USA – CALIFORNIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Nora Sheriff, Gwenneth O’Hara, Samir Hafez, Antonio Carrejo and Elisa Rivas, Buchalter
must be filed in the California Superior Court, where the landowners may challenge the neces- sity of the taking and the compensation offered. The final compensation is determined by the court or a jury, based on appraisals. For projects that cross federal public lands, sur- face access and use is obtained through ROW grants, which are issued by the Bureau of Land Management or the US Forest Service. For access to and use of Tribal land, consul- tation and voluntary agreements are required. Eminent domain cannot be used on Tribal trust lands (without federal approval) or conservation easements. Both the California and US Constitution require just compensation for landowners when eminent domain is exercised. Such compensation may include: • fair market value; • severance damages if the value of the land diminishes due to the transmission line; • temporary construction damage or licence fees; and • reimbursement of legal or appraisal fees – these may be negotiated, but are not required. 4.5 Monopoly Rights to Provide Transmission Services In California, there are no monopoly rights for providing transmission service in a specified geographical territory, but transmission ser- vices are still limited to regulated entities. The IOUs generally own the transmission lines in their respective service territories, while the CAISO dictates the routing of electricity over the transmission lines in the CAISO balancing area, including the IOUs’ transmission lines. In
California, the CPUC does not assign exclusive construction rights for transmission lines to a single entity within a defined area. POUs and federal agencies do not possess exclusive rights under state law, but these entities have control of permitting, routing and infrastructure within their own respective juris- dictions. 4.6 Transmission Charges and Terms of Service California’s transmission service charges and terms of service are established and overseen by FERC and CAISO. FERC’s oversight focuses on rates, terms and conditions of transmission service. CAISO requires transmission owners to file open-access transmission tariffs. These tariffs govern transmission service terms, eligibility and interconnection, scheduling and congestion management, and charges for using the trans- mission system. The FPA requires all public utilities that own, control or operate transmission lines to provide open-access and non-discriminatory access to their system. In California, CAISO follows the FERC-approved tariff that guarantees open- access and non-discriminatory transmission service. All market participants have equal rights to submit schedules and access the grid. Trans- mission service providers in California acquire defined rights through transmission tariffs and service agreements. 4.7 Open-Access and Non- Discriminatory Transmission
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