Safety Policy Division
Danjel Bout, Director
The Safety Policy Division (SPD) is currently led by Director Danjel Bout.
The Safety Policy Division provides advisory support to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on policy and regulation to advance delivery of safe, reliable services by utilities subject to the CPUC’s jurisdiction and oversight.
Immediate and Long-Term Activity
SPD’s efforts include partnering with other State entities and Commission divisions to analyze, develop, recommend, and implement safety policy to advance the State’s goals of reliable and safe energy service at the lowest practical cost.
SPD is presently addressing urgent safety policy matters that face California, which include:
- Implementation of the Electric Undergrounding Expediting Program - SB 884
- The Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS)Proceeding
- Oversight of Electric IOUs' 2020 PSPS Preparation Plans
- Safety policy issues related to the electric utilities’ 2020 Wildfire Mitigation Plans (WMPs)
- Safety-related investigations addressing PG&E, including the PG&E Bankruptcy Order Instituting Investigation (OII) and the PG&E 2017-2018 Wildfires OII
- Addressing the needs of Access and Functional Needs communities before, during, and after emergency events involving utility services
- The CPUC’s investigations into PG&E Safety Culture and Sempra Safety Culture, along with developing a new safety culture assessment rulemaking to be opened in 2020
- Work closely with the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety (OEIS) (formerly Wildfire Safety Division of CPUC), a new department under the California Natural Resources Agency. The CPUC and OEIS have finalized a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
Long-term plans include developing and recommending safety policy within several ongoing CPUC proceedings:
- Risk assessment and risk mitigation within utility General Rate Cases
- Regulation of physical and cyber security for utilities
- Resiliency and microgrids
- Climate Change Adaptation for California utilities
Providing Advisory Support on Policy and Regulation
To promote and monitor emergency response standards and activities by regulated entities that development of resilient systems to respond to natural and man-made disasters.
To promote preparedness activities and regulated entities integrate risk into actions that assure a mature and effective physical and cyber security programs are maintained.
To promote safety by ensuring that the regulated entities integrate risk analysis and risk management practices into their current operations, future planning, and decision-making processes.
To conceptualize, develop, and implement a transparent safety knowledgebase, rules, standards, and metrics that help assure that a mature and effective safety culture is promoted and maintained within the utilities that the Commission regulates.
To promote wildfire safety in regulated electric and gas utilities through measured safety performance metrics and coordination among state agencies on wildfire mitigation planning.