HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 2311-2211CITY OF PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
Special Meeting
Monday, February 12, 2024
Council Chambers & Hybrid
5:30 PM
Agenda Item
1.Reliability and Resiliency Strategic Plan for the City’s Electric Utility
City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: STUDY SESSION
Lead Department: Utilities
Meeting Date: February 12, 2024
Staff Report:2311-2211
TITLE
Reliability and Resiliency Strategic Plan for the City’s Electric Utility
RECOMMENDATION
This is a study session to review the draft Reliability and Resiliency Strategic Plan (RRSP) that has
been recommended for approval by staff and the Utilities Advisory Commission. The RRSP will
return for Council approval at a later date.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The RRSP is a work item in the 2023-2025 Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (S/CAP) Work
Plan. The RRSP is intended to address the need for a reliable, well maintained electric system
with enhanced reliability to support an electrified community and a desire among some
residential community members for ways to maintain some level of electric supply during
outages, particularly with an electrified home. The proposed RRSP is provided in Attachment A
and incorporates the input previously provided by the UAC. Attachment B provides the progress
update on RRSP Strategies as of December 2023 and incorporates input previously provided by
the UAC.
The six strategies of the RRSP are as follows:
•Strategy 1: Replace and modernize electric distribution infrastructure
•Strategy 2: Implement operational practices to improve reliability and manage outages
effectively
•Strategy 3: Integrate and ease adoption of flexible and efficient technologies and
strategies
•Strategy 4: Evaluate the benefits of flexible and resiliency technologies and efficient
electrification strategies to the utility and community
•Strategy 5: Evaluate the resource needs to promote the adoption of various flexible
demand reduction and resiliency solutions and efficient electrification strategies.
•Strategy 6: Implement any utility-driven programs identified in Strategy 5 that are chosen
by the City Council
The Council Climate Action Ad Hoc Committee will review the RRSP at their February 2, 2024
meeting. Staff will incorporate any Committee feedback and/or recommendation as well as any
Council feedback from the study session into the final document before returning for Council
approval in March.
BACKGROUND
At the December 6, 2023 UAC meeting staff and the UAC discussed the draft Reliability and
Resiliency Strategic Plan (RRSP). The UAC recommended that the City Council approve the RRSP
with the inclusion of input provided by UAC at the meeting. Staff has incorporated the UAC input
into the proposed RRSP, attached.
More background on the RRSP and detail on the strategies above is provided in the December 6,
2023 UAC staff report.1 UAC feedback can be found in the meeting minutes and is summarized
below.2 Both are available online at:
https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/Departments/Utilities/Utilities-Advisory-Commission/Current-
UAC-Agendas-Minutes.
DISCUSSION
The RRSP is intended to address questions the community has had regarding the electric
system’s:
•Reliability: how frequently the system experiences outages,
•Modernization: how the system will be upgraded to integrate and effectively utilize new
and existing flexible technologies like solar with batteries or vehicle to grid technology,
•Capacity: the capacity of the system to handle electrification, and
•Resiliency: the system’s ability to minimize the consequences of a major event, recover
quickly, and the role of the utility in helping individual customers maintain service during
outages.
Reliability
High profile outages in recent years have likely led some people to lose some confidence in
system reliability. Still, a recent utility survey found that 85% of customers rated the City highly
(7-10 on a scale of 1-10) in “providing consistent and reliability electric service” and 80% rated it
highly on “restoring power in a reasonable amount of time after an outage.” These were
significantly higher ratings than most utilities nationwide and in Northern CA. However, they did
1 https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/v/3/agendas-minutes-reports/agendas-minutes/utilities-
advisory-commission/archived-agenda-and-minutes/agendas-and-minutes-2023/12-dec-2023/12-06-2023-packet-
v2.pdf#page=129
2 https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/v/1/agendas-minutes-reports/agendas-minutes/utilities-
advisory-commission/archived-agenda-and-minutes/agendas-and-minutes-2023/12-dec-2023/12-06-2023-
approved-uac-minutes.pdf
not give high marks on how outages were communicated. And very few customers would
confidently state whether Palo Alto was ready to manage a major emergency, unlike at other
utilities, where customers generally had confidence their utility was prepared.
