A Century of Clean Power: Events Marked the 100th Anniversary of Pit 1 Powerhouse and Vaca-Dixon Substation

By Paul Moreno and Megan McFarland

One hundred years ago, 15-year-old Isabel Creed, daughter of then PG&E President Wigginton Creed, closed a knife switch at PG&E's Pit 1 Powerhouse, sending 220,000 volts of electricity 202 miles away to the Vaca-Dixon Substation. At the time, it was the longest and highest-voltage transmission power line in the world.

The powerhouse, powerline and substation would help drive California’s economy by enabling clean and cost-effective power to travel great distances and set the stage for more hydroelectric powerhouses and a network of long-distance transmission lines that would spur a century of economic growth in the Bay Area and much of California.

On Friday (Sept. 30), just as it did 100 years ago, PG&E held joint celebrations at its Pit 1 Powerhouse in Fall River Mills in Shasta County and its Vaca-Dixon Substation in Solano County. In attendance were PG&E coworkers, retirees, community dignitaries, school officials and reporters. The celebrations honored the significant role that these PG&E facilities have played in California’s history as well as looking toward the future as PG&E continues to provide safe, reliable, affordable and clean energy to our customers every day.

‘Same energy in the air’ as 100 years ago

“Today was a fantastic day at Vaca-Dixon and Pit 1 Powerhouse with members of the community coming together to celebrate PG&E’s strong past and even stronger future.,” Joe Wilson, PG&E’s Vice President for the North Valley and Sierra Region, said as he addressed several hundred people at the substation. “One hundred years ago, PG&E employees and members of the community gathered to watch the Pit 1 Powerhouse and Vaca-Dixon Substation come online and begin their long history of providing reliable energy to Northern California. You could feel that same energy in the air today as we reflected on where we came from and where we’re going. I’m proud to be a part of this company and our rich history.”  

Engineering, Planning and Strategy EVP Jason Glickman and Chief Customer Officer and EVP Marlene Santos also attended the Vaca-Dixon event.

See a video below about the incredible history of PG&E’s Vaca-Dixon Substation and Pit 1 Powerhouse:

Today, the Vaca-Dixon Substation supports a network of transmission power lines and acts as one of the gateways for power to the San Francisco Bay Area. Much of the power it receives is from PG&E’s large fleet of hydroelectric powerhouses in faraway mountain ranges.

Prior to the opening of the Pit 1 Powerhouse, electricity to the Vacaville area was primarily provided by a series of local petroleum generators. Once the substation came online, PG&E was able to harness the clean power of hydroelectricity by connecting Vaca-Dixon to Pit 1 Powerhouse.

“Hydropower’s qualities as being carbon-free, reliable and affordable are as important now as ever,” said Jan Nimick, PG&E’s Vice President of Power Generation at the Pit 1 event. “We continue to leverage hydropower to meet peak customer demand periods for electricity like those we recently experienced during the heat waves. Hydropower works when the sun isn’t shining, and the wind isn’t blowing. It can be quickly dispatched to meet power needs for the grid and helps us fill in the gaps from renewable sources of power like wind and solar.”

Anniversary parties included gifts to local schools

At the celebrations, PG&E presented $50,000 grants to the Shasta County Office of Education and Solano County Office of Education to be designated to local schools for STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Math) education.

“PG&E is investing in our schools and our young people. When we think about the jobs that are available in the energy industry, not only for today but in the years to come, PG&E is really investing in our future. Today I am here to say thank you on behalf of the school children of Solano County who will have opportunities in STEAM and innovation to continue to move forward our community,” said Lisette Estrella-Henderson, Solano County Superintendent of Schools.

During the events at both locations, PG&E showcased the latest technologies to promote a safer, more reliable and sustainable power grid. At Vaca-Dixon, attendees learned about PG&E’s bi-directional electric vehicle charging pilot program that’s testing how EVs and chargers can provide power to the electric grid and other benefits to customers. PG&E is running this pilot program in homes, businesses and with local microgrids in select high fire-threat districts, evaluating how the system works and how it can provide benefits to customers during an outage.

Both events were well-attended by PG&E coworkers and retirees, members of the community and local leaders. Company representatives staffed booths to share information about important and innovative efforts to improve safety including undergrounding 10,000 miles of powerlines in areas with high fire risks and our Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings, which automatically cuts off power in one-tenth of a second when a fault is detected to help prevent ignitions.

Art, engineering and history on display

One of those at the Pit 1 Powerhouse celebration was PG&E retiree Robert Ingram, who started in 1985 as a helper for a hydro maintenance crew. But his connection to the Pit 1 Powerhouse began much earlier as birthday parties when he was growing up were held at the former community pool at the powerhouse grounds. On Friday, he said he remains in awe of the workers who built the powerhouse.

“It’s a work of art and very well-constructed,” said Ingram. “Several years ago, when the powerhouse tailrace (where water exits the powerhouse) was replaced, the contractor said the concrete forms were so well done that ‘I don’t know how they did this. I don’t have anyone who could duplicate this.'"