Electricity: interconnections.

Assembly Member Irwin's electricity interconnection legislation requires the Independent System Operator to incorporate surplus interconnection considerations into transmission planning while mandating that electrical corporations and qualifying local utilities evaluate and utilize available grid capacity through surplus interconnection opportunities.

The bill directs the ISO to enhance transparency around surplus interconnection options to maximize federal tax credit utilization. It further requires electrical corporations and local publicly owned utilities with annual demand exceeding 700 gigawatthours to assess surplus interconnection possibilities when developing their integrated resource plans, including potential renewable energy or battery storage additions near existing fossil fuel plants.

For local publicly owned utilities, the legislation adds new integrated resource planning requirements related to transportation electrification. Updated plans must detail rate designs and incentives supporting vehicle electrification across light-, medium-, and heavy-duty sectors, along with customer education efforts about available incentives and cost calculation tools.

The measure establishes enforcement mechanisms through the Public Utilities Commission, which may assess penalties for non-compliance while ensuring costs are allocated equitably among customers without shifting burden between different load-serving entities. Local utilities maintain authority to levy service charges to cover implementation costs without state reimbursement.