Utilities & Public Services
Utilities and public services, a fundamental element of every locale’s economy, depend upon a mix of national and regional providers and local governments. Down below you can find brief summaries and contact information for the following areas: natural gas, electricity, communications, water and waste.
Natural Gas & Electricity
Natural gas and electricity throughout the county are delivered by Pacific Gas and Electric. PG&E provides these services under a franchise in place for more than a century. Its role includes bulk purchase of power and delivery to subscribers. It maintains the local system utilizing public and private easements for transmission lines and equipment. There are two major transmission lines through Santa Cruz County, depicted below.
PG&E:
1955 41st Ave
Capitola, CA 95010
(800) 743-5000
www.pge.com
Natural gas and electricity throughout the county are delivered by Pacific Gas and Electric. PG&E provides these services under a franchise in place for more than a century. Its role includes bulk purchase of power and delivery to subscribers. It maintains the local system utilizing public and private easements for transmission lines and equipment. There are two major transmission lines through Santa Cruz County, depicted below.
PG&E:
1955 41st Ave
Capitola, CA 95010
(800) 743-5000
www.pge.com
Monterey Bay Community Power (MBCP)
A consortium of local governments has created a proposal under State Law AB117, Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) that would permit the communities in the three Monterey Bay County’s to control purchasing and pricing of electrical power. Although still delivered by PG&E, this permits MBPC to select the sources of the electricity. A similar project in Marin has more than doubled the amount of clean electricity provided to customers without increasing rates. Other CCA has significantly reduced the cost of electricity. And it may be possible for the MBCP to develop its own sources of power generation such as wind and power to reduce reliance upon distant sources. In 2015 MBCP was awarded a $344,000 State of California technical assistance grant to establish a CCA Joint Powers Agency with an estimated completion date of April 21, 2018, being administered by Santa Cruz County.
A consortium of local governments has created a proposal under State Law AB117, Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) that would permit the communities in the three Monterey Bay County’s to control purchasing and pricing of electrical power. Although still delivered by PG&E, this permits MBPC to select the sources of the electricity. A similar project in Marin has more than doubled the amount of clean electricity provided to customers without increasing rates. Other CCA has significantly reduced the cost of electricity. And it may be possible for the MBCP to develop its own sources of power generation such as wind and power to reduce reliance upon distant sources. In 2015 MBCP was awarded a $344,000 State of California technical assistance grant to establish a CCA Joint Powers Agency with an estimated completion date of April 21, 2018, being administered by Santa Cruz County.
Communications
The University of California Santa Cruz, its associated research agencies and institutes, and the broadband-dependent technology sector are dependent upon fast, reliable communications resources. In 2010 UC Santa Cruz contracted with Sunesys to bring fiber optic networks to Santa Cruz. This same system has been extended to downtown Santa Cruz and is being to Salinas and other communities.
However, much of the Santa Cruz County Community communications continues to be delivered with telephone lines, DSL, and coaxial cable administered by phone and cable companies and utilized by local internet service providers. The County is also served through satellite services. In addition the major wireless services provide cell access to all population centers in Santa Cruz County
Wire and Fiber
AT&T is the primary fix-line telephone operator in Santa Cruz County. AT&T provides phone lines, television (through AT&T U-verse and Direct TV) and Internet service including DSL and T-1 services. Their lines are also used by local Internet Service Providers. AT&T has four customer service centers in the county which can be seen on the map above.
The University of California Santa Cruz, its associated research agencies and institutes, and the broadband-dependent technology sector are dependent upon fast, reliable communications resources. In 2010 UC Santa Cruz contracted with Sunesys to bring fiber optic networks to Santa Cruz. This same system has been extended to downtown Santa Cruz and is being to Salinas and other communities.
However, much of the Santa Cruz County Community communications continues to be delivered with telephone lines, DSL, and coaxial cable administered by phone and cable companies and utilized by local internet service providers. The County is also served through satellite services. In addition the major wireless services provide cell access to all population centers in Santa Cruz County
Wire and Fiber
AT&T is the primary fix-line telephone operator in Santa Cruz County. AT&T provides phone lines, television (through AT&T U-verse and Direct TV) and Internet service including DSL and T-1 services. Their lines are also used by local Internet Service Providers. AT&T has four customer service centers in the county which can be seen on the map above.
Cable
Cable television and communications services in Santa Cruz County are provided by Charter Communications in Watsonville and Comcast in other areas of the county.
Cable television and communications services in Santa Cruz County are provided by Charter Communications in Watsonville and Comcast in other areas of the county.