In general the City of Palo Alto's electric reliability exceeds the national average and PG&E's
Peninsula Division (the area of PG&E's system between San Jose and San Francisco). Chart 1
shows the most common standard utility metric of reliability, System Average Interruption
Duration Index (SAIDI), for the City of Palo Alto, PG&E’s Peninsula Division3 (which represents just
the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula between San Jose and San Francisco, the area Palo Alto is
in), and national data by quartile.4 SAIDI represents the amount of time each customer
experienced an outage on average.5 Both PG&E and the City benefit from the Bay Area's good
weather when comparing to the national average, but the City has fewer outages than PG&E.
The City is typically in the first (best) quartile nationally, while PG&E’s Peninsula Division is
sometimes in the 2nd quartile and worse in some years. The City did see some increased outage
activity for 2018/2019 and 2022/2023 that may have impacted customer perceptions. Some of
this can likely be attributed to major events like storms, but some of it is likely due to aging
infrastructure and challenges in recruiting and retaining staff.
Chart 1: Outage Performance (SAIDI) for City of Palo Alto and Other Utilities
3 Source: Pacific Gas and Electric 2022 and 2017 Annual Electric Reliability Reports to the California Public Utilities
Commission: https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/industries-and-topics/electrical-energy/infrastructure/electric-
reliability/electric-system-reliability-annual-reports
4 SAIDI can be reported with major events like storms included or excluded. The City reports SAIDI including major
events, and the PG&E Peninsula Division and national data reported here also include major events.
5 SAIDI is calculated as the total amount of outage time multiplied by the total number of customers affected
divided by the total number of utility customers. Not every customer will experience an outage each year, and
those affected may experience more or less outage time on an individual basis than the number reflected in the
SAIDI index.
Various factors affect reliability. Table 1, below, shows some of these factors and how the RRSP
tasks address each one.
Table 1: Factors that Impact Perceptions of Reliability
Factor How Addressed in RRSP
Aging infrastructure is more likely
to fail, leading to more frequent
outages
Replace aging infrastructure through the grid
modernization effort (Strategy 1, Action 1)
Reducing the number of people
affected by outages when they
occur will improve reliability
Add more connectivity through grid modernization to
allow staff to isolate outages in smaller areas using
switching (Strategy 1, Action 3)
Good outage communication can
mitigate the impact of outages
Use the newly installed outage management system to
continually improve outage communications (Strategy 2,
Action 3)
Key workforce vacancies and
turnover mean less staff capacity
to do maintenance and capital
investment, less experienced staff
who require more time and
support, and a longer time to
recover from outages
Continue to improve workforce retention and
recruitment strategies and use contractors to support
basic functions until vacancies can be filled (Strategy 2,
Action 1)
In the Foothills – wind can lead to
power safety shutoffs and storms
can damage power lines
Implement the maintenance strategies in the Wildfire
Mitigation Plan (Strategy 2, Action 2) and continue to
underground overhead lines in the Foothills (Strategy 1,
Action 5)
In rare cases air accidents have
cut power to all of Palo Alto due
to its single transmission pathway
Seek partnership from PG&E and the California
Independent System Operator to install a second
transmission connection to Palo Alto (Strategy 1,
Action 4)
Modernization
Community members are adopting modern technologies like solar, battery storage, electric
vehicles, smart appliances, and smart panels at higher and higher levels. Technologies are in
existence or being commercialized that would allow electric vehicles or smart home appliances
to respond to grid conditions or back up a home. Community members have asked how we are
modernizing the grid to accommodate and take advantage of these new technologies.
One aspect of this modernization effort involves ensuring the electric distribution system can
accommodate these technologies. When distributed technologies are deployed they can cause
issues on a grid not designed for them. For example, the City’s electric system, like most systems,
was designed for one way power flow from large central generators to homes and businesses.
