San Jose Power Hub Breaks Ground

LS Power Grid California broke ground on its Power Santa Clara Valley and Power the South Bay projects on May 20, 2026, marking the start of construction on a $2 billion Bay Area transmission buildout. The San Jose portion centers on the Skyline terminal near PG&E’s San Jose B substation downtown and a Grove terminal near PG&E’s Metcalf substation in South San Jose, linked by a new underground high-voltage direct current line. LS Power said the projects are designed to strengthen grid reliability and expand access to power in Santa Clara and Alameda counties. The City of San Jose, which approved a franchise agreement with LS Power on March 24, said the work is expected to be completed by December 2028. ### What exactly is being built near downtown San Jose? The Skyline terminal is one end of the Power Santa Clara Valley project, which LS Power and state filings place next to PG&E’s San Jose B substation in downtown San Jose. The other end is the Grove terminal in South San Jose near PG&E’s Metcalf substation. Those two terminals will be connected by an underground line described in LS Power materials as about 12 miles long, while CPUC environmental materials describe it as about 13 miles. (finance.yahoo.com) CAISO documents show the project was originally planned at a lower injection level and later expanded. On November 12, 2024, the California Independent System Operator’s board approved a modification that raised the power injection at San Jose B to 1,000 megawatts from 500 megawatts, changed the AC-side voltage at the converter station to 230 kV from 115 kV, and added a 230 kV switchyard and transformer at San Jose B. (ia.cpuc.ca.gov) ### Why did the project grow from 500 megawatts to 1,000? CAISO said the San Jose-area transmission plan was modified because of “significant increases in the load forecasts” since the projects were first approved in 2022. The grid operator said the change was tied to rising demand in the area and a longer-term transmission plan for the South Bay. (caiso.com) The City of San Jose has tied that added capacity to economic development and electrification. In its March 24 release, the city said the new transmission projects would support advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, large-scale data centers, building electrification and transportation electrification. City Manager Jennifer Maguire said “a modern, resilient energy grid is foundational” to the city’s role as an innovation center, and Mayor Matt Mahan called the expansion a “historic grid expansion.” (caiso.com) ### How much power is that, and who says what it can serve? LS Power said the broader “Power the Bay” projects will be capable of transmitting 1,000 megawatts of electricity, which it described as roughly enough to serve about 750,000 homes. The figure applies to the combined projects the company highlighted at its May 20 groundbreaking events in San Jose and Fremont. (sanjoseca.gov) The Mercury News reported that the San Jose power hub near Station B is expected to add 1,000 megawatts by 2028 and described that amount as enough to power about 1 million homes. Because the public filings and LS Power materials focus on transmission capacity and project configuration rather than a single standardized homes-served metric, the home-equivalent estimates vary by source. (finance.yahoo.com) ### What role do regulators and PG&E play here? The CPUC is running the environmental review and certificate process for Power Santa Clara Valley under application A.24-04-017, which LS Power filed on April 29, 2024. The commission’s project page says the agency reviews whether the project is needed and in the public interest and evaluates environmental impacts under CEQA. (mercurynews.com) PG&E is the interconnecting utility on both ends of the San Jose project. LS Power’s project materials say Skyline will interconnect to PG&E’s San Jose B substation and Grove will interconnect to PG&E’s Metcalf substation. CAISO said it worked with PG&E, Silicon Valley Power and LS Power on the feasibility of the modified transmission projects. (ia.cpuc.ca.gov) ### What happens next before the project is finished? March 24 set the city’s local milestone, when San Jose approved the franchise agreement allowing LS Power to construct the transmission projects in city rights-of-way. May 20 started construction with the groundbreaking ceremonies. By June 2028, CAISO expects the modified Metcalf–San Jose B project to be in service, according to its November 2024 board memorandum. (lspowergrid.com) By December 2028, the City of San Jose expects construction tied to the approved franchise agreement to be completed. (caiso.com) (sanjoseca.gov)