MINUTES
of the
UTILITY UNDERGROUNDING TASK FORCE
SPECIAL MEETING
Monday, May 16, at 4:00 p.m.
City Hall
1 Dr. Carlton Goodlett Place, Rm. 421
1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
The meeting was called to order at 4:10 p.m. by Chair Chris Coghlan at 4:08 p.m.
Present: Steven Aronowitz R. Warren Langley
John Bitterman Robert Macray
John Brooke Richard Millet
Chris Coghlan John Newlin
Lynn Fong (DPW) Bob Pickard (SBC)
Marla Jurosek (PUC) Jon Rubin
Travis Kiyota (PG&E) Dan Weaver
Absent: Gino Graziani (Comcast)
2. CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO APPROVE TASK FORCE BY-LAWS
The members agreed to hold regular meetings on the third meeting of every month; and decided to hold off voting on the by-laws until some procedural questions are resolved.
Utility Undergrounding Task Force
Minutes
May 16, 2005
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3. DEPARTMENT REPORTS ON CITY’S UNDERGROUNDING PROGRAM
a.) DPW: Lynn Fong reporting on history and current status
Underground program is administered by DPW. Program started in 1997, based on a settlement agreement between the City and PG&E in which PG&E owed the City $132,000 in franchise fees and the Board of Supervisors approved the settlement in July, 1997. As part of the settlement, PG&E agreed to underground forty-two miles of overhead electric wires and also paid for the streetlight systems within these districts. The goal of the 42-mile plan was to coordinate with the PG&E gas main replacement program.
Selection criteria used for the 42 miles included: an unusually heavy concentration of overhead facilities; extensively used areas of public interest; places that pass by civic areas, parks, recs as well as civic improvements.
In addition to selection criteria set forth in Rule 20, DPW also had 2 other criteria: to coordinate with PG&E’s gas main replacement and also incorporated areas that had previously verified petitions within their neighborhood.
Included into the 42 miles, PG&E added four more miles with capital improvement projects, including Chinatown allies, Octavia Blvd., Third Street.
Costs: PG&E cost for its underground substructure and overhead removal for entire 42 miles was approximately $135,000,000; other utilities’ costs--$95,000,000; conduit conversion--$$19,000,000; private company construction--$9.3 million; undergrounding staffing administration--$4 million.
Homeowners are responsible for installing conduit on their own properties to receive underground utilities; no pole or underground wire can be taken down until the each home is converted. Three utilities have to come to each residence, and thus, owner has three different visits.
4. HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION UNDERGROUNDING REGULATIONS
Introduced draft of letter from Henry Dupay, Commissioner in charge of undergrounding review to the legislature. Attachment A outlined what the CPUC established as a result of the Phase 1 Interim Order. Allowed our 42-mile program to be finished by allowing
Utility Undergrounding Task Force
Minutes
May 16, 2005
Page 3
mortgaging of Rule 20 allocations to commence. Phase 2 commits CPUC to an establishing standards for conversion projects so that 3rd parties could competitively bid; investigate whether there should be a break point for allowing new overhead pole and line installation; basically looking at whether the City could take over undergrounding and how much it would cost.
Another document, Opinion Before the CPUC, mailed April 22, 2005 reverses the first letter with the CPUC commitments to the State legislature, stating too many years have past and the issues have changed.
Suggests that we should go back to the legislature and ask it to reenter the subject of undergrounding, in order to get Phase 2 hearings conducted by the CPUC in order to establish what undergrounding costs and how it could be done by cities with contractors bidding on it so that there is a standard process to be followed.
Once project is done, cost is added to PG&E’s rate base; all ratepayers are paying for undergrounding. PG&E spends the money based on Rule 20 credits. PG&E decides what projects they will work on throughout the state. CPUC gives PG&E the permission to pass the costs of undergrounding back to the ratepayers.
6. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE COMMITTEES
Four committees were established. They are:
Resources—John Brooke, Warren Langley, Dan Weaver
Site Selection/Broad Criteria—Bob Pickard, Jon Ruben, Dan Weaver
Undergrounding Operations—John Brook, John Bitterman, Lynn Fong, Marla Jurosek, Robert Macray
Communications/Outreach—Chris Coghlan, Steven Aronowitz
7. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:05 p.m.
