CalReg CPUC Docket Monitor

The 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games are hosted in Los Angeles, within SoCalGas’s service territory. Establishing the memorandum account now lets the utility track incremental Games-related costs for potential future recovery, subject to a later reasonableness review. No dollar amount is requested in this application.

PG&E reports actual gas costs of $2.086 billion against a benchmark of $2.283 billion (91.4% of benchmark, or $196.8 million in savings). Of that, $177.1 million fell below the tolerance band and is subject to sharing. Customers keep $170.2 million. The shareholder award, capped at 1.5% of annual gas commodity costs, comes to $26.6 million; without the cap it would have been $35.4 million. PG&E used no physical hedges during the year and took no award for Year 29.

The rate impact is estimated at $0.01307 per therm.

Procedural context: The award year overlaps with the winter 2022-23 gas-price spike that produced the new application-format process. D.26-02-028 previously concluded that the gas utilities did not cause the spike. Under the CPIM formula, customers retain $170 million of the identified savings; the 1.5% cap reduced the uncapped $35.4 million award to $26.6 million. Two open procedural questions for the Commission: (1) whether Cal Advocates conducts the same scope of review under the application format as under the prior advice-letter process, and (2) how the benchmark methodology and its performance during a period of extreme market volatility should be evaluated.

Recovery would run through a new Gas Line Extension Allowance Balancing Account after each project's three-year true-up period. The lifetime revenue requirement across the seven projects is estimated at $11.9 million, with a peak-year 2032 requirement of $722,000. The residential bill impact at peak is approximately 0.04 cents per month. SoCalGas is also proposing an updated allowance multiplier of 3.6, up from 3.1 in the prior filing.

Procedural context: Rate impacts under this filing are limited (approximately 0.04 cents per month at peak). D.22-09-026 ended gas-line extension subsidies to advance building decarbonization but retained an exception process for projects demonstrating GHG benefits without a feasible electrification pathway. The seven July 1 projects are principally RNG. Party review of the “no feasible electrification path” demonstration - particularly for the beverage-manufacturer project - will inform how the exception standard is applied in subsequent filings.

PG&E estimates the project would reduce GHG emissions by 14,200 metric tons of CO₂e annually. The application includes an explicit disclaimer that PG&E does not independently verify SFPUC’s technical, engineering, or financial claims.

Procedural context: PG&E received 17 subsidy requests under the D.22-09-026 exception process and advanced one. The screening criteria PG&E applied to distinguish the SFPUC project from the 16 non-advanced projects have not been placed on the record. Party discovery could develop those criteria for future application of the “no feasible electrification path” standard.

The $1.15B debt authorization covers up to five years of financing needs: new debt for capital investment, refinancing of maturing short-term paper, and interest rate hedging instruments including swaps and caps. Southwest Gas has been active in Northern California and Nevada rate cases; the financing authority is the enabling instrument for its 2027-2030 rate-base growth. Commission approval is routine at this scale absent evidence of adverse financial condition or misuse of prior authorizations.

The Moraga-Oakland X 115 kV corridor connects the Orinda substation to Oakland X substation across ~5 miles. Load flow studies identified summer-peak thermal violations on the existing conductor as of 2026, driven by East Bay load growth (residential electrification + commercial data center anchor tenants). The rebuild replaces existing conductor and structures with higher-capacity conductor and, where feasible, retrofits existing rights-of-way to avoid new corridor acquisition. The $276.8 million cost is embedded in PG&E's Test Year 2027 GRC (A.25-05-009) transmission capital forecast. Adoption at July 2 clears the CEQA and PTC gate; construction 2027 and in-service 2029 align the project with East Bay Rule 30 large-load studies now in progress.

The Clean Miles Standard (SB 1014) is implemented by the CPUC and its GHG targets are set by CARB; Phase 1 (D.24-03-001, March 2024) established the first targets for transportation network companies (Uber, Lyft). This Phase 2 decision resolves the entities and mechanics left open in Phase 1.

Autonomous-vehicle passenger carriers: the PD keeps AV carriers exempt from (1) annual advice-letter filings, (2) the per-trip CMS regulatory fee, (3) annual GHG emission-reduction plans, and (4) quarterly and annual CMS data reporting, reasoning that AV fleets use company-owned vehicles with no drivers to subsidize and that Vehicle Code Section 38750(i) already requires all model-year 2031-and-later AVs on deployment permits to be zero-emission. Waymo, Zoox, and SEIU supported the exemption; Lyft opposed it, arguing AVs pose the same environmental impact as TNCs and should not be exempt.

