SB 1215

SB1215:v97#DOCUMENT

Bill Start

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 1215

An act to amend Section 740.19 of, and to add Section 740.27 to, to the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1215, as amended, Cortese. Electrical corporations: electric vehicle charging stations: multifamily residential housing properties.

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires each electrical corporation, not later than February 28, 2021, to file an advice letter for, and requires the commission, not later than June 30, 2021, to approve, a new tariff or rule that authorizes each electrical corporation to design and deploy all electrical distribution infrastructure on the utility side of the customer’s meter for all customers installing separately metered infrastructure to support charging stations, other than those in single-family residences. Existing law requires the advice letter and the commission’s approval to provide that costs incurred by the electrical corporation between January 1, 2021, and the implementation date of rates approved in the next general rate case decision for that electrical corporation, to be tracked in a memorandum account and recovered, subject to a reasonableness review, in the decision adopting the next general rate case revenue requirement for that electrical corporation. Existing law authorizes the commission to revise the policy after the completion of the general rate case cycle of the electrical corporation following the one during which the advice letter was filed if a determination is made that a change in the policy is necessary to ensure just and reasonable rates for ratepayers. commission to establish strategies and quantifiable metrics to maximize the use of feasible and cost-effective electric vehicle grid integration, as defined, by January 1, 2030, as specified.

This bill would delete the authorization for the commission to revise the policy.

This bill would require the commission, on or before March 1, 2027, to direct establish targets for each electrical corporations corporation to submit Tier 3 advice letters to install electric vehicle charging stations and associated equipment and facilities at multifamily housing, with certain parameters, including, among other things, a requirement that each electrical corporation install enough electric vehicle charging stations, on or before December 31, 2037, to at least triple the amount of electric vehicle charging stations in existence, as of January 1, 2027, at multifamily housing in its service territory, and a requirement that housing properties. The bill would require the commission to ensure the targets reduce costs for all ratepayers, and to require electrical corporations to make annual progress reports and to provide to the commission corresponding maps that identify the proposed multifamily housing properties within its service territory where use will be highest based on distribution system planning and experience with electric vehicle charging station infrastructure. The bill would require the commission, in establishing the targets, to determine whether to impose certain requirements on an electrical corporation, including a requirement that an electrical corporation recover all costs, to the extent not covered by nonratepayer funding, for deploying the electric vehicle charging stations and associated equipment and facilities, stations, including the costs for administration and implementation and for equipment, installation, and maintenance on the customer side of the meter, implementation, as operations and maintenance costs rather than as capital costs.

Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.

Because the provisions of the bill would be a part of the act and therefore a violation of the bill’s requirements, or a violation of a commission action implementing the bill’s requirements, would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES

Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) It is the policy of the state and the intent of the Legislature to encourage transportation electrification by deploying electric vehicle charging infrastructure to achieve the state’s climate goals and put downward pressure on electricity rates.

(b) Electrical corporations can facilitate the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure to accelerate the electric vehicle market and expand the benefits from widespread electric vehicle adoption.

(c) Electrical corporation deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure has generated tens of thousands of charging ports in the state. San Diego Gas and Electric’s Power Your Drive pilot program, for example, deployed more than 3,000 charging ports at multifamily housing and workplaces, Southern California Edison’s Charge Ready pilot program deployed more than 2,700 charging ports at multifamily housing and workplaces, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s EV Charge Network pilot program deployed more than 4,700 charging ports at multifamily housing and workplaces.

(d) The need for electric vehicle charging infrastructure at multifamily housing and businesses was so great that the utility investment programs were extended. But the extended programs have reached capacity or are ending in 2026 due to regulatory decisions. Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s charging infrastructure program for multifamily housing and small businesses, for example, reached its full subscription and is no longer accepting applications.

(e) Multifamily housing is a market underserved by commercial electric vehicle charging companies. Approximately 30 percent of the residential customers of electrical corporations live in multifamily housing. Although approximately 80 percent of all electric vehicle charging in California occurs at home, less than 4 percent of total electric vehicle charging in the state occurs at multifamily housing.

(f) Multifamily housing residents lack access to convenient home charging and often rely on public direct current fast charging stations at higher cost compared to home charging, raising equity concerns. In addition, higher charging costs undermine the state’s transportation electrification goals.

(g) To achieve the state’s equity and climate goals, it is prudent to facilitate the deployment of electrical vehicle charging infrastructure at multifamily housing.

(h) Studies show that electric vehicle charging has increased electrical corporation revenues more than they have increased electrical corporation costs, leading to downward pressure on electricity rates for electrical corporation customers.

(i) Where no distribution system capacity upgrade is needed, deploying electric vehicle charging stations will can lower costs for electricity customers.

(j) Managed charging may avoid the need for electrical distribution system capacity upgrades and additional resource adequacy.

