is not in compliance with that requirement, the bill would authorize the commission to impose a penalty against the utility, as specified. The bill would require the commission to require each utility to promptly deliver the financial benefits of taxpayer funding to ratepayers, as provided.

From committee: Do pass and
re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes

12. Noes 3.) (July 15). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

Failed Deadline
AB 1117 Schultz Electricity rates:
optional dynamic rate
tariffs
Rates This bill would require the commission, through a new or existing proceeding, to develop optional dynamic rate tariffs applicable to each large electrical corporation for the large electrical corporation’s commercial and industrial customers on or before July 1, 2028, and for its other customers, including residential customers, on or before July 1, 2030. The bill would require each optional dynamic rate tariff to include, at minimum, specified components, including dynamic transmission and distribution rates that reflect real-time grid conditions and certain nonbypassable charges, as specified.

Read second time and
amended. Re-referred to Com.
on APPR.

AB 1156 Wicks Solar-use easements:
suspension of
Williamson Act
contracts: terms of
easement:
termination.

Solar This bill would revise these provisions to authorize the Department of Conservation to determine that a parcel is eligible for suspension, as described above, upon the request of the landowner, instead of a request from a county or city, and would require the department to additionally make that determination in consultation with any applicable groundwater sustainability agency or services. The bill would revise the eligibility criteria for a parcel to be deemed eligible under these provisions by (1) additionally authorizing land for which there are or will be insufficient surface water or groundwater rights associated with the land to support commercially viable irrigated agricultural use; (2) deleting the requirement that the land not be located on lands designated as prime farmland, unique farmland, or farmland of statewide importance; and (3) additionally requiring that the land meet certain additional requirements relating to the land’s historical use as cropland and whether it is encumbered by a conservation easement or enrolled in a land conservation program, as specified. The bill would also require the Department of Conservation to issue its determination of eligibility within 120 days following submission of a completed application package, and would deem any application not rejected within this 120-day period to be approved.

Read second time and
amended. Re-referred to Com.
on APPR.

AB 1173 Patterson Public Utilities
Commission:
organization
IOU/CPUC This bill would prohibit a staff member who moves from the Public Advocate’s Office of the Public Utilities Commission to the commission from working on any matter that the staff member participated in while employed at the office.

In committee: Held under
submission.

Failed Deadline
AB 1174 Alanis Clean Transportation
Program: eligible
programs and
projects: electrical
vehicle charging
stations: vandalism
deterrence
EVSE This bill would add to the categories of programs and projects eligible for funding under the Clean Transportation Program programs and projects to deter and combat vandalism of publicly available electric vehicle charging stations.

Referred to Com. on TRANS.

AB 1176 Flora Energy: renewable
energy resources
programs
Energy Spot Bill In committee: Hearing
postponed by committee.

AB 1182 Irwin State Energy
Resources
Conservation and
Development
Commission: report:
electrical grid
infrastructure
manufacturing
Transmission and
Distribution
Manufacturing
This bill would require the commission to prepare and submit a report, on or before July 1, 2026, to the Governor and the Legislature regarding the status of electrical transmission and distribution grid infrastructure manufacturing in this state.

In committee: Held under
submission.

AB 1191 Tangipa California Renewables
Portfolio Standard
Program: hydroelectric
generation.

RPS/Hydro This bill would revise the definition of an eligible renewable energy resource for the purposes of the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program to include all hydroelectric generating facilities and would make conforming changes.

In committee: Set, first hearing.

Failed passage.

Reconsideration granted.

Failed Deadline
AB 1222 Bauer-Kahan Public utilities: judicial
review
IOUs This bill would prohibit the commission from authorizing electrical or gas corporations to recover from their ratepayers the costs associated with seeking judicial review of a commission decision by a state or federal court or requesting relief from a commission decision at a federal agency. The bill would require the electrical and gas corporation to track those costs.

In committee: Held under
submission.

AB 1228 Essayli Electricity: expedited
utility distribution
infrastructure
undergrounding
program
Infrastructure This bill would specify that the approval of a distribution infrastructure undergrounding plan is not a project for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act, as specified.

Referred to Coms. on U. & E.
and NAT. RES.

AB 1238 DeMaio California Energy
Consumer Freedom
Act
Electrification This bill, the California Energy Consumer Freedom Act, would prohibit state agencies and local governments from adopting or enforcing a rule, regulation, resolution, or ordinance that directly or indirectly results in prohibiting the use of gas appliances in residential or nonresidential buildings, and the buying, selling, or use of gasoline-powered vehicles or equipment.

Re-referred to Com. on U. & E.

Failed Deadline
AB 1260 Ward Electricity: renewable
energy subscription
programs
Community
Renewables
This bill would revise and recast the requirements for the customer renewable energy subscription program to, among other things, specify that the avoided costs include certain avoided cost values. The bill would impose additional requirements that the program is required to meet, including requiring facilities participating in the program to have no more than 5 megawatts of generation capacity and no more than 5 megawatts of storage, and capping the total program capacity at 5 gigawatts or ending program subscription after 7 years, when either limit is first reached. The bill would require the PUC, on or before September 1, 2026, to adopt or modify the community renewable energy program to ensure consistency with certain requirements, as provided. The bill would require each community choice aggregator and electric service provider, within 180 days of the adoption or modification of the program, to notify the PUC regarding whether it will participate in the program. The bill would authorize a community choice aggregator or electric service provider to begin participating in, or end its participation in, the program at any time by notifying the PUC. The bill would require the PUC, beginning 2 years from the adoption or modification of the program, to evaluate the program to ensure consistency with the program’s requirements and would require the PUC to authorize the termination or modification of the program if the PUC determines that the program does not meet those requirements. The bill would require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to evaluate community solar and storage projects as a load-modifying resource so that those projects may be counted as a load-modifying resource. The bill would require the Energy Commission to undertake the evaluation and issue a determination on or before September 1, 2026, as provided.

In committee: Held under
submission.

