Senator Padilla Introduces Legislative Package to Overhaul the State’s Energy Grid to Save Californians Billions
SACRAMENTO – Today, Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego) introduced a package of legislation designed to reduce costs of grid infrastructure projects statewide and reimagining how electrical transmission lines are financed and approved in California. Senate Bill 330 would authorize the Governor to create pilot projects to develop, finance, and operate electrical transmission infrastructure in the state, saving Californians billions this decade. Senate Bill 331 would deliver significant cost savings to ratepayers while cutting years off the time it takes for transmission projects to be approved and permitted – a reform critical for the California economy and the state’s work towards addressing issues of affordability.
There are sections of California’s grid that are over a century old in some places – remnants of a grid not designed to support the state’s modern economy or size. Energy costs across the country are rising as climate pressures strain an aging grid not built for those changes or modern power demands which leaves families and small business feeling the pinch at the energy meter. Part of recent energy rate increases stem from the growing need for modern transmission infrastructure. These rate increases put cost pressures on consumers and costly bureaucratic delays prevent infrastructure projects from being built quickly.
California needs a significant amount of new transmission infrastructure by 2045. The California Independent System Operator estimates this new transmission infrastructure will cost $45.8 - $63.2 billion. Accelerating the siting and permitting of these projects is vital to lowering energy rates and creating greater grid reliability. This will require California to simultaneously accelerate planning, siting, permitting, and construction of a modern electrical grid, while carefully managing its costs. These projects would bring good-paying union jobs to California, putting more Californians to work completing those critical improvements.
Despite this overwhelming need to expand our electrical grid, the California Public Utilities Commission takes close to 7 years on average to approve new projects. The current process requires multiple agencies, duplicative analyses, and permitting processes that take years to complete and create unnecessary cost overruns and substantial delays. These delays have added tens of millions of dollars in additional costs and absent substantial changes to the state’s current planning and permitting processes. Reducing that time would result in projects being completed at a lower cost, saving ratepayers billions.
“California is in a race against time to meet the energy demands of the future. We simply do not have a grid that can support our growing economy and it is costing families every day,” said Senator Padilla. “We must meet take bold action to reform our antiqued grid, which holds us back, undermines our energy reliability, and burdens Californians.”
SB 330 would authorize the Governor to establish pilot projects to develop, finance, and operate electrical transmission infrastructure. The use of low-cost public debt and alternative institutional models to build critical transmission infrastructure means that we will be able to modernize our outdated grid while delivering cost savings to California ratepayers.
SB 331 would allow energy transmission developers to use the California Energy Commission (CEC) as the lead agency for purposes of CEQA review, potentially accelerating project approval times by years. The law expands upon AB 205 (2022) authorizing the CEC to certify transmission projects in California. The measure is a piece of much larger and overdue conversation happening throughout the state on how California can meet its climate goals, deliver reliable power to homes and businesses, manage costs and add transparency to modernizing California’s electrical grid.
This legislative package is supported by a broad coalition of energy reform advocates.
“California must expand transmission to meet growing energy demand, but we need to do it affordably. Innovative financing solutions are key to building this infrastructure while tackling the state’s energy affordability crisis,” said Advanced Energy United’s California Policy lead Edson Perez. “We can’t afford to wait. Transmission projects are moving forward, and every delay in deploying innovative financing tools risks missing out on up to $123 billion in potential ratepayer savings. Acting now means delivering more cost-effective, reliable, clean energy for Californians.”
“Californians deserve affordable, reliable, clean electricity,” said Neil Matouka from Net-Zero California. “This legislation ensures that large transmission projects will be built in the most cost effective way while still ensuring stringent safety requirements. We appreciate Senator Padilla’s leadership in authoring SB 330, which will help reduce the cost of clean energy transmission projects."
“California needs to find ways to reduce the rate impacts of tens of billions of dollars in new electric transmission investments,” said Lee Trotman, Communications Director at TURN. “Substituting public financing for utility shareholder investment could cut these rate impacts in half. There are very few ways to get the same amount of work done at half the cost. The approach outlined by Senator Padilla would achieve this result and place ratepayers first."
Senate Bills 330 and 331 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/