USA – CALIFORNIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Nora Sheriff, Gwenneth O’Hara, Samir Hafez, Antonio Carrejo and Elisa Rivas, Buchalter
1.2 Principal State-Owned or Investor- Owned Entities In California, the principal entities in the power industry include IOUs, POUs and CCAs. IOUs and POUs provide retail electric sales and are responsible for the generation, distribution and transmission systems located within their respective service territories. The majority of California’s population is served by the state’s three large IOUs: • Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E); • Southern California Edison (SCE); and • San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E). PG&E’s service territory spans from Santa Bar- bara to Shasta Counties, SCE’s territory spans from Riverside to Mono Counties, and SDG&E serves San Diego County and southern Orange County. The largest POUs in California include the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LAD- WP) and Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD); there are currently 37 total POUs oper- ating throughout California. CCAs are local government entities that buy electricity on behalf of customers within the IOUs’ service territories, while the IOUs remain responsible for power delivery and other cus- tomer service functions. There are currently 25 CCAs operating throughout California. 1.3 Foreign Investment Review Process The foreign investment review process is outside the authors’ practice area.
Storage Storage is owned and operated by a combina- tion of IOUs, POUs, IPPs, CCAs, private com- panies or individual customers. Storage systems may be classified as gen- eration, transmission, or distribution assets, depending on their function within the electricity system. This classification determines how stor- age assets are regulated, who can own them, and how their costs are recovered from ratepay- ers. Supply Supply (retail electricity sales) is provided by a combination of IOUs, POUs, CCAs and ESPs, depending on local market access and customer eligibility. Principal laws governing the ownership and structure of California’s power industry include the following. • The California Public Utilities Code: (a) Sections 216–218 define electric corpora- tions and public utilities; (b) Section 366.2 enables the formation of CCAs; and (c) Sections 454.51–454.53 require utilities to meet planning and clean energy goals. • Senate Bill (SB) 100 (2018) sets a statewide goal of 100% zero-carbon electricity by 2045. • AB 2514 and AB 2868 support energy stor- age procurement and pilot programmes. • The Federal Power Act (FPA) grants the Fed- eral Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authority over interstate transmission and wholesale electricity markets. • The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) applies to most major infrastructure projects, requiring environmental review and public input.
333 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook