AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 2, 2025

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 30, 2025

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 16, 2025

AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 10, 2025

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

93

CHAPTER 420

Statutes of 2025

[ Approved by Governor October 6, 2025. Filed with Secretary of State October 6, 2025. ]

Introduced by Senator Hurtado

February 20, 2025

An act to add and repeal Section 913.14 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to electricity.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: yes

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory jurisdiction over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires each public utility to furnish and maintain adequate, efficient, just, and reasonable service, instrumentalities, equipment, and facilities, as are necessary to promote the safety, health, comfort, and convenience of its patrons, employees, and the public.

Existing law requires the commission to annually publish a report, pursuant to commission requirements, as provided.

This bill would require the commission, on or before January 1, 2027, to require each large electrical corporation, as defined, to commence a study to evaluate significant voltage-related incidents, as defined, across its residential, commercial, and industrial customers that resulted in damage to customer-owned equipment, appliances, or property totaling $5,000 or more, as provided. The bill would require the commission, on or before July 1, 2027, to publish hyperlinks on its internet website to the studies, and to report on the studies to the Legislature.

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

Because a violation of a commission action implementing this bill’s requirements would be a crime, the 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.

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

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Voltage changes can result in significant damage to electrical systems, appliances, and devices, causing financial hardship and safety concerns for residential, commercial, and industrial ratepayers.

(b) Voltage changes are a frequent occurrence in electrical grid operations. Voltage changes can be caused by multiple factors, including, but not limited to, lightning strikes, downed electrical lines, or sudden shifts in electrical demand.

(c) It is the responsibility of the Public Utilities Commission to publish public disclosures and information on the adequacy of large electrical corporations’ consumer protections related to significant voltage-related incidents.

SEC. 2.

Section 913.14 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

913.14.

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

(1) “Large electrical corporation” has the same meaning as defined in Section 3280.

(2) “Significant voltage-related incident” means a deviation in electrical service voltage delivered by an electrical corporation to a customer that falls outside the standard electrical service voltage range of plus or minus 5 percent of nominal voltage and that results in damage to customer-owned equipment, appliances, or property.

(b) (1) On or before January 1, 2027, the commission shall require each large electrical corporation to commence a study to evaluate significant voltage-related incidents across its residential, commercial, and industrial customers that resulted in damage to customer-owned equipment, appliances, or property totaling five thousand dollars ($5,000) or more.

(2) Each study shall, at a minimum, do all of the following:

(A) Evaluate associated consumer protections within the service territory of the large electrical corporation.

(B) Quantify the frequency and causes of significant voltage-related incidents that resulted in property damage, including, but not limited to, the number and geographic distribution of significant voltage-related incidents reported from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2026, inclusive.

(C) Identify the causes of significant voltage-related incidents, including electrical grid instability, system failures, or natural disasters such as wildfires and storms, reported from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2026, inclusive.

(D) Evaluate the impacts of, and damage caused by, significant voltage-related incidents on the large electrical corporation’s operations and service reliability and customer-owned equipment, appliances, or property, including, but not limited to, the frequency of high- and low-voltage changes by voltage class across different customer classes, including residential, commercial, and industrial customer classes.

(E) Quantify the extent of reported property damage, including total monetary claims filed, approved, and denied, to different customer classes, including residential, commercial, and industrial customer classes, resulting from significant voltage-related incidents.

(F) Evaluate any trends in customer complaints related to significant voltage-related incidents.

(G) Examine response times and management and resolution of complaints or claims related to significant voltage-related incidents that resulted in damage to customer-owned equipment, appliances, or property.

(H) Describe consumer protections from significant voltage-related incidents in the large electrical corporation’s service territory.

(I) Evaluate the adequacy of the consumer protections related to reporting and public disclosure of significant voltage-related incidents that resulted in damage to customer-owned equipment, appliances, or property.

(J) Identify current outreach and support related to significant voltage-related incidents, including, but not limited to, whether current practices adequately serve low-income, rural, and limited English proficiency customers seeking reimbursement for damage to customer-owned equipment, appliances, or property.

(c) On or before July 1, 2027, the commission shall publish hyperlinks on its internet website to the studies conducted by the large electrical corporations, and report on the studies to the Legislature.

(d) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this section is repealed on January 1, 2031.

SEC. 3.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB 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 XIIIB of the California Constitution.