CC SR 20190402 03 - SCE Undergrounding Electrical Facilities
RANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 04/02/2019
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Regular Business
AGENDA DESCRIPTION:
Consideration and possible action to receive and file a presentation from the Public
Works Director on Southern California Edison (SCE) relocating existing power lines
underground.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Receive and file a presentation from the Public Works Director;
(2) Direct Staff to pursue purchasing Rule 20A funds from other agencies; and
(3) Direct Staff to research what options may exist to change regulations regarding
the use of Rule 20A funds and report back to City Council on potential options
available.
FISCAL IMPACT: None
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: James O'Neill, Engineering Assistant
REVIEWED BY: Elias Sassoon, Director of Public Works
APPROVED BY: Doug Willmore, City Manager
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
A. Summary of Existing Overhead Facilities and Estimated Undergrounding
Costs, from Harris & Associates, Inc. feasibility study (page A-1)
B. Letter to existing homeowner associations in the City of Rancho Palos
Verdes, dated January 11, 2019 (page B-1)
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION:
Since 1967, “underground conversions” of existing overhead utilities within cities in
California have been performed under California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)
Rule 20. This rule essentially has three parts:
Rule 20A – Utility providers pay for a majority of the costs of undergrounding the
utilities using ratepayer funds. Projects are typically in areas of the community
that are most used by the general public (i.e. along an arterial roads or collector
road)
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Rule 20B – Property owners or developers pay 80% of the costs of utility
undergrounding projects. Projects usually involve larger developments or
neighborhoods that do not meet Rule 20A criteria.
Rule 20C – Property owners pay the entire cost of the utility undergrounding, less
a credit for the salvage value of removed facilities.
Based on the description of the three parts of CPUC Rule 20, projects to replace
overhead utilities with underground utilities in residential neighborhoods would not be
eligible for ratepayer funds under Rule 20A.
With an opportunity to underground electric lines utilizing funds reserved by Southern
California Edison (SCE) as part of its Rule 20A program, the City of Rancho Palos
Verdes’ Overhead Utilities Conversion Plan was approved by the City Council at the
October 18, 2016, meeting.
In preparation for that opportunity, the City hired a consultant, Harris & Associates, Inc.,
to conduct a feasibility study for undergrounding existing overhead utilities throughout
the City. That study identified a total of 30 candidate locations, which are included in
Attachments A-1 and A-2.
Based on the recommendation of Rancho Palos Verdes Public Works staff and input from
the Infrastructure Management Advisory Committee (IMAC), the City Council approved
the creation of two additional underground utility districts. These districts were formally
created under Resolution No. 2017-05 as:
1. Utility Underground District No. 5 – Palos Verdes Drive South (between La
Rotonda Drive and the city limits); and
2. Utility Underground District No. 6 – Crenshaw Boulevard (between Crest Road
and Valley View Road)
At its August 21, 2018, meeting, the City Council approved the utilization of Rule 20A
allocations for the “Replacement of Overhead with Underground Electric Facilities” for
those two districts.
Based on those project cost estimates, the City would have a balance of $567,022 in
Rule 20A allocations for future projects. The City additionally receives an annual
allocation, which is determined by the CPUC and is based on the number of electrical
meters in the City. For 2018, the City received $95,792.
The City also has the option to purchase allocations from other cities to increase its
balance for future undergrounding projects. The estimated purchase price per dollar
($1.00) in Rule 20A allocation is approximately sixty cents ($0.60) from the General
Fund. Staff has inquired with other cities to see if they are interested in selling Rule 20A
funds, but has not been successful in finding cities with excess Rule 20A funds. If the
City Council would like Staff to continue to search for these funds, Staff will continue to
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pursue this effort, but may need to offer a higher rate of up to $0.70 General Fund
dollars for each Rule 20A dollar to be more competitive.
Update on the project for Utility Underground District 5
Located along Palos Verdes Drive South between La Rotonda Drive and the city limits,
with an estimated cost of $800,000, Southern California Edison (SCE) is anticipating
receiving bids in April, with project completion by the end of summer 2019. With bids
not yet received, project costs have not been determined.
Update on the project for Utility Underground District 6
Located along Crenshaw Boulevard between Crest Road and Valley View Road, with
an estimated cost of $550,000, Southern California Edison (SCE) is also anticipating
receiving bids for this project in April and project completion by the end of summer
2019. Like the project for District 5, project costs have not been determined beyond
estimated costs.
There are existing cellular antennas and equipment on two of the poles along Crenshaw
Boulevard, and, therefore, the poles cannot be removed unless those antennas and the
equipment are voluntarily removed by the owner, Crown Castle. The City is in
discussion with Crown Castle with the goal of relocating existing antennas and
equipment from both poles to a new, technologically advanced pole, which includes the
equipment and antennas within.
