REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on Amendment No. 3 to an Agreement for Professional Services with GEI Consulting, Inc. to Provide Project Management Support for the Bucks Creek Project Relicensing [Council Pillar: Deliver and Enhance High Quality Efficient Services and Infrastructure]
Report
BACKGROUND
The City of Santa Clara (City) participates with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) in the Bucks Creek Project (BCP) as part of the Grizzly Development and Mokelumne Settlement Agreement (GDSMA) which was executed between the City and PG&E on March 8, 1990. The BCP is licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) under license number P-619. This hydroelectric project license is due to expire on April 30, 2021.
The BCP consists of two hydroelectric generation facilities including the Grizzly powerhouse, which is owned by the City. PG&E owns the second generation facility in the BCP, the Bucks Creek powerhouse. SVP's participation in the Bucks Creek Project allows it to continue to operate the Grizzly Hydroelectric Plant. This plant provides approximately 18 MW of capacity and 57.3 Gigawatt hours (GWH) of energy on an annual basis to Silicon Valley Power (SVP) in an average water year. The hydroelectric resource is one of the lowest variable cost resources available to SVP and provides valuable carbon free renewable energy to the City.
As part of the GDMSA, the City and PG&E agreed to support and share in the cost of renewing the FERC license for the BCP. The relicensing of the BCP began nearly seven years ago, and in 2018, PG&E and SVP submitted the Final License Application (FLA) to FERC. The FLA contains all of the agreed to plans and processes that will be followed during the term of the new hydro license including, but not limited to, the road maintenance plan, recreation plan, vegetation management plan. The negotiations have included no less than 47 other participating agencies or organizations (Other Agencies), including ...
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