Oncor tells Richardson it will invest $36 billion in grid upgrades over five years; city staff to recommend denial of Oncor rate request

Oncor Electric Delivery (identified in the meeting as “Encore”) told the Richardson City Council it plans a multibillion‑dollar investment program to expand distribution automation, improve vegetation management and replace aging underground cable — and city staff said a separate rate request from the utility remains unsettled and will be the subject of a council resolution in October.

Why it matters: Oncor’s infrastructure and resilience spending affects electric reliability for Richardson residents and businesses and underpins large new‑load requests from data centers and other commercial users. Oncor’s capital plans feed into pending rate requests that would be reviewed by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) if city steering‑committee negotiations fail.

Company presentation (high level) - Christie Tyra, Oncor area manager assigned to Richardson, told the council Oncor has committed roughly $36 billion in capital investment over the next five years to modernize and harden the grid and to keep pace with rapid load growth. Tyra said the company expects automation coverage across about 70% of its service area now and expects to reach about 90% coverage in the near future; automation helps isolate faults and restore service faster. - Oncor reported rapid meter growth in the company’s territory and at the local level: Tyra said Oncor installs about 77,000 new meters annually across its service area and that Richardson recorded 15,343 meter installations this year compared with 749 about ten years ago. - System resiliency work described includes pole and equipment upgrades, underground cable assessments and replacement (Oncor identified multiple critical underground segments and about five miles of underground cable replacement scheduled), expanded vegetation management (doubling effort in aggressive hotspots using lidar and analytics), wildfire and cybersecurity mitigation and added distribution automation to reduce customer outage times.

Rate request status and next steps - City staff reported the Oncor steering committee has been unable to negotiate a settlement on Oncor’s rate request. Staff told council it will place a resolution on the October 13 agenda recommending the council deny Oncor’s request; if the council denies the request and Oncor appeals, the matter would move to the PUC for adjudication. - Don (city manager) and staff said they will continue negotiating with the steering committee and counsel over the next several weeks, but the October council action is intended to preserve the city’s legal and procedural rights on the filing.

Council questions and operational concerns Council members asked detailed operational questions about pole and underground relocations, tree trimming policy and coordination during city capital projects. Oncor representatives said the company increasingly uses modern mapping and a construction documentation platform (LocustView) to capture installed facilities, that contractors and operators are required to use the platform, and that Oncor’s engineering staff coordinates with city project teams once the city reaches roughly 60% design so relocations and make‑ready work can be scheduled more efficiently.

On tree trimming and visual impact, Tyra said the utility performs scheduled maintenance trims, emergency trims after storms and “make‑safe” trims on request. Make‑safe trims are provided without charge but the utility leaves trimmed limbs for property owners to remove; service‑drop relocations inside private property and temporary disconnects to allow safe customer trimming can carry a fee for certain services.

Selected quote “We have been committed to invest $36,000,000,000 over the next 5 years in our infrastructure,” Christie Tyra said in the council briefing.

What to watch Council will consider a staff resolution on Oct. 13 recommending denial of Oncor’s rate request if no negotiated settlement is reached before then. If Oncor appeals any denial or contested elements, the PUC will adjudicate; the council and the steering committee’s attorneys will continue to work on the city’s behalf until that deadline.

Ending Councilmembers thanked Oncor for responsiveness on project coordination and asked staff to continue pushing for timely relocations and better field records to reduce construction holds and delays on city capital projects.