AB 1295 Patterson Public utilities: bills
and notices:
consolidation and
transparency
Billing This bill would require the commission, on or before June 1, 2026, to evaluate all customer billing and noticing requirements existing on January 1, 2026, that apply to gas or electric utilities, and to identify and consider potential avenues to consolidate and enhance billing transparency, including avenues that clearly show the source and value of each charge within each customer’s bill, as specified, and use the most cost-effective communications channels, as provided. The bill would authorize the commission to seek and consider input from utilities and other relevant stakeholders to inform its evaluation and identification and consideration of potential avenues to consolidate notices and enhance billing transparency.

In committee: Held under
submission.

AB 1301 Petrie-Norris Electricity: Power
Exchange
Power Exchange This bill would abolish the Power Exchange and would make various conforming changes. Referred to Com. on E., U & C.

Failed Deadline
AB 1302 Wallis Electricity: customer
generators: departing
load charges.

Departing Load This bill would require the commission, until December 31, 2031, to study and design a new system for allowing electrical customers of electrical corporations, community choice aggregators, local publicly owned electric utilities, and electrical cooperatives to generate their own electricity on their commercial or residential sites. The bill would require the commission, in designing the new system, to ensure all electrical customers are treated fairly, increase transparency in the calculation and application of departing load charges, promote the development and integration of renewable energy sources, support the state’s clean energy goals, consider the benefits of customer-generated energy, and provide a mechanism for stakeholder input, as provided. The bill would require the commission, on or before December 31, 2027, to submit a report to the Legislature detailing the proposed new process for departing load charges and any recommendations for legislative action.

Re-referred to Com. on U. & E.

AB 1334 Wallis Solar energy: official
state energy
Solar This bill would establish solar energy as the official state energy. In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.

AB 1342 Soria Public Utilities
Commission: energy
efficiency programs:
report.

Programs Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission, on or before December 31, 2018, and biennially thereafter, as part of a specified report, to identify and report to the Legislature on electrical and gas corporation ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs that are similar to programs administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, the State Air Resources Board, and the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority. This bill would instead require the commission to identify and report to the Legislature on those programs on an annual basis.

In committee: Hearing
postponed by committee.

AB 1347 Carrillo Electrical
modernization zones
Electrical
modernization
zones
This bill would require the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, in conjunction with the ISO, to identify six electrical infrastructure modernization zones, as provided. The bill would require the PUC and the Energy Commission to recognize these zones as load growth priority areas. The bill would authorize an electrical corporation that serves a customer within an electrical infrastructure modernization zone to work with the local jurisdiction to update its electrical load projections. The bill would require the PUC to authorize an electrical corporation that serves a customer within an electrical infrastructure modernization zone to expedite cost recovery and to manage microgrids, as specified.

In committee: Set, first hearing.

Hearing canceled at the request
of author.

Failed Deadline
AB 1372 Papan Renewable electrical
generation facilities:
electrified commuter
railroads: regenerative
braking: net billing
Rates This bill would, upon an electrical corporation, electric service provider, or community choice aggregator and an operator of an electrified commuter railroad that produces electricity through the regenerative braking of electric trains, including the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, completing certain technical studies, require the electrical corporation, electric service provider, or community choice aggregator to adopt or modify a net billing contract or tariff that is approved by the commission or the appropriate rate approving entity, as provided. The bill would require that contract or tariff to, among other things, require the supplier or distributor to apply bill credits for the electricity exported to the electrical grid based on its value, as specified. The bill would require the load-serving entity responsible for the delivery of electricity to provide, or install at its cost, if necessary, metering that records and documents electricity imports and exports, as specified.

In committee: Hearing
postponed by committee.

AB 1404 Ortega Electrical
Corporations:
connections:
affordable housing
projects
Rates This bill would require an electrical corporation to connect an affordable housing project, as defined, to the electrical distribution grid within 60 days, except as specified. The bill would require the commission to streamline any necessary review on an affordable housing project that is ready to connect but sitting vacant and that has not been connected by an electrical corporation within the required 60 days. The bill would delay the effective date of a rate increase approved by the commission for the greater of either the amount of time the electrical corporation took, beyond 90 days from receipt of the project building plans, to provide a final contract, or the amount of time the electrical corporation took, beyond the 60 days allowed, to connect the most recently completed affordable housing project within the electrical corporation’s service area.

In committee: Hearing
postponed by committee.

AB 1436 Avila Farias Public Utilities
Commission:
outreach.

PUC 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.

Referred to Com. on E., U & C.

Failed Deadline
AB 1484 Bennett Energy reliability Spot Spot Bill Read first time.

SB 58 Padilla Sales and Use Tax
Law: exemptions:
certified data center
facilities
Data Centers This bill would, on and after January 1, 2026, provide a partial exemption from those taxes with respect to the gross receipts from the sale, storage, use, installation, assembly, repair, maintenance, or other consumption of data center equipment, as defined, used at or for the benefit of a certified data center facility, as defined. The bill would require a data center facility to meet specified requirements in order to receive certification from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, including requirements relating to job creation, investment, and renewable energy procurement requirements. The bill would require the department to revoke certification where a data center facility obtains certification and subsequently fails to meet these requirements after reasonable opportunity for the data center facility to cure noncompliance, as provided.

May 14 set for first hearing
canceled at the request of
author.

Failed Deadline
SB 239 Arreguin Open meetings:
teleconferencing:
subsidiary body
Teleconferencing This bill would authorize a subsidiary body, as defined, to use alternative teleconferencing provisions and would impose requirements for notice, agenda, and public participation, as prescribed. The bill would require the subsidiary body to post the agenda at each physical meeting location designated by the subsidiary body, as specified. The bill would require the members of the subsidiary body to visibly appear on camera during the open portion of a meeting that is publicly accessible via the internet or other online platform, as specified. The bill would also require the subsidiary body to list a member of the subsidiary body who participates in a teleconference meeting from a remote location in the minutes of the meeting.

Ordered to inactive file on
request of Senator Arreguín.

SB 252 Valladares CEQA: exemption:
undegrounding
powerlines
CEQA This bill would exempt from the provisions of CEQA a project to underground powerlines. April 2 set for second hearing canceled at the request of
author.

SB 256 Perez Electricity: electrical
infrastructure: wildfire
mitigation.

