Oakdale approves $75,000 feasibility study to explore switching electric service from PG&E to MID

The Oakdale City Council voted 5-0 to hire Bell Burnette and Associates for a $75,000 feasibility study to evaluate options for altering electric service in Oakdale, including the possibility of municipalization or transition to Modesto Irrigation District (MID).

Staff said the study will examine logistical, engineering and financial feasibility. Council members and public speakers discussed potential cost savings for residents if service were provided by MID rather than Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). Staff cautioned that, if pursued, subsequent steps would include MID system-impact and facility studies that staff estimated could cost approximately $50,000 and that a full transition could cost tens of millions and take many years.

At the meeting, Erica Cabrera, PG&E’s local government affairs manager for the Central Valley, urged the council to wait to approve the expenditure until PG&E could complete scheduled meetings with council members to provide data and answer questions. “We are proud to serve electricity here in Oakdale, and we are working hard to become the electric and gas utility that customers expect us to be,” Cabrera said, asking the council to delay a decision until PG&E’s meetings were held.

Council members and members of the public described high electricity bills and significant hardship for some households; several council members said constituents asked the council to explore alternatives. Staff told the council that MID had been contacted in preliminary discussions; staff also said MID had asked whether the council would consider taking the feasibility study to council.

The council approved the consultant agreement and authorized the city manager to execute the contract by a 5-0 roll-call vote. Staff said funding for the study will be allocated in the next fiscal year’s budget and that subsequent MID impact and facility studies, if pursued, would be additional expenditures.