At it's annual meeting in October, the League of California Cities was asked to petition the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to create a new subsection of the Commission's Electric Rule 20. This new subsection would focus on the utility undergrounding needs in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (VHFHSZ).
For reasons as yet unclear, the League sent the proposed amendment to its Environmental Quality Policy Committee for further discussion at the Committee's next meeting scheduled for January 17, 2020 in Sacramento, California.
As noted in earlier posts, the City of Berkeley along with many other California Cities with Very High Fire Hazard exposure urged the League to take direct action at its 2019 Annual Meeting. The proposed amendment, as presented at the annual meeting, can be found on BCUU's website under the "Major References" TAB. It was ENDORSED UNANIMOUSLY by the BERKELEY CITY COUNCIL on SEPTEMBER 24, 2019.
There is an opportunity for public comment at the beginning of Environmental Quality Policy Committee meeting. The Committee will be meet on Thursday, January 17th, 10:00 am two 3:00 pm, at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Sacramento. Questions regarding the meeting should be directed to Caroline Cirrincione, Legislative Policy Analyst, League of California Cities. Phone 916.658.8250, ccirrincione@cacities.org.
BCUU will have a posting covering the results shortly after the January 17th meeting.