SAN JOSE — A 7-mile electric transmission line is slated to be built underneath San Jose and Santa Clara in a project that would bolster efforts to upgrade the South Bay energy grid.

LS Power Grid California was chosen by the California ISO to develop a line that will connect PG&E’s Substation B in downtown San Jose with Silicon Valley Power’s Northern Receiving Station Substation at 4949 Centennial Blvd. in Santa Clara.

“We have consistently delivered on our commitments in a timely manner,” said Paul Thessen, LS Power’s president of development. “This project builds on our growing footprint in California and extensive experience successfully developing transmission projects across the country.”

In 2023, LS Power paid $56.5 million for a 9.8-acre site next to PG&E Substation B at 260 Coleman Ave., Santa Clara County real estate files show.

LS Power Grid California would be expected to finance, construct, own, operate and maintain the new 230-kilovolt underground transmission line, the California ISO announced.

The nonprofit estimated the line will cost as much as $200 million. The transmission facility is expected to be in service by June 2030.

Tech companies have been seeking more reliable and robust electricity supplies as the industry pursues energy-hungry endeavors in fields such as artificial intelligence. Oakland-based PG&E is racing to meet the demand for new infrastructure.

The LS Power efforts are among the key pieces of these efforts.

“We look forward to working with our partners to deliver this critical infrastructure for the Bay Area,” Thessen said.

LS Power is leading two major efforts in the Bay Area that are poised to upgrade electricity infrastructure in the San Jose and East Bay areas.

One of the projects would connect a new terminal near the existing Metcalf station in South San Jose to a new terminal in downtown San Jose near the corner of Coleman Avenue and Santa Teresa Street. The effort includes underground transmission lines connecting the two terminals as well as the existing electrical grid.

The other project would connect a new terminal near the PG&E Newark Substation in Fremont to Silicon Valley Power’s Northern Receiving Station in Santa Clara via a new terminal near the Regional Wastewater Facility in Alviso. It would include mostly underground transmission lines connecting the terminals to each other and the existing electrical grid.

Both projects are slated to go into service in 2028.