SEC. 2.Section 740.19 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

740.19.

(a)The purpose of this section is to change the commission practice of authorizing the electrical distribution infrastructure located on the utility side of the customer meter needed to charge electric vehicles on a case-by-case basis to a practice of considering that infrastructure and associated design, engineering, and construction work as core utility business, treated the same as other distribution infrastructure authorized on an ongoing basis in the electrical corporation’s general rate case. The commission should not relegate charging electric vehicles to a lower status than any other use of electricity for which the electrical corporation provides distribution infrastructure. The commission shall continue to require each electrical corporation to provide an accurate and full accounting of all expenses related to electrical distribution infrastructure as it relates to this section, and apply appropriate penalties to the extent an electrical corporation is not accurately tracking all expenses.

(b)For purposes of this section, the term “electrical distribution infrastructure” includes poles, vaults, service drops, transformers, mounting pads, trenching, conduit, wire, cable, meters, other equipment as necessary, and associated engineering and civil construction work.

(c)Not later than February 28, 2021, each electrical corporation shall file an advice letter pursuant to Section 5.1 of General Order 96-B, for, and not later than June 30, 2021, the commission shall approve, a new tariff or rule that authorizes each electrical corporation to design and deploy all electrical distribution infrastructure on the utility side of the customer’s meter for all customers installing separately metered infrastructure to support charging stations, other than those in single-family residences. The advice letter and the commission’s approval shall provide that costs incurred by the electrical corporation between January 1, 2021, and the implementation date of rates approved in the next general rate case decision for that electrical corporation shall be tracked in a memorandum account and recovered, subject to a reasonableness review, in the decision adopting the next general rate case revenue requirement for that electrical corporation. Each electrical corporation shall recover its subsequent revenue requirement for this work through periodic general rate case proceedings. In those proceedings, the costs shall be treated like those costs incurred for other necessary distribution infrastructure. The new tariff shall replace the line extension rules in use as of July 1, 2020, and any customer allowances established shall be based on the full useful life of the electrical distribution infrastructure.

(d)(1)For purposes of this subdivision, all of the following terms have the following meanings:

(A)“Basic charging arrangements” means Level 1 and Level 2 charging in accordance with the SAE J1772 standard, or a replacement standard that the commission determines to be appropriate.

(B)“D. 11-07-029” means commission Decision 11-07-029 (July 14, 2011), Phase 2 Decision Establishing Policies to Overcome Barriers to Electric Vehicle Deployment and Complying with Section 740.2 of the Public Utilities Code, made in Rulemaking 09-08-009 (August 20, 2009), Order Instituting Rulemaking on the Commission’s Own Motion to Consider Alternative-Fueled Vehicle Tariffs, Infrastructure and Policies to Support California’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Goals.

(C)“D. 13-06-014” means commission Decision 13-06-014 (June 27, 2013), Decision Authorizing Short-Term Extension of Limited Provisions Regarding Electric Tariff Rules 15 and 16, made in Rulemaking 09-08-009.

(D)“D. 16-06-011” means commission Decision 16-06-011 (June 9, 2016), Decision Authorizing Further Extension of the Interim Policy Regarding Electric Tariff Rules 15 and 16, made in Rulemaking 13-11-007 (November 14, 2013), Order Instituting Rulemaking to Consider Alternative-Fueled Vehicle Programs, Tariffs, and Policies.

(E)“D. 16-11-005” means commission Decision 16-11-005 (November 10, 2016), Decision Making Small Electrical Corporations Respondents to this Rulemaking, made in Rulemaking 13-11-007.

(F)“PEV charging” means plug-in electric vehicle charging.

(G)“R. 18-12-066” means commission Rulemaking 18-12-006 (December 13, 2018), Order Instituting Rulemaking to Continue the Development of Rates and Infrastructure for Vehicle Electrification.

(2)In supervising the alternative-fueled vehicle program, or vehicle electrification program, of an electrical corporation, the commission shall allow the residential service facility upgrade costs incurred as a result of the adoption of home-based electric vehicle charging for basic charging arrangements that exceed the utility’s Electric Tariff Rule 15 (distribution line extensions) and Rule 16 (service line extensions) allowances to be treated as a common facility cost, to be recovered from all residential ratepayers.

(3)It is the intent of the Legislature that the interim policy, known as the Common Treatment for Excess PEV Charging, initially adopted with respect to the state’s three largest electrical corporations in D. 11-07-029, extended in D. 13-06-014, extended again in D. 16-06-011, expanded to include the state’s three smaller electrical corporations in D. 16-11-005, and further extended by the Assigned Commissioner’s Scoping Memorandum and Ruling entered May 2, 2019, and by the order of the Administrative Law Judge entered December 13, 2019 in R. 18-12-066, shall be the policy applied by the commission, and may be revised by the commission after the completion of the electrical corporation’s general rate case cycle in effect on January 1, 2021, if a determination is made that a change in the policy is necessary to ensure just and reasonable rates for ratepayers.

