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SB 1158

Energy: reliability planning assessment.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Henry Stern

Expands the Reliability Planning Assessment to provide granular, project-level updates on grid upgrades, interconnections, timelines, and barriers to accelerate renewable deploymen

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 17. Noes 0.) (June 24). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
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Bill Summary · SB 1158

SB 1158 (2025-2026) — Energy: Reliability Planning Assessment

A concise, nonpartisan overview of the bill, its goals, and potential impacts.

Purpose and intent

  • Modernize and expand the existing Reliability Planning Assessment produced by the California Energy Commission (Energy Commission) and the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).
  • Require more comprehensive reporting on the state’s electrical grid reliability, project interconnections, and the status of transmission and infrastructure upgrades.
  • Improve transparency for lawmakers and the public about resource adequacy, project timelines, and potential delays in deployment of renewable and zero-carbon resources.

Key provisions and changes

  • Expands the current joint Reliability Planning Assessment (already due by December 15, 2022 and quarterly thereafter) to include:
    • Status of utility transmission upgrades and overall electrical grid infrastructure capacity (e.g., substations, transmission expansions).
    • PUC approvals and processes for:
    • Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN)
    • Permits to construct utility and independent projects
    • Permits for Energy Commission projects
    • The Independent System Operator (ISO) queue of projects, with project status filtered by geographic region and energy resource type.
    • Expected completion dates for both system and local resources.
    • Reports on fossil-fuel use by facilities constructed by, purchased by, or under contract with the Department of Water Resources (DWR), per Water Code provisions.
    • Interconnection status updates for renewable projects and any interconnection delays.
    • Tracking of actions through the Tracking Energy Development Task Force.
    • An accompanying Gantt chart to track progress.
    • Identification of significant delays or barriers to deployment of renewable and zero-carbon resources (including supply chain issues, land use restrictions, and permitting processes) and recommendations to address them.
    • Reporting on regulatory barriers and challenges to deploying other preferred resources (e.g., energy efficiency and demand response).
  • Maintains the Energy Commission’s obligation to publish energy resources in the energy almanac, with enhancements:
    • Expand to include storage resources that serve wholesale load.
    • Specifically report on energy resources serving load in the ISO system (and potentially outside California).
  • Confidentiality protection for market-sensitive information in the assessment.

Who or what is affected

  • State agencies: California Energy Commission and Public Utilities Commission (co-authors of the assessment).
  • Independent System Operator (ISO) system resources and project queue data.
  • Utilities and project developers seeking CPCNs, construction permits, and regulatory approvals from the PUC and Energy Commission.
  • Department of Water Resources (DWR) facilities, insofar as fossil-fuel use reports are required.
  • Legislators and energy policymakers who rely on quarterly and annual reliability data, forecasts, and bottleneck analysis.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Baseline requirement remains: joint Reliability Planning Assessment due to the Legislature, with quarterly updates.
  • The bill as introduced specifies inclusion of additional data points and a more granular, project-level view, including completion dates and status across system and local resources.
  • Continuous improvement element: recommendations to resolve delays and barriers, plus a dedicated Gantt chart for progress tracking.
  • No new appropriations are specified in the bill (no additional state funding requested), though oversight and reporting costs are implicit.
  • Current action history shows committee referrals and approvals with the bill set for hearings in April 2026, indicating active consideration during the 2025-2026 session.

Potential impact and implications

  • Enhanced visibility into reliability planning could help reduce deployment delays for renewables and storage.
  • Increased transparency around transmission upgrades, permitting bottlenecks, and interconnection statuses may inform policy decisions and resource planning.
  • The added emphasis on fossil-fuel use by DWR-associated facilities provides greater scrutiny of emissions in state-driven energy projects.
  • Businesses, developers, and local governments may experience more data-driven planning signals and more predictable timelines for approvals and construction.

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

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