California Technology Innovation and Ratepayer Protection Act

The law directs the California Public Utilities Commission to set rules by January 1, 2028, for large participating customers’ electric service and interconnection. It requires those rules to avoid shifting costs or creating stranded costs for customers that do not participate.

What the law does ​

• Requires the commission to establish or update tariffs and electric rules for participating customers’ interconnection and electric service by January 1, 2028.
• Requires the commission to evaluate effects on nonparticipating customers and prevent stranded costs and cost shifts to them.
• Requires separate billing of generation-related charges for unbundled customers.
• Requires a transmission-level interconnection tariff for covered data centers, including disclosure of duplicate applications, customer responsibility for transmission upgrades and usage, limited interconnection-cost refunds, and fees for early departure or inadequate load growth.
• Requires electrical corporations to publish and update maps identifying locations that can accommodate participating customers without major transmission upgrades.
• Allows participating customers to join new commission-authorized demand-response programs only when they create no net costs for nonparticipating customers.
• Allows utilities to seek commission approval of interim contracts with eligible data centers before the tariff is approved.

Who it affects ​

• Data centers entering new transmission-level retail-service interconnection agreements on or after January 1, 2027.
• Electrical corporations serving or processing interconnection requests from participating customers.
• Nonparticipating electricity customers whose rates could otherwise bear costs from these interconnections.
• Unbundled electricity customers.