SEC. 3.SEC. 2.

Section 740.27 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

740.27.

(a) For purposes of this section, both of the following definitions apply:

(1)“Electric vehicle charging station” has the same meaning as defined in Section 65850.9 of the Government Code.

(2)“Multifamily “multifamily housing” means residential housing with five units or more.

(b) (1) On or before March 1, 2027, the commission shall direct establish targets for each electrical corporation to submit a Tier 3 advice letter to install electric vehicle charging stations and associated equipment and facilities at multifamily housing, with all of the following parameters: housing properties. The commission shall ensure the targets reduce costs for all ratepayers.

(2) In establishing the targets, the commission shall determine whether to do, and may do, all of the following:

(1)Each electrical corporation shall install enough electric vehicle charging stations, on or before December 31, 2037, to at least triple the amount of electric vehicle charging stations in existence, as of January 1, 2027, at multifamily housing in its service territory.

(2)Each electrical corporation shall

(A) Require each electrical corporation to focus on deploying electric vehicle charging stations in areas likely to have the highest use rates. Each electrical corporation shall exercise its discretion rates that provide benefits to ratepayers and to demonstrate how it plans to determine where use will be highest based on distribution system planning and experience with electric vehicle charging station infrastructure programs and investments.

(3)Each electrical corporation shall

(B) Require each electrical corporation to deploy electric vehicle charging stations at multifamily housing only if the electrical distribution system would support operation of the electric vehicle charging stations without a capacity upgrade. Each electrical corporation may use load management devices to manage charging at the electric vehicle charging stations to avoid a capacity upgrade and to reduce peak local electrical load or peak system electrical load.

(4)The electric vehicle charging stations

(C) Require the electric vehicle charging stations deployed pursuant to this section shall to be networked and capable of being managed to reduce peak local electrical load or peak system electrical load.

(5)Each electrical corporation may

(D) Authorize each electrical corporation to own, maintain, and manage the electric vehicle charging stations it deploys pursuant to this section, and may to contract with a commercial electric vehicle charging company to manage electric vehicle charging station operations and payment processing for use of the electric vehicle charging stations. Electric vehicle charging stations installed pursuant to this subdivision may also be owned and managed by any other entity.

(6)Users

(E) Require that users of the electric vehicle charging stations shall be charged the retail electricity rate. The retail electricity rate shall be a time-of-use rate.

(7)For all installations of electric vehicle charging stations and associated equipment and facilities not performed by employees of an electrical corporation, the electrical corporation shall only contract with contractors using electricians with Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program certification as provided in Section 740.20.

(8)Each electrical corporation shall leverage nonratepayer funding to the extent available to cover the costs of deploying the electric vehicle charging stations and associated equipment and facilities pursuant to this subdivision.

(9)

(F) To the extent not covered by nonratepayer funding, require each electrical corporation shall to recover all costs for deploying the electric vehicle charging stations and associated equipment and facilities pursuant to this subdivision, including, but not limited to, the costs for administration and implementation and the costs for equipment, installation, and maintenance on the customer side of the meter, implementation, as operations and maintenance costs rather than as capital costs. This section does not affect recovery of costs incurred for capital investments by an electrical corporation in facilities and equipment on the electrical corporation’s side of the meter.

(3) The commission shall require each electrical corporation to annually report to the commission on its progress toward achieving the targets.(4) The commission shall require each electrical corporation to provide to the commission corresponding maps that identify the proposed multifamily housing properties within its service territory where use will be highest based on distribution system planning and experience with electric vehicle charging station infrastructure.

(c) (1) The commission shall approve an advice letter described in subdivision (b) within 90 require each electrical corporation to submit an application for projects to support the targets established by the commission pursuant to subdivision (b). The commission shall review the application and approve, reject, or amend the application within 180 days of submittal by an the electrical corporation, with any modifications necessary to comply with the parameters in paragraphs (1) to (9), inclusive, of subdivision (b), or reject the advice letter within 45 days of submittal by an electrical corporation and corporation. The commission may direct the electrical corporation to make necessary changes before resubmitting the advice letter. application.

(2) The commission may extend the period for cost recovery of the costs for deploying the electric vehicle charging stations and associated equipment and facilities pursuant to subdivision (b) to the extent that the overall program described in subdivision (b) is a net benefit to ratepayers.

(d) For all installations of electric vehicle charging stations not performed by employees of an electrical corporation, the electrical corporation shall contract only with contractors using electricians with Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program certification as provided in Section 740.20.(e) Each electrical corporation shall leverage nonratepayer funding to the extent available to cover the costs of deploying the electric vehicle charging stations pursuant to this section.

SEC. 4.SEC. 3.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.