Alameda Public Utilities Board Special Meeting – October 19, 2026

The Alameda Public Utilities Board held a special meeting on October 19, 2026, from 6:00 p.m. to 6:52 p.m. Present were President Hunter, Commissioner Byrd, and Commissioner DeVries; Commissioner McKenna and City Manager Bowden were absent. The board approved the consent calendar with one item postponed, heard public comment, received an information-only presentation on outage management, and took up the General Manager’s September 2026 report.

Consent Calendar

• Item 4E was postponed to the November 16, 2026 regular meeting. It would authorize the General Manager to approve amendment number four to contractor agreement CS 102105 with Ground Penetrating Radar Systems LLC for underground service alert 811 mark and locate services, extend the term through October 26, 2028, and find the action exempt from CEQA.
• The remaining consent calendar items were approved unanimously by roll call: President Hunter yes, Commissioner Byrd yes, Commissioner DeVries yes.

Public Comments & Testimony

• William Morrison, who said he had represented the Fernside Homeowners Association, spoke during oral communications. He noted that Fernside homes date from roughly 1929 to 1940 and are predominantly natural gas-heated, expressed concern about efforts to eliminate methane, and said a large block of eastern Alameda would have problems without methane. He also stated that natural gas beats heat pumps on cost, especially given the city’s per-kilowatt-hour electricity rates, and asked about accessing time-of-use data from electronic meters.
• During the outage management discussion, Mr. Morrison described an unplanned outage in his area where customers “went dim” rather than dark, because one leg of 220-volt service was lost while the other continued working. He asked whether this type of partial outage was included in the scope of the new outage management system. Utility information system manager Chu said staff could look into it.

Discussion Items

• General Manager Haynes introduced the information-only outage response overview, noting that a contract request for an outage management system (OMS) was expected to come before the board in December. Utility Information System Manager Chu presented the current outage response process, including the roles of system control, communications, customer service, a contracted 24/7 answering service for large outages, and field operations.
• Manager Chu reported that the 2025 customer satisfaction survey showed roughly 55% of respondents found AMP’s outage communications acceptable or somewhat acceptable, with about 26% unsure. The proposed OMS would consolidate data from eight systems into a single interface, allow customers to report outages by web, app, text, or phone, provide an outage map, support proactive notifications, and enable automated workflows.
• Commissioner Byrd asked about staff engagement and post-deployment review. Manager Chu said the scope was developed with input from multiple divisions, and a post-deployment review was included to confirm the system delivers benefits.
• Commissioner DeVries said he supported an OMS and believed the upcoming vote should be about whether the plan and vendor are right, not whether to get an OMS. He asked about system integrations, requested a vendor decision matrix, and asked about lessons learned from past integrations. Manager Chu said some platforms may reduce the number of interfaces, that integration experience would be a selection criterion, and that recent integration challenges had informed the scope.
• President Hunter asked about customer expectations, estimated restoration times (ETR), integration of customer contact information, vendor references and financial stability, and whether the OMS could support a future Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) program. Manager Chu clarified that messaging and ETR decisions would be controlled by AMP, that customer portal integration could update contact information, and that the system’s proactive maintenance module could support future PSPS-type notifications.
• The item was for information only; no board action was taken.

General Manager’s Report – September 2026

• General Manager Haynes reported that the City of Alameda had partially activated its emergency operations center in anticipation of winter storms and El Niño conditions. King Tide events are expected around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Staff are coordinating with city departments, developing electrical safety handouts, overlaying utility assets with flood maps, reviewing procedures, and planning staffing and standby pay.
• In response to questions, staff said they are checking pumps and cleaning drains at Carrite and smaller substations, including facilities that have flooded previously.
• General Manager Haynes announced that Allen Harbottle accepted the offer to become Assistant General Manager for Customer and Energy Resources, a position that oversees power supply, customer programs, rates, key accounts, and communications. Commissioners congratulated Mr. Harbottle.

Key Outcomes

• The consent calendar was approved unanimously with item 4E postponed to November 16, 2026.
• The outage management system discussion was informational; no vote was taken. Staff plan to return in upcoming meetings, possibly December, with a contract request. Board members asked for a vendor decision matrix, careful vetting of vendors and references, attention to integration and customer contact data, and clear communication strategies.
• Council communications were skipped because the city manager was absent; the General Manager’s EOC announcement was counted as that item.
• The meeting adjourned at 6:52 p.m.