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“= ===" City of Jurupa Valley STAFF REPORT DATE: MARCH 7, 2019 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL FROM: — GARY S. THOMPSON, CITY MANAGER SUBJECT: AGENDAITEM NO. 16.B AUTHORIZING CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS TO SIGN A LETTER PROTESTING FALSE AND MISLEADING STATEMENTS BY THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE AND THE RIVERSIDE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LETTER SOLICITING PUBLIC LOBBYING IN SUPPORT OF THE RIVERSIDE TRANSMISSION RELIABILITY PROJECT (RTRP) AND UPDATE ON STATUS OF PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION That the City Councit 1) Review the draft letter protesting false and misleading statements by the City of Riverside and the Riverside Chamber of Commerce letter soliciting public lobbying in support of the RTRP and authorize each member of the City Council to sign the letter. 2) Receive update report from Staff on the status of RTRP proceedings before the California Public Utilities Commission. ANALYSIS Letter to Riverside Chamber of Commerce and City of Riverside protesting false and misleading statements In an effort to generate public support for the Riverside Transmission Reliability Project (RTRP), the Riverside Chamber of Commerce and the City of Riverside are soliciting residents and businesses to sign a petition and send a letter to the California Public Utilities Commission lobbying for the approval of the RTRP. The Riverside Chamber of Commerce and the City of Riverside are providing false and misleading information to residents and businesses about the Riverside Transmission Page |1 wwwjurupavalley.org Reliability Project in an effort to obtain the signatures of residents and business on a petition urging the California Public Utilities Commission to approve the RTRP. The City of Jurupa Valley supports the undergrounding of the RTRP within the City of Jurupa Valley as opposed to the overhead routing currently proposed. Undergrounding the RTRP within Jurupa Valley will provide the residents and businesses in the City of Riverside with the same electrical security as would exist with the above-ground option Undergrounding the RTRP high-voltage transmission lines in Jurupa Valley will not be expensive for the residents and businesses in the City of Riverside. According to Dr. Keith Casey, California Independent System Operators (CAISO) V.P. Infrastructure, Riverside’s share of the costs of the RTRP, including any undergrounding in Jurupa Valley, is a mere 1.04% to 1.07% of the costs of the RTRP paid over the life of the facilities. CAISO is the entity that ordered City of Riverside and SCE to create the secondary connection for Riverside in 2006. By undergrounding the RTRP’s high-voltage transmission lines, the City of Riverside and Southern California will save millions of dollars in the costs of acquiring private land for the transmission line towers, Under its franchise agreement with the City of Jurupa Valley, Southern California Edison will not need to pay for the right to use the City street to construct the lines underground. Despite being requested by City staff to provide cost information, the City of Riverside and Southern California Edison have either refused or are unable to justify their statements that the undergrounding will be expensive, and will significantly impact the City of Riverside ratepayers to the extent being represented by Riverside and the Riverside Chamber of Commerce The people of Jurupa Valley will unjustly bear all of the burdens resulting from the RTRP lines being constructed above ground within Jurupa Valley but will not receive any benefits from this project. Undergrounding mitigates many of the adverse effects of the RTRP above-ground lines on the City of Jurupa Valley documented in the Commission's Supplemental Environmental Impact Report for the RTRP. The Supplement Environmental Impact Report found that undergrounding the RTRP in Jurupa Valley is the “environmentally superior alternative,” the best option for the RTRP. Therefore, Staff recommends that the Council authorized each Council Member to sign the proposed letter to the Riverside Chamber of Commerce and the City of Riverside. Update on the Status of RTRP Proceedings. The City of Riverside and Southern California Edison have applied to the California Public Utilities Commission for a permit to construct up to and exceeding 100 foot tall high-voltage 230kv electrical transmission towers and lines along the I-15 Freeway in Jurupa Valley, known as the Riverside Transmission Reliability Project (RTRP). City of Riverside and SCE have agreed to underground the lines from Limonite Avenue south to the Santa Ana River, but the 100 foot towers and transmission lines will be above ground north of Limonite. Page | 2 wwwjurupavalley.org The City of Jurupa Valley and property owners under the proposed lines support the undergrounding of the RTRP in Jurupa Valley but have actively opposed the above- ground lines. The Administrative Law Judge assigned to the RTRP Application has set the following schedule for a decision on the Application: A. March 1, 2019: Southern California Edison and City of Riverside submit written direct testimony in support of Application May 31, 2019: City and the other opponents submit written direct testimony in opposition to the Application. July 12, 2019: Southern California Edison and City of Riverside submit written rebuttal testimony August 6, 7, and 8, 2019: Evidentiary Hearing will be held before the Administrative Law Judge in San Francisco with no general public testimony. August 30,2019: Both sides submit Opening Briefs. September 20, 2019: Southern California Edison and City of Riverside submit Reply Brief. September 20 to December 19,2019: During this period, _the Administrative Law Judge will submit a Proposed Decision on the RTRP Application to the Commission No earlier than 30 days after submission of the Administrative Law Judge's Proposed Decision, the California Public Utilities Commission will issue a Final Decision on the RTRP Application at a public meeting of the Commission in San Francisco. FINANCIAL IMPACT Approval of the RTRP with above ground high voltage transmission towners and lines will have a devastating negative impact on the people of the City of Jurupa Valley. ‘Submitted by: Reviewed by: , WVAA _— (ea “Gary Thompson Peter M. Thorson City Manager City Attomey Page | 3 www jurupavalley.org,

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