Map of proposed and existing undergrounding districts

Learn more about the Greenwich Village North Underground Utility Assessment District

General Information 

Property owners interested in forming a utility undergrounding district can request the City to administer the formation process.

Please see Municipal Code Chapter 13.08 and the Underground Utilities Assessment Districts guide for more details on establishing an underground utility district for your neighborhood and contact the Public Works Department for more information

Undergrounding projects use Tariff Rule 20 to implement. Property owner initiated projects typically use Rule 20B or Rule 20C. The levels of Rule 20 are as follows:

• Rule 20A
  • Rule 20A projects are constructed in areas of a community that are used most often by the general public. Rule 20A projects are nominated by the city or county and are paid for by the electric utility ratepayers. Under Rule 20A, the California Public Utilities Commission requires the utility to allocate a certain amount of work credits each year to the cities and unincorporated counties for conversion projects. Because ratepayers contribute the bulk of the costs of Rule 20A programs through utility rates, the projects must be in the public interest by meeting one or more of the following public interest criteria:  
    • Eliminate an unusually heavy concentration of overhead lines;
    • Involve a street or road with a high volume of public traffic;
    • Benefit a civic or public recreation area or area of unusual scenic interest;
    • Be listed as an arterial street or major collector as defined in the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) Guidelines.

  The determination of “general public interest” under these criteria is made by the local government, after holding public hearings, in consultation with the utility.

  In addition, the community must also have accumulated enough Rule 20A work credit allocations to fund a project. Such allocations are given out annually by the utility and communities can accumulate them over several years until they have sufficient funding to complete a project. Communities may borrow forward five years to obtain additional credits.  Once enough work credits are available, the community forms a utility underground district by municipal resolution to initiate a project.

The program is voluntary, and the communities identify the overhead conversion projects in consultation with the utilities. Each year Rule 20A results in converting approximately 20 miles of overhead distribution lines to underground.

• Rule 20B
  • Projects in larger developments or areas that do not meet any of the above criteria can be performed as Rule 20B projects. At a minimum, the proposed project should involve both sides of a street for a minimum of 600 feet. The applicant (residents, city, developer) is responsible for the installation of the conduit, substructures and boxes, as well as paying for the cost to complete the installation of the underground (electric, telephone and cable) system. Unlike Rule 20A, there are no work credits involved with Rule 20B and the applicant expends funds and receives reimbursement after the project is complete the electric utility credits the applicant in the amount of an equivalent overhead system, plus the taxes, if applicable. This reimbursement typically ranges from 20 to 40 percent of the project cost.
• Rule 20C
  • Projects that do not qualify under 20A or 20C are performed under Rule 20C. Rule 20C projects are less than 600 feet in length and typically involve one or more property owners. The applicant(s) bear the cost of the entire undergrounding project and receive a small credit for the salvage cost of the facilities, less depreciation, that do not go underground