Adding high penetrations of technologies like solar and batteries that can feed the grid instead
of just consume from it can cause voltage drops or even conditions when power is flowing the
opposite direction. Voltage drops can cause flickering lights and issues with electrical equipment,
while reverse flows can be a serious issue because existing grid protection devices like fuses or
voltage control systems are only designed to work when power is flowing one way, so two-way
flow can create dangerous conditions. A high enough reverse power flow can even overload the
capacity of transformers or power lines.
On the other hand, if the grid is upgraded to integrate these technologies properly they can
provide benefits. The utility could provide price signals or education to get people to use energy
at times when the grid is less crowded or less dirty, for example. And if people consistently
operate these technologies in a grid-friendly way – for example, charging vehicles or batteries
mid-day or at night rather than in the evening when the grid is most heavily used – it could also
mitigate the capacity impacts of electrification on the electric distribution system.
Table 2, below, shows the various issues and opportunities associates with new technologies and
how the RRSP tasks address each one.
Table 2: Modernization Issues and Opportunities
Issues and Opportunities How Addressed in RRSP
High penetrations of new
technologies can cause voltage
drops and reverse power flows
Grid modernization will upgrade feeders and
transformers where needed to integrate new
technologies and make use of smart switches and
updated controls to avoid voltage drops and mitigate
the impacts of reverse power flow (Strategy 3, Action 1)
Making adoption of flexible
technologies easier will encourage
adoption
Review City codes, policies, rules, and regulations to
ensure easy adoption of these technologies (Strategy 3,
Action 2)
Raising awareness of these
technologies and how to use them
in ways that help the electric
system will encourage adoption
and proper use.
Promote these technologies and how to use them in a
grid-friendly manner through outreach (Strategy 3,
Actions 3 and 4)
Strategy 3 ensures that at minimum the City has prepared the electric system to accommodate
these technologies and that we have made adoption easy and encouraged them to be used in a
grid-friendly manner. However, it may also be worthwhile to create utility programs to encourage
these technologies if they can help with the capacity issues created by electrification. And if the
community is interested in the utility taking more of a role in customer resiliency, these
technologies can also provide benefits in that role as well. Strategies 4, 5, and 6, discussed below,
address these potential programs.
Capacity
The utility is currently embarking on a grid modernization effort that will, among other things,
increase the capacity of the system to accommodate increased electrification. This is noted in
Strategy 1, Action 2 of the RRSP. Without these upgrades the City cannot maintain a reliable
electric system as more people electrify their vehicles and buildings. In general this means adding
more and larger transformers in the neighborhoods, as well as upgrading the feeder lines, the
wires. The utility is aiming to complete the areas of the city with overhead lines by 2027. This
represents over 90% of the single-family neighborhoods, meaning the vast majority of
homeowners in Palo Alto will have the capacity for vehicle and building electrification by the end
of 2027 if the schedule holds.
However, as noted above, it may be possible to use new technologies to do this modernization
effort more cost efficiently, perhaps with fewer transformers, and also allow for more
electrification using existing capacity while modernization proceeds. The RRSP Strategy 4 focuses
on doing a cost / benefit analysis to understand the value of these technologies to the utility in
this area. In Strategy 5 we will evaluate a range of programs we could launch and the resources
needed for them. And if Council wishes to move forward with any of the identified programs,
these would be added to Strategy 6.
Table 3, below, shows the various tasks and studies included in the RRSP that address capacity.
Table 3: Capacity-Related RRSP Tasks
Tasks How Addressed in RRSP
Increase electric system capacity
to accommodate electrification
Grid modernization will upgrade feeders and
transformers where needed to accommodate
electrification (Strategy 1, Action 2)
To determine whether utility
programs could provide a net
benefit to the utility, evaluate the
costs and benefits of new
technologies in reducing peak
demands
Evaluate the benefits and costs of new technologies on
electric supply costs and on the electric distribution
system (Strategy 4, Actions 1 and 2)
Identify potential programs and their resource needs
(Strategy 5, all actions)
Implement programs if cost
effective and approved by Council
Strategy 6
Resiliency
Many of the technologies to be evaluated under Strategies 4 and 5 also have potential resiliency
benefits. Examples include batteries or vehicle to load technology, which can be used to reduce
grid peak loads, but could also back up a home during a major event. And as people start relying
more on electricity some will want to ensure they have some kind of service during both routine
outages and major events. Different residential and business community members will assess
their needs differently. To-date the utility has not taken a role in providing customer backup
power needs. But some community members have expressed interest in utility services in this
area. Newer technologies like solar, storage, and vehicle to grid can provide both utility benefits
and individual customer benefits, which was less applicable (though still somewhat applicable)
with technologies like backup diesel generators. As a result it may make sense to evaluate
whether the utility should reconsider its role.