Other Phase 2 holdings: the decision codifies additional EV incentives for low- and moderate-income drivers, addresses transportation charter-party carriers, GHG-target optional credits, rental and multiple-incentive rules, and lays out a process for winding the program down once targets are met. Agenda ID #24394 (Quasi-Legislative); proposed decision of Commissioner Christine Harada, transmitted by Chief ALJ Michelle Cooke.

The four advice letters (SCE 5707-E, PG&E 7783-E, SDG&E 4770-E, SoCalGas 6570-G) were filed December 17, 2025 under Ordering Paragraph 4 of D.25-06-012. The prior 100°F threshold traces to D.20-06-003. No fixed dollar amount is approved; the resolution authorizes the utilities to record incremental compliance costs in their Disconnections Memorandum Accounts and requires PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E to file annual Tier-1 arrearage-impact reports for three years. Item 18 on the July 16 agenda (Agenda ID 24329).

PG&E commenced the project January 20, 2026 under the GO 177 Section IV.B.c emergency exemption, completed a Final Initial Study / Mitigated Negative Declaration in January 2026, then filed to withdraw the application February 4, 2026. The proposed decision would close the proceeding. Agenda ID 24368; Assigned Commissioner Matthew Baker. The item is not final and is set no earlier than the August 13, 2026 voting meeting.

The adopted decision grants some of PG&E’s requested revisions to biological mitigation measures while keeping a 1,640-foot burrowing owl survey buffer, California tiger salamander work stoppages, wetland O&M protections, and bat roost obligations. The project was reviewed under a Final Environmental Impact Report published December 2024. The CPCN clears construction to begin, with the loop-in at Lockeford Substation and the new Thurman Switching Station at Lodi Electric Utility’s Industrial Substation forming the backbone of the added 230 kV capacity. Item 14 on the July 16 agenda; the only major PG&E item that was signed rather than held to August 13.

Energy Division prepared the DSO-led orchestration report; the CAISO and the three large electric IOUs prepared the TSO-DSO coordination report. The ruling's first question invites parties to identify factual inconsistencies or needed clarifications in either account. The workshops examined how utilities could use batteries, EVs, smart thermostats, water heaters, and other flexible loads to meet location-specific grid needs, defer capital projects, accelerate energization, and improve reliability.

The record spans DER visibility, communications standards, dispatch/aggregator roles, valuation, incentives, utility readiness, and the data CAISO needs from distribution operators to forecast and operate the system. The ruling's 18 questions ask parties to address sequencing, working-group scope, pilot integration, Advanced Metering Infrastructure and DERMS capabilities, customer-owned technology fit, circuit-level flexibility modeling, and specific opportunities for ratepayer savings.

Where parties stand: Even the utilities are not pressing for immediate full-scale DER orchestration applications. SCE recommends an advice-letter pathway with balancing or memorandum accounts for iterative pilots ahead of its next GRC. PG&E proposes a Tier 2 advice letter and memorandum account covering a 2026-27 trial phase, piloting through 2030 and scaling afterward. SDG&E proposes to adopt the framework adopted first, applications filed only when readiness justifies them, and no Commission-mandated timeline. Cal Advocates argues the CPUC should build the framework before deciding whether applications are needed at all.

"Open access" definition: Universal Devices pointed to PG&E's acknowledgment at a February Track 3 workshop that its current aggregator interface is proprietary and non-standardized. CalCCA urged the Commission to evaluate an independent marketplace operator, citing Piclo's UK track record and 2025 U.S. launch. The Utility Consumers' Action Network (UCAN) called for procurement of a statewide flexibility platform and argued that each additional year of piloting risks locking in distribution upgrades that an operating flexibility market could defer, given the IOUs' forecast of $42 billion to $48 billion in distribution investment through 2040.

The CPUC wants quantified showings: Question 17 requires explicit examples of cost reductions and how they change at scale; Question 13 requires dependability accounting grounded in actual customer behavior and resource availability.

The proposal aims to connect customers to the distribution grid faster by using existing capacity more efficiently. The ruling frames flexible connections as a way for DERs, power control systems, and DERMS-adjacent tools to provide near-term energization options while maintaining safety and reliability and containing ratepayer costs.

