Will Mariposa County hold PG&E’s feet to the fire

By R.D. Tucker

1958. That was a meaningful year in history. The Edsel Company began selling automobiles; the Great Chinese Famine began, eventually causing the death of nearly 30 million people; the microchip was invented, and the peace symbol was created.

On April 10th of that year, the Mariposa County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Ordinance No. 191. That official document basically permits Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to operate carte blanche throughout Mariposa County and within county rights-of-way.

That 66-year old document states: “Ordinance granting to Pacific Gas and Electric Company, its successors and assigns, the franchise of installing, maintaining and using poles, wires, conduits and appurtenances, including communication circuits, in so many and in such parts of the public roads within the County of Mariposa, State of California, as the grantee of said franchise may from time to time elect to use for the purpose of transmitting and distributing electricity to the public for any and all purposes.”

The single upside to that document is the franchise fee portion in Section 8 that states: “Grantee shall, during the term for which this franchise is granted, pay to said county two percent (2%) of its or their gross annual receipts arising from the use, operation or possession thereof; provided, however, that no percentage shall be paid for the first five (5) years succeeding the date of said franchise…”

In fiscal year 2022-23, that amounted to a franchise fee payment to Mariposa County of just $211,007. Only ten years ago, the amount received was just $169,128. That might have put a small dent in the county’s utility bill then, but it doesn’t come close today with PG&E’s frequent rate increases. In fiscal year 2022-23, Mariposa County wrote checks to PG&E totaling $807,635 for electrical power.

“There have been years when we were unsure as to whether we would receive the franchise fees, but to my knowledge, which goes back about 17 years, the county has always been paid the fee by PG&E,” said Mariposa County Auditor Luis Mercado.

PG&E has filed for bankruptcy twice in the last two decades, but has continued to pay the franchise fees. Mariposa County Counsel Steve Dahlem explained that PG&E couldn’t avoid the franchise payments because its bankruptcy filings were for reorganization, not for the discharge of public debt.
The main question on county residents’ minds is whether or not PG&E will restore the roadways they have significantly damaged by the excavation to install the company’s underground power supply.

“We’ve been assured that PG&E will repair or repave the roadways,” said Shannon Hansen, Mariposa County Public Works Director. The 1958 ordinance states, “All poles, wires, conduits and appurtenances which shall be constructed and used under and pursuant to the provisions of this ordinance, and in the exercise of said franchise, shall be installed, constructed and maintained in a good and workmanlike manner under the direction of the County Road Commissioner, and shall be maintained in compliance with all valid laws and ordinances from time to time in force.”

According to Hansen, the county road commissioner position now falls under the public works director’s purview. As far as inspections of PG&E’s construction work, which is, of course, performed by subcontractors, the county isn’t involved. Hansen said, “PG&E has its own engineering team that inspects their work and the only thing the county inspects is the roadway repairs and anything within our right-of-way.”

Mariposa County is relying on Section 6 of the ordinance that states: “at its own cost and expense place said public roads, or so much thereof as may have been damaged thereby, in as good order and condition as that in which they were before being disturbed or excavated for the purpose of installing, maintaining, and using said poles, wires, conduits and appurtenances, or any part thereof.” Hansen explained the PG&Es repairs to the roads must be to the county’s satisfaction and repairs are determined based on the County’s Pavement Condition Index.

That begs the question, will the whole road be repaved or just the lanes where the trenches were excavated? The ordinance really doesn’t provide specific requirements. There are cross-over trenches from one lane to another to supply power to, but the bulk of the trenches go right down the middle of one lane of the other. Can PG&E comply with the “in as good order and condition as that in which they were before being disturbed or excavated” standards the county requires if it just repaves the lanes where the trenching occurred? That could possibly save the company hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Mariposa County does charge PG&E an encroachment permit, which costs $206 per permit. “We now have approximately 30 to 40 permits open. They have to pull permits for everything they do within our right-of-way, and they are really good at doing so,” Hansen added.
County officials are convinced that PG&E will repair and repave the roadways as soon as they are able. PG&E of course, isn’t a paving company and the work will be contracted. “I’ve been told by PG&E officials that repairs will begin as soon as the weather permits and they expect it will be completed by August,” Hansen stated.

District 4 Supervisor Wayne Forsythe said, “Obviously we are working as closely as we can with our partners at PG&E and we’re working extremely hard to make sure the roads are being put back in good condition.” District 5 Supervisor Miles Menetrey said, “We’re staying on top of it and supporting public works as strongly as we can.” Residents within both supervisors’ districts have experienced a significant amount of excavation of the roadways they travel. Both supervisors agreed that the 66-year-old ordinance probably needs to be updated.

Dana Hertfelder, who was the Mariposa County Public Works Director from 2006-2010 isn’t so sure. “I would be shocked if they repaved the roads,” Hertfelder said. He just retired the past December as the Merced County Public Works Director. “There’s nothing I’m aware of that will require them to repave all these roadways,” Hertfelder added.

“In Merced County, our franchise permit only allowed for them to have their equipment on the county right-of-way. It didn’t allow for new construction. Our encroachment permits allowed us to fund our oversight and inspections of the project, it would help us recover our costs. The permit fees were based on how extensive the project was,” Hertfelder explained.

“Once they trench into a roadway, it’s never going to be the same, and just covering it won’t’ work. That part of the roadway will always behave differently,” Hertfelder added.

Mark Norman, who has lived in Mariposa County for the past 23 years while working in the public works department for the City of Merced, and more recently, for the public works department of Santa Clara County (six years), recently sent a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request to Mariposa County’s public works department.

Norman told The Mariposan that according to the county’s response to his request, there were no inspection records at all. County engineer Matt Hespenheide was listed as the point of contact on the FOIA request response. Norman said, “I spent my last three to four years in Santa Clara County inspecting PG&E’s work on any county right-of-way. Anything other than routine maintenance required an encroachment permit, each one in the range of $1,000 or more and it funded inspecting their work. I’ve never heard of their work not being inspected.”

“That’s a serious problem if inspections weren’t being conducted to make sure the work meets county standards and for public safety. We had problems with PG&E in Merced County when they didn’t do work to our satisfaction and we would have to call them into the office and solve the issue,” Hertfelder said.

Reportedly, PG&E expects to be undergrounding their power lines for the next two or three years, but the company hasn’t been specific as to the length of time that construction will take, and on what roadways.

Only time will tell what kind of roads Mariposa County residents will be driving on. Since PG&E just reported a $2.2 billion profit for 2023, it can surely proceed as it wishes.