Senate BillChaptered/SignedPublic Utilities
SB 913: Resource adequacy: aggregated distributed energy resources.
What SB 913 does, verified October 2, 2026
<blockquote> <p>The bill requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to enhance pathways for aggregated distributed capacity resources, allowing them to qualify as resource adequacy capacity. By June 30, 2027, the PUC must enable electrical corporations and providers to include these resources in their filings and procurement processes. Additionally, the PUC is tasked with developing recommendations for changes to the Independent System Operator's proxy demand resource and participation models to align with new requirements.</p> </blockquote>
Bill journey
✓IntroducedComplete
✓In CommitteeComplete
✓First Chamber FloorComplete
✓Second ChamberComplete
✓GovernorComplete
6ChapteredCurrent
Last action: Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 987, Statutes of 2026. (2026-09-30)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions40 total · showing 5
| Sep. 30, 2026 | Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 987, Statutes of 2026. |
| Sep. 30, 2026 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Sep. 02, 2026 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m. |
| Aug. 27, 2026 | Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 40. Noes 0.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling. |
| Aug. 25, 2026 | Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 59. Noes 3. Page 6528.) Ordered to the Senate. |
Latest bill textChaptered version, September 30, 2026 · 1,514 words
Senate Bill No. 913
CHAPTER 987
An act to add Section 380.1 to 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
SB 913, Becker. Resource adequacy: aggregated distributed energy resources.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires the PUC, in consultation with the Independent System Operator, to establish resource adequacy requirements for all electrical corporations, electric service providers, and community choice aggregators. Existing law requires that the resource adequacy program achieve specified objectives, including that it establish new or maintain existing demand response products and tariffs, as specified.
This bill would require the PUC, in coordination with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and the Independent System Operator, on or before June 30, 2028, to enhance existing market-integrated pathways for aggregated distributed energy resources, as defined, to qualify as resource adequacy capacity, as specified. The bill would require the commission to establish conditions for the use of aggregated distributed energy resources while ensuring net energy metering customers and net billing tariff customers do not receive duplicate compensation, as provided. The bill would require the PUC to allow electrical corporations, electric service providers, and community choice aggregators to include aggregated distributed energy resources in resource adequacy filings and PUC-ordered procurement, as specified. The bill would require the PUC, on or before June 30, 2028, to develop recommendations for changes to the Independent System Operator’s proxy demand resource and distributed energy resource aggregation participation models to be consistent with the PUC’s requirements for aggregated distributed energy resources pursuant to these provisions, and to communicate the recommendations to the Independent System Operator for consideration in a new or existing initiative.
Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime.
Because the provisions of this bill would be part of the act and a violation of a PUC action implementing the bill’s requirements would be a crime, the 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) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(1) California faces increasing peak and net peak electricity demand due to continued growth and extreme temperatures.
(2) Distributed energy resources can provide reliable, cost-effective dispatchable capacity that reduces the need for new fossil-fueled generation.
(3) When distributed energy resources are dispatched instead of fossil-fueled generation, it reduces greenhouse gas emissions in furtherance of the state’s climate targets and it reduces air pollution in the communities adjacent to the generation facilities that would otherwise have been dispatched.
(4) The amount of demand response participating in resource adequacy has declined in recent years even though there are many more distributed energy resources today that could be available to support the electrical grid.
(5) The Independent System Operator is actively pursuing reforms through its demand and distributed energy market integration initiative to improve participation models for distributed energy resources, including the proxy demand resource and the distributed energy resource participation models.
(6) Coordination among the Public Utilities Commission, the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, and the Independent System Operator is necessary to establish a durable, transparent, and timely pathway for more distributed energy resources to qualify for resource adequacy.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to address barriers for distributed energy resources to qualify for resource adequacy capacity so that distributed energy resources can more easily be used, where cost effective, to meet electrical grid reliability standards while lowering costs for ratepayers, supporting decarbonization goals, and reducing air pollution.
SEC. 2.
Section 380.1 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:380.1.