Table 4, below, shows the various tasks and studies included in the RRSP to facilitate UAC and
Council policy discussions on the role of the utility in providing customer resiliency.
Table 3: Resiliency-Related RRSP Tasks
Tasks How Addressed in RRSP
Before considering utility programs it
is worth considering whether there are
market gaps.
Characterize existing backup generation alternatives
available to customers (Strategy 4, Action 4)
Consider whether it is possible to value
resiliency economically. This may be
challenging because different
individuals and organizations value it
differently.
Explore estimating the value of resiliency to the
community (Strategy 4, Action 3)
Identify the various types of resiliency
programs the utility could provide,
both at an individual customer and
neighborhood level, and identify the
resources needed to implement
Strategy 5
Implement programs if approved by
Council
Strategy 6
COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION
In general the UAC felt the RRSP was aligned with Council policy direction and feedback from the
UAC at earlier meetings. Some minor changes were requested to the document by UAC members
at the December 6, 2023 UAC meeting and were incorporated into the proposed RRSP by staff:
•Use words like “promote” or “encourage” in Strategy 3, Actions 3 and 4 rather than
“communicate”
•Where the word “community” is used, specify whether the residential or business
community (or both) is being referred to
•In Strategy 6, change “chosen by the community” to “chosen by the Council”
•Clarify the intent of Strategies 3 and 4 to be clear why Strategy 3, which involves
promotion and implementation of certain technologies, proceeds before Strategy 4,
which involves quantifying the benefit of those technologies
•Status updates should include timelines
UAC members had other feedback that was not incorporated directly in the RRSP:
•The implementation of the resiliency aspects of the plan should be coordinated with the
office of emergency services
•Staff should seek community input on resiliency projects as part of the process of
providing Council a list of potential utility-driven resiliency programs for consideration
following completion of the analyses in Strategy 5.
•Consider using mailers as a way to promote utility resources, programs, and practices.
•Specify in the resources section of the report whether funding is already available or
needs additional funding; when reporting on progress of implementing RRSP specify if
implementation is on schedule and within allocated budgets.
The UAC unanimously (7-0) approved staff’s recommendation to recommend to the City
Council the adoption of the RRSP, with modifications discussed by the Commission.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
The staffing and consulting resources needed to implement Strategies 1 through 5 are already
in place (though some longer-term CIP projects will need future budget approvals, like grid
modernization, which will require additional budget approvals for later year spending, as will
yet-to-be-defined CIP projects, like the second transmission line). Additional resources would
likely be needed to implement Strategy 6 depending which customer resiliency programs
Council chooses to approve.
Strategy 1: Replace and modernize electric distribution infrastructure: Implementation of this
strategy has already been budgeted as CIP for Grid Modernization. Cost is estimated at $200 to
$300 million and would require 5 to 8 staff over the seven-year period. This estimate includes
replacement of aging infrastructure and to increase capacity of the system to accommodate
additional loads projected as a result of electrification. The cost of the second transmission line
has not been estimated.
Strategy 2: Implement operational practices to improve reliability and manage outages
effectively: The new utility outage management system became operational in September 2023
and cost $630,000, including five years of annual maintenance. Ongoing 0.25 staffing is required
to maintain the system. Other activities under this strategy are operationalized and would not
require any additional resources.
