Committee advances Carrillo bill to pilot expedited grid interconnection and microgrids in fast-growing regions

Assemblymember Carrillo presented AB 1347, a bill to address long delays for new customers waiting to interconnect to the electric grid. Carrillo said interconnection timelines in some places can range “between a couple of years and a decade,” slowing housing and commercial development in fast-growing areas such as the High Desert.

AB 1347 would create a pilot program in which the state and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) — in coordination with local governments — would identify six priority regions for expedited interconnection. In those regions, developers could pay upfront to expand distribution infrastructure and recover those costs through expedited cost-recovery mechanisms. Where utilities cannot timely serve new connections, the bill would allow use of microgrids to power facilities for a period of up to 10 years before reassessment.

Carrillo described the measure as a tool to unlock development and protect existing ratepayers from the upfront cost of system expansion while allowing developers a path to proceed. The committee recorded and advanced the bill to the committee referenced in the hearing; final committee entries show the item due passed to the referenced committee (roll-call summary recorded in the hearing minutes).