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AB 1484

Energy reliability.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Steve Bennett

AB 1484 clarifies the ISO’s duty to maintain a reliable, efficiently used transmission grid aligned with WECC/NERC criteria and allows tariff tweaks via FERC to stay aligned.

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Bill Summary · AB 1484

AB 1484 (Bennett) — Energy reliability

Status: Read first time

Introduced: February 21, 2025

Subject: Energy reliability

Classification: bill

Summary

AB 1484 would make a nonsubstantive wording change to the statute governing the Independent System Operator (ISO) to reaffirm its duties related to the transmission grid and its tariff, aligning California’s language with regional reliability standards. The bill does not create new policy but clarifies and codifies the ISO’s obligation to ensure the efficient use and reliable operation of the transmission grid, and it preserves the ISO’s ability to adjust its tariff through FERC’s rulemaking process to remain consistent with these requirements.

What the bill would do

  • Amend Section 345 of the Public Utilities Code to specify that:
    • (a) The ISO shall ensure the efficient use and reliable operation of the transmission grid, in a manner consistent with planning and operating reserve criteria no less stringent than those established by the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) and the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC).
    • (b) To carry out (a), the ISO may amend its tariff as deemed necessary and subject to approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) through its rulemaking process, so that the tariff remains consistent with (a).

Context and relationship to existing law

  • The ISO is a nonprofit, public-benefit corporation charged with ensuring efficient use and reliable operation of California’s transmission grid and managing related energy markets.
  • The Public Utilities Commission (PUC), in consultation with the ISO, establishes resource adequacy requirements for load-serving entities (electrical corporations, electric service providers, and community choice aggregators) to ensure reliable electrical service.
  • The bill’s change is described as nonsubstantive, focusing on clarifying the ISO’s duty and the mechanism (tariff amendments via FERC) to maintain alignment with reliability criteria.

Who would be affected

  • Primary: Independent System Operator (ISO) and the PUC.
  • Load-serving entities in California (electrical corporations, electric service providers, and community choice aggregators) indirectly through the ISO’s operations and tariff structure.
  • End users/customers could be affected insofar as reliability standards and tariff changes influence grid operations and pricing.

Procedural/timeline aspects

  • Introduced: February 21, 2025.
  • Read first time: February 24, 2025.
  • Printer’s date: February 22, 2025 (as listed in the actions).
  • Next steps (typical): committee hearings and potential amendments; bill status indicates it will proceed through standard legislative processes.

Fiscal notes

  • No appropriation indicated.
  • Legislative Digest classifies it as not requiring a fiscal committee hearing or local program impact.

Bottom line

AB 1484 clarifies the ISO’s statutory duty to maintain a transmission grid that is efficiently used and reliably operated, consistent with WECC and NERC criteria, and preserves the ISO’s ability to adjust its tariff through FERC rulemaking to stay aligned with those criteria. It does not appear to change policy or funding but ensures language and processes support reliability standards.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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