Memorandum
Date: September 22, 2026
To: The Honorable Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Dr. Pawan Upadhyay, Water Resources Director and
Michael Bedar, Water Resources Program Coordinator
Subject: (Sitting as the Lake County Watershed Protection District Board of Directors) Approve a $200,000 Engineering Advance to Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) for Preliminary Engineering Associated with Transmission Tower Modifications for the Middle Creek Restoration Project and Authorize the Water Resources Director to Sign Related Documents
Executive Summary:
The Middle Creek Restoration Project requires modification and/or relocation of existing Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) electrical infrastructure within the project area. As previously presented to the Board on December 12, 2023 (File No. 23-1338), the project includes seven PG&E transmission towers, as well as distribution facilities that may be affected by implementation of the restoration project. At that time, the Board approved allocation of $200,000 from Cannabis Tax revenues for the PG&E engineering deposit needed to advance the project.
PG&E has now provided an updated Engineering Advance request dated August 6, 2026. PG&E anticipates that the first $200,000 Engineering Advance (EA) will fund preliminary modeling and limited design development for modifications to seven transmission towers, likely advancing the design to no more than approximately 30 percent. PG&E has advised that additional Engineering Advances, currently estimated at approximately $400,000 to $800,000, may be required to complete the engineering phase; these amounts remain preliminary and will be refined as PG&E develops the scope of work. PG&E currently estimates the overall tower-modification portion of the project at approximately $3.5 million to $7.0 million.
PG&E cannot begin the preliminary engineering work until it receives the signed Engineering Advance letter and the $200,000 deposit. Once the relo...
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