PG&E Teams Deliver Ahead of Schedule in Silicon Valley

A neighborhood north of downtown Redwood City is seeing big job growth. That means more demand for housing and services.

The Sobrato Organization is working to meet that need with Broadway Village, which will include homes, offices and shops. The first phase is an apartment community with 518 homes, spread across three buildings. The community includes 120 affordable homes.

Connecting these buildings to the power grid was a big challenge for PG&E’s Service Planning & Design, Permitting and General Construction teams, said PG&E Industrial Power Engineer Jason Kwan, who led the project’s service planning process.

But the team delivered ahead of schedule, and with praise from The Sobrato Organization.

“When everyone—from our subs to PG&E—is aligned and responsive, it doesn’t just help the project,” said Sobrato Superintendent Matt Li Marzi. “It helps us deliver something that truly benefits the community.”

As people began moving into the Colton and Millton apartments in the fourth quarter, the teams looked back on how they delivered for the customer.

‘A huge assist from PG&E’

Before work could even begin, a CVS Pharmacy already on the property would need to relocate. People in the neighborhood didn’t want to lose their drugstore, so Sobrato and PG&E had to work together to move the pharmacy across the street.

PG&E would then have to remove existing electric infrastructure.

Most of the new electric service would run underground and include 10 commercial transformers and new power lines. To install the equipment, PG&E would have to get permits from Redwood City and CalTrans to close roads—a process that can take up to a year.

On top of that, Sobrato had between 150 and 300 workers on site each week. PG&E would have to plan its work around those tradespeople.

Li Marzi said PG&E’s responsiveness kept the project moving.

“We had multiple calls and email exchanges to coordinate inspections, meter settings, and crew scheduling,” Li Marzi said. “Jason always responded quickly and offered alternatives if something didn’t work. He never left us hanging.”

Kwan said organization and communication are key to his customer service.

At Broadway Village, that meant planning ahead for a year-long process to get permits for road closures and working with PG&E’s General Construction team so that crews were ready to build as soon as the site was prepared.

“I pride myself on being attentive to all customers,” Kwan said. “I work hard to understand what they want and to know their timelines. That helps me be organized.”

Kwan also answered customer emails as soon as he received them and held weekly calls to discuss the project’s status.

The same approach helped PG&E’s construction crews stay on schedule.

General Construction Supervisor Gabe Woodson said the team had to schedule crews around other workers on the project while still meeting the customer’s timeline. During daily tailboard meetings, they shared a clear plan so that every crew member knew what to do and could get it done.

“Constant communication” with Sobrato’s construction superintendent and electrician was also crucial to hitting energization goals, Woodson said.

The effort paid off.

“Managing the many permits and activities was a challenge—but thanks to our subcontractors and a huge assist from PG&E, we stayed on schedule,” Li Marzi said.

Improved processes help

Service Planning and Design’s improved processes also made a difference.

Kwan said advance construction scheduling, in particular, helped.

Advance scheduling is one of several process improvements in a 2023 memorandum of understanding between PG&E and the California Building Industry Association.

Before advance scheduling, PG&E didn’t schedule construction until the customer had all permits and had passed local building and fire-safety inspections.

PG&E also required customers to have their job site completely ready for construction.

Once ready, customers may have waited as long as 12 weeks for available PG&E crews.

Through advance scheduling, PG&E schedules crews as soon as customers pay their contract. Then, PG&E and the customer work in tandem to complete permitting, inspections and construction readiness.

“Advance scheduling keeps everyone on track and working together toward the customer’s delivery date,” Kwan said.

Other improvements include temporary power when new service is delayed, and using artificial intelligence to help new-business representatives find information on rules and regulations faster.

Service Planning & Design’s efforts have made a big difference for customers.

PG&E’s backlog of design work in progress fell by 30% from 2023 to 2024, while energizations grew by 70% from 2022 to 2024.

One more challenge

Before Broadway Village was finished, the team faced one more challenge.

The original plan was to power up the three buildings in stages. But as the project unfolded, PG&E and Sobrato decided to energize the buildings at the same time.

The goals? To move energization from the fourth quarter to July to avoid the rainy season, and to cut down on planned power outages for nearby customers during the switch to new service.

The plan required close coordination with Sobrato’s electrician and careful scheduling of PG&E’s crews. Crews even put in overnight shifts to reduce the effects of outages on customers.

Li Marzi praised PG&E crew leader Andy Florio and cable splicer Alberto DeGracia.

“Andy and Alberto didn’t just do the work—they explained what they were doing and why,” he said. “I stayed through the night with them and learned a lot. Their professionalism and willingness to share knowledge really stood out.”

PG&E finished its work on July 30.

Li Marzi said the accelerated effort “had real impact.”

“Being below the water table, we needed those pumps and elevators running before the rainy season,” he said. “PG&E’s timing made all the difference.”

Missing the target date wasn’t an option for Kwan and the team.

“It was really important to get this done,” he said. “This part of Redwood City is slowly developing. Stanford Health is growing nearby, and other new businesses will bring more jobs. Workers will need housing, and the affordable housing in this project is great for existing residents. It’s a win-win for the community.”