Infrastructure This bill would require an electrical corporation, for the description in the wildfire mitigation plan of the preventative strategies and programs to minimize the risk of its electrical lines and equipment causing catastrophic wildfires, to include consideration of areas adjacent to high fire threat areas. The bill would require an electrical corporation’s wildfire mitigation plan to consider the impacts on the opportunity for residents within a household who are not the customer of record to subscribe to receive notifications related to deenergization events and communication with public safety partners, identify any lapses in communication coordination during recent past emergency response events with local governments, describe opportunities to collaborate with local governments and other steps that can be taken to establish more efficient communication coordination during future emergency responses, consider undergrounding distribution infrastructure when it is being rebuilt, include an accounting of all transmission facilities, including permanently abandoned facilities, and include a plan for how and when each permanently abandoned facility will be removed and the wildfire mitigation measures that are being implemented to prevent hazards, as provided. The bill would also require electrical corporations to conduct annual wildfire preparedness workshops, as provided.

Read second time and
amended. Re-referred to Com.
on APPR.

SB 282 Wiener Residential heat pump
systems: water
heaters and HVAC:
installations
Heat Pumps This bill would require the commission, on or before January 1, 2027, to establish a statewide certification program for licensed contractors of residential heat pump water heaters and heat pump heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to obtain a heat pump installation certification, and would require the commission to create a state training program, as described, on residential heat pump water heaters and heat pump HVAC systems for purposes of the certification program, as specified.

May 23 hearing: Held in
committee and under
submission.

Failed Deadline
SB 285 Becker Net zero greenhouse
gas emissions goal:
carbon dioxide
removal: regulations
GHG Emissions This bill would, for the purpose of meeting, or tracking progress against, any state requirement to achieve net zero emissions of greenhouse gases,authorize only qualified carbon dioxide removal, as defined, to be used to counterbalance the state’s or an entity’s greenhouse gas emissions and would require qualified carbon dioxide removal used for those purposes to meet certain requirements, as specified.

May 23 hearing: Held in
committee and under
submission.

SB 314 Padilla Weights and
measures: electric
vehicle supply
equipment
EVSE This bill would authorize an EVSE that has been audited or tested by the manufacturer or supplier to be used commercially without further testing during the remainder of the inspection period adopted by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, but not until it has been sealed by a sealer. The bill would, among other things, require the county sealer to ensure that certain EVSE installed before January 1, 2026, are initially placed in service and tested by a sealer on or before January 1, 2027, at no additional cost other than the registration fees paid by the EVSE owner or operator.

May 23 hearing: Held in
committee and under
submission.

SB 327 McNerney Fusion energy data
centers
Fusion energy This bill would require the commission to initiate an agreement with the United States Department of Energy for the establishment of a fusion energy data center, as specified.

April 29 set for first hearing
canceled at the request of
author.

SB 330 Padilla Electrical transmission
infrastructure:
finacning
Transmission This bill would authorize the Governor to establish one or more pilot projects to develop, finance, or operate electrical transmission infrastructure that meet the specified criteria, including, among other things, that the transmission line is identified by the Independent System Operator in its transmission planning process as a project subject to competitive bidding and necessary to support clean energy generation to meet the state’s clean energy goals. The bill would require the Governor to designate existing state agencies, local public agencies, tribal organizations, or joint powers authorities to implement the pilot projects. The bill would authorize the pilot projects to develop, finance, operate, and maintain electrical transmission lines and all works, facilities, improvements, and property, or portions thereof, necessary or convenient for the conveyance of electricity, as specified. The bill would authorize the Governor to issue guidelines regarding application and certification of pilot projects.

July 16 set for second hearing
canceled at the request of
author.

SB 332 Wahab Investor-Owned
Utilities Accountability
Act
IOU Oversight This bill would require the research institute to conduct the first phase of the comparative analysis and to submit an interim report, on or before December 31, 2026, to the Energy Commission on threshold legal issues, as provided. The bill would require the Energy Commission to convene a group of state attorneys from the legal departments of state agencies that regulate electrical corporations to advise the research institute on the first phase of the comparative analysis, as specified.

Read second time and
amended. Re-referred to Com.
on APPR.

Failed Deadline
SB 348 Hurtado State Air Resources
Board: Low-Carbon
Fuel Standard
LCFS This bill would require the state board, beginning no later than January 31, 2026, to reconsider and revise the Low Carbon Fuel Standard to reduce the program’s financial burden on drivers in the state, including by taking specified actions.

May 23 hearing: Held in
committee and under
submission.

SB 377 Grayson Biomethane
procurement targets
Biomethane 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 additionally add the displacement of conventional natural gas that results in a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions as one of the specified environmental benefits.

April 7 set for first hearing
canceled at the request of
author.

SB 534 Padilla Green Empowerment
Zone for the Salton Sea
and Southeastern
Desert Valleys.

Green
Empowerment
Zone
This bill, until January 1, 2035, would authorize establishment of a Green Empowerment Zone for the Salton Sea and Southeastern Desert Valleys (empowerment zone). The bill would authorize the empowerment zone to be composed of specified land and communities within the Imperial, Eastern Coachella, and Palo Verde Valleys, upon adoption of a resolution by the Imperial County Board of Supervisors, and would provide for the empowerment zone to be governed by a board of directors, as specified. The bill would task the empowerment zone with various duties, including, among other things, identification of projects and programs that will best utilize public dollars, distribute benefits to disinvested communities, and most quickly improve the economic vitality of California’s southeastern desert valleys, as specified, in a coordinated effort to support the development and equitable transition to a clean energy economy. The bill would require the board of directors, beginning on January 1, 2027, to submit an annual progress report to the Legislature and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, as specified. The bill would require the empowerment zone, commencing on January 1, 2027, as specified, to post the above-described report on its internet website and to submit a letter to the Legislature informing the Legislature that the report has been posted.

Referred to Com. on E.D., G., &
H.I.