Strategy 3: Integrate and ease adoption of flexible and efficient technologies and strategies: This
effort is estimated to cost $30,000 to $50,000 for consulting assistance and 0.25 staff effort. This
amount would solely cover analysis and not any subsequent implementation.
Strategy 4 (Evaluate the benefits of flexible and resiliency technologies and efficient
electrification strategies to the utility and community) and Strategy 5 (Evaluate the resource
needs to promote the adoption of various flexible demand reduction and resiliency solutions and
efficient electrification strategies): The plan to retain a consultant to assist with this analysis
effort and is estimated to cost $70,000 to $120,000, and will require 0.25 existing staff effort to
complete the analysis and bring forth potential customer programs for community consideration.
In addition, more consulting work or academic partnerships may be needed at additional cost
and staff time to value the distribution benefits of flexible and resiliency technologies and
strategies (Task 4.2).
Strategy 6: Implement any utility-driven programs identified in Strategy 5 that are chosen by the
Council for implementation: The effort and cost associated with this strategy is unknown at this
time.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Extensive public engagement on this topic was undertaken to-date as outlined below:
•Two public meetings in August 2018 and November 2019 to seek community input on utility
resiliency framework. The engagement resulted in the development of a vision, set of goals
and nine projects to enhance utility resiliency – these aspects were discussed with the UAC
in March 2020, and has since been incorporated into the CPAU’s on-going work plans.
•Discussion of these topics with the S/CAP Working Group 2022-23
•Addition of topic to 2023-2025 S/CAP Work Plan, which was discussed with S/CAP Working
Group and S/CAP Committee, then adopted by Council June 6, 2023 (Report #:2303-1158)
•Discussions with the UAC on a variety of reliability and resiliency topics over the past three
years, 2021-23: OMS updates, Wildfire Mitigation Plan, Workforce, etc.
•Analysis of the Impact of Decarbonization on the Resiliency of Single Family Homes in Palo
Alto was presented to the UAC November 2021
•Analysis of Costs and Reliability of Different Back-up Electricity Technologies presented to
the UAC in December 2022.
•Strategic Plan discussions w/ UAC (which include resiliency topics)
•Electric Distribution Infrastructure Modernization Update provided to the UAC in June 2023
•Discussion of Reliability and Resiliency Strategic Plan Policy Guidelines with the UAC in
September 2023
Progress in implementing the RRSP will be reported to the UAC periodically as progress is made
in implementing projects contemplated under the plan.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Development of a Reliability and Resiliency Strategic Plan is exempt from the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it can be seen with certainty that completing a study
will not result in any environmental impacts. Implementation of individual programs/installations
chosen by the community in Strategy 6 may need CEQA evaluation.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Draft Reliability and Resiliency Strategic Plan
Attachment B: December 2023 Status Update on Reliability and Resiliency Strategic Plan
AUTHOR/TITLE:
Dean Batchelor, Director of Utilities
Staff: Jonathan Abendschein, Assistant Director of Utilities/Resource Management
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Attachment A: Reliability & Resiliency Strategic Plan – Draft for Discussion/Approval
(Note that many of the actions below are also part of other documents like the Utilities Strategic Plan)
Strategy 1: Replace and modernize electric distribution infrastructure
To avoid outages the utility will replace aging infrastructure, make sure new technologies can be easily
integrated into the distribution system, increase the interconnectedness of the electric system, and
ensure the utility has the capacity to complete its maintenance and investment needs. Infrastructure
investment to reduce wildfire risk will also reduce outages.
S1, Action 1: Replace aging infrastructure
Large amounts of the utility’s infrastructure are aging and needs replacement. The utility will replace much
of this infrastructure over a seven-year grid modernization effort while simultaneously addressing the
capacity issues in Action 2.
S1, Action 2: Upgrade capacity to accommodate new loads
The utility will invest in new capacity to accommodate new loads created by the electrification of vehicles
and buildings.
S1, Action 3: Improved switching to improve system flexibility, efficiency, and reliability
The utility will construct additional distribution feeder circuit ties and switches to make the electric
distribution system more interconnected to reduce the impact of outages, and enable more flexibility in
configuring power flows to more effectively integrate solar, storage, and other new technologies and to
reduce system losses.
