Infrastructure

Power Connect Initiative

Identifying locations for new, much-needed energy infrastructure.

Central and Northern CA

KEY PLAYERS

Local elected officials

Local community

Environmental groups

State water officials

Local business

Organized labor

CHALLENGE

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), the largest public utility in California and one of the largest natural gas and electric energy companies in the United States, sought public outreach support for a new transmission line in Fresno, Kings and Madera counties. Following the launch of a successful community engagement program, PG&E needed support on seven additional electric infrastructure projects across multiple counties.

GOAL

Work with the community to identify transmission line routes and substation locations.

SOLUTION

Beginning with the Central Valley Power Connect project, we developed a phased outreach strategy to ensure community involvement and engagement throughout the development of the project. Leading with an open map, we solicited community feedback on routes through briefings, presentations, open houses and more. We built a stakeholder coalition to provide a vehicle for third-party voices and conducted robust social media outreach. Following successful rounds of community outreach, PG&E asked us to expand our work to support multiple other projects throughout their service area. Our ﬁrst task was to develop a cohesive brand for all the proposed projects. The projects were collectively dubbed the “Power Connect” initiative. From there, we created project-specific materials and messaging in multiple languages to help tell our story. Then we conducted a phased series of briefings, community presentations and open houses to hear what stakeholders had to say and implemented their feedback in each round.