PG&E’s Humboldt Bay Generating Station in King Salmon. | File photo by Andrew Goff.

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Press release from Pacific Gas & Electric:

As part of our commitment to providing customers with safe, reliable and affordable energy, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced today a new and innovative pilot project to increase capacity for new customers in Southern Humboldt County.

In November 2022, PG&E shared plans for capacity projects in the Eel River Valley and Southern Humboldt. We obtained approval for several Transmission, Distribution and Substation Capacity upgrades that will enable PG&E to serve customer applications in the Eel River Valley (which includes Rio Dell, Fortuna and surrounding areas), to be completed no later than end of year 2024.

Additionally, planned system upgrades from Bridgeville to Alderpoint were approved to enable new business customers in that area to be in service by end of year 2026.  We identified transmission projects into Garberville that have since been approved by the CAISO, and incremental projects at the Garberville Substation that will increase capacity and ensure that new loads near the substation like the upcoming hospital upgrade can be served.  These projects are all on track to meet commitments made to the community.

At the same time last year, PG&E identified capacity upgrades needed with costs upward of $300 million dollars (and ten years) to serve 37 customers on the distribution line between Garberville and Petrolia and create additional capacity at the substation for future growth. We shared our intention to investigate an alternative solution and since then PG&E engineering teams, working with technology specialists, have identified a promising solution that could allow current new business applicants to come online much sooner, and at a far lower cost to ratepayers, while also increasing system resiliency.

This proposed solution is a pilot project that will require testing. PG&E will take a conservative approach to installing the system, testing it thoroughly and proving it can provide the increased capacity as designed prior to connecting customers.

PG&E has acquired three Tesla Megapack batteries to control voltage on an extended distribution line in rural southern Humboldt. Construction will begin in 2024, followed by testing and validation. PG&E is also completing capacity upgrades at the Garberville substation. The new battery system, along with the upgrades, could enable PG&E to begin serving some new customers by the end of 2024 and the remaining new business applications starting in 2027.

“We understand the real-world impacts that capacity constraints can have on our customers. This creative solution, in addition to the work we have already committed to, will help meet these capacity needs,” said Ron Richardson, Vice President of PG&E’s North Coast Region.

PG&E plans to begin construction and testing on the Southern Humboldt County distribution project in 2024. As work progresses, PG&E plans will bring a number of new business customers online throughout the project, and all existing applicants online by 2027 when the substation upgrades are completed.