S1, Action 4: Second transmission connection
The utility will pursue a second interconnection to PG&E’s transmission system to reduce the chance of a
single incident resulting in the loss of service to the entire community.
S1, Action 5: Foothills undergrounding
The utility will underground lines in the Foothills to reduce the risk of wildfire liability and minimize the
need for forced outages during windy high fire risk days to avoid the risk of electric lines being blown into
trees and starting wildfires.
Strategy 2: Implement operational practices to improve reliability and manage outages
effectively
The utility will reduce operational risks that lead to outages by ensuring key positions are filled, reducing
outage risks caused by vegetation, and communicating effectively during outages to give residents the
information they need to manage the impacts of outages.
S2, Action 1: Strengthen the workforce
The utility will recruit, train and retain line-workers, system operators, engineers, inspectors to maintain
system and respond to outages effectively and, when there are staff vacancies, contract with third-party
contractors to supplement staff to keep up with regular utility operations, investment, and maintenance.
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S2, Action 2: Employ best maintenance practices for wildfire protection
The utility will follow the practices in its Wildfire Mitigation Plan to reduce wildfire risk and the attendant
health and safety, liability, and outage risks.
S2, Action 3: Communicate effectively during outages
The City will communicate with residents effectively about outages using its newly upgraded outage
management system.
Strategy 3: Integrate and ease adoption of flexible and efficient technologies and strategies
Many technologies are being currently added to the electric system that are capable of charging and
discharging, generating electricity, or flexing their electric use by time period. Technologies include
rooftop solar, home batteries, vehicle to home and vehicle to grid systems, and grid-responsive home
equipment. These technologies can also create challenges for the distribution system at high
penetrations, resulting in voltage issue, failures in system protection, or other issues because the system
is not designed for them. But they can also create benefits when used well, reducing the cost of electricity,
reducing emissions, reducing strain on the local distribution system, and creating home resiliency. The
utility intends to facilitate the adoption of these technologies.
This strategy is related to lowerintended to lower the barriers for these technologies and promoting their
voluntary adoption even before any utility incentive or assistance programs are established (utility
incentive or assistance programs will be evaluated in Strategies 4 and 5). Barrier reduction and Eeffective
grid integration are a first step toward facilitating these technologies and realizing their benefitswill make
the system operate more efficiently, especially when paired with promotion of best practices for installing
and operating them in an efficient manner.
S3, Action 1: Configure the distribution system to accommodate high penetrations of solar,
batteries, and other technologies
The utility will complete an evaluation of how to configure the electric system to accommodate high
penetrations of solar, batteries, and other technologies and integrate the findings of this evaluation into
the grid modernization study.
S3, Action 2: Review, communicate, and streamline permitting and other regulatory rules for
efficient and flexible electrification technologies
The utility to establish clear utility rules and policies on the installation of efficient electrification
technologies (e.g. low-wattage EV chargers, circuit pausers, smart panels, grid-responsive equipment and
vehicle chargers) and will work with other City departments to establish clear permitting guidelines.
S3, Action 3: Encourage and Communicate how to electrify efficientlyPromote Efficient
Electrification
The utility will partner with the City’s Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (S/CAP) team and other City
departments to communicate and encouragepromote efficient electrification strategies to residents,
particularly those doing construction or renovation projects, and incorporate them into electrification
programs where feasible.
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S3, Action 4: Promote and Communicate how to usePromote the use of flexible technologies in a
grid-friendly way
The utility will promote energy use communicduring ate the times of day when it energy use results in is
lowest emissions and is most grid-friendly, and will send price signals via time of use rates once advanced
metering infrastructure is in place
Strategy 4: Evaluate the benefits of flexible and and resiliency efficient technologies and
efficient electrification strategies to the utility and community
The utility will value the benefits of flexible and resiliency technologies (such as solar + batteries, vehicle
to grid, and grid-responsive water heaters and other equipment) to the utility’s supply and distribution
costs and estimate the value of to the community of the resilience that some of these technologies can
provide, with the results supporting an evaluation of the utility’s potential role in facilitating or promoting
these technologies.
