Assembly oversight hearing spotlights backlog, timelines and financing options to curb California transmission costs

The Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy convened an informational session on strategies to reduce California's transmission costs, concluding a two-part hearing day that began with bill testimony. Karen Haida, program manager for the energy infrastructure branch of the Public Advocates Office at the California Public Utilities Commission, provided a data-driven overview and said California faces a large, growing backlog of CAISO-approved projects that are not yet built.

"We calculate the cost of completing all of these ongoing projects that have been approved but not yet built at just a little over $19,000,000,000," Karen Haida said, and she told the committee the average transmission project timeline is roughly 8.2 years and that only about 11% of projects require CPUC permitting. She also warned that the transmission access charge has increased more than three-and-a-half times since 2009 and could rise further to meet clean-energy targets.

The first panel examined financing options to reduce cost. Denzel Hankinson, CEO of DH Infrastructure, and Neil Matuca of Net Zero California presented…