San Jose Power Hub Breaks Ground

LS Power Grid California broke ground on May 20 at its Skyline terminal site in downtown San Jose, beginning construction on the Power Santa Clara Valley project, a transmission upgrade meant to push more electricity into the city’s core. The site sits next to Pacific Gas & Electric’s San Jose B substation near Santa Teresa and Ryland streets, according to project filings. Company statements and city officials say the project is part of a broader Bay Area build-out aimed at handling rising electricity demand from homes, businesses and new large users. ### What is actually being built at the downtown site? The Skyline terminal is the northern end of a new high-voltage direct current link that LS Power calls the Power Santa Clara Valley project. CPUC filings describe the project as a roughly 13-mile underground line connecting the Skyline terminal in downtown San Jose to a southern Grove terminal near PG&E’s Metcalf substation in South San Jose, plus a short tie into San Jose B. (lspower.com) LS Power said the Santa Clara Valley project will use high-voltage direct current technology, which it described as uncommon in the United States. The company said the line will run underground between the two terminals and is scheduled to be online in 2028. ### How much new power capacity does San Jose get from it? San Jose officials have described the package of LS Power transmission projects as adding enough capacity to serve about 1 million homes. (ia.cpuc.ca.gov) The city said in March that the new lines would expand San Jose’s ability to deliver electricity safely and reliably to residents, businesses and major employers, while LS Power’s May 20 announcement said its Bay Area projects are intended to strengthen reliability and support economic development. (lspower.com) A November 2024 San Jose comment letter to CAISO urged a revised scope that would double incremental transmission capacity to 1,000 megawatts by June 2028. Mercury News reported that the downtown power hub is part of that effort to sharply increase the city’s electricity capacity. ### Why did city leaders push for this project? (sanjoseca.gov) Mayor Matt Mahan said in the city’s March 24 release that the grid expansion would make San Jose “the most power-ready city in America.” City Manager Jennifer Maguire said a “modern, resilient energy grid” was necessary to sustain San Jose’s role as an innovation center. The city said the added transmission capacity is intended to support advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, large-scale data centers, electrified buildings and transportation. (caiso.com) Those uses require large and steady electricity supplies, according to the city release. ### How does this fit into the wider Bay Area grid plan? CAISO approved the 2024-2025 transmission plan in May 2025, recommending projects to address projected load growth and changing grid conditions. (sanjoseca.gov) The CPUC’s Santa Clara Valley project page says CAISO approved a modified version of the LS Power project on Nov. 12, 2024, and LS Power later amended its application to match that scope. LS Power said on April 20 that CAISO also selected one of its affiliates for a separate 7-mile underground 230-kV line linking Silicon Valley Power’s Northern Receiving Station in Santa Clara to PG&E’s San Jose B substation. LS Power said that line will build on the Santa Clara Valley and South Bay projects, which it expects online in 2028. (caiso.com) ### What happens next, and when? March 24 city documents said construction would begin in spring 2026 and be completed by December 2028. LS Power marked that start with groundbreaking ceremonies in San Jose and Fremont on May 20 for the Power Santa Clara Valley and Power the South Bay projects. By 2028, LS Power expects the Santa Clara Valley and South Bay projects to be in service, and a later CAISO-approved link between Santa Clara and San Jose B is targeted for 2030. (lspower.com) That sequence would leave San Jose B as a key handoff point in the next round of South Bay grid expansion. (sanjoseca.gov)