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Public Utilities Commission budget review notes wildfire duties, small hardware request
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Summary
The Public Utilities Commission presented its fiscal overview and a modest IT-hardware request while lawmakers pressed the agency on timing variances in its indirect cost recovery fund and the new regulatory duties created by the Wildfire Standard of Care Act.
Noah Peterson of the Legislative Services Office presented the Public Utilities Commission's budget profile to the joint committee, noting roughly 50 full-time positions and two dedicated funds that finance the commission's regulation of utilities. The LSO analyst said the PUC has a $35,400 request for IT hardware for FY27 and previously received one-time funding in FY26 for replacement items and IT equipment.
Peterson said recent changes to Title 61 created a new chapter implementing the Wildfire Standard of Care Act and that the prior session provided two full-time positions and related funding to help the commission carry out new electric-utility wildfire mitigation plan responsibilities.
Senator Cook and others asked why the indirect cost recovery fund showed a large variance ($219,000 budgeted vs. $6,000 actual). Administrator Taylor Thomas told the committee the variance stemmed from timing and limited cash balances in the fund and that, at the time, the fund did not pay rent out of its balance, which contributed to the disparity.
Thomas said the PUC's indirect cost recovery receipts are tied to federal grant timing and that more detailed operational follow-up could be provided to the committee. The committee briefly discussed a loss of quorum but agreed to continue with questions (no votes were taken) and confirmed the schedule for upcoming working groups.
