California regulators have approved rules to streamline permitting of transmission projects, saying the move is needed to maintain grid reliability and reach state climate goals. 

The California Public Utilities Commission on Jan. 30 approved an update to its General Order 131-D, which pertains to permitting of transmission and distribution lines, generating facilities and substations. 

The decision will speed up transmission project permitting while maintaining environmental safeguards, Commissioner John Reynolds said in a statement. 

“Building a clean energy future requires getting renewable power to where it’s needed most,” he said. “We can’t meet our climate goals without significantly expanding our transmission infrastructure.” 

The revised general order, now known as GO 131-E, takes a multipronged approach to permit streamlining. 

Transmission developers now must meet with CPUC staff at least six months before submitting an application — a step that will “better prepare applicants and help the review process run more smoothly,” the CPUC said in a release. 

The order allows transmission developers to submit their own draft versions of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) documents with their applications. That cuts out a step in the previous set of rules, in which an applicant provided a proponent’s environmental assessment (PEA), which thenwas followed by staff preparation of an environmental document.  

The applicant’s draft version of environmental documents will undergo CPUC review. Applicants still have the option to use the PEA process. 

The revised order also includes a “rebuttable presumption” that a proposed project meets the CPUC requirement for need if CAISO already has determined the project is needed and approved it in a transmission plan. The CPUC said the change will avoid “duplicative need determinations and unnecessary alternatives analyses.” 

The rebuttable presumption provision arose from Assembly Bill 1373 of 2023. 

In addition, the CPUC plans to launch a pilot program to track CEQA review timelines and look for ways to further speed up the CEQA process for some transmission projects. 

2-Phase Proceeding

The new rules the commission approved Jan. 30 are the second phase of changes to GO 131-D aimed at streamlining the transmission project permitting process. The proceeding, which was led by Commissioner Karen Douglas, is closed. 

“These changes will accelerate permitting timelines by reducing redundancy and shifting environmental analysis earlier in the application process,” Douglas said in a statement.  

In Phase I of the proceeding, GO 131-D was modified in response to Senate Bill 529 of 2022. The bill changed the type of CPUC permit needed to expand a transmission facility from a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) to the simpler Permit to Construct (PTC). A permit exemption also may be requested. (See CPUC Works to Revamp Tx Permitting Rules.) 

In general, a CPCN is needed for transmission projects of 200 kV or more, while a PTC is required for projects of between 50 and 200 kV. 

SB 529 also allows developers to seek a PTC or exemption for transmission line extensions, upgrades or other modifications, even if the transmission line is more than 200 kV. 

The commission approved the Phase I changes in December 2023. 

Phase II of the proceeding added definitions for several of the Phase I terms, including transmission facility “expansion,” “extension” and “upgrade.” 

“Expansion” now is defined as an increase in the width, capacity or capability of an existing electrical transmission facility, which may include rewiring or reconductoring to increase capacity, increasing the load carrying capacity of existing towers, or converting a single-circuit transmission line to a double-circuit line. 

GO 131-E defines “extension” as an increase in the length of an existing transmission facility within existing transmission easements, rights-of-way or franchise agreements; or a generation tie-line (gen-tie) segment or substation loop-in. 

Pilot Program

A new CPUC pilot program will evaluate the CEQA review process for transmission projects. It will include at least one application each from Pacific Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric. 

Two projects will involve an Environmental Impact Report (EIR), and two others will use a less time-intensive Mitigated Negative Declaration process. Projects in the pilot study will be a mix of those competitively and non-competitively bid. 

Results will be reported every other year starting Dec. 1, 2026. 

Some stakeholders opposed the pilot program. PG&E and SDG&E said CPUC resources would be better spent on speeding review of projects now in the pipeline. The Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies (CEERT) called the pilot program a step backward, saying mandatory deadlines to complete a CEQA review should be set instead. 

The commission’s decision noted that the CPUC already routinely reviews its CEQA processes and looks for ways to improve efficiency. 

“Therefore, running a pilot aligns with current commission practice,” the decision stated. “As such, it should not distract the commission from meeting its commitment to expedite the permitting of projects.”