(a) On or before June 30, 2028, the commission, in coordination with the Energy Commission and the Independent System Operator, shall enhance existing market-integrated pathways for aggregated distributed energy resources to qualify as resource adequacy capacity, including by ensuring all of the following:(1) Aggregated distributed energy resources are able to qualify for local, system, or flexible resource adequacy capacity within any qualifying capacity or successor methodology adopted by the commission, if the aggregated distributed energy resource meets all qualifying criteria.
(2) Aggregated distributed energy resources are eligible to receive resource adequacy credit for their qualifying capacity value, including energy exported past the utility meter to the extent authorized pursuant to subdivision (b).
(3) (A) The commission shall determine the extent to which device-level telemetry may provide accurate measurement of net load impact delivered to the grid in response to a dispatch signal from the grid operator.
(B) The commission shall develop reasonable and standardized requirements, which may include metering accuracy, data integrity, telemetry resolution and latency, settlement verification, interoperability across devices and aggregators, and fraud or tamper prevention, to allow distributed resources within an aggregated distributed energy resource that meet those requirements to be settled using device-level telemetry, if the commission has determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) that device-level telemetry provides sufficient and accurate measurements.
(4) Qualifying capacity methodologies credit load reductions and net exports of energy during the specific hour of the day required for resource adequacy showings, fully integrate these resources into the current resource adequacy construct and counting conventions, and allow aggregated distributed energy resources to combine different types of distributed resources and technologies.
(5) Multiple enrollment is authorized, allowing multiple devices to participate behind the same utility point of interconnection, including in separate programs, if there is no double counting or duplicate compensation for the same load reduction or energy export. The commission shall establish, through existing or new proceedings, requirements to implement and enforce this paragraph.
(6) Consumer data privacy is protected consistent with state law and commission decisions.
(7) Enrollment processes reduce the barriers to enrolling distributed resources as aggregated distributed energy resources.
(8) To the extent feasible, all capacity determinations are technology neutral, based on measured performance, and weather normalized, allowing the broadest set of device types and technologies to be included within an aggregated distributed energy resource and putting the burden on the aggregated distributed energy resource provider to ensure that it can deliver, in total across all of its distributed resources, the promised demand reduction or electricity supply when called upon.
(9) Alignment with the Independent System Operator’s existing market participation models for aggregated distributed energy resources, as modified pursuant to subdivision (e).
(b) The commission shall establish conditions under which customer-sited distributed resources may receive capacity credit for energy exported past the utility meter as part of an aggregated distributed energy resource with the goal of maximizing the availability of customer-sited distributed resources to provide benefits to the grid while ensuring that net energy metering customers and net billing tariff customers receiving service pursuant to Section 2827, 2827.1, or 2827.10 do not receive duplicate compensation, through both the aggregated distributed energy resource and the retail bill credits, for energy exported in response to a dispatch through the aggregated distributed energy resource.
(c) The commission shall allow load-serving entities to include aggregated distributed energy resources in resource adequacy filings and commission-ordered procurement pursuant to Section 454.54, consistent with the loading order in the state’s energy action plan, if the aggregated distributed energy resource meets the energy attribute requirements specified in the applicable procurement order or resource adequacy requirements.
(d) On or before June 30, 2028, the commission shall develop recommendations for changes to the Independent System Operator’s proxy demand resource and distributed energy resource aggregation participation models, including the must-offer obligation for each participation model, to be consistent with the commission’s requirements for aggregated distributed energy resources pursuant to this section, and shall communicate the recommendations to the Independent System Operator for consideration in a new or existing initiative.
(e) For purposes of this section, all of the following definitions apply:
(1) “Aggregated distributed energy resource” means an aggregation of more than one distributed resource that is capable of supplying electricity to, or reducing electricity demand on, the electrical distribution system when called upon to do so.
(2) “Distributed resources” has the same meaning as defined in Section 769.
(3) “Load-serving entity” has the same meaning as defined in Section 380.
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 SB 913 as chaptered, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions