Public utilities: electrical corporations: energization.

Assembly Member Wilson, with coauthors Haney and Wicks, advances a framework to standardize energization applications for large electrical corporations by requiring detailed applicant information, public exemplars, and a formal completeness and cure process designed to illuminate and regulate the energization workflow. The core aim is to create clearer expectations around what is required to energize service and how applications are reviewed within the public utilities regime.

The bill obligates the Public Utilities Commission to direct large electrical corporations to (1) compile and update detailed lists of information sought from energization applicants, with the authority for the utilities to revise those lists; (2) publish on their websites examples of a complete, approved energization application and an example for housing development projects; and (3) make these items publicly available by a commission-set date. It also requires written notice to applicants when an energization request is complete within specified timeframes, and, if the application is incomplete, a cure process that lists missing items and explains how to address them. If an applicant cures, the utility must reassess completeness within commission-determined timeframes, and upon approval, transmit the determination to the applicant by electronic mail and post the response on the website. If the application remains incomplete, a process for appealing the decision must be provided. In addition, the commission may not cap feedback or limit revisions, and mutual extensions of time remain permissible, though extensions cannot be made a condition of acceptance unless they facilitate concurrent processing of related approvals.

The provisions connect to an existing energization framework by tying requirements to large electrical corporations and to exemplar applications, including housing development projects, while anchoring deadlines to time periods established by prior commission decisions. The bill defines the relevant entities and processes in relation to the Public Utilities Code and cross-references related regulatory and housing-development provisions, framing the standardization as a procedural enhancement within the state’s public utilities regime. Enforcement operates through criminal liability for violations of commission actions implementing these requirements, and the bill treats the act as creating a state-mandated local program, with no required reimbursement to local agencies for costs arising from the new criminal or penalty provisions or changes in penalties.

Implementation would occur within a new or existing Public Utilities Commission proceeding, with specific posting dates and timeframes to be set by the commission through ongoing regulation rather than fixed statutory deadlines. The measure envisions ongoing regulatory oversight of information lists, exemplar postings, completeness determinations, cure procedures, and notice and appeal mechanics, influencing how utilities interact with applicants and how the public observes the energization process. For utilities, developers, and the public, the changes clarify information needs, timeliness expectations, and avenues for challenge or recourse, while embedding the framework within the broader context of California’s energization targets and transparency objectives.