California

Need power in California? Get in line.

The state has ambitious energy goals but many new projects face long waits for electricity.

A Pacific Gas & Electric sign is shown.

California is in the midst of a renewable energy transformation — investing more than $50 billion in a pivot away from fossil fuels — but Sam Moss just wants to turn the lights on.

Moss, a developer of affordable housing in San Francisco, is still waiting for utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric to connect three newly built apartments to the electrical grid. He says he was initially told it could take up to six months.

“I was like, ‘That can’t be real,’” said Moss. “What do you mean they’re not turning the power on?”

It’s not an uncommon story. Hundreds of residential and commercial projects face monthslong waits to get electricity in Northern California at a time when state leaders are touting an unprecedented, climate change-driven overhaul of the way power is produced and used. The delays — blamed on a troubled utility, a tight labor market and aging infrastructure — could get worse as the state rushes to reduce emissions in a transition that’s expected to require a third more electricity over the next decade.

The delays highlight the challenges of trying to pull off within a few years the kind of large-scale infrastructure projects that have traditionally taken decades, as planners hurry to avert the worst effects of climate change.

“We’re running out of time,” said Terry Tamminen, who helped implement California’s first emissions-reduction law under former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. “When we had time to plan this stuff we didn’t, and now everyone’s trying to play catchup.”

PG&E says it is ready for the energy transition, but some state lawmakers aren’t convinced.

“Now we move toward a green energy future, and our biggest liability is PG&E,” state Senate Majority Leader Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg), whose rural Humboldt County district is among the most affected by the delays, said in an interview.

The century-old, investor-owned utility, with a territory the size of New England, operates one of the largest hydroelectric systems in the country as well as a nuclear power plant. But in California, it’s best known for its role in several deadly catastrophes.

One of its natural gas transmission pipelines exploded in 2010, killing eight people in a San Francisco suburb. In 2017 and 2018, its poorly maintained grid caused deadly wildfires, driving the utility into its second bankruptcy in 20 years and incurring a host of criminal charges and lawsuits. PG&E emerged in 2020 with $38 billion in debt, a load that has grown to $52 billion.

The utility has also contended with severe winter storms that knocked out power for thousands of customers and supply chain shortages that impeded improvement projects.

Across its territory, 319 commercial and multifamily buildings were awaiting electricity connections as of February, according to Public Utilities Commission data provided to state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco). Of those, 95 had been waiting more than three months. Waits were rarer and much shorter at the state’s other two major investor-owned utilities, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric, according to the data.

Staffing shortages recently spurred PG&E to issue and then retract a moratorium on connecting certain projects to electricity in San Francisco. Other parts of PG&E’s territory face a more intractable problem: Distribution lines that carry power to buildings are full, and upgrading them will cost billions and take years.

In rural Humboldt County, dozens of residential and commercial projects face indefinite waits for power hookups. Developers said the shortage of electrical capacity arrived out of nowhere, raising questions about PG&E’s planning.

“We were floored, surprised, wondering how this could happen,” said Jomra Kan, who abandoned plans for a cannabis processing center after learning of a long wait. “Because we obtained all the necessary permits and did all the things in the sequence they were supposed to take place.”

PG&E spokesperson Lynsey Paulo blamed the capacity problems on rising electricity demand, driven by increased air conditioning usage, EV chargers, data centers and other draws on the grid. But, she said, the utility is ready for the transition.

“PG&E is absolutely committed to meeting the growing energy demand of our customers and communities, while also continuing to invest in our energy system to prevent wildfires and keep our hometowns safe,” spokesperson Paulo said in an email.

The delays, besides raising concerns about PG&E and the broader transition, drive up construction costs in a state trying to encourage new housing and create jobs that pay enough to afford rent. They can jeopardize efforts like Moss’ three-unit affordable housing project in San Francisco and they can devastate larger proposals, said Tim Cremins, western region political director for the International Union of Operating Engineers.

“It really makes it hard for the project to pencil out if you have to sit there dormant for three months, five months, nine months,” said Cremins, who represents heavy equipment operators.

In San Francisco, the utility’s delays have added $41 million in costs to at least nine affordable housing developments, according to a recent memo from the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development.

PG&E will improve service and expand electrical capacity, Paulo said, and plans to invest billions of dollars in upgrades.

Lawmakers say they will hold PG&E to its promises.

McGuire, whose Senate district is adjacent to one of the West Coast’s first planned offshore wind projects, is proposing to create an independent watchdog to try to force PG&E to keep its commitments and to improve long-term planning.

Wiener, of San Francisco, is advancing a proposal to penalize utilities that take more than eight weeks to provide electricity for fully approved and permitted construction projects.

“You can imagine people’s frustration when something that should be so simple becomes such a morass,” said Wiener. “PG&E needs to get its act together and get the damn lights turned on.”

Moss, of Mission Housing, said Wiener’s bill would add certainty to timelines for electricity approvals and connections.

He said the nonprofit was told in early March that the delay to connect its three new affordable units — which were converted from garages — could be as much as six months. Since then, he said, PG&E has scheduled and canceled three follow-up visits.

PG&E spokesperson Jennifer Robison said in an email that the delays to the housing project were “primarily due to storm impacts and response.” She said the utility plans to turn on power for the apartments on Saturday.

Moss is skeptical.

“I’ll believe it when the lights work,” he said.