Energy: electricity.

Assembly Member Petrie-Norris's comprehensive energy infrastructure legislation establishes new financing mechanisms and regulatory frameworks to accelerate California's clean energy transition while enhancing grid reliability and wildfire safety. The bill creates the Public Transmission Financing Fund to support critical transmission projects through public-private partnerships, with the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank administering financial assistance to public transmission sponsors.

The legislation streamlines clean energy project permitting through a new Local Assistance Program that provides technical expertise and matching funds to local authorities. It establishes a central pool of subject matter experts to support permit reviews and creates standardized timelines and processes to expedite approvals while maintaining environmental and safety standards.

To strengthen wildfire prevention, the bill requires electrical corporations to submit detailed mitigation plans every four years that incorporate cost-effectiveness analyses and implementation timelines. These plans must outline specific strategies for infrastructure hardening, vegetation management, and customer protection during planned outages. The legislation prohibits large electrical corporations from including in their equity rate base the first $15 billion spent on infrastructure undergrounding projects, requiring financing through separate orders.

The measure creates a Statewide Demand Side Management Program Review Task Force to evaluate energy efficiency and demand response initiatives. This seven-member body will establish objective eligibility criteria, recommend program consolidations, and ensure initiatives advance state clean energy goals cost-effectively. The task force must submit recommendations by December 2027 after consulting with utilities, community organizations, and other stakeholders.

For transmission projects receiving public financing, the bill requires participation in the state's Wildfire Fund and mandates that excess revenues beyond actual costs be returned to ratepayers through bill credits. The legislation also directs the Public Utilities Commission to develop standard methodologies for evaluating ratepayer benefits from public-private transmission partnerships.