Electricity: deenergization events: reimbursement credit.

Senator Reyes's proposal to compensate California utility customers during power shutoffs would require electrical corporations to provide automatic credits of $30 per day to customers affected by deenergization events. The reimbursement credits must appear on customer billing statements within one billing cycle after service interruption, though the bill prohibits using ratepayer funds to cover these payments.

The legislation also modifies wildfire mitigation requirements for local publicly owned electric utilities and electrical cooperatives. These entities must now include procedures for compensating customers impacted by power shutoffs in their annual wildfire mitigation plans, which are submitted to the California Wildfire Safety Advisory Board. The plans must detail protocols for notifying affected customers, particularly critical facilities like healthcare providers and emergency responders, about potential deenergization.

Under the bill's provisions, local utilities must present their wildfire mitigation strategies at public meetings and contract independent evaluators to assess plan comprehensiveness. The evaluators' reports would be published online and presented to utility governing boards. While the bill creates new obligations for local utilities, it specifies that associated costs can be covered through service charges and fees rather than state reimbursement.