SACRAMENTO, California — California regulators voted unanimously on Thursday to increase safety standards for energy storage facilities following a series of fires at the world’s largest lithium-ion battery on the Central Coast in January.
What happened: The new rules from the California Public Utilities Commission set maintenance and operation standards for energy storage facilities and require operators to develop and submit emergency plans along with local governments. They also detail the reporting requirements for energy storage operators in case of a safety incident like a fire. They are meant to implement former Sen. Ben Hueso’s SB 1383 from 2022 and Sen. John Laird’s SB 38 from 2023.
CPUC President Alice Reynolds said during Thursday’s meeting that California’s grid needs more batteries to store solar energy into the evening but that it was also important her agency have more oversight to improve the technology’s development.
“We also know that as we’re making progress, we have to be very, very aware of safety risk, and this safety risk aspect is really something that we do holistically in the state, together with other agencies,” Reynolds said.
