The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday identified Red Dog Road in the unincorporated area of Nevada City as a preferred site for PG&E to move electrical wires underground.
The Board would like to use $5.8 million in PG&E Rule 20A work credits for the project. The credits come from a portion of customer payments that the utility company has set aside for years for undergrounding projects.
County staff recommended Red Dog Road because it is an important route used by residents in the greater Cascade Shores area, one of unincorporated Nevada County’s most vulnerable communities if evacuated for a wildfire. Staff is also proposing widening the road to provide more room for fire engines, bikes and pedestrians.
“This is just the beginning of what will be a very long process,” Patrick Perkins, the County’s principal civil engineer, told the Board. PG&E would actually lead the project and construction wouldn’t be completed until 2033.
The Board is also interested in donating $1.5 million in PG&E Rule 20A work credits to the City of Grass Valley for its project at La Barr Meadows Road and $2.8 million in Liberty Energy Rule 20A work credits to the Town of Truckee. In 2020, Supervisors voted to transfer $500,000 in PG&E Rule 20A work credits to the City of Nevada City to underground lines in the downtown Broad Street area, which was completed in 2022.
The Board voted Tuesday to explore forming a Red Dog Road Underground Utilities District to get that project going. If the Board doesn’t form the district by Dec. 31, it will lose the work credits.
Residents are invited to an informational meeting on the project Aug. 28 at 6 p.m. in the Board chambers, 950 Maidu Ave., Nevada City. The Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on creating the district Sept. 10 at 10 a.m.