S4, Action 1: Value the utility benefit of flexible technologies on electric supply costs
The utility will evaluate the electric supply cost benefits of outreach, education, and time of use rates to
encourage the shifting of energy use to times of day when prices and emissions are lower and the grid
faces fewer constraints, and will evaluate the benefits of strategies like automated demand response
programs in enhancing customer participation in load shifting.
S4, Action 2: Value the utility benefit of flexible technologies on electric distribution costs and
capacity
The utility will attempt to value the utility benefit to electric distribution costs and capacity of outreach,
education, and time of use rates to encourage the use of flexible technologies to shift energy use to other
times of day, and will also explore the availability and cost/benefit of technologies that could automate
the operation of these flexible technologies to be responsive at the transformer level. These valuation
exercises are complex, so the utility will seek partners (e.g. with SLAC’s GISMO Lab) or consultants to
complete this action, and will not proceed unless this action can be completed without slowing the grid
modernization efforts described in Strategy 1, Actions 1, 2, and 3
S4, Action 3: Explore estimating the value of resiliency for the community
The utility will attempt to value of extra resiliency for the community to support program design.
S4, Action 4: Estimate the cost of individual customer and community resiliency approaches
The utility will estimate the cost of various community resiliency approaches such as microgrids and
compare them to the value of resiliency estimated in Strategy 4, Action 3 above.
Strategy 5: Evaluate the resource needs to promote the adoption of for various flexible
demand reduction and resiliency solutions and efficient electrification strategiessprograms
Based on the cost and value of various flexible demand reduction and resiliency solutions investigated in
Strategy 4 the utility will develop outlines of potential programs to facilitate and promote the use of
flexible technologies to reduce supply and distribution costs, optimize the use of distribution capacity,
and enhance community resiliency. The goal of this strategy is to characterize and estimate resource
needs for the potential program approaches described below and to provide policy choices to the Utilities
Advisory Commission and Council consideration.
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Strategy 5, Action 1: Evaluate utility-driven programs to enhance resiliency and lower the demand
on the grid
Evaluate possible utility programs to help community members install grid-responsive equipment, solar,
storage, and/or vehicle to home or vehicle to grid solutions. Program approaches could include, but are
not limited to, incentives, technical assistance, power purchase agreements or feed-in tariffs, direct
installation and possibly ownership of equipment, or public-private partnerships with an aggregator.
Types of locations to investigate include single-family homes, multi-family buildings, at small and medium
businesses, or in larger commercial facilities in Palo Alto.
Strategy 5, Action 2: Evaluate equity-based and need-based versions of the programs
The utility will consider how the programs above may need to be adjusted to address the needs of
customers with special needs (e.g. medical needs) or low-income customers.
Strategy 5, Action 3: Evaluate community-based versions of the programs
The utility will evaluate how the programs in Action 1 could be adjusted to provide community emergency
resources at community facilities or via public-private partnerships.
Strategy 5, Action 4: Evaluate other resiliency approaches
The utility will evaluate other potential approaches to providing community resiliency such as mobile
battery storage or neighborhood-level microgrids.
Strategy 6: Implement any utility-driven programs identified in Strategy 5 that are chosen by
the community and City Council
The utility will implement strategies identified in Strategy 5 as directed by Council
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Attachment B: Reliability & Resiliency Strategic Plan – Progress Update February 2024
Strategy/Action Status
Strategy 1: Replace and Modernize Infrastructure
1.1 Replace aging infrastructure
1.2 Upgrade capacity to accommodate new loads
1.3 Improved feeder switching capabilities
These goals will be achieved through the City’s grid modernization project.
An electric engineering study was completed identifying upgrades needed
through the distribution system, upgrading line transformer capacity,
feeder capacity, increasing the number of switches and connections on the
system between feeders and substations, and upgrading substation
equipment. The program has the following timeline:
•Upgrade transformer and feeder capacity in the overhead sections
of the system (which represent over 90% of single-family
neighborhoods) by the end of 2027. Upgrade underground sections
by 2030.
