Assembly BillChaptered/SignedPublic Utilities
AB 2505: Electrical corporations: hydrogen refueling stations.
What AB 2505 does, verified October 2, 2026
<p>The bill requires electrical corporations in California to file an advice letter by April 1, 2027, and the Public Utilities Commission to approve it by September 1, 2027. This approval would authorize electrical corporations to design, construct, own, operate, and maintain facilities necessary for separately metered electrical service to hydrogen refueling stations, including those serving heavy-duty vehicles over 14,001 pounds. The bill mandates that these installations be treated as line and service extensions for cost allocation purposes.</p>
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Last action: Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 946, Statutes of 2026. (2026-09-30)Alert me
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| Sep. 30, 2026 | Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 946, Statutes of 2026. |
| Sep. 30, 2026 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Sep. 03, 2026 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m. |
| Aug. 26, 2026 | Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 6649.). |
| Aug. 26, 2026 | In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. |
Latest bill textChaptered version, September 30, 2026 · 1,445 words
Assembly Bill No. 2505
CHAPTER 946
An act to add and repeal Section 740.26 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy.
[ Approved by Governor September 30, 2026. Filed with Secretary of State September 30, 2026. ]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2505, Carrillo. Electrical corporations: hydrogen refueling stations.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. Existing law requires each electrical corporation to file an advice letter for, and requires the commission to approve, a new tariff or rule that authorizes each electrical corporation to design and deploy all electrical distribution infrastructure on the utility side of the customer’s meter for all customers installing separately metered infrastructure to support electric vehicle charging stations, other than those in single-family residences.
This bill would require each electrical corporation, on or before April 1, 2027, to file an advice letter for, and require the commission, on or before September 1, 2027, to approve, a new or modified tariff or rule that authorizes the electrical corporation to design, construct, own, operate, and maintain all electrical distribution and service facilities located on the utility side of a customer’s meter that are necessary to provide separately metered electrical service to hydrogen refueling stations, including hydrogen refueling stations located on premises that already receive electrical service for other uses. The bill would require that the tariff or rule authorize an electrical corporation to extend utility-side electrical distribution and service facilities from the existing distribution system to a dedicated revenue meter serving a heavy-duty hydrogen refueling station that serves vehicles that are 14,001 pounds or greater and authorize the installation of a dedicated revenue meter for the hydrogen refueling station load, as provided. The bill would require a facility installed pursuant to the tariff or rule to be treated, for cost allocation and customer contribution purposes, as line and service extensions, as provided. The bill would require that the tariff or rule require the electrical corporation to provide the applicant a good faith estimate before the applicant is required to execute a line or service extension agreement or make a nonrefundable payment, as provided. The bill would repeal its provisions on January 1, 2033.
Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.
Because the provisions of the bill would be a part of the act and a violation of a commission action implementing the bill’s requirements would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that hydrogen refueling stations can be served by separate electrical service and utility revenue meters, including when installed at existing facilities, and that this can be accomplished without inefficiently requiring the installation of extensive behind-the-meter electrical lines.(b) The Legislature finds and declares all the following:
(1) Executive Order N-79-20 (September 23, 2020) set a state goal that 100 percent of in-state sales of new passenger cars and trucks will be zero emission by 2035, and 100 percent of medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles in California will be zero emission by 2045 for all operations where feasible, and by 2035 for drayage trucks.
(2) The State Air Resources Board and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission determined that a crucial element for achieving these goals is ensuring adequate hydrogen refueling infrastructure.
(3) One of the barriers to achieving adequate hydrogen refueling infrastructure is that, unlike electrical vehicle charging stations, hydrogen refueling stations cannot obtain separate utility meters and service lines when they are installed at existing facilities that already have electrical service, such as truck stops and travel centers. Because no dedicated tariff exists for energizing hydrogen refueling stations that are colocated with other uses, hydrogen refueling stations typically must install extensive behind-the-meter electrical lines to connect hydrogen equipment to electricity, instead of more efficiently connecting them directly to the electrical corporation’s distribution system on the utility side of the meter.
(4) The lack of separate utility meters for hydrogen refueling stations adds high costs to hydrogen refueling station installation at existing facilities that inhibits development of those stations, especially those that serve medium-duty and heavy-duty fuel cell electric vehicles, and precludes those stations from fully participating in programs designed to support the reliability, resiliency, and flexibility of the electrical grid, including demand response, distributed energy resource, and rate design programs that rely on separately metered loads.
(5) Facilitating the use of existing facilities for hydrogen refueling stations is an efficient land use strategy that can help reduce pressure to develop greenfield sites and accelerate the deployment of zero-emission vehicle fueling infrastructure.
SEC. 2.
Section 740.26 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:740.26.
(a) On or before April 1, 2027, each electrical corporation shall file an advice letter pursuant to Section 5.1 of Commission General Order 96-B for, and on or before September 1, 2027, the commission shall approve, a new or modified tariff or rule that authorizes the electrical corporation to design, construct, own, operate, and maintain all electrical distribution and service facilities located on the utility side of a customer’s meter that are necessary to provide separately metered electrical service to hydrogen refueling stations, including hydrogen refueling stations located on premises that already receive electrical service for other uses.(b) The tariff or rule described in subdivision (a) shall do both of the following:
(1) Authorize the electrical corporation to extend utility-side electrical distribution and service facilities from the existing distribution system to a dedicated revenue meter serving a heavy-duty hydrogen refueling station that serves vehicles that are 14,001 pounds or greater, consistent with the electrical corporation’s reasonable utility-side design, engineering, safety, and construction standards for comparable distribution and service facilities.
(2) Notwithstanding the Electric Rule 16 tariff or any successor tariff, authorize installation of a dedicated revenue meter for the hydrogen refueling station load, including where the customer or premises already receives electrical service through another meter, if the applicable safety and reliability criteria are met.
(c) A facility installed pursuant to the tariff or rule described in subdivision (a) shall be treated, for cost allocation and customer contribution purposes, as line and service extensions subject to the line extension framework adopted by the commission pursuant to Section 783 and implemented in the Electric Rule 15 tariff and Electric Rule 16 tariff, or successor tariffs. A customer allowance established for a facility pursuant to the tariff or rule shall be determined using the same revenue-based or revenue-justified allowance methodology applied under those Electric Rules, and any costs that exceed the applicable allowance shall be borne by the applicant, subject to any refund provisions the commission may approve. The tariff or rule shall require the electrical corporation to provide the applicant a good-faith estimate agreement before the applicant is required to execute a line or service extension agreement or make a nonrefundable payment, including any customer contribution, or costs associated with distribution or service facilities, system capacity, or other utility-side upgrades that may be charged to the applicant under the tariff or rule.
(d) The commission may adopt additional tariff provisions or modifications necessary to ensure that the tariff or rule described in subdivision (a) is just and reasonable and protects nonparticipating ratepayers from unreasonable cost shifts, if those provisions or modifications do not prohibit an eligible heavy-duty hydrogen refueling station from receiving service through a dedicated revenue meter where applicable safety and reliability criteria are met.
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2033, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 3.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.Text of AB 2505 as chaptered, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions