Cal. PUC § 8340
This is the official text of Cal. PUC § 8340, part of California’s Public Utilities Code — regulates utilities such as electricity, gas, water, and transportation carriers.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Official statutory text
For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:
(a) “Baseload generation” means electricity generation from a powerplant that is designed and intended to provide electricity at an annualized plant capacity factor of at least 60 percent.
(b) “Combined-cycle natural gas” with respect to a powerplant means the powerplant employs a combination of one or more gas turbines and steam turbines in which electricity is produced in the steam turbine from otherwise lost waste heat exiting from one or more of the gas turbines.
(c) “Electric service provider” means an “electric service provider” as defined in Section 218.3, but does not include corporations or persons employing cogeneration technology or producing electricity from other than a conventional power source consistent with subdivision (b) of Section 218.
(d) “Greenhouse gases” means those gases listed in Section 38505 of the Health and Safety Code.
(e) “Load-serving entity” means every electrical corporation, electric service provider, or community choice aggregator serving end-use customers in the state.
(f) “Long-term financial commitment” means either a new ownership investment in baseload generation or a new or renewed contract with a term of five or more years, which includes procurement of baseload generation.
(g) “Output-based methodology” means a greenhouse gases emission performance standard that is expressed in pounds of greenhouse gases emitted per megawatthour and factoring in the useful thermal energy employed for purposes other than the generation of electricity.
(h) “Plant capacity factor” means the ratio of the electricity produced during a given time period, measured in kilowatthours, to the electricity the unit could have produced if it had been operated at its rated capacity during that period, expressed in kilowatthours.
(i) “Powerplant” means a facility for the generation of electricity, and includes one or more generating units at the same location.
(j) “Zero- or low-carbon generating resource” means an electrical generating resource that will generate electricity while producing emissions of greenhouse gases at a rate substantially below the greenhouse gases emission performance standard, as determined by the commission.
(a) “Baseload generation” means electricity generation from a powerplant that is designed and intended to provide electricity at an annualized plant capacity factor of at least 60 percent.
(b) “Combined-cycle natural gas” with respect to a powerplant means the powerplant employs a combination of one or more gas turbines and steam turbines in which electricity is produced in the steam turbine from otherwise lost waste heat exiting from one or more of the gas turbines.
(c) “Electric service provider” means an “electric service provider” as defined in Section 218.3, but does not include corporations or persons employing cogeneration technology or producing electricity from other than a conventional power source consistent with subdivision (b) of Section 218.
(d) “Greenhouse gases” means those gases listed in Section 38505 of the Health and Safety Code.
(e) “Load-serving entity” means every electrical corporation, electric service provider, or community choice aggregator serving end-use customers in the state.
(f) “Long-term financial commitment” means either a new ownership investment in baseload generation or a new or renewed contract with a term of five or more years, which includes procurement of baseload generation.
(g) “Output-based methodology” means a greenhouse gases emission performance standard that is expressed in pounds of greenhouse gases emitted per megawatthour and factoring in the useful thermal energy employed for purposes other than the generation of electricity.
(h) “Plant capacity factor” means the ratio of the electricity produced during a given time period, measured in kilowatthours, to the electricity the unit could have produced if it had been operated at its rated capacity during that period, expressed in kilowatthours.
(i) “Powerplant” means a facility for the generation of electricity, and includes one or more generating units at the same location.
(j) “Zero- or low-carbon generating resource” means an electrical generating resource that will generate electricity while producing emissions of greenhouse gases at a rate substantially below the greenhouse gases emission performance standard, as determined by the commission.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in California?
Find a California lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.