Ru le 2 0
U ti l i ty U nderground
Program
Item 3.5 - September 19, 2023
RULE 2 0 UNDERGROUNDING
Matt L oesch, Di rector o f Pu b lic Wo rks
Ka th e rin e Bro wn , In te rim Assista n t Dire c to r o f Pu b lic Wo rks J. Guevara, Deputy Di rector of Publ i c Works
1 What is Undergrounding? 1
2 3
4 5
September 19, 2023
RULE 2 0 UTILITY UNDERGROUND PROGRAM
AGENDA
R ule 20 A B Cs
R ul e 20B A nnual Workplan
Why Now? - The Opportunity
R ecommendati on
2 What i s U ndergroundi ng?
Be fore
Aft e r
3 Typ e Who Pays Who Constructs
20A PG&E PG&E
with City Council legislating locations to secure the
work credit
20B Private Developers
In-Lieu Undergrounding Fee at $605 per
linear foot of property frontage
City of San José
20C Project Developer
(public or private)
Developer and PG&E
coordinate project -specific implementation that
does not meet 20A or 20B criteria
Rule 20 ABCs
4 $9 million Rule 20B fund balance in 2022
$1 mi l l i on proj ected revenue i n the next
f i ve years f rom devel oper contri buti ons to
in -l i eu f ees
M cK ee/Jose Fi gueres R ul e 20B Proj ect i s
i n desi gn, expected to start July 2024
$4.1 mi lli on f und balance proj ected f or
FY 2027- 2028
Rule 2 0 B Workp lan
5 California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is
sunsetting the R ule 20A program by June 2025.
CPU C i s concerned about oversi ght, ti me to
compl ete, and equi ty i n uti l i ty under gr oundi ng.
City’s c u rre n t Ru le 20A c re d it is $38 millio n b u t o n ly $17 mi l l i on i s l egi slated and secur ed bef or e sunset.
Why Now?
6 If we don't act now, we leave millions on the table
when ratepayers have pai d i nto the PG& E 20A
pool f or decades.
San José can legislate f or the f ull $59M R ule 20A
U nder gr oundi ng work cr edi ts bef or e they ex pi r e and tar get addi ti onal f unds.
• $21 millio n is u n le g isla te d to ma ximize fu ll $38 millio n wo rk c re d it
• +$21 million ad d ition al un allocate d fun d s from o th e r ju risd ic tio n s c a n b e p u rsu e d
The Opportunity
7 $ 5 9 m illion Op p ortu n ity
Legislated 17
Unlegislated 21
Unallocated 21
0 10
20 30
40 50
60 70
Rule 20A ($ in millions)
Legislated Unlegislated Unallocated
8 Add combi ned equi ty scores fro m th e
Equity A tlas to strengthen R ul e 20A and
2 0 B c rite ria
Di rect staf f to ex ecute new analysi s,
uti l i ty coordi nati on, publ i c outreach f or
new di stri cts by March 2024
Ci ty Counci l can l egi slate bef ore June
2025
R ecommendation
https: //gi s. sanj oseca.gov/maps/equi tyatlas/
9 Ru le 20
Underground
Utility Program
September 19, 2023 – Ite m 3 .5
RULE 2 0 UNDERGROUNDING
10 Matt L oesch, Di rector of Publi c Works
Ka th e rin e Bro wn , In te rim Assista n t Dire c to r o f Pu b lic Wo rks J. Guevara, Deputy Di rector of Publ i c Works