2020 California Code
Public Utilities Code - PUC
DIVISION 1 - REGULATION OF PUBLIC UTILITIES
PART 1 - PUBLIC UTILITIES ACT
CHAPTER 9 - Hearings and Judicial Review
ARTICLE 1 - Hearings
Section 1701.8.
(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Covered wildfire” means any wildfire ignited on or after July 12, 2019, caused by an electrical corporation as determined by the governmental agency responsible for determining causation.
(2) “Wildfire Fund” means the Wildfire Fund created pursuant to Section 3284.
(b) The following procedures and standards apply to a catastrophic wildfire proceeding:
(1) (A) An electrical corporation may file an application pursuant to Section 451 or 451.1, as applicable, at any time after it has paid, or entered into binding commitments to pay, all or, if authorized by the commission for good cause, substantially all third-party damage claims, including payments made pursuant to judgments or settlement agreements related to a covered wildfire. Except as authorized by the commission for good cause, before filing the application, the electrical corporation shall exhaust all rights to indemnification or other claims, contractual or otherwise, against any third parties, including collecting insurance proceeds, related to the covered wildfire.
(B) If an electrical corporation has received payments from the Wildfire Fund for a third-party damage claim for the covered wildfire, the electrical corporation shall file an application to recover the costs pursuant to subparagraph (A) no later than the earlier of the following:
(i) The date when it has resolved all third-party damage claims and exhausted all right to indemnification or other claims, contractual or otherwise, against any third parties, including collecting insurance proceeds, related to the covered wildfire.
(ii) The date that is 45 days after the date the administrator requests the electrical corporation to make such an application.
(2) The president of the commission, upon the initiation of a catastrophic wildfire proceeding by the filing of an application pursuant to paragraph (1), shall assign a commissioner to act as the presiding officer in the proceeding and an administrative law judge to assist in conducting the proceeding.
(3) Within 15 days of the filing date of the application, the commission shall notice a prehearing conference, which shall be held within 25 days of the filing date.
(4) (A) Within 30 days of the filing date of the application, the assigned commissioner shall prepare and issue, by order or ruling, a scoping memorandum that states that the scope of the proceeding shall be whether the electrical corporation’s costs and expenses for the covered wildfire are just and reasonable pursuant to Section 451 or 451.1, as applicable.
(B) The scoping memorandum shall establish a schedule for the proceeding, including the date of issuance of a proposed decision that is no later than 12 months after the filing date of the application.
(C) The assigned commissioner may extend the time established in the scoping memorandum for the date of issuance of a proposed decision by up to six months upon a showing of good cause.
(5) Notwithstanding any other law, the commission may meet in closed session at any point during the pendency of the catastrophic wildfire proceeding with a three-day notice to the public if the commission establishes a quiet period pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (h) of Section 1701.3.
(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 396, Sec. 33. (AB 1513) Effective January 1, 2020.)
