California Commission Proposes New Safety Standards for Battery Energy Storage Facilities

The California Public Utilities Commission on Jan. 27, issued a proposal to improve safety and emergency response of battery energy storage facilities in California. The proposal aims to implement Senate Bill No. 1383 to create new standards for the maintenance and operation of battery energy storage facilities and also improve emergency response action plans for the facilities. The commission will vote on the proposal in its March 13 Voting Meeting.
The commission’s proposal introduces new safety standards for maintaining and operating battery energy storage systems, and requirements for owners of battery energy storage facilities to establish emergency response action plans. The commission also added technical updates to safety and reliability protocol, such as technical logbook standards for battery storage systems.
For the proposal, the commission expanded on General Order 167, which was issued in 2004 and established safety standards for all electricity generating facilities. Since this initial order, there has been a significant expansion of renewable energy assets in California, particularly solar and energy storage facilities. Energy storage sites play a crucial role in California’s energy transition as they help intermittent renewable energy sources such as solar deliver a stable power supply.
California’s battery energy storage capacity has expanded significantly in the last five years, increasing from 500 megawatts (MW) to over 13,300 MW in 2024. The state’s existing installed energy storage capacity can meet more than 20 percent of peak electricity demand.
In 2024 alone, the state deployed more than 7,000 MW online, including over 4,000 MW of new battery storage. The battery storage capacity required by California is projected to increase to 52,000 MW by 2045.
With the growth of battery energy storage facilities, there have also been an increase in safety incidents such as fires and evacuation orders at these sites. Since 2021, there have been at least 10 safety incidents, including three incidents at Vistra Battery Energy Storage Facility in Moss Landing in September 2021, February 2022, and most recently on Jan. 16, 2025. Following the latest incident, the commission has begun an investigation at Vistra’s energy storage facility with a site visit from the commission’s staff to the facility on Jan. 22.
EnerKnol Pulses like this one are powered by the EnerKnol Platform—the first comprehensive database for real-time energy policy tracking. Sign up for a free trial below for access to key regulatory data and deep industry insights across the energy spectrum.
ACCESS FREE TRIAL