Failed Deadline
SB 540 Becker and
Stern
Independent System
Operator: independent
regional organization
Regional
Organization
This bill would delete provisions providing for the transformation of the ISO into a regional organization. The bill would authorize the ISO and the electrical corporations that are participating transmission owners whose transmission systems are operated by the ISO, in lieu of the ISO managing related energy markets, as provided, to use energy markets governed by an independent regional organization, provided that specified requirements are satisfied. This bill would specify that the above-described provisions do not diminish the PUC’s authority to direct an electrical corporation to withdraw from an energy market governed by an independent regional organization, and would authorize the PUC to direct an electrical corporation to withdraw from an energy market governed by an independent regional organization under specific circumstances. The bill would also require an electrical corporation within the balancing authority of the ISO to withdraw from an energy market governed by an independent regional organization under two specified conditions. This bill would establish the Regional Energy Market Oversight Council, which would be responsible for ensuring that participation in regional energy markets serves the interests of the state. The bill would require the council to approve or disapprove initial participation in the independent regional organization by electrical corporations and any other participating load-serving entities and determine whether electrical corporations and any other participating load-serving entities should be required to withdraw from an energy market governed by the independent regional organization. The bill would require the council to convene a duly noticed public meeting to make a finding of approval or withdrawal of participation in the independent regional organization and would require the council to disapprove of initial participation in the independent regional organization, or order withdrawal, if the council makes any of specified findings.

July 16 set for first hearing
canceled at the request of
author.

SB 559 Stern Electricity:
deenergization events:
communications
Deenergization eve This bill would require, at the start of a deenergization event, an electrical corporation to immediately notify local emergency management organizations and local utility districts about the impacts of the deenergization, as specified. The bill would require detailed status information on restoration efforts to be made available to emergency management organizations, public safety officials, customers, and the public in real-time, with regular progress updates issued at intervals of no more than 12 hours, for all impacted circuits, as specified.

May 23 hearing: Held in
committee and under
submission.

Failed Deadline
SB 620 Stern Energy utility data. Data This bill would require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to create the Data Access Governance Committee, with specified membership, and would require the committee, on or before January 1, 2027, to provide initial recommendations on prescribed topics to the Energy Commission and the PUC, as specified. The bill would authorize the Energy Commission to work with certain gas corporations, electrical corporations, and local publicly owned utilities that provide gas or electrical service to enact cost-effective energy utility data programs, as specified. The bill would create, and would require the PUC and the Energy Commission to administer and enforce, the Customer Energy Utility Data Bill of Rights, with specified protections and customer rights.

April 29 set for first hearing
canceled at the request of
author.

SB 636 Menjivar Electrical or gas
corporations:
deferment of
payments: hardship
Disconnections This bill would prohibit an electrical or gas corporation from disconnecting service of a customer who meets certain criteria, including making a hardship request based on certain circumstances, as provided. The bill would require the corporation to grant that customer a 6-month deferment for any and all payments due from the date that the deferment is granted. Upon the expiration of the deferment period, the bill would require the corporation to enroll the customer into its arrearage management program for any and all debts on the customer’s account.

The bill would authorize the commission to adopt rules to implement these provisions.

May 23 hearing: Held in
committee and under
submission.

SB 684 Menjivar Polluters Pay Climate
Superfund Act of 2025.

Climate This bill would enact the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act of 2025 and would establish the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Program to be administered by the California Environmental Protection Agency to require fossil fuel polluters to pay their fair share of the damage caused by greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere during the covered period, which the bill would define as the time period between the 1990 and 2024 calendar years, inclusive, resulting from the extraction, production, refining, sale, or combustion of fossil fuels or petroleum products, to relieve a portion of the burden to address cost borne by current and future California taxpayers. The bill would require the agency, within 90 days of the effective date of the act, to determine and publish a list of responsible parties, which the bill would define as an entity with a majority ownership interest in a business engaged in extracting or refining fossil fuels that, during the covered period, did business in the state or otherwise had sufficient contact with the state, and is determined by the agency to be responsible for more than 1,000,000,000 metric tons of covered fossil fuel emissions, as defined, in aggregate globally, during the covered period.

April 22 set for first hearing
canceled at the request of
author.

Failed Deadline
SB 698 McNerney California Solar
Initiative: distributed
energy resource
equipment lists
DER This bill would authorize the Energy Commission to establish distributed energy resource equipment lists with rating standards for equipment, components, and systems that further state energy and environmental goals, including, but not limited to, for solar energy systems, energy storage systems, bidirectional charging systems, and electric vehicle supply equipment. The bill would define various terms for these purposes. The bill would require the Energy Commission to adopt guidelines for the distributed energy resource equipment lists, as provided.

May 23 hearing: Held in
committee and under
submission.

SB 708 Alvarado-Gil Public Utilities
Commission: quorum
for the transaction of
business
CPUC Spot Bill Referred to Com. on RLS.

SB 714 Archuleta Zero-emission
vehicles: workforce
development: Clean
Energy Workforce
Training Council
Workforce
Development
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would establish a zero-emission vehicle workforce development pilot project and a Clean Energy Workforce Training Council, as provided.

Referred to Com. on RLS.

SB 752 Richardson Sales and use taxes:
exemtions: California
Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and
Bus Voucher Incentive
Project: transit buses
Tax on ZE Buses The Sales and Use Tax Law provides various exemptions from those taxes, including, until January 1, 2026, an exemption from those taxes with respect to the sale in this state of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, specified zero-emission technology transit buses sold to specified public agencies that are eligible for specified incentives from the State Air Resources Board. This bill would extend the exemption for specified zero-emission technology transit buses until January 1, 2028.

May 23 hearing: Held in
committee and under
submission.

SB 755 Blakespear California Contractor
Climate Transparency
Act
California Contract This bill would enact the California Contractor Climate Transparency Act, which would require the board, beginning January 1, 2027, to require a large contractor and a significant contractor, as defined, to report annually specified information, including, for large contractors, an annual disclosure of scope 1 emissions, scope 2 emissions, scope 3 emissions, and climate-related financial risk, as specified, and for significant contractors, an annual disclosure of scope 1 emissions and scope 2 emissions, as specified.

May 23 hearing: Held in
committee and under
submission.

Failed Deadline
SB 803 Durazo California
Conservation Corps:

Green Collar
Certification Program
California Conserva Thisbill would require the Director of the California Conservation Corps to establish a Green Collar Certification Program that provides young persons participating in the corps with skills and education relating to reducing carbon emissions in residential and nonresidential buildings, preparing communities for environmental disasters, and developing conservation infrastructure projects that stabilize shorelines and restore ecological habitats, as provided.

May 23 hearing: Held in
committee and under
submission.