The investor-owned utilities must respond by July 14 to questions on grid-edge DERMS efforts (PG&E's technology-provider workshops and any SCE or SDG&E work using local measurement, computation, and power control systems).

All parties must file initial comments by July 21 and replies by July 28 on the overall proposal, covering: (1) implementation feasibility; (2) cost-and-benefit tracking; (3) safeguards against proprietary lock-in; (4) safety issues; and (5) a recommendation directing SDG&E to stand up a static flexible service connection offering aligned with requirements already imposed on PG&E and SCE. A separate question seeks input on cybersecurity testing and certification programs.

Procedural context: The CPUC is moving flexible interconnection past the pilot stage. A 2026 decision (D.26-02-025) already ordered PG&E and SCE to stand up static flexible service connection offerings. This ruling extends the framework by circulating Houck's proposal for comment, proposes the same static offering for SDG&E, and asks how to measure whether any of it saves ratepayers money. Developers, large-load customers, aggregators, CCAs, and the utilities themselves all have direct financial exposure to how those limits get set. The Commission has noted in prior filings that Enterprise DERMS does not scale for many of these scenarios and that grid-edge planning, progress, and costs are not yet uniformly reported.

The PD’s template expands the utilities’ proposal. For each outage, they would report: percentage of circuit overhead vs. underground; conductor type (bare, covered, or insulated); start and end times; whether the event was a Public Safety Power Shutoff or occurred on a Fast-Trip-enabled circuit; and counts of Medical Baseline and essential customers. PSPS and Fast-Trip events would be categorized separately from other unplanned outages.

Utilities would explain how they notify customers before, during, and after outages, with separate reporting for maintenance outages, de-energizations, weather events, and Fast-Trip interruptions. Reports would delineate communications by customer class and describe outreach to public safety partners and medically vulnerable customers.

Metrics added: The template adds SAIDI, SAIFI, CAIDI, and MAIFI to the utilities' proposed CEMI and CELID measures. Metrics would be reported with and without "Major Event Days" and sortable.

The PD retains annual reporting over party proposals for monthly, quarterly, or semiannual filings. Utilities file by advice letter, with SPD preparing a resolution for CPUC consideration. Every three years beginning in 2029, the utilities may propose limited template updates.

Procedural context: The PD converts reliability reporting from a systemwide scorecard to a granular record of outage location, duration, grid conditions, and notice. It does not adopt a new reliability standard or spending mandate. The schema may inform later rate cases, wildfire proceedings, and distribution-investment reviews by making outage patterns traceable to specific circuits, infrastructure types, and customer groups.

Procedural context: The ruling closes the evidentiary phase of the bridge-year funding dispute and positions the matter for a proposed decision on the written record. Cal Advocates’ request for testimony was denied; ALJ Gerstle’s stated position on the ELRP budget aligns with the substantive outcome Cal Advocates sought. The DR bridge-year sits alongside the four resolutions on the July 2 voting agenda (E-5456 SCE CBP-Elect direct enrollment approved; E-5444 SDG&E residential CBP denied; E-5450 PG&E ART partial approval; E-5451 PG&E BIP mid-cycle updates) within the Commission’s current DR program scope review ahead of the 2028-2033 cycle.

Res. E-5444 is one of a four-part Demand Response package first previewed at the June 3, 2026 CPUC voting meeting agenda. The other three DR draft resolutions (E-5456 SCE CBP-Elect direct enrollment, E-5450 PG&E ART partial approval, E-5453 Joint PG&E+SCE AutoDR update) either advanced with modifications or received approval. The SDG&E residential CBP rejection is a stricter standard: the Commission is explicit that residential DR expansion or DER-based supply-side programs will not be approved absent full documentation matching supply-side resource requirements. Residential DR aggregators (Sunrun, Tesla, Renew Home) have separately offered 16.8 GW of DER capacity to utilities as of Jun 24; the Commission's Res. E-5444 stance clarifies that CPUC residential DR expansion will follow supply-side compliance, not aggregator-market signals.

Each held item has its own card in Proposed Decisions & Rulings. Decided July 16: D.26-07-042 (Northern San Joaquin 230 kV CPCN, signed); Res. G-3616 (SoCalGas recovery of ~$54.4M in storage-integrity undercollection); and Res. E-5470 (PG&E Atlas Solar XII/XIII PPA amendments, initial delivery moved to Sep 2028).