•Add switches, connections, and upgrade substations by 2030.
Construction on the first modernization project is starting in Q2 2024 in a
1200-home neighborhood bounded by Louis, Amarillo, 101, and
Embarcadero. The modernization projects will be coordinated with fiber to
the premise construction.
1.4 Second transmission connection Staff, with a consultant help continues to work with the CAISO and PG&E to
build a second transmission line to the Adobe Creek Substation, from
Moffett field, but no definitive progress has been made to date.
1.5 Foothills undergrounding A key wildfire mitigation activity is undergrounding eleven miles of electric
lines in the Foothills area. This iterative project consists of multiple phases
and is expected to be complete in 2025. CPAU already installed two of four
required substructures and is designing the next two. The first two phases
were completed in September 2023.
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Strategy 2: Operational Strategies to Improve Reliability and Manage Outages Effectively
2.1 Strengthen the workforce Concerted efforts are currently underway to recruitment, train, and retain
line-workers, system operators, engineers, inspectors to maintain system
and respond to outages effectively. Staff have also contracted with third-
party contractors to supplement staff to undertake emergency response,
maintenance, and capital improvement projects.
2.2 Wildfire protection maintenance practices Staff regularly updates its Wildfire Mitigation Protection Plan to protect
power lines in the Foothills, and is exploring innovative software to make
vegetation management more efficient.
2.3 Communicate effectively during outages In September 2023 CPAU implemented and operationalize a new OMS
system. The new OMS will also allow CPAU to more quickly detect and
respond to power outages and provide customers with timely notifications
and updates.
Strategy 3: Effectively Integrate and Ease Adoption of New Technologies
3.1 Configure the distribution system to
accommodate high penetrations of solar,
batteries, and other technologies
Staff has completed an evaluation of the distribution improvements needed
to accommodate high penetrations of solar and storage and is currently
evaluating whether these same improvements will also accommodate
vehicle to grid technologies, smart panels, and flexible loads. Expected
completion: Q1 2024
3.2 Review, communicate, and streamline
permitting and other regulatory rules for efficient
and flexible electrification technologies
3.3 Communicate how to electrify efficiently
3.4 Communicate how to use technologies in a
grid-friendly way
Staff is conducting an inter-departmental internal review of various
technologies to establish clear rules and guidelines for implementation of
these technologies, after which it will begin developing resources for the
community to use and outreach to raise awareness. Time of use rates and a
transition plan are currently being developed in parallel with the City’s
rollout of advanced metering infrastructure. Expected completion: Q2 2024
Strategy 4: Value the benefits of flexible technologies to the utility and community
4.1 Value the utility benefit of flexible technologies
on electric supply costs
Staff is developing a request for proposals for a consultant to perform these
analyses, as well as the analysis of Action 4.4 and the analyses in Strategy 5.
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4.2 Value the utility benefit of flexible technologies
on electric distribution costs and capacity
Staff expects to be able to bring a consultant contract to Council by August
2024, with study completion tentative planned by Q1 2025.
4.3: Explore estimating the value of resiliency for
the community
Staff is in talks with its electric engineering consultant and a potential
academic partner about partnering to complete this analysis. The tentative
completion date is Q1 2025.
4.4: Estimate the cost of various community
resiliency approaches
See status update for 4.1 and 4.2, above.
Strategy 5: Evaluate the resource needs for various demand reduction and resiliency programs
5.1: Evaluate utility-driven programs to enhance
resiliency and lower the demand on the grid
5.2 Evaluate equity-based and need-based
versions of the programs
5.3: Evaluate community-based versions of the
programs
5.4: Evaluate other resiliency approaches
Staff is developing a request for proposals for a consultant to perform these
analyses, as well as the analysis of Actions 4.1, 4.2, and 4.4, above. The
tentative completion date for this study is Q1 2025.
Strategy 6: Implement any demand reduction or resiliency programs chosen by the community
No actions planned until Strategies 4 and 5 are completed and policy direction is received from Council