New undergrounding opportunities under rule 20A
Utility Underground Districts 5 & 6 were prioritized from the Feasibility Study performed
by Harris & Associates, Inc. This list will be reviewed and prioritized through IMAC, and
will be brought back to City Council for approval.
As funding for future projects will be limited by the availability of Rule 20A funds (which
is subject to final project costs of the District 5 & 6 projects) and future annual
allocations from CPUC, the timing of future projects cannot be determined at this time.
New undergrounding opportunities under rule 20C
In an effort to gauge interest in projects that do not qualify for Rule 20A funding (i.e.
because they are not along major arterial roads), Staff sent letters to the known
addresses of homeowners associations within city limits. (A copy of that January 11,
2019, letter is included in this report as Attachment B.)
Public Works staff received minimal response and has spoken with respondents to
explain that an underground utility assessment district (UUAD) would have to be
created, and that the financial responsibility would reside with that district, not the City.
For clarity, a UUAD differs from a Utility Underground District in that UUADS are the
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financial tools used to fund a project under Rule 20B or 20C, whereas Utility
Underground Districts are the approved areas for projects.
CONCLUSION:
Southern California Edison (SCE) will be seeking bids to replace existing overhead
electric utility facilities with underground facilities in Districts 5 & 6, while City staff
concurrently is engaged in discussions with the owners of the cellular equipment on two
of the poles in District 6 to voluntarily relocate that equipment to a new pole and allow
for the elimination of those two poles.
Staff will be working to finalize a recommendation of a specific prioritization of the
Existing Overhead Facilities list, in coordination with and with input from IMAC.
Staff will also continue to seek public interest in the creation of new Utility Underground
Districts and report back to the City Council.
If directed by the City Council, Staff will pursue purchasing Rule 20A funds from other
municipalities at a cap of seventy cents ($0.70) per dollar (Purchasing each $1.00 of
Rule 20A funds with $0.70 from the General Fund).
Additionally, if directed by City Council, Staff will research what options may exist to
change regulations regarding the use of Rule 20A funds , such as allowing safety to be
an eligibility factor, and report back to City Council on potential options available.
ALTERNATIVES:
In addition to the Staff recommendations, the following alternative action is available for
the City Council’s consideration:
1. Discuss other options which may be appropriate in lieu of Staff’s
recommendation.
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Summary of Existing Overhead Facilities
and Estimated Undergrounding Costs
ID STREET NAME BEGIN END APPROX
LENGTH TYPE EST. AVG
$/Ft
ESTIMATED
COSTS
ARTERIAL STREETS
1 CRENSHAW BOULEVARD CREST ROAD CRESTRIDGE RD 1800 Transmission N/A N/A
2 CRENSHAW BOULEVARD CRESTRIDGE RD CITY LIMIT 600 Transmission N/A N/A
3 CREST ROAD LA CROIX DR COUNTRY MEADOW 1500 Transmission N/A N/A
4 CREST ROAD COUNTRY MEADOW HIGHRIDGE ROAD 1550 Transmission N/A N/A
5 CREST ROAD HIGHRIDGE ROAD WHITLEY COLLINS DR 1,950 Transmission N/A N/A
6 CREST ROAD WHITLEY COLLINS DR CRENSHAW BLVD 1,500 Transmission N/A N/A
7 HAWTHORNE BLVD CITY LIMIT BLACKHORSE RD 4,900 Trans. & Distrib. $ 2,800 $ 13,720,000
8 HAWTHORNE BLVD BLACKHORSE RD SILVER SPUR RD 2,250 Trans. & Distrib. $ 2,800 $ 6,300,000
9 PALOS VERDES DR E MIRALESTE PLACE VIA CANADA 950 Trans. & Distrib. $ 2,800 $ 2,660,000
10 PALOS VERDES DR E VIA CANADA PICARDIE RD 300 Distribution $ 900 $ 270,000
11 PALOS VERDES DR E PICARDIE RD CORAL RIDGE RD 480 Distribution $ 900 $ 432,000
