Energy: reliability planning assessment

The added reporting is intended to show whether transmission, permitting, and other barriers are delaying renewable and zero-carbon resources needed for electric-system reliability.

What the law does ​

• Requires the California Energy Commission and California Public Utilities Commission’s joint Reliability Planning Assessment to report the status of utility transmission upgrades and electrical-grid infrastructure capacity.
• Requires reporting on Public Utilities Commission decisions on applications for certificates, permits, and construction of utility and independent projects.
• Requires the assessment to include updates tied to actions by or resulting from the Tracking Energy Development Task Force, with a Gantt chart showing progress.
• Continues requirements to identify deployment delays and barriers, recommend legislative actions, and protect market-sensitive information.
• Requires the California Energy Commission’s energy almanac to include storage resources serving wholesale load and resources serving the California Independent System Operator system, including eligible out-of-state resources.

Who it affects ​

• Electric utilities, independent energy-project developers, and renewable and zero-carbon resource developers.
• Load-serving entities and electricity customers served through the California Independent System Operator system.
• The California Energy Commission and California Public Utilities Commission.

Context ​

The assessment covers five- and 10-year electricity supply-and-demand estimates under high-, medium-, and low-risk scenarios.