Kevin Cianfarini, representing the Public Utilities and Services Commission, told the Richmond Government Operations standing committee that the commission recommends a more detailed hydraulic review of utility infrastructure as the city updates the Richmond 300 master plan and urged prioritizing lead service-line replacement ahead of a new Environmental Protection Agency rule.

"The City currently has roughly 2,200 known lead service lines, 14,000 known non lead service lines, and 66,000 service lines which require identification," Cianfarini said, adding that the city is pursuing grant funding and should "exhaust all avenues of public outreach" to meet regulatory obligations.

The commission also recommended eliminating so-called line-extension allowances for gas hookups, a policy that gives new customers free or reduced upfront connection costs. Cianfarini said outside experts estimated that removing those allowances "would save existing utility customers between $1,000,000 and $4,000,000 annually," citing analyses from the Regulatory Assistance Project and state regulator studies from Maryland as comparable cases.

Council members questioned distributional effects and implementation details. One member noted census-based income estimates suggesting new gas connections have tended to benefit higher-income households, and asked whether eliminating the allowance would shift costs to developers or homeowners. Cianfarini and Director Scott Morris said the savings estimate is a ballpark figure that could be refined with DPU collaboration and emphasized potential equity implications: while up-front costs would fall to developers or homeowners, the commission argued existing customers ultimately carry the subsidy when new customers use less gas than projected.

On lead service-line work, the presenters said a forthcoming EPA mandate in 2027 will require full replacement; the commission recommends continued grant-seeking, community outreach, and exploring financing options (including utility-backed financing) where federal funds are insufficient. Director Morris described a contingent "block-by-block" replacement approach tied to EPA funding and said DPU can model utility-backed loan options for council consideration.

The committee recorded action items to follow up: filling commission vacancies, clarifying quorum language with the city attorney, and DPU returning with updated master-plan timing and any financing proposals for lead-line replacement.

The commission presentation and Q&A concluded with an agreement to continue the discussion in future GovOps sessions and to bring more detailed cost modeling and options back to the committee.