SB 1350 Summary

• Authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to order gas corporations to hold all or part of safety-related fines or penalties in separate accounts to offset gas safety investments and expenses that would otherwise be charged to customers.

• Requires the commission to set interest rates for these accounts and permits the commission to audit account activity.

• Requires that moneys held in these accounts be used only for gas safety measures and only if those expenses would otherwise be recovered from customers in rates.

• Establishes that these separate account provisions expire on January 1, 2018, unless extended by later legislation; any unused moneys must be paid to the General Fund either upon repeal or five years after deposit, whichever comes first.

• Makes conforming amendments to existing law to route gas safety-related penalties through the new section 2104.6 instead of section 2104.5.