(a) In administering the self-generation incentive program pursuant to Section 379.6, the commission shall allocate at least 10 percent of the annual collection for the program in the 2020 calendar year for the installation of energy storage and other eligible distributed energy resources as determined by the commission pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 379.6 for customers that operate a critical facility or critical infrastructure serving communities in high fire threat districts to support resiliency during a deenergization event. Eligible customers may include, but are not limited to, emergency responders, emergency operations centers, emergency shelters, water suppliers, wastewater agencies, fire stations, and police stations.

(b) In allocating funds pursuant to subdivision (a), the commission shall do all of the following:

(1) Adjust the rules of the self-generation incentive program, if necessary, for the amount allocated pursuant to subdivision (a) to allow for the use of backup power when electricity is shut off due to wildfire risk.

(2) Prioritize funding to projects for eligible customers that do all of the following:

(A) Demonstrate a financial need.

(B) Operate a critical facility or critical infrastructure serving communities in high fire threat districts during a deenergization event.

(C) Demonstrate coordination with the electrical corporation serving the customer’s community, relevant local governments, and the Office of Emergency Services for emergency and disaster planning and preparedness.

(3) Ensure that customers receiving funding pursuant to subdivision (a) are informed of the potential limitations of the energy storage and distributed energy resources system to provide reliable backup power, particularly for unplanned and extended loss of power.

(4) Include an evaluation of the performance and impact of the projects funded pursuant to subdivision (a) in a relevant self-generation incentive program evaluation report no later than December 31, 2022. The evaluation shall include a list of customers receiving funding and the type of customer operating each project. For a representative sampling of projects, the evaluation shall also include the known and expected performance of each project as a source of backup power; the impact of the project on greenhouse gas emissions; the communities served by the critical facility or critical infrastructure; customer coordination with the Office of Emergency Services, the electrical corporation serving the community, and relevant local governments; and any other information the commission deems useful.

(c) The commission may prioritize funding for additional customers located in high fire threat districts and may continue to prioritize self-generation incentive program funding for customers that operate critical facilities or critical infrastructure serving communities in high fire threat districts in subsequent years.

(d) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to allow for the use of incentives from the self-generation incentive program for generation technologies using nonrenewable fuels on or after January 1, 2020.

(Added by Stats. 2019, Ch. 394, Sec. 1. (AB 1144) Effective January 1, 2020.)