REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on the Interconnection Agreement between City of Santa Clara dba Silicon Valley Power and Pacific Gas & Electric Company and related Joint Offer of Settlement Agreement
Report
BACKGROUND
The Electric Utility of the City of Santa Clara, doing business as Silicon Valley Power ("SVP"), is directly interconnected with the electric system of Pacific Gas and Electric Company ("PG&E"). On September 1, 2002, the Interconnection Agreement ("2002 IA") became effective as the primary agreement governing the interconnected nature of the two systems. The 2002 IA was set to terminate on July 31, 2017. In order to prevent a gap in the contractual arrangements between PG&E and SVP, a successor agreement was required to be filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") sixty (60) days prior to the termination of the 2002 IA, or May 31, 2017.
SVP and PG&E worked toward a successor agreement to the 2002 IA for nearly five years prior to its termination, but were not able to timely resolve all areas of disagreement. The most significant of the outstanding issues involved how the successor IA would treat two PG&E-owned 115 kV transmission lines that are located between SVP's Northern Receiving Station ("NRS") and SVP's Scott Receiving Station ("SRS"). These lines are known as "NRS-SRS No. 1 Line" and "NRS-SRS No. 2 Line", or collectively the "NRS-SRS Lines". The NRS-SRS Lines became encapsulated between SVP's receiving stations concurrent with the energization of SVP's NRS in 2002, and are located within SVP's service territory.
On May 23, 2017, the Council voted unanimously to approve and authorize the City Manager or her designee to execute a successor IA once negotiations and/or a hearing concluded and FERC approved it, subject to final review by the City Attorney's Office; and further authorized the City Manager or her designee to execute any future amendments to the successor IA between SVP and PG&E, subject to fin...
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