California SB 410, the Powering Up Californians Act, forces the state’s investor-owned electric utilities to plan ahead for rising electricity demand, hit specific deadlines when connecting new customers to the grid, and publish how often they meet those deadlines. Signed on October 7, 2023, the law added Article 14.5 to the Public Utilities Code starting at Section 930 after years of complaints that housing developments, EV chargers, and ordinary homeowners were waiting months or even years for routine utility hookups.1LegiScan. California SB410 – Powering Up Californians Act
How Long a Grid Connection Should Take
Section 933.5 ordered the California Public Utilities Commission to set statewide energization deadlines by September 30, 2024. The CPUC met that deadline with Decision 24-09-020. The targets, measured from the date you request energization, are:2California Public Utilities Commission. Fact Sheet: CPUC Approves Decision to Support Timely Connection of New Customers to the Electrical Grid
- Rule 15 projects, which are distribution line extensions serving multiple customers: 182 calendar days average, 357 calendar days maximum.
- Rule 16 projects, which are service line extensions for a single customer: 182 calendar days average, 335 calendar days maximum.
- Combined Rule 15/16 projects: 182 calendar days average, 306 calendar days maximum.
- Rule 29/45 projects, related to generation interconnection: 182 calendar days average, 335 calendar days maximum.
- Application decisions, meaning utility approval or denial of a service request: 10 calendar days average, 45 calendar days maximum.
- Main panel upgrades where no utility work is needed in front of the meter: 30 business days average, 45 business days maximum.
Those numbers are longer than most people expect. The CPUC said they still represent up to a 49 percent cut in maximum timelines compared with how utilities were operating before SB 410.3California Public Utilities Commission. CPUC Sets New Statewide Energization Timelines and Targets for Timely Grid Connections The law allows extended timelines for projects that require major upstream capacity work, substation upgrades, or unanticipated new load.4California Legislative Information. California Public Utilities Code 933.5
The fastest category, 30 to 45 business days, only applies when the utility does not have to touch anything on its side of the meter. A homeowner moving from 100-amp to 200-amp service to run an EV charger or heat pump may qualify if the existing service drop and transformer can carry the new load. Once the utility has to extend or upgrade its own equipment, the six-month average is the realistic benchmark.
What the Law Requires Utilities To Do
Section 933 shifts utilities from reacting to connection requests to planning for them in advance. Utilities have to engineer and build distribution capacity ahead of demand so customers can be energized “without substantial delay,” and that duty covers new housing, new businesses, electric building equipment, and charging infrastructure for passenger cars, heavy-duty trucks, trains, and off-road equipment.5California Legislative Information. California Public Utilities Code 933
Section 935 attacks the staffing side of the same problem. Each utility has to include a detailed staffing analysis in its annual reports and general rate case filings, covering current and projected needs for every job classification tied to distribution work. The CPUC must require utilities to keep enough qualified staff on hand to meet the law’s goals, and for trades with apprenticeship requirements, like lineworkers and substation electricians, utilities also have to maintain an apprentice pipeline large enough to meet future needs.6California Legislative Information. California Public Utilities Code 935 A utility can no longer blame a technician shortage for missed deadlines without showing it invested in training people.
Each covered utility also has to report annually on how many connection requests it received, how many it finished, how many are pending, the average, median, and standard deviation of time to energize, how its actual energization spending compared with what the CPUC authorized, and the reasons any project blew past the maximum target.4California Legislative Information. California Public Utilities Code 933.5
Which Utilities Are Covered
SB 410 applies to “electrical corporations” as defined in Public Utilities Code Section 218, which covers any corporation or person that owns, controls, or operates an electric plant for compensation in California.7California Legislative Information. California Code PUC 218 – Electrical Corporation In practice, that means Pacific Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas and Electric, and smaller investor-owned utilities regulated by the CPUC.
Municipal utilities, including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, are not electrical corporations under this definition. They answer to local city councils or municipal boards rather than the CPUC, so SB 410’s timelines and reporting duties do not apply to them. The law also expressly excludes electrical cooperatives. For investor-owned utilities with fewer than 100,000 service connections, the CPUC can modify or adjust the requirements.1LegiScan. California SB410 – Powering Up Californians Act
If your power comes from a municipal utility or a co-op, SB 410 will not help you with a delayed connection. Your route runs through the local governing board, not the CPUC.
What To Do About a Delayed Connection
SB 410 created two separate tracks, and mixing them up wastes time.
The Energization Delay Reporting Form is an interactive PDF available in English and Spanish on the CPUC’s website. You fill it out, sign it, and email it to energizationcustomer@cpuc.ca.gov or mail a paper copy to the CPUC’s Energy Division at 505 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco. This form does not open a case to fix your delay. It feeds data to the commission for performance tracking and future policy work, and the CPUC anonymizes submissions before using them in any public analysis.8California Public Utilities Commission. Energy Delay Form
If you want the CPUC to actually push the utility to act, you need the Consumer Affairs Branch complaint track. Start with your utility’s customer service. If that fails, file an informal complaint with the CPUC. If you want the commission to formally order corrective action, escalate to a formal complaint.9California Public Utilities Commission. File a Complaint You should only submit the delay reporting form after you have tried to resolve the issue with the utility directly, or once your request has exceeded the maximum target timeline.
Who Pays for the Line and Transformer Work
Cost allocation for new infrastructure runs through California’s existing Electric Tariff Rules 15 and 16. Rule 15 covers distribution line extensions that serve multiple customers, like the shared backbone feeding a subdivision. Rule 16 covers service line extensions to a single customer, like the line from the nearest transformer to your property. Each rule sets an allowance the utility covers, with costs above the allowance generally falling on the applicant.
SB 410 originally included Section 937, which would have let residential interconnection costs above the standard allowances be treated as common facility costs spread across all ratepayers. That section was repealed.1LegiScan. California SB410 – Powering Up Californians Act The existing Rule 15/16 split still decides what you pay and what the utility absorbs. If your project needs meaningful line extensions or capacity upgrades, get a cost estimate from the utility before you lock in your budget.
How Enforcement Works Right Now
Section 934 lets the CPUC require remedial actions when a utility misses the targets. The commission can order specific corrective steps.10California Legislative Information. California Public Utilities Code 934
Financial penalties are not yet in place. Section 934(g) requires the CPUC to adopt a formal enforcement policy, including financial penalties for failing to comply with ordered remedial actions, by January 1, 2027.10California Legislative Information. California Public Utilities Code 934 Until that policy is adopted, the commission’s main lever is ordering corrective action rather than fining the utility. The specific dollar amounts and the triggers for financial consequences have not been set.