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HomePublic Utilities CodeDiv. 1Pt. 1Ch. 1§ 218 Electric Corporation Definition

§ 218 Electric Corporation Definition

Public Utilities Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 218 Electric Corporation Definition

Key Takeaways

  • •An 'electrical corporation' is a company or person that owns or runs a power plant and sells electricity to others.
  • •If you make your own electricity just for yourself or your tenants (like in an apartment building), you’re not an 'electrical corporation'.
  • •You can sell a little electricity to a neighbor or two, but only if their property is right next to yours and you follow some rules.
  • •If you use special ways to make electricity (like solar, landfill gas, or digester gas), you might not be called an 'electrical corporation' even if you sell some power.

Example

A farmer has a big field and puts up solar panels to make electricity. They use some of the power for their own house and sell a little extra to the neighbor next door.

The farmer is not an 'electrical corporation' because they’re only selling a small amount of electricity to one neighbor on the property right next to theirs.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 218 Electric Corporation Definition

(a) “Electrical corporation” includes every corporation or person owning, controlling, operating, or managing any electric plant for compensation within this state, except where electricity is generated on or distributed by the producer through private property solely for its own use or the use of its tenants and not for sale or transmission to others. (b) “Electrical corporation” does not include a corporation or person employing cogeneration technology or producing power from other than a conventional power source for the generation of electricity solely for any one or more of the following purposes: (1) Its own use or the use of its tenants. (2) The use of or sale to not more than two other corporations or persons solely for use on the real property on which the electricity is generated or on real property immediately adjacent thereto, unless there is an intervening public street constituting the boundary between the real property on which the electricity is generated and the immediately adjacent property and one or more of the following applies: (A) The real property on which the electricity is generated and the immediately adjacent real property is not under common ownership or control, or that common ownership or control was gained solely for purposes of sale of the electricity so generated and not for other business purposes. (B) The useful thermal output of the facility generating the electricity is not used on the immediately adjacent property for petroleum production or refining. (C) The electricity furnished to the immediately adjacent property is not utilized by a subsidiary or affiliate of the corporation or person generating the electricity. (3) Sale or transmission to an electrical corporation or state or local public agency, but not for sale or transmission to others, unless the corporation or person is otherwise an electrical corporation. (c) “Electrical corporation” does not include a corporation or person employing landfill gas technology for the generation of electricity for any one or more of the following purposes: (1) Its own use or the use of not more than two of its tenants located on the real property on which the electricity is generated. (2) The use of or sale to not more than two other corporations or persons solely for use on the real property on which the electricity is generated. (3) Sale or transmission to an electrical corporation or state or local public agency. (d) “Electrical corporation” does not include a corporation or person employing digester gas technology for the generation of electricity for any one or more of the following purposes: (1) Its own use or the use of not more than two of its tenants located on the real property on which the electricity is generated. (2) The use of or sale to not more than two other corporations or persons solely for use on the real property on which the electricity is generated. (3) Sale or transmission to an electrical corporation or state or local public agency, if the sale or transmission of the electricity service to a retail customer is provided through the transmission system of the existing local publicly owned electric utility or electrical corporation of that retail customer. (e) “Electrical corporation” does not include an independent solar energy producer, as defined in Article 3 (commencing with Section 2868) of Chapter 9 of Part 2. (f) The amendments made to this section at the 1987 portion of the 1987–88 Regular Session of the Legislature do not apply to any corporation or person employing cogeneration technology or producing power from other than a conventional power source for the generation of electricity that physically produced electricity prior to January 1, 1989, and furnished that electricity to immediately adjacent real property for use thereon prior to January 1, 1989. (Amended by Stats. 2008, Ch. 535, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2009.)

Last verified: January 23, 2026

Key Terms

Electrical corporationcogeneration technologylandfill gas technologydigester gas technology

Related Statutes

  • § 10302 Utility And Agency Definitions
  • § 222 Gas Corporation Definition
  • § 224 Heat Corporation Definition
  • § 228 Pipeline Corporation Definition
  • § 100000 Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Act

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Public Utilities Code. Section 218.
View Official Source