REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on Deleting an Electric Program Manager Position and Adding an Electric Division Manager Position at Silicon Valley Power and Related Budget Amendment
Report
COUNCIL PILLAR
Deliver and Enhance High Quality Efficient Services and Infrastructure; and
Manage Strategically Our Workforce Capacity and Resources
BACKGROUND
Silicon Valley Power (SVP) has provided electric service for over 127 years and is experiencing significant continued growth. SVP has developed a Council approved Capital Improvement Strategy to address the near-term and long-term potential load growth. In 2021, SVP recorded a peak load of nearly 600 Megawatt (MW) and delivered approximately 4,100 Gigawatt-hours (GWh) to customers. In 2022, SVP’s recorded peak load increased to 702 MW, and energy delivery rose to 4,550 GWh. This represents an approximate 10% increase in energy delivery and represents the largest year-over-year growth in the last 30 years.
On September 28, 2021, City Council accepted SVP’s Three-Year System Growth Strategy Plan. The Three-Year System Growth Strategy Plan identified $300 million in proposed projects to install new facilities and to replace aged infrastructure with higher capacity infrastructure where needed. An amendment to the agreement with AECOM Technical Services, Inc. (AECOM) was authorized and executed, and AECOM has been onboarded to provide program management and project management support to assist with this effort.
At its November 15, 2022, meeting, City Council accepted the report of the SVP System Expansion Plan for the California Independent System Operator’s Transmission Planning Process FY2023/24. The Summary of Proposed Projects for SVP System Growth Strategy included a comprehensive project list from this study with conceptual cost estimates of $200 million of proposed projects for this study period. The identified work includes replacement of aged infrastructure and installation of new facilities which will allow higher internal SVP system capacity. These projects would add two additional internal 60kV loops totaling 13 miles of new transmission loops along with a number of reliability upgrades including 6.5 miles of reconductored transmission lines required to serve the additional projected internal load (1,306 MW by 2032).
In March 2023, the California Independent System Operator selected LS Power as the developer, owner and operator of two 500 MW transmission lines to the South Bay with an estimated cost of over $1.0 billion. SVP is focusing on one of the 500 MW transmission lines that will link PG&E’s existing Newark Substation in Fremont to SVP’s Northern Receiving Station. In addition to all the new growth, staff has also presented to Council numerous times during SVP’s quarterly reports on SVP’s increased proactive maintenance program which bolsters reliability but also requires a much higher level of work effort.
Over the last two years SVP’s workload has increased significantly. To facilitate the current and upcoming workload, the new Program Manager in the Transmission and Distribution Division (and a few other new positions throughout SVP) was approved by Council to help manage the workload.
DISCUSSION
Staff has explored SVP’s organizational needs to better align with current workload priorities, operational and maintenance needs, and the system growth plan projects, and has determined that higher level management support is warranted in the Transmission and Distribution Division. The Transmission and Distribution Division has 31 budgeted full-time positions and two as-needed employees with only one Electric Division Manager. The new Program Manager position was intended to provide that additional level of supervisory support and oversight. After further analysis, staff is requesting to fill the position as an Electric Division Manager instead, which will provide for more experience and flexibility within the group. The amount and level of new and maintenance work combined with the expansion plan requires appropriate higher level of management for the 30 positions within the Division. As SVP staff has done over the last few years, they will continue to consider organizational alignment and modifications throughout to accommodate an expansion that will almost result in the doubling of its size of the Utility.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The proposed staffing changes are not a project subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to section 15378(b)(5) of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations as they are administrative activities that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes to the environment.
FISCAL IMPACT
The annual cost differential between an Electric Division Manager and Electric Program Manager is approximately $41,500 for FY2023/24. The budget amendment below allocates funding from the Electric Utility Fund Ending Fund Balance to cover the cost differential for 11 months in FY 2023/24 to add an Electric Division Manager and delete an Electric Program Manager as recommended in this memorandum.
Budget Amendment
FY 2023/24
|
|
Current |
Increase/ (Decrease) |
Revised |
|
Electric Utility Fund |
|
|
|
|
Expenditures |
|
|
|
|
Electric Department |
$626,816,941 |
$38,000 |
$626,854,941 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ending Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
Unrestricted Ending Fund Balance |
$72,526,687 |
($38,000) |
$72,488,687 |
COORDINATION
This report has been coordinated with the Human Resources Department, Finance Department and City Attorney’s Office.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City’s official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall Council Chambers. A complete agenda packet is available on the City’s website and in the City Clerk’s Office at least 72 hours prior to a Regular Meeting and 24 hours prior to a Special Meeting. A hard copy of any agenda report may be requested by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at (408) 615-2220, email clerk@santaclaraca.gov <mailto:clerk@santaclaraca.gov>.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
1. Approve the addition of one Electric Division Manager and deletion of one Electric Program Manager position in the Electric Utility Department funded by the Electric Utility Fund; and
2. Approve the following FY2023/24 budget amendment in the Electric Utility Fund to increase the Electric Department appropriation by $38,000 and reduce the Unrestricted Ending Fund Balance by $38,000 (five affirmative Council votes required for the use of unused balances).
Staff
Reviewed by: Manuel Pineda, Chief Electric Utility Officer
Approved by: Jōvan D. Grogan, City Manager