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Council hears PG&E‑administered 'Electrify My Block' pilot briefing; staff caution on outreach capacity
Summary
Public works staff and Environmental Quality Committee members described a PG&E pilot targeting about 96 addresses for electrification financing (roughly $35,000/household); council members supported the concept but staff said limited staffing restricts city outreach to posting links and co‑branding materials.
Public Works Director Yvette Ortiz and an Environmental Quality Committee member briefed the council on an electrification pilot known as “Electrify My Block,” administered by PG&E and managed locally by the Building Decarbonization Coalition.
The program would target a small set of clustered neighborhoods—staff said roughly 96 addresses in El Cerrito—where replacing aging gas infrastructure and electrifying homes could avoid future pipeline replacement costs. Program proponents said the pilot could provide an estimated $35,000 per household to support electrification measures.
Program administrators require unanimous agreement from all addresses in a targeted ‘zone’ for the project to proceed under current PG&E rules; speaker Howdy Gowdy said pending state law (SB 1221) could reduce that threshold to two‑thirds. Staff described the work as a pilot that fits the city’s climate‑action goals but cautioned that the city has limited staff resources to help with outreach. City communications staff are on leave and public‑works staff have vacancies; staff recommended limited support such as posting links and co‑branded materials rather than full door‑to‑door outreach.
Council members asked if participation would conflict with the city’s Community Choice Aggregation (MCE) status and staff said it would not: customers in an MCE territory can still participate in PG&E programs because PG&E remains the gas and distribution infrastructure owner. Council directed staff to gather contact information for program leads and consider a future presentation by PG&E or the program administrator.
The council did not take formal action on the program at this meeting, but the topic drew interest from several council members and the Environmental Quality Committee.
