City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: JUNE 6, 2023
FROM: COUNCILWOMAN PL ASCENCIA WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: RIVERSIDE TRANSMISSION RELIAB ILITY PROJECT WORKING GROUP UPDATE
ISSUE:
Hear an update from the Riverside Transmission Re liability Project (RTRP) Working Group and discuss whether to cease the Working Group immediately or allow the Working Group to continue to October 2023.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council:
1. Receive an update from RTRP Working Group members Councilmembers Conder and Hemenway;
2. Approve the immediat e discontinuation of the RTRP Working Group;
3. Support the Riverside Transmi ssion Reliability Project as approved by the CPUC in March, 2020 and move forward to meet establ ished Project benchmarks and construction schedule; and
4. Reaffirm the City’s partnersh ip with Southern California Edis on and the City’s desire to move the Project forward without further delay.
BACKGROUND:
Working Group
On January 17, 2023, the City Counc il voted to 1) form a worki ng group consisting of federal, state, and local leaders to i dentify and secure funding sources for further undergrounding of Riverside Transmission Reliability Project and provide an update in May or June 2023, and the final report to City Council no later than October 24, 2023; and 2) request the City to take the lead with Councilmember Conder and Hemenway serving as members.
Riverside Transmission Reliability Project Historical Timeline Highlights June 2006 – the California Independent System Operation (CAISO), which is the independent organization responsible for planning the st atewide transmission grid, conducted studies concluding a need for the project.
Riverside Transmission Reliability Project Working Group Update ● Page 2 February 2013 – City Council certified Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR). April 2015 – Southern California Edison (SCE) fil ed a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) application with the Calif ornia Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for approval to construct the project.
January 2017 – application deemed complete by the CPUC. 2018 - Supplemental EIR publish ed by the CPUC for public review and subsequently approved in March 2020.
March 2020 - the CPUC granted SCE a Certificat e of Public Convenience and Necessity for RTRP, authorizing SCE to construct RTRP as cu rrently designed. Funding for the RTRP project was also approved for the portion of the project from Miraloma Substation (outside the City) to the new Wildlife Substation (in the City) in the amount of $521 million (City’s portion is
1.7% of this total). In addition, it is anticipated that the City will incur $200 million to redesign and upgrade the City’s electrical distribution system citywide.
DISCUSSION:
Per my inquiry, the following information was re layed to me by the City Manager’s Office and Riverside Public Utilities as follow-up to Riverside Transmission Reliability Project Working Group meetings:
The RTRP Working Group met on March 6 and 21, April 3 and 24, and May 8, 2023. Attendees included either the elec ted officials or their representativ es from the offices of Congressman Calvert, Congressman Takano, Assemblymember Cervantes, Assemblymember Essayli, Senator Seyarto, and Senator Roth, Riverside City Councilmembers Conder and Hemenway and Riverside staff, and two Norco City Councilmembers, Norco staf f, and Norco consultant Steve Larson of California Strategies. Discussions by the Working Group appear to have focused on how best to pursue funding assistance and the CPUC petition for modification process to underground the remaining portion of the RTRP.
Concurrently, the Norco City Council approved an agreement in March with California Strategies to collaborate with Riverside and elected representatives to pur sue funding assistance and regulatory approvals to undergro und RTRP. California Strategi es representative and former Executive Director of the CPUC Steve Larson is the lead consultant for Norco. California Strategies is the same consultant used by the City of Riverside to complete an analysis that was presented to City Council on Nove mber 15, 2022. It was also di sclosed during Working Group meetings that in April the Cit y of Norco employed Downey Bra nd LLP for legal services to advocate for undergrounding of RTRP powerlines.
City staff has confirmed that SCE has not start ed any construction work on the project. The expected delay is anticipated to move the date of completion from 2026, per the approved project terms, to 2028-2029 (if construction starts soon in 2023).
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with receiving this report.
Riverside Transmission Reliability Project Working Group Update ● Page 3
Prepared by:
Gaby Plascencia
City Councilmember, Ward 5
Attachment: January 17, 2023 City Council Meeting Minutes