Palo Alto committee recommends council approve updated utilities connection fees, effective Jan. 1, 2026

The Palo Alto Finance Committee on Sept. 16 voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council adopt a resolution updating connection fees and service charges for electric, water, gas, wastewater and miscellaneous utility services, with the new schedules proposed to take effect Jan. 1, 2026.

Alan Curatori, Director of Utilities, introduced the item and said staff had revised fee templates that the department last updated in 2019. Anna Varon, senior business analyst, told the committee the updates reflect current labor‑hour estimates, materials and disposal costs and the addition of certain equipment and inspection fees. "These fees are cost recovery for work that's performed by the city staff, for customer connections at their request," Varon said.

Staff said the update includes standardization of several service categories to improve permitting and processing efficiency. For electric services, staff proposed several new standardized fee categories (including 400‑amp overhead and underground standard fees) and increases in some existing…