Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Capital Programs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
PUC staff outlines WESIP PEIR, undergrounding and renewable-energy pilots, and plans to solicit firms for Potrero turbines
Summary
Deputy General Manager Tony Irons briefed the commission on the WESIP draft PEIR and public-review schedule, proposed construction-management contracting strategy, a Civic Center sustainability pilot, an undergrounding/conduit approach for future renewables, and plans to issue an RFQ for Potrero combustion-turbine proposals.
Deputy General Manager Tony Irons updated the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission on multiple infrastructure initiatives, including the WESIP draft programmatic environmental impact report, construction-management contracting, a Civic Center sustainability pilot, an undergrounding/conduit proposal and next steps for procuring combustion turbines at Potrero.
On WESIP and the PEIR, Irons said commissioners had received the draft PEIR ("1,000 some odd pages") and emphasized water supply as the central issue; he urged commissioners to read the executive summary and noted the public-comment window was open for 90 days with five public meetings in each affected county. On contracting, Irons proposed a mix of regional construction-management contracts plus set-aside CM contracts for dam and tunnel work and estimated initial setup work for CM structure at about $19,000,000–$20,000,000 over 2–2.5 years.
Irons proposed that program controls be included within the program-management contract rather than procured separately; commissioners generally supported consolidating program controls under program management and asked for a written performance evaluation if staff requests an amendment to the existing program manager contract (Parsons). Irons said he had asked the CEOs of Parsons and CH2M Hill to appear and report on a draft risk assessment.
Irons also outlined a Civic Center sustainability pilot—incorporating solar, wind, water conservation and recycled water in the Civic Center Plaza—and an "undergrounding" concept to install conduit whenever streets are trenched to reduce repeated street cuts and enable district-scale renewable-energy distribution. Commissioners discussed conduit vs. direct wiring, ownership, repaving costs, and phasing (transmission to local networks ahead of house-line distribution).
On Potrero combustion turbines, Irons reviewed prior procurement efforts that drew no EPC bids and described outreach to potential firms (ICC, EMCOR, Constellation, J Power, Calpine). Staff plans to issue a public request for qualifications and invite alternative proposals; Irons cautioned that the primary certain revenue in the near term was a DWR capacity fee for roughly 6.5 years and noted DWR plans to exit the power business by 2015, which reduces long-term certainty for investors.
Irons asked commissioners for comment on the contracting-report format and said staff will circulate the document for review ahead of the next meeting.
