SACRAMENTO – The Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety (Energy Safety) today released its Second Revised Draft 10-Year Electrical Undergrounding Plan Guidelines. The guidelines detail the requirements California’s large electrical corporations must follow should they elect to submit 10-year undergrounding plans.
Release of the draft guidelines initiates a 30-day public comment period. There will be a public workshop on Jan. 17 from 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. to discuss revisions to the draft. Energy Safety has provided numerous opportunities for public engagement over the past year.
Senate Bill 884, (McGuire, 2022), permits a large electrical corporation (250,000 customers or more) to voluntarily submit a 10-year distribution infrastructure undergrounding plan to Energy Safety for approval. If Energy Safety approves a plan, the electrical corporation then files an application with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for conditional approval of the plan’s costs.
In its plan, an electrical corporation must compare the costs and benefits of undergrounding with alternative system hardening and risk mitigation measures. The included projects must be located in high fire threat districts or wildfire rebuild areas. Energy Safety may only approve 10-year plans that substantially decrease wildfire risk and substantially increase reliability.
The public is invited to provide initial written comments on Energy Safety’s website on or before January 27. Reply comments are due by February 6. Information and instructions on how to submit written comments through the e-filing system can be found in the Energy Safety E-Filing System User Guide on Energy Safety’s website at External E-Filing User Guide March 2024 (ca.gov).