REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on the City of Santa Clara Electric Department dba Silicon Valley Power 2026 - 2028 Wildfire Mitigation Plan
Report
BACKGROUND
The California Public Utilities Code Section 8387, as amended by Senate Bill 901 in 2018, requires every local publicly owned electric utility, including the City of Santa Clara’s Silicon Valley Power (SVP), to prepare a Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP). Among other requirements, State law requires the WMP to address: (1) preventive strategies and programs designed to minimize the risk of electrical lines and equipment causing catastrophic wildfires; (2) vegetation management practices; and (3) inspection programs for electrical infrastructure. On June 25, 2019, the City Council approved SVP’s initial WMP, which included SVP’s remote electric transmission assets. Under the amendments made to Public Utilities Code section 8387 following the passage of Senate Bill 254 (SB 254) in September 2025, SVP’s regulatory schedule for updating and submitting its WMP to the Wildfire Safety Advisory Board (WSAB) has been modified to be every other year beginning in 2026.
SVP’s service territory is contiguous with the City of Santa Clara’s city limits with limited service in neighboring jurisdictions and is situated in an urban environment. Based on historical fire data and local conditions, and in consultation with local fire departments, there is no significant risk of catastrophic wildfire resulting from overhead electrical lines and equipment within SVP’s service territory. Therefore, the WMP focuses on the management of remote assets outside of SVP’s service territory.
The City of Santa Clara (City) owns generation facilities and related transmission assets outside of SVP’s service territory. These include the following:
The Grizzly Hydroelectric Project (Grizzly), a part of the Bucks Creek Project, FERC No. 619, located in Plumas County, California. To allow for the delivery of energy from Grizzly and i...
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