Public Utilities Code section 8389
(a)
The Director of the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety shall issue a certificate to an electrical corporation if the electrical corporation provides documentation of the following:(1)
The electrical corporation has an approved wildfire mitigation plan pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 8386.3.(2)
The electrical corporation has agreed to implement the recommendations of its most recent safety culture assessments performed pursuant to Section 8386.2, if applicable.(3)
The electrical corporation has established a safety committee of its board of directors composed of members with relevant safety experience.(4)
The electrical corporation has established an executive incentive compensation structure approved by the office and structured to promote safety as a priority and to ensure public safety and utility financial stability with performance metrics, including incentive compensation based on meeting performance metrics that are measurable and enforceable, for all executive officers, as defined in Section 451.5. This may include tying 100 percent of incentive compensation to safety performance and denying all incentive compensation in the event the electrical corporation causes a catastrophic wildfire that results in one or more fatalities.(5)
The electrical corporation has established board-of-director-level reporting to the commission and office on safety issues.(6)
(A)The electrical corporation has established a compensation structure for any new or amended contracts, plans, or arrangements, whether written or unwritten, for executive officers, as defined in Section 451.5, that is based on the following principles:(i)
(I)Strict limits on guaranteed cash compensation, with the primary portion of the executive officers’ compensation based on achievement of objective performance metrics.(II)
No guaranteed monetary incentives in the compensation structure.(ii)
It satisfies the compensation principles identified in paragraph (4).(iv)
Minimization or elimination of indirect or ancillary compensation that is not aligned with shareholder and taxpayer interest in the electrical corporation.(B)
The office shall approve the compensation structure of an electrical corporation if it determines the structure meets the principles set forth in subparagraph (A) and paragraph (4).(C)
It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this paragraph and paragraph (4), that any approved bankruptcy reorganization plan of an electrical corporation should, in regards to compensation for executive officers of the electrical corporation, comply with the requirements of those paragraphs.(7)
The electrical corporation is implementing the mitigation strategies in its approved wildfire mitigation plan. The electrical corporation shall file a notification of implementation of its wildfire mitigation plan with the office and an information-only submittal with the commission on a quarterly basis that details the implementation of both its approved wildfire mitigation plan and recommendations of the most recent safety culture assessments by the commission and office, and a statement of the recommendations of the board of directors safety committee meetings that occurred during the quarter. The notification and information-only submittal shall also summarize the implementation of the safety committee recommendations from the electrical corporation’s previous notification and submission. If the office has reason to doubt the veracity of the statements contained in the notification or information-only submittal, it shall perform an audit of the issue of concern. The electrical corporation shall provide a copy of the information-only submittal to the office.(b)
(1)A certificate shall be valid for the 12 consecutive months following the issuance of the certificate.(2)
(A)Before the expiration of a certificate, an electrical corporation shall submit to the office a request for a certificate for the following 12 months. The office shall issue a certificate within 90 days of a request if the electrical corporation has provided documentation that it has satisfied the requirements in subdivision (a).(B)
The office may, for good cause, in writing, extend the 90-day period.(3)
All documents submitted pursuant to this section shall be publicly available on the commission’s and the office’s internet websites.(4)
(A)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a certificate shall remain valid until the office acts on the electrical corporation’s pending request for a certificate.(B)
The office may extend the expiration date of a certificate if the office or the commission has not yet acted on an element of the certificate request required pursuant to subdivision (a).
Source:
Section 8389, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PUC§ionNum=8389. (updated Sep. 19, 2025; accessed Nov. 3, 2025).