PG&E Cap Structure ($2.6B): A proposed decision would deny PG&E's request to exclude approximately $2.6 billion in wildfire liabilities and a state loan from its capital structure calculations. (Held by President Reynolds from July 2 for further review.)

PG&E $1B Short-Term Borrowing Reserve: A separate proposed decision grants PG&E half of the borrowing request in its 2025 application - authorizing a $1 billion increase in short-term debt authority (total $9.5 billion; PG&E asked $2 billion). The reserve is available only for: (1) gas/electricity price spikes (>50% jump in monthly cost vs. trailing 12-month avg), (2) major disaster response, or (3) memo/balancing-account undercollections >$2.5 billion. Funds cannot refinance existing debt. The figure ties directly to the Commission's new winter gas price cap (D.26-02-058). PG&E's own $600 million estimate of incremental need had the cap applied during the 2022-23 winter spike is the quantitative basis for the $1 billion.

SoCalGas Storage Integrity ($54.4M): Draft Resolution G-3616 grants SoCalGas authority to recover about $54.4 million for undercollected costs in its Storage Integrity Management Program Balancing Account (2019-2023 cycle, measured through Dec 2024). SoCalGas spent $437.1M against $332.4M authorized (31% overrun, entirely capital-driven). Because the amount falls under the 35% cap set in the 2019 GRC, SoCalGas can recover by advice letter. Staff found the overrun reasonably incurred.

PG&E Amended Atlas Solar PPAs: Draft Resolution E-5470 approves PG&E's amendments to two PPAs with Atlas Solar XII and XIII for the Atlas Solar North 1 and 2 projects in La Paz, Arizona (375 MW solar + 225 MW storage each). Initial delivery moves from Dec 1, 2027 to Sep 1, 2028 due to network-upgrade delays; capacity, term, RPS product and pricing unchanged. Project owner Lydian Energy supported the amendments.

Extreme-Heat Disconnection Protections (90°F Statewide): Draft Resolution E-5468 approves - with significant modifications - a joint SCE/PG&E/SDG&E/SoCalGas advice letter implementing D.25-06-012, which implemented Senate Bill 1142. The utilities proposed CalHeatScore Level 3 (activates at apparent temps ~98-101°F) plus a 100°F interim trigger. The draft resolution adopts CHS Level 2 plus a 90-degree statewide interim/fallback trigger, aligning with intervenor comments recommending a single lower threshold for coastal and mountain customer populations. Utilities may record incremental implementation costs to their Disconnections Memorandum Accounts and must report Level 2 trigger's arrearage effects annually for three years.

Northern San Joaquin 230-kV Transmission CPCN ($198.8M): A proposed decision grants PG&E a CPCN for the Northern San Joaquin 230-kV Transmission Project - a reliability upgrade looping the Brighton-Bellota line through Lockeford Substation and adding a new double-circuit 230-kV line to the new PG&E Thurman Switching Station at Lodi Electric Utility's Industrial Substation. Cost cap $198.8 million (14% contingency), March 2029 target. The project essentially doubles local load-serving capability for about 38,000 PG&E and Lodi Electric Utility customers. The PD grants some of PG&E's requested revisions to biological measures while keeping a 1,640-foot burrowing owl survey buffer, tiger salamander work stoppages, wetland O&M protections, and bat roost obligations.

Google 250 MW San Jose Data Center: Draft Resolution E-5455 approves PG&E's agreement to energize Google's 250 MW San Jose data center with stronger ratepayer protections: refunds capped at actual net revenues received (not projected future revenues), refund window extended from 10 to 15 years. The agreement must be updated within 60 days of a decision in the Rule 30 proceeding. Google's load depends directly on the Newark-NRS 230 kV line (a $1B+ project whose FERC-approved revenue requirement hits ratepayers at ~$100M/yr) plus more than 10 other South Bay transmission upgrades. The CPUC previously capped refunds at 75% of net revenues for STACK Infrastructure and Microsoft (Res. E-5420 and Res. E-5439); the Google agreement uses 100%.

PG&E Facility Relocation Contracts: Draft Resolution E-5465 (KB Home South Bay Phase 3, ~$782,109) and Draft Resolution E-5462 (Clark & Sullivan / Broward Builders JV building CHP office in Quincy, ~$1.3M) approve PG&E agreements allowing overhead T&D facilities to be relocated on an actual-cost basis rather than under the standard fixed-estimate WPA. Both under Electric Rule 15.I.3 Exceptional Cases.