SB 804 Archuleta Hydrogen pipeline
safety
Hydrogen This bill would require the PUC to require that hydrogen pipelines meet specified requirements. The bill would require the PUC to establish, on or before January 1, 2028, and, with the exception specified below, to enforce, standards that meet or exceed those requirements, as provided. The bill would require the Energy Commission to enforce the standards for private, intrastate hydrogen pipelines.

The bill would require a hydrogen pipeline owner to maintain accurate records of hydrogen concentration levels within its hydrogen pipeline and any leakage of hydrogen and, on or before December 31 of each year, to submit a report to the PUC detailing compliance with that requirement.

From committee: Do pass and
re-refer to Com. on APPR. with
recommendation: To consent
calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (July
14). Re-referred to Com. on
APPR.

SB 810 Dahle Electricity: ratepayer-funded programs:
reports
Reporting Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to administer various programs, such as the Electric Program Investment Charge program, that are funded by a charge on electrical ratepayers. Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to require electrical corporations to implement various programs, such as energy efficiency programs, that are funded by electrical ratepayers. Under its authority, the Governor has issued an executive order directing the Energy Commission and the PUC to examine electrical ratepayer-funded programs under their respective jurisdictions and to identify programs and regulations that may be unduly adding to electricity rates for which the benefits provided may not be justified by the costs imposed on electrical ratepayers. The executive order requires those 2 commissions to report back to the Governor by January 1, 2025. This bill would require the Energy Commission and the PUC, by July 1, 2025, to each submit to the Legislature a report containing certain information required by the executive order.

Referred to Com. on E., U & C.

SB 836 Rubio Electricity:
transmission planning
and permitting
Transmission Existing law requires the Energy Commission and PUC, in coordination with the Independent System Operator, every 5 years, to review and update, as necessary, the memorandum of understanding and a related workplan to ensure the memorandum and workplan reflect the coordination that is needed to help meet the state’s energy goals. This bill would require those entities to review and update, as necessary, the memorandum every 3 years, rather than every 5 years.

May 23 hearing: Held in
committee and under
submission.

Failed Deadline
SB 842 Stern Energy: firm zero-carbon resourcesZero-Carbon ResouThis bill would require commission, on or before December 31, 2026, through a new or ongoing proceeding, to establish or identify a process by which each load-serving entity subject to its jurisdiction may solicit bids and propose projects for new firm zero-carbon resources to meet identified local reliability needs, as provided. The bill would require the report to include, among other things, characterization of the resource attributes vital for local reliability and identification of barriers, including market barriers, to deploying firm zero-carbon resources to enhance local reliability.

From committee: Do pass and
re-refer to Com. on APPR. with
recommendation: To consent
calendar. (Ayes 18. Noes 0.)
(July 9). Re-referred to Com. on
APPR.

ORANGE COUNTY POWER AUTHORITY
Staff Report – Item 8.4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: Orange County Power Authority Legislative and Regulatory Committee From: Steven Halligan, Regulatory and Legislative Manager Matt Chill, Regulatory Analyst
Approved By: Joe Mosca, Chief Executive Officer
Subject: REGULATORY UPDATE
Date: December 4, 2025
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RECOMMENDED ACTION
Receive and file.

BACKGROUND
Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) staff actively participate in several regulatory proceedings at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), California Independent System Operator (CAISO), and the California Energy Commission (CEC). This report includes a summary of high priority, active proceedings.

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
California Public Utilities Commission Updates
Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) Proceeding – R.25-02-005 Background: On February 11, 2025, the CPUC issued an Order Instituting Rulemaking (OIR) to initiate a new proceeding related to the Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA). The proceeding will consist of two tracks. The first track will be an expedited track focused on potential modifications to the Market Price Benchmark (MPB). Track two may consider several issues including a review of the revisions to the MPB, consideration of ERRA-specific implementation guidance for RA program changes, changes to Bundled Procurement Plan directions, and consideration of improved PCIA and ERRA mechanisms to reduce rate volatility.

The CPUC has identified four objectives of the proceeding:

1. Consider and identify reasonable improvements to existing ERRA and PCIA rules, mechanisms, and processes to ensure best practices in utility forecasting and other procurement plan activities;

2. Identify ways to mitigate and respond to rate volatility, whether resulting from market conditions or ratemaking constructs;

3. Best ensure indifference among bundled and departed customers;

4. Provide policy guidance to ensure that individual utility forecast ratemaking proceedings function as efficiently and consistently as possible.

CalCCA filed Reply Comments on the Track 1 PD on June 17, 2025, recommending that the CPUC:
• Reject the Joint IOUs’ recommendation to include in the definition of “affiliate” “any Joint Powers Agency [JPA] or partnership in which a load serving entity is a member” given that this definition would result in the exclusion of transactions by individual CCAs who are members of JPAs such as CC Power, which do not fall within the non-market based affiliate transactions the PD seeks to exclude;
• Reject the PD’s proposed timeframe of transactions to include in the RA MPB as supported by parties including the Joint IOUs and CUE, given this timeframe is not supported by the record and will decrease the accuracy of the RA MPB; and • Reject the PD’s adoption of the new calculation methodology for the Final 2025 RA MPB, as such adoption would constitute impermissible retroactive ratemaking.

The Track 1 PD was approved at the June 26, 2025, CPUC Voting Meeting. The Track 1 PD states:
• The current RA MPB methodology examines a three-year dataset to determine the local RA MPB forecast, adding a fourth year to the dataset for the final local RA MPB.

Adjusting the methodology to a single RA MPB calculation, utilizing system, flexible, and local RA procurement data from the three- and four- year datasets, allows for the consideration of more transaction data.
• Combining the three MPBs into a single MPB with three years of data for forecast MPBs and an additional year of data for final MPBs appropriately balances data sufficiency with the Commission’s currently established method of valuing RA portfolios based upon short-run market prices.
• The RA MPB should be based upon competitive market pricing that reflects supply and demand dynamics.
• Affiliate and swap transactions reflect considerations other than market based supply and demand pricing of the resources involved in the transaction. • Inclusion of affiliate and swap transactions in the RA MPB calculation introduces the potential for manipulation of the RA MPB.
• Transactions between the PG&E CPE and PG&E LSE, as well as transactions between the SCE CPE and SCE LSE are subject to independent verification that ensures transaction values reflect competitive pricing.
• Sleeve transactions involve multiple transactions based involving the same resource and single market-based price. Considering each transaction within a sleeve as a separate transaction in the RA MPB calculation result in the overweighting of a single price determination within the transaction dataset and distorts the RA MPB. • The changes adopted should be applied to the calculation of the 2025 Final and 2026 Forecast RA MPB and all succeeding forecast and final MPB calculations.

