An act to add Section 8371.6 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy.
Summary
SB 453 would add a new section to the Public Utilities Code directing the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to review the status of awarded and unallocated money in the existing Microgrid Incentive Program. By January 15, 2026, each electrical corporation would have to report the status of those funds to the PUC. After reviewing the reports, the PUC would have to determine whether additional steps are needed to move the program forward using funds collected on or before January 1, 2026.
If the PUC finds more action is needed, the bill requires it to consider using a third-party administrator and to direct remaining unallocated funds toward areas that have experienced two or more deenergization events. In doing so, the commission must prioritize vulnerable communities, including access and functional needs populations, and customers that operate critical community infrastructure that supports resilience during outages. Any funds still unallocated on January 1, 2027, would have to be returned to ratepayers as bill credits. The bill also states that it does not authorize any new charges on ratepayers or require collection of additional funds.
Impact
The bill would affect the administration of the Microgrid Incentive Program rather than creating a new funding source. It would require electrical corporations to disclose the status of program funds, give the PUC authority to redirect existing unallocated funds to high-outage and high-need areas, and potentially shift program administration to a third party. It also defines key terms by reference to existing statutes, including vulnerable communities, deenergization events, access and functional needs populations, and critical community infrastructure. Because PUC enforcement orders can be criminally enforceable, the bill is also treated as creating a state-mandated local program, while expressly stating that no reimbursement is required.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported in committee and on the floor, with unanimous or near-unanimous votes at each recorded stage and no recorded opposition in the provided history. The overall tone suggests agreement with improving the use of existing microgrid funds and targeting them toward communities most affected by outages and public safety shutoffs. The bill was later ordered to the inactive file on request of Assembly Member Garcia, indicating procedural delay or strategic shelving rather than recorded substantive opposition in the available materials.
Contention
The main policy questions raised by the bill are how aggressively the PUC should intervene in the existing Microgrid Incentive Program and whether a third-party administrator should be used to speed deployment of unallocated funds. Another point of potential contention is the bill’s prioritization framework, which directs funds to areas with repeated deenergization events and to vulnerable communities and critical infrastructure, potentially leaving less flexibility for other eligible projects. The bill also preserves a ratepayer-protection limit by prohibiting new charges, while requiring any leftover funds to be returned as bill credits, which may have implications for utilities, ratepayers, and program administrators.
An act to add Section 21689 to the Public Utilities Code, and to add Section 7102.3 to the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to airports, and making an appropriation therefor.
Authorizing the Department of Commerce to promulgate a legislative rule relating to certification of a microgrid district or certification as a high impact data center
Requires BPU to designate solar portion of critical renewable microgrid as solar energy project under Community Solar Energy Program; requires Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness to designate certain microgrids as assets of importance.