Relicensing of Helms Pumped Storage Project

The project involves the relicensing of Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Helms Pumped Storage Project under FERC No. 2735, with the goal of continuing operations while enhancing environmental protections and public access. PG&E seeks to maintain water transfers between Courtright Lake and Lake Wishon for power generation and storage, while replacing and rehabilitating recreation facilities, redesignating approximately 36 miles of roads and one mile of trails as official Project infrastructure, and adjusting the FERC Project boundary to better reflect operational needs. The Project includes underground tunnels, penstocks, a powerhouse, switchyard, transmission lines, and ancillary facilities, all situated within Fresno and Madera Counties along the North Fork Kings River. Environmental compliance is central to the license renewal, requiring adherence to a suite of state and federal regulations including the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and California Environmental Quality Act. Numerous condition-specific obligations are embedded in the licensing framework, enforced through detailed exhibits that serve as operational mandates rather than standard federal contract clauses. These include maintaining minimum water flows and quality, implementing adaptive management strategies, monitoring fish populations and hatchery performance, protecting endangered and threatened species, conducting archaeological surveys, controlling erosion, restoring disturbed areas, and limiting noise and seasonal operations. PG&E is responsible for annual reporting, public notifications, emergency response, cultural resource protection, wildlife habitat management, and providing public recreation access under approved plans. Oversight is coordinated by the State Water Resources Control Board, with key contacts for environmental compliance and project management provided. Submissions for environmental certification are due by December 19, 2025, and compliance is measured through annual reports and agency inspections rather than traditional procurement metrics. While no formal contract value, pricing structure, or acquisition type is specified, the project’s scope implies long-term operational and environmental management responsibilities spanning the lifetime of the new FERC license, with no indication of small business set-asides or socioeconomic classifications applying to the contractor.