Update: On July 28th, 2025, CalCCA filed an Application for Rehearing (AfR) on Track 1 of the proceeding. This AfR addressed CCA opposition for the CPUC’s engagement with retroactive ratemaking in the MPB calculation methodology for the 2025 ERRA True Up, which is prohibited under Section 728 of the Public Utilities Code. On October 31, 2025 the Commission issued an Order Denying CalCCAs Application for Rehearing of the Track 1 decision regarding RA MPB calculations. This denial begins a 30-day window for CalCCA to file an appeal with the appellate court. CalCCA is exploring this option.

Resource Adequacy (RA) - R.25-10-003
Background: This rulemaking continues the CPUC’s oversight of the Resource Adequacy (RA) program, establishes forward RA procurement obligations applicable to load-serving entities beginning with the 2027 compliance year, and considers structural reforms to the program. This proceeding is the successor to Rulemaking 23-10-011, which addressed these topics over the past two years.

This rulemaking will address the 2027 and 2028 RA compliance years, local RA obligations for the 2027-2029 and 2028-2030 compliance years, and further refinements to the Slice of Day (SOD) program.

Update: The OIR for R.25-10-003 was issued on October 15, 2025. The Preliminary Scoping Memo for the OIR proposes the following issues be considered within the proceeding: (1) adoption of local capacity requirements; (2) adoption of flexible capacity requirements; (3) loss of load expectation (LOLE) study; (4) accreditation for Long-Duration Energy Storage (LDES); (5) unforced capacity (UCAP); (6) accreditation of solar and wind resources; (7) transactability issues within the SOD Framework; (8) residual unit commitment (RUC) for RA resources; (9) coordination with the integrated resource planning (IRP) proceeding; and (10) refinements to the RA program.

Opening comments were due on November 4, 2025. CalCCA submitted comments recommending the CPUC:

1. Address RA SOD Transactability, as is currently scoped in the OIR a. CalCCA requests that CPUC adjust the schedule such that parties can file modified proposals after the Energy Division releases its report on an unspecified date within Q1 2026. The current schedule states a deadline of January 23, 2026 for all party proposals, so it is possible the Energy Division’s report is released after this current deadline.

2. Include load forecasting issues as an issue within the scope; a. CalCCA suggests the Commission coordinate with the CEC to increase transparency, collaboration, and certainty in demand forecasts, adjustment, and allocation processes used to set LSEs’ RA requirements given the unprecedented projection of load increases associated with the deployment of data centers and other large load.

3. Clarify how local RA Central Procurement Entities (CPEs) are intended to use the aggregated results of the LSEs’ local RA data request responses in their procurement decisions;
a. CalCCA expresses that SCE and PG&E appear to use the results of the data request differently, and states that SCE’s approach seems superior because accounting for contracts for resources in local areas would limit over procurement. PG&E’s approach was unclear as to whether or how it accounted for LSE contracts in local areas.

4. Consider updates to the Commission’s requirements for showing MIC to align with the SOD framework; and

5. Include DR, DER, and microgrid counting rules within the scope of this proceeding.

CalCCA submitted Reply Comments on the OIR on November 14. CalCCA focused its reply comments on giving parties an opportunity to provide input into loss of load expectation (LOLE) study inputs and assumptions, addressing DR exports within the proceeding, and rejecting recommendations for considering GHG emission attribution within RA as this is already handled via RPS compliance.

The Prehearing Conference occurred on November 17. Many comments from parties on the scope of the OIR focused on the need for coordination with the IRP Proceeding, RA SOD Transactability, LDES RA accreditation, and LOLE study updates. The CPUC anticipates that its RA Transactability report will be available in mid-February, and clarified that it will provide an opportunity to comment and submit proposals prior to the June 2026 decision.

The Scoping Memo will be issued at some point in December, 2025.

The CAISO reviewed and evaluated aggregate 2026 annual RA Plans of LSEs and central procurement entities (CPEs), releasing its Evaluation Report on November 6, 2025. Its evaluation showed LSEs within the SCE service territory maintained aggregate compliance with year ahead RA obligations submitted on October 31, 2025. There are Local RA deficiencies within the PG&E area, however.

Climate Credit – R.25-07-013
Background: This OIR was opened July 24, 2025, to improve the California Climate Credit (Climate Credit). The Climate Credit has historically provided residential and small business customers semi-annual bill credits using a portion of revenues from the California Cap-and-Trade Program. Residential customers receive on average $120 per year from the credit, dispersed once in the winter and once in the summer. The CPUC opened the proceeding to further address affordability, and to support the California Industry Assistance which is intended to minimize businesses relocating to other states without emissions compliance programs.

Update: CalCCA filed Opening Comments on the Climate Credit OIR on September 26, 2025 and reply comments on October 13, recommending the CPUC support the OIR preliminary scope, including considering changes to customer eligibility criteria, timing and method of Climate Credit distribution, and messaging to customers. OCPA staff will attend a prehearing conference scheduled for November 21, 2025. OCPA aims to ensure modifications to the Climate Credit are competitively neutral, including eligibility criteria and customer messaging, and to ensure existing customers continue receiving the Climate Credit.

Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) – R.25-06-019
Background: This OIR, issued on July 2, 2025, supersedes R.20-05-003 as the primary venue for CPUC oversight of the IRP process, which requires the Commission to identify a resource portfolio to ensure a reliable electric supply that can also achieve clean energy and environmental goals of SB 350 and SB 100.

R.20-05-003 remains open for purposes of considering a staff proposal on the Reliable and Clean Power Procurement Program (RCPPP) framework, as proposed in the April 25, 2025 Administrative Law Judge’s Ruling. Future work or further development and implementation of RCPPP, if adopted, will occur in this new IRP rulemaking.

