The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has established energization timelines for California’s three investor-owned utilities to expedite the process for new and upgraded electrical services, enhance utility accountability, offer greater transparency for consumers, and support California’s climate goals and economic development.
Maximum timelines for grid connections will be reduced by up to 49 percent as compared to current operations if targets are met by investor-owned utilities. This will increase the speed of energization for new residential buildings, commercial businesses, electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, and other customer projects.
The CPUC will need biannual reports from utilities about completion times, analysis of any factors affecting energization, and reasons for any delays to ensure adherence to the new timelines. Utilities will also implement Customer Engagement Plans to increase outreach with customers as well as provide real-time updates to those in the energization process.
The decision implements the Powering Up Californians Act, Senate Bill 410 (Becker, Chapter 394, Statues of 2023) and Assembly Bill 50 (Wood, Chapter 317, Statutes of 2023), which asks the CPUC to define reasonable energization times for new or upgraded electrical loads and establish a process for reporting delays.
“This decision moves us forward by improving oversight, transparency, and accountability to serve the needs of EV charging stations, new housing developments, building electrification, and other customer requests for service,” said CPUC President, Alice Reynolds.
