The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has issued a Proposed Decision in Phase 2 of a rulemaking proceeding aimed at updating and amending General Order 131-D, which governs the CPUC’s permitting of utility infrastructure projects.
This Proposed Decision follows the issuance of Decision 23-12-035 in Phase 1, which focused on making changes directed by the California Legislature in Senate Bill 529 (Stats. 2022, ch.357). SB 529 required the CPUC to eliminate the requirement of a certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) for utility projects extending, expanding upgrading or otherwise modifying existing electric transmission facilities such as power lines and substations. It also authorized the use of the more streamlined permit-to-construct (PTC) process or claim of exemption for such projects within existing transmission easements, rights of way, or franchises.
In Phase 2, the CPUC has considered additional amendments to GO 131-D and to the CPUC’s administration of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), as mandated by subsequent legislation, including Assembly Bill (AB) 1373 (Stats. 2023, ch.367), AB 551 (Stats. 2024, ch.299), and AB 2292 (Stats. 2024, ch.709). The result is draft General Order 131-E, a new version of the general order that, if adopted by the CPUC, will:
- Require applicants to prepare and submit draft
versions of CEQA documents for CPCN applications, such as draft versions of
initial studies or environmental impact reports (EIRs), that include contents
of the CPUC’s guidelines in lieu of a separate Proponent’s Environmental
Assessment (PEA), as currently required.
- Require applicants to initiate pre-filing consultation with Staff at least six months before filing an application, subject to case-by-case exceptions.
- Establish standard CEQA review timeframes consistent with the statutory CEQA Guidelines.
- Authorize a pilot that will formalize ongoing review and analysis of existing project permitting practices and procedures.
- Implement AB 1373 by establishing a rebuttable presumption in favor of CAISO Transmission Plan findings on projects, provided that the CAISO governing board has made explicit findings regarding need for the project and determined that the project is the most cost-effective transmission solution, and provided other requirements in Public Utility Code §1001.1 are satisfied.
- Clarify that the range of reasonable alternatives to the proposed project in an initial draft EIR may be limited to alternative routes or locations for construction of the relevant CAISO transmission plan-approved electric project and the “no action” alternative.
- Adopts definitions of project-related terms, including definitions of “existing electrical transmission facility,” “extension,” “expansion,” “upgrade,” “modification,” “equivalent facilities or structures,” and “accessories.”
- Adopts clarifications of PTC exemptions.
- Revises and updates utility financial reporting requirements to be consistent with other reporting requirements and to reduce the overall amount of required financial information.
- Implements AB 551 by authorizing identified interested parties to challenge an Executive Director disposition of an advice letter granting a PTC exemption by filing an application for rehearing within 10 days of issuance of the disposition letter.
Attachment A to the Proposed Decision shows the difference in language between existing GO 131-D and proposed GO 131-E. Comments on the Proposed Decision may be filed on or before January 16, and reply comments on or before January 21.
Contact: Lynn Haug or Andy Brown