Update: OCPA filed its Updated Annual Load Forecast by the September 12, 2025 deadline.

OCPA also attended the Pre-Hearing Conference (CPUC) which was held on September 29.

Directly following the PHC, the CPUC requested comments by October 22, 2025 about (1) a base and sensitivity electricity portfolio for the CAISO to study in its 2026-27 Transmission Planning Process (TPP) and (2) a Commission order for 6,000 MW of LSE procurement between 2029-32.

CalCCA submitted comments on the Ruling on October 22, 2025, recommending the CPUC update framework for TPP portfolio selection to align the base case with that of least regrets and modifying the base case to use more conservative load assumptions given significant uncertainty with data center and electrification demand in the 2024 IEPR Demand Forecast. Over-procurement and affordability implications are key to CalCCA, as is seen with these comments.

Other key CalCCA priorities within comments are:
• Maintaining LSE autonomy with power procurement instead of through a Central Procurement Entity;
• Minimizing ad hoc procurement orders and instead focusing on developing the RCPPP for predictable procurement periods and processes; but if ad hoc procurement orders are released, they should:
o Order procurement of generic capacity instead of technology- or attribute-specific orders;
o Only issue an order for 2,000 MW in 2029-30 and 2,000 MW in 2031-32, and then reevaluate whether an additional 2,000 MW of procurement is needed in Q1 of 2028;
o Ensure LSE’s net positions aren’t revealed to potential sellers o Refrain from ordering procurement within local capacity areas • Maintain the amount of in-state and offshore wind included in previous TPP portfolios in the base case.

CalCCA submitted reply comments in line with these priorities on October 31, 2025. CalCCA specifically supported Cal Advocates’ and SDG&E’s recommendation that no procurement order should be ordered for 2031-32 until more information is available on the likelihood of data center and large load materialization by then. This essentially takes CalCCA’s recommendation from its opening comments about the two-tranches (one for 2031-32) and goes one step further by suggesting that no procurement order is released for 2031-32 yet. CalCCA opposed releasing the full ad hoc 6,000 MW procurement order as was recommended by ACP-CA and Hydrostar.

CalCCA also supported many parties who recommended procurement needs be allocated to all LSEs, rather than a CPE, and opposed parties who recommended the use of technology- or attribute-specific procurement requirements.

CPUC requested comments on the preliminary mapping of resources within the proposed electricity resource portfolios in the TPP to busbars on the transmission system due on November 21, 2025. CalCCA did not file comments.

Rule 21 – R.25-08-004
Background: The OIR was issued on August 20, 2025. The Preliminary Scoping Memo proposes the following topic areas be considered within the proceeding: (1) Screen Q and R electrical independence tests; (2) the interconnection process; (3) interconnection pathways and standards; (4) cost sharing of upgrade costs and responsibility for upgrade costs due to load reduction; (5) tariff implementation costs; (6) net energy metering- and net billing tariff-related updates to Rule 21; (7) communications and interoperability of DERs; and (8) utilities’ WDAT processes and relationship to Rule 21.

The Commission opened this rulemaking to consider refinements to the interconnection of distributed energy resources (DER) under Electric Tariff Rule 21. Electric Rule 21 (Rule 21) is a tariff that describes the interconnection, operating and metering requirements for generation facilities to be connected to an investor-owned utility’s (IOUs) distribution system and transmission system over which the California Public Utilities Commission (Commission) has jurisdiction. Rule 21 provides a generating facility (i.e., customers wishing to install generating or storage facilities on their premises) with access to the electric grid while protecting the safety and reliability of the distribution and transmission systems.

Update: Opening Comments were due on October 19, 2025. CalCCA submitted comments recommending:

1. Modifying Scoping Item 7 (above) to explicitly include consideration of costs and standards for communications and interoperability of non-IOU owned DER and DERMs;

2. Modifying Scoping Item 2 (above) to include consideration of a penalty structure for IOU noncompliance with interconnection timelines;
a. The Commission found that the issue of financial penalties in D.20-09-035 was premature given there was a need to first determine whether timeline certainty of DER interconnection was improving. Over five years have passed since then and issues with interconnection timelines still appear to be occurring, as is evidenced by the California Solar and Storage Association’s recent complaint against PG&E and SCE for repeated violation of Rule 21 interconnection timelines.

3. Dividing the proceeding into two phases: (1) Process Improvements and Technical Requirement Updates (Scoping Items 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8) and (2) Cost Issues (Scoping Items 4, 5, and 7); and

4. Coordination with the recently opened Demand Response OIR (R.25-09-004) as it addresses relevant issues such as those considered by the CAISO Demand and Distributed Energy Market Integration Working Group.

Reply Comments were due on November 10, 2025. CalCCA expressed support for prioritizing reforms to the Screen Q, as was recommended by many parties in the Opening Comments.

CalCCA also recommended rejecting PG&E’s and SCE’s recommendation to remove consideration of utilizing integration capacity analysis (ICA) values within the Rule 21 interconnection process. SCE and PG&E assert that this topic is covered within the High DER proceeding, but CalCCA and several other parties believe that it should also be considered here to ensure ICA values are properly enhanced so they are useful within the Rule 21 interconnection process. Specifically, the California Energy Storage Alliance (CESA) suggests the need to “adopt consistent ICA calculation methodologies and data formats” and “update ICA maps more frequently to reflect current system conditions and pending interconnection requests.” Demand Response – R.25-09-004
Background: The OIR was issued on September 29, 2025. The preliminary scope of the proceeding includes (1) determining guiding principles for demand response policies; (2) policy on dual participation, valuation methodologies and evaluation metrics, CAISO market integration topics, and resource adequacy valuation and slice-of-day implementation; and (3) standards for data systems, communication protocols, and data transfer processes to support relevant initiatives such as dynamic rates. This OIR seeks to evaluate and enhance the consistency, predictability, reliability, and cost-effectiveness of demand response resources. The Commission will accomplish this enhancement by updating our demand response guiding principles, policies, and data system and process requirements.

In this rulemaking, CPUC intends to re-evaluate several key Commission demand response policies, including its dual participation policy (D.09-08-027), valuation methodologies and evaluation metrics, and others. The dual participation policy enables customers to concurrently participate in up to two DR programs assuming one provides an energy payment and one provides a capacity payment.