12 PALOS VERDES DR E CORAL RIDGE RD COLT RD 980 Distribution $ 900 $ 882,000
13 PALOS VERDES DR E COLT RD MARION DR 520 Distribution $ 900 $ 468,000
14 PALOS VERDES DR E MARION DR CLEVIS RD 630 Distribution $ 900 $ 567,000
15 PALOS VERDES DR E CLEVIS RD ROCKINGHORSE RD 1,200 Distribution $ 900 $ 1,080,000
16 PALOS VERDES DR E ROCKINGHORSE RD COACH RD 650 Distribution $ 900 $ 585,000
17 PALOS VERDES DR E COACH RD ROAN RD 1,200 Distribution $ 900 $ 1,080,000
18 PALOS VERDES DR E ROAN RD BRONCO DR 580 Distribution $ 900 $ 522,000
19 PALOS VERDES DR E BRONCO DR HEADLAND DR 450 Distribution $ 900 $ 405,000
20 PALOS VERDES DR E HEADLAND DR SUNNYSIDE RIDGE 1,950 Distribution $ 900 $ 1,755,000
21 PALOS VERDES DR E SUNNYSIDE RIDGE CITY LIMIT 4,130 Distribution $ 900 $ 3,717,000
22 PALOS VERDES DR S LA ROTONDA DR CITY LIMIT 1,350 Distribution $ 900 $ 1,215,000
COLLECTOR STREETS
23 CRENSHAW BOULEVARD CREST ROAD VALLEY VIEW ROAD 680 Distribution $ 900 $ 612,000
24 RIDGEGATE DRIVE/GRANVIA ALTAMIRA HAWTHORNE BLVD MONERO DRIVE 922 Distribution $ 900 $ 829,800
25 INDIAN PEAK ROAD CRENSHAW BLVD NORRIS CENTER DRIVE 1,300 Distribution $ 900 $ 1,170,000
26 MONTEMALAGA DR SILVER SPUR RD BASSWOOD AVE 1,369 Distribution $ 900 $ 1,232,100
27 MONTEMALAGA DR BASSWOOD AVE GRAYSLAKE ROAD 1,029 Distribution $ 900 $ 926,100
28 MONTEMALAGA DR GRAYSLAKE ROAD CITY LIMIT 1,735 Distribution $ 900 $ 1,561,500
29 SILVER SPUR RD BASSWOOD AVE ELKMONT DRIVE 1,440 Distribution $ 900 $ 1,296,000
30 SILVER SPUR RD ELKMONT DRIVE CITY LIMIT 480 Distribution $ 900 $ 432,000
Total $ 43,717,500
A-1
HARRIS & ASSOCIATES
22 Executve Par k, Sui te 20011
Irvine, California 92614
800-827-4901
# 28
# 27
# 26
# 30
City of Rancho Palos Verdes
Proposed Utility Undergrounding Areas
# 7
# 29
# 24
# 8
# 25
# 2 # 21
# 4
# 3
# 1
# 23
# 6
# 5
# 19
# 18
# 17
# 16
# 15
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# 20
CREST RD
# 13
# 12
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# 1 Improvement Area Location ID
Rule 20A Improvement Area
Existing Underground Utility
# 22 Sheet 1 of 5
July 8, 2016
HARRIS & ASSOCIATES
22 Executive Park, Suite 200
Irvine, California 92614
800-827-4901 A-2
CITY OF
January 11, 2019
Dear Home Owner Association,
RANCHO PALOS VERD ES
PUBLIC WORI<S DEPARTMENT
The City of Rancho Palos Verdes understands that Homeowner Associations and property owners
often desire to have overhead utility facilities (such as power lines) relocated underground, and
is reaching out to the Homeowner Associations to gauge interest for such projects.
Since 1967, "underground conversions" of existing overhead utilities within cities in California
have been performed under California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Rule 20 . In compliance
with this rule, Southern California Edison has a process in place whereby the residential
neighborhoods can request such a conversion . The process requires neighborhoods to make
their requests to through a new or existing "Underground Utility Assessment District" or UUAD,
along with City sponsorship, and property owners would be responsible for estimated project
costs of approximately $50,000 per property.
Four Underground Utility Assessment Districts have been established in the past :
1. Palos Verdes Drive South (from Forrestal Drive to Palos Verdes Drive East)-Est . in 1975
2. Forrestal Drive-Est. in 1975
3. Palos Verdes Drive West-Est. in 1976
4 . Hawthorne Blvd. (from Indian Peak Rd to Indian Valley Rd)-Est . in 1986
If your Homeowner Association or individual property owners are interested in pursuing such a
project, or would like more information on this subject, please contact:
Mr. James O'Neill
Department of Public Works
(310) 544-5247
loneill@rpvca .gov
Elias K. Sassoon, MS, MPA
Director of Public Works Department
City of Rancho Palos Verdes
30940 HAWTHOR NE BOULEVAR D I RANCHO PALOS VERD ES, CA 9027 5-5391 I (31 0) 544-52 52 I FAX (310 ) 5 4 4 -5 292 I WWW.PA LOSV ERDES.COMIRPV
@ PR INTED ON RE CYC LED PAPER B-1