Agenda

Return

C. 6

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	Julia R. Bueren, Public Works Director/Chief Engineer
Date:	December 15, 2009

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Accept Report on Pacific Gas and Electric Company Coordination Efforts for Street Light Maintenance with Cities and County of Contra Costa.

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 12/15/2009

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Gayle B. Uilkema, District II Supervisor
Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor
Susan A. Bonilla, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:	Michelle Parella (925) 313-2286
cc:	Brian Balbas, Deputy Director Gary Huisingh, Enginnering Services Susan Cohen, Special Districts Marlon Epps, SD / Environmental

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: December 15, 2009
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

ACCEPT Status Report on the Street Light Coordination effort between PG&E, the County, and Cities for street light maintenance, as recommended by the Public Works Director.

FISCAL IMPACT:

None.

BACKGROUND:

The Transportation, Water and Infrastructure Committee, on April 29, 2009, asked staff to report back to the Committee before December 2009, on the status of street light coordination efforts with PG&E. Staff reported to Committee on November 16, 2009 and were instructed to share this information with the Board of Supervisors.

BACKGROUND: (CONT'D)

Continuing the original effort initiated in May 2008 and since reporting last spring, the County Public Works Department and Cities continued to meet on a bimonthly basis to discuss street light issues. Initially meetings focused on daily maintenance and issues related to completion of calls for service. Discussions then focused on subjects such as Global Information Systems (GIS), Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology, Smart Meters and policy issues. The bimonthly meetings have helped to successfully address a number of issues related to street light maintenance and operations.

The February 2008 Letter of Understanding (LOU) between PG&E and the County spells out agreed upon, acceptable service standards for the various items originally presented as concerns from the County and Cities including:

• Street light problem reporting and tracking

• Response times for repairs: 14-day and Electric Corrective (EC) 90-day (outages and knockdowns to be completed in 90 days)

• Pole painting

• Group re-lamping (5 year plan)

• New product choices

Regular coordination meetings have been held at which County staff, PG&E and interested City staff discuss current issues related to street lights. The meeting topics include:

• Response time and tracking of routine repairs (e.g. light burn outs)

• Response time and tracking of more complex outages

• Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology

• Smart Meter technology

• Global Information System (GIS) and mapping street lights

• PG&E policy with regard to vandalism and repair of vandalized street lights

Progress has been made on these items. Below are some of the issues that have been addressed and completed:

• Response [time and customer] tracking systems for routine repairs:

o Response time for most routine repairs continues to be within 14 days as stated in the LOU. When an outage repair will take longer, PG&E has been consistent with notification. This issue has been satisfactorily addressed and re-confirmed repeatedly since last spring report to TWIC.

o PG&E now provides monthly outage reports to all of the agencies with outstanding and completed repairs listed in the 14-day and EC 90-day categories. Agencies can track outages and repairs and also be informed of outages of which they were previously unaware which allows them to follow up, as needed. For the 14-day repairs, these reports have proven adequate and this issue has been satisfactorily addressed.

• Customer Communications: PG&E has initiated and published a new e-mail address (PGEStrlightBilling@pge.com) for street light related billing and data questions. In the past, an agency might have one contact person to whom all street light questions went. This e-mail tool is another means to direct questions to the most appropriate person. Although in its infancy, this additional line of communication may prove to be very efficient for those who use it.

• New product choices: At the May 2009 Street Light Coordination meeting, PG&E introduced their plans for LED street lights in the County. Attended by 23 people representing 12 Cities and several County agencies, this meeting was well-timed for upcoming grant programs and much appreciated by the Cities. PG&E followed up with the introduction of a complete turnkey program to expedite the upgrading of the street lights including rebates and reduced rates. Agencies, including Public Works, are now able to get quotes and feedback pertinent to their Energy Efficient and American Recovery and Redevelopment Act (ARRA) grant applications. In October 2009, the Town of Danville completed a major retrofit with the installation of 276 LED lights along Camino Tassajara setting the example of what we too can do in the County areas.

There are a few key areas that require continued attention including:

• Completion of repair of Electric Corrective (EC) 90-day cases: PG&E is working to assure that these repairs are completed within the 90-day period. There has been improvement demonstrated by the fact that the number of EC cases that extend beyond 90 days has been reduced. There remain a few cases, however, that need follow-up and continued effort.

• Tracking on 90-day cases: This remains an area of needed effort. Once a repair moves from routine maintenance to Construction, the flow of information is sometimes lacking, making it difficult and time consuming for PG&E to locate and convey the status of a particular job. PG&E’s reporting agency, the Resource Management Center (RMC), is challenged to produce accurate reports based on the information they receive from other PG&E departments. It appears that internal communication between Construction (the PG&E department responsible for 90-day repairs) and the RMC is in need of improvement.

In summary:

Staff from the County, participating cities, and PG&E, are committed to the ongoing effort to operate a well organized and efficient system for street lights and appreciate the improvements that have been made over the past 18 months.

As a result of regular coordination meetings and increased communications, the response times and tracking of the 14-day repairs has improved. Various emerging tools been discussed and information provided by PG&E has been very useful for Cities and the County. Monthly outage reports are greatly improved for the 14-day repairs. The 90-day repairs still require attention for timely completion and consistent tracking of outstanding cases.

Staff recommends, based on the feedback from participants in the bimonthly meetings, that Street Light Coordination meetings continue but reduce their frequency to quarterly. This will enable PG&E, County Staff, and the Cities to continue the good work and collaboration on street light issues and to continue to develop improvements in getting repairs done on schedule and with adequate communications to customers.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

No consequences. Informational only.