Electricity: interconnections.

Assembly Member Irwin's electricity interconnection legislation mandates that California utilities and grid operators maximize the use of surplus transmission capacity to accelerate renewable energy development. The bill requires the Independent System Operator to integrate surplus interconnection considerations into long-term transmission planning while enhancing transparency around these opportunities.

The legislation directs load-serving entities to prioritize available grid capacity for renewable energy projects and requires both investor-owned and large publicly-owned utilities to evaluate surplus interconnection options in their integrated resource plans. Utilities must specifically examine opportunities to add renewable generation or battery storage at or near existing fossil fuel plants to utilize available interconnection infrastructure.

To ensure implementation, the bill establishes new reporting requirements for the Public Utilities Commission to track renewable resource contributions to resource adequacy. The Commission gains authority to enforce these provisions through penalties, while maintaining cost allocation protections to prevent shifting burdens between customer classes. Local publicly owned utilities with annual demand exceeding 700 gigawatthours must align their resource plans with these requirements, though the bill specifies that implementation costs will not require state reimbursement.