Update: Opening Comments were due on November 13, 2025. CalCCA recommended including six additional topic areas in addition to the preliminary scope:
(1) Consideration of consider necessary updates to existing DR data systems, not just new data systems;
(2) Evaluation of barriers to DR adoption and potential solutions to overcome these challenges;
(3) Discussion of PG&E’s and SCE’s real-time pricing (RTP) pilot evaluations; (4) Consideration of advanced demand flexibility management and customer DER compensation;
(5) Explicit definition of what is and is not a DR resource, including sub-types of DR; and (6) Explicit definition of cost-effectiveness in the context of DR and load flexibility.

CalCCA also recommended that the DR Guiding principles should be amended to:
(1) Add customer choice and competitive neutrality among DR service providers to the DR goals adopted in D.16-09-056; and
(2) Ensure that it does not exclude behavioral DR programs and resources from being considered cost effective.

Reply Comments are due on December 1, 2025.

California Energy Commission (CEC) Updates
Integrated Energy Policy Report
Background: The CEC adopts an Integrated Energy Policy Report (IEPR) every two years and an update every other year. A cornerstone of California’s energy planning is the California Energy Demand Forecast, developed by the CEC. This forecast provides critical information that informs energy planning proceedings across the state and serves as an important input into the state’s comprehensive energy planning. The CEC, CPUC, and California ISO agreed that specific elements of this forecast set will be used for planning and procurement in the California ISO’s transmission planning and the CPUC’s integrated resource plan, resource adequacy, distribution system planning, and other planning processes.

Update: Draft load modifier forecast results were presented at the Commissioner Workshop on Load Modifier Results on November 13, 2025. On December 11, 2025, the CEC will host another Workshop on the overall Forecast. The 2025 IEPR will be finalized and adopted in 2026.

Draft results from the Load Modifier Results Workshops were shared, with key takeaways including the following:
• Behind-the-meter solar and storage adoption and added capacity is expected to sharply decline in the near-term due to the repeal of the federal investment tax credit (ITC); • With the withdrawal of CARB’s Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation, load impact from medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles (MHDEVs) is expected to be greatly reduced from the 2024 IEPR forecast by 2035;
• Light-duty electric vehicle (LDEV) adoption has not declined nearly as significantly within the 2025 IEPR. The CEC team attributed this to the fact that the current methodology does not consider tariffs within its forecasting; • The business as usual forecasts for additional achievable energy efficiency and fuel substitution in conjunction result in reductions in electricity consumption until about 2030, at which point electricity increases due to fuel substitution outweighing electric efficiency gains; and
• Data center load impacts are challenging to plan for given the uncertainty of deployment from many sites. Group 1 and 2 data center projects, those with signed agreements or active applications respectively, have remained relatively flat between the 2024 IEPR Update and the 2025 IEPR. Group 3 data center projects, which are purely inquiries, are more speculative and only impact the CEC’s “High” or aggressive data center scenario, unlike Group 1 and 2 which impact the “Mid” data center scenario.

California Independent System Operator (CAISO) Updates
Interconnection Process Enhancements (IPE) 5.0
Background: The 2023 Interconnection Process Enhancements (IPE) initiative is focused on enhancing coordination of resource procurement and interconnection, resource planning and transmission planning to achieve state reliability and policy needs. In the 2023 IPE initiative, the CAISO intends to consider more fundamental changes to the Generator Interconnection and Deliverability Allocation Procedures than were considered in IPE 2021.

With IPE 2023, intake scoring and ranking processes are leveraged to determine which projects are included in cluster studies for determining Transmission Plan Deliverability (TPD) allocation. The scoring and ranking processes led to an overall 73% reduction in the number of submissions for cluster 15 projects.

IPE 5.0 is to address commitments the ISO made during IPE 2023, where the ISO made foundational changes to its interconnection procedures, which were approved by FERC. IPE 5.0 seeks to further enhance the interconnection process, but not nearly as substantially as IPE 2023.

Update: Staff attended Stakeholder Meeting on the Draft Final Proposal for IPE 5.0 on October 20, 2025. CalCCA submitted comments on the Draft Final Proposal on November 3, 2025.

Updates from the IPE 5.0 Draft Final Proposal as it currently stands will (in addition to other smaller changes):
• Make minor updates to the intake scoring and ranking rubric that largely seek to reduce the extent to which large projects are able to dominate the Commercial Interest section of the scoring process by instituting a project size cap (max of 500 MW); • Require distribution system projects to also go through this same intake scoring and ranking process;
• Allow Operational Energy Only projects in cluster 15 and beyond to seek deliverability through this process as part of the Commercial Allocation Group; o This originated from a CalCCA proposal. However, the current language in the Draft Final Proposal differs from CalCCA’s proposal in that any Energy Only project that is found to be behind a transmission constraint will be ineligible for TPD. The project will not be able to fund network upgrades to enable the project to receive TPD either.
o Introduce protocols for removing stagnant projects from the interconnection queue if they have been in-queue for seven years (plus potentially three years of extensions); and
o Result in projects that are not within CAISO but impact CAISO to enter the queue lower than projects within existing cluster studies.

Storage Design and Modeling
Background: This initiative explores enhancements to energy storage market design, modeling, and processes. Efforts are organized into four topic groups: Outage Management, Uplift & Default Energy Bids, State-of-Charge Management Topics, and Mixed-Fuel & Distribution-Level Resources.

Updates: On November 12, 2025, CAISO held a workshop for its Storage Design and Modeling initiative. This workshop covered CAISO's thinking around Uplift & Default Energy Bids (DEBs) and State-of-Charge Management Topics for Storage. The former is being considered to limit the ability of storage operators to exhibit market power to uneconomically bid to maximize their bid cost recovery payments, and the latter is being considered to ensure that energy storage foldback is being appropriately considered within grid operations.

Comments must be submitted on these Storage Design and Modeling topics by November 26, 2025. The CAISO will use comments and feedback provided at the November 12th workshop to develop a draft final proposal.

FISCAL IMPACT
None

ATTACHMENTS
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Orange County Power Authority Legislative & Regulatory CommitteeDecember 4, 2025

Orange County Power Authority Legislative & Regulatory Committee
December 4, 2025