Welcome to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) website for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review of Pacific Gas and Electric's (PG&E) proposed Embarcadero-Potrero 230 kV Transmission Project (Proposed Project or Embarcadero-Potrero 230 kV). An application for this project was submitted to the CPUC on December 11, 2012 (A.12-12-004), which starts the CPUC proceeding to decide whether a Certification of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) should be issued. The CPUC is currently reviewing the application. This site provides access to public documents and information relevant to the CEQA review process.

Background

PG&E filed an application with the CPUC to build the proposed Embarcadero-Potrero 230 kV Transmission Project. The Proposed Project would include construction, operation, and maintenance of a 230 kV transmission line entirely within the City and County of San Francisco from Embarcadero Substation near the corner of Fremont and Folsom Streets, to Potrero Switchyard on Illinois Street between 22nd and 23rd Streets.

The new 230 kilovolt (kV) transmission line would be approximately 3.5 miles in total length, including approximately 2.5 miles to be installed offshore underneath the seafloor of the San Francisco Bay (the Bay), 0.4 mile to be installed in horizontal directional drills (HDD) from the Bay to the transition points on land, and approximately 0.6 mile to be installed underground in paved areas, including Spear Street and Folsom Street in San Francisco's Rincon Hill neighborhood. Construction of a new 230 kV switchyard would occur near the existing Potrero Switchyard, but no new substation work is proposed to occur at the existing Embarcadero Substation beyond the proposed termination of the new cable into the 230 kV bus.

PG&E's project objectives include improving the reliability of the existing transmission system in San Francisco to provide a high likelihood of continued electric service to downtown San Francisco in the event of overlapping outages on both of two existing 230 kV transmission lines that presently feed Embarcadero Substation.

Proponent's Environmental Assessment (PEA)

PG&E filed a PEA with the Application on December 11, 2012. This document provides a starting point for the environmental review process conducted by the CPUC.

Environmental Review Process

PG&E's Application and PEA are currently under review by the CPUC. After reviewing the PEA, the CPUC will determine whether an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) or an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will be the appropriate CEQA document to be prepared for this project.

For Additional Information

The CPUC, through its Environmental Review Team, is conducting an environmental review of the project. To request additional information, please contact the CPUC, as follows: