Senator Padilla Introduces Legislation Setting California’s First-Ever Energy Transmission Goals and Increasing Efficiency of Aging Grid
SACRAMENTO – Last week, Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego) introduced Senate Bill 1006, a bill to establish milestone goals for transmission infrastructure development for the first time in California history, aligning the state’s grid with its energy ambitions.
California has enacted some of the world’s most aggressive climate goals. In 2018, the State adopted SB 100, committing to power the state with 100% clean energy by 2045. California’s bold green energy goals put it at the forefront of the nation’s climate efforts, however, meeting those goals will require a far larger, more reliable and resilient electrical grid that uses the best available technology. Making existing lines more efficient is critical to meeting California’s clean energy goals, and modernizing the grid will enhance reliability and avoid costly blackouts.
Last year, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) determined California needs to more than double the capacity of the grid by 2035 to meet our SB 100 goals. While CAISO had previously estimated the need for an additional 1,000 megawatts of new clean energy every year for the next decade, their updated analysis estimates California will require 7,000-8,000 megawatts of new capacity every year over that same period. Meeting this unprecedented demand will require California to use cost effective methods to increase grid capacity such as reconductoring, which replaces existing transmission lines with wires with greater capacity or GETs which can increase capacity, decrease congestion, and improve reliability. Despite their use in other countries and states, many California utility executives, regulators, and stakeholders are unfamiliar with advanced transmission technologies and their benefits.
Absent substantial changes to the state’s energy grid, California will not meet its visionary climate goals and the state’s fragile energy grid be overextended as we transition to clean energy to power our homes, cars and economy. While new transmission lines will absolutely be necessary, upgrading the efficiency of existing lines can increase capacity by 30% at a fraction of the cost of new lines. California must take advantage of new technologies such as dynamic line ratings, which measure the true capacity of transmission lines based on actual conditions instead of worst-case assumptions, improve capacity and reliability up to 48 hours ahead. Other GETs such as advanced power flow control and advanced topology control direct power away from overloaded lines and onto underutilized corridors, which can greatly enhance the existing grid at lower costs and more flexibility.
“California is in a race against time to meet the energy demands of the future. As we set important climate goals, it is vital we have the infrastructure in place to support them,” said Senator Padilla. “We must meet our lofty rhetoric with bold action to reform our antiqued grid, which holds us back, undermines our energy reliability, and keeps us addicted to fossil fuels.”
SB 1006 would require the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to ensure the state is on track to deliver transmission capacity consistent with CAISO’s transmission plan and require the PUC to report to the Legislature on the progress it makes toward achieving transmission capacity goals. The bill would also require the PUC to conduct a study on the cost savings and efficiencies that may result from using reconductoring and other GETs to improve grid capacity and reliability necessary to meet future energy demands. SB 1006 would prepare California’s transmission grid for the future and deliver ratepayers reliable energy at lower costs than traditional grid enhancements.
"Making our grid more energy efficient is a no-brainer,” said Dan Jacobson, Senior Advisor, Environment California. “We need to make our current grid better. The transmission technologies described in this bill are critical to bring our old grid into the 21st century. These technologies can reduce the pressure on rates, make our grid more reliable, and help add more clean energy to the grid. We should move forward."
SB 1006 will be heard in the Senate in the coming months.
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Steve Padilla represents the 18th Senate District, which includes the communities of Chula Vista, the Coachella Valley, Imperial Beach, the Imperial Valley, National City, and San Diego. Prior to his election to the Senate in 2022, Senator Padilla was the first person of color ever elected to city office in Chula Vista, the first Latino Mayor, and the first openly LGBT person to serve or be elected to city office. Website of Senator Steve Padilla: https://sd18.senate.ca.gov/