Delays in Power Hookups Force New Buildings To Sit Empty

Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, Dustin Gardiner and Julie Johnson reveal that “Hundreds of newly constructed apartment buildings and businesses in Northern California are sitting empty at any given time because the projects must wait on one entity, Pacific Gas and Electric Co., to turn on the lights.”

According to housing advocates and developers, the utility has become even slower than normal in recent years, preventing hundreds of families and businesses from purchasing and occupying new buildings. “There were 319 commercial and multi-family buildings waiting for PG&E to turn on power as of late February, according to PG&E data obtained by state Sen. Scott Wiener’s office. Of those, 134 buildings had been waiting for more than two months and 95 had been waiting for more than three months.” In rural areas, the wait can take years.

On Monday, State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced a bill aimed at holding PG&E accountable and speeding up the interconnection process. The bill, SB 83, would require investor-owned utilities to complete the process within eight weeks or provide financial compensation. San Francisco is building a case to take over PG&E infrastructure in the city and create its own utility.

This kind of delay isn’t unique to the Bay Area, or to PG&E, Gardiner and Johnson note, and rural areas face some of the longest waits. This reflects in the frustration of state lawmakers, who have proposed six measures to address the interconnection delay this year.