For settlement purposes, PG&E admits four violations of General Order 95: (1) overdue corrective repairs; (2) failure to preserve the removed pole and attached equipment due to an internal coordination error; (3) six years of missed function tests on the two Oxbow Junction switches; and (4) inadequate clearance between a jumper and the interconnection switch rod - the condition SED alleges created the September 6 electrical fault. PG&E does not contest a vegetation-clearance allegation at the same pole. It disputes two others (loose tie wires and six cancelled transmission-maintenance notifications). The agreement states that most cited conditions were unrelated to ignition. SED dismissed an eighth allegation (late initial incident report). Any unused review funds go to the General Fund. The ACO resolves all claims SED brought or could have brought from the Mosquito Fire investigation, with no formal adjudicatory proceeding. SED retains authority to open separate enforcement against the inspection-review team based on the third-party report.

Procedural context: The $22 million figure sits below prior recent CPUC wildfire settlements (Zogg $150M; Dixie $45M from the CPUC plus $34.75M to five county district attorneys). The record identifies four factors relevant to the differential: no deaths, no injuries, an agreement that expressly detaches most cited conditions from ignition, and two disputed allegations. SED elected to resolve those disputes through settlement rather than adjudication.

The disputed allegations concern PG&E’s inspection-review team’s process for cancelling repair notifications. SED’s record shows the team cancelled 131,119 notifications created in 2023 alone. The $1 million examination covers the team’s general policies and procedures rather than the specific Oxbow cancellations. SED reserved the right to open separate enforcement based on the third-party report. The Administrative Consent Order pairs the settlement with an SED-approved independent contractor review of the inspection-review team’s policies and procedures on a one-year report deadline.

Item 15 (R.25-10-003, RA Reform Track 1 PD): Adopts 2027-2029 Local Capacity Requirements (23,618 / 24,545 / 25,480 MW), 2027 Flexible Capacity requirements, the Unforced Capacity (UCAP) framework effective 2028, storage penalty structures, and formally ends paper capacity. The first major RA structural overhaul since 2019.

Item 47 (R.24-09-012, SB 1221 Pilot PD): Establishes the application process for up to 30 statewide neighborhood decarbonization pilots across three deadlines (Dec 15, 2026; Dec 15, 2027; Jul 1, 2028). PD adopts the Application (not Advice Letter) approach, 67% pre-filing and post-approval consent thresholds, BTM expense-only treatment with cost-of-debt carrying charge, and project-level cost-effectiveness.

Item 9 (A.24-08-004, PG&E Cap Structure Denial): Draft denies PG&E's request to exclude approximately $2.6 billion in wildfire liabilities and a forgivable DWR loan from its capital-structure equity ratio.

Item 26 (A.24-11-005, PG&E Moraga-Oakland X 115 kV): Grants Permit to Construct for a ~5-mile 115 kV transmission rebuild from Orinda to Oakland at approximately $276.8 million, addressing 2026 summer-peak thermal violations. Construction 2027, completion 2029.

Item 19 (Res. E-5444): Draft declines to approve SDG&E's proposed residential Capacity Bidding Program and associated budget transfers, cutting off a planned residential DR expansion channel.

Item 7 (A.26-02-007, Southwest Gas Debt): Authorizes up to $1.15 billion in new debt, refinancing, and interest rate risk management contracts.

Item 25 (A.25-02-012, SDG&E TIMP): Grants recovery of $6,985,215 in Transmission Integrity Management Program costs incurred Jan 1, 2019 – Dec 31, 2023 pursuant to settlement.

The Tumbleweed 8-hour battery is the first project to come online under the CPUC's 1,000 MW LDES procurement mandate. Under the RA Reform PD framework (R.25-10-003) up for adoption Jul 2, LDES resources capable of discharging at maximum capacity for at least 8 continuous hours receive a Forward Charge Period multiplier ranging from 2x (8-hour resources) to 8x (72-hour-plus resources) starting 2027, enabling counting across the full 24-hour Slice-of-Day period. Tumbleweed's 8-hour duration sits at the floor of the LDES definition. Kern County siting places the project near the Tehachapi renewables hub; project follows the December 2024 completion of the Westside Canal Phase 2a 119 MW / 4-hour battery approved via SDG&E's Res. E-5467 acquisition.