Cal. PUC § 740.19 — California Code / Code puc / Division 1 / Part 1 / Chapter 4 / Article 2 / Section 740.19
Section 740.19
Status: in_force

(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” shall include 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 currently used (as of July 1, 2020) and any customer allowances established shall be based on the full useful life of the electrical distribution infrastructure. The commission may revise the policy described in subdivision (a) and this subdivision 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.

(d) (1) For purposes of this subdivision, 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.