California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)

Waymo restricted from San Francisco waterfront during Fleet Week

Oversees Waymo's state permit

San Francisco will keep Waymo's self-driving cars out of the waterfront during Fleet Week, October 9-11. The geofenced zone bars pickups and drop-offs in the Marina, near Fisherman's Wharf, and along much of the Embarcadero, with no autonomous vehicle service in the Presidio.

Updated Yesterday

California requires data centers to pay for grid and water costs

Rule Changes

Directed to create new data center rate classification by Jan 1, 2028

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed seven bills on Monday that force data center operators to pay for the power grid upgrades their facilities require. The laws also require operators to disclose projected water use, energy efficiency, and drought plans before local governments can approve new projects.

Updated Sep 22

Charter closes $34.5 billion Cox merger to form largest US broadband operator

Money Moves

Granted final approval needed to close

Charter Communications closed its $34.5 billion purchase of Cox Communications on Thursday, folding two of the country's biggest cable providers into one company. It now sells internet to about 35.6 million homes and businesses, more than Comcast.

Updated Aug 20

Robotaxis go mainstream

New Capabilities

Primary regulator for robotaxi deployment in California

MIT Technology Review named robotaxis a breakthrough technology on January 3, 2025, marking the moment driverless cars moved from lab experiments to real-world service. Waymo provides 450,000 paid rides weekly across five U.S. cities, while Baidu's Apollo Go matches that in China, operating across 22 cities from Wuhan to Dubai, with Tesla, Zoox, and others racing to catch up.

Updated May 19

San Francisco went dark—and the same substation has burned before

Built World

Historical enforcer tied to the same substation’s 2003 fire; potential oversight pressure point

San Francisco is the kind of city that feels unstoppable—until the lights go out. On Saturday, a substation fire near 8th and Mission helped trigger a blackout that spread across neighborhoods and knocked out traffic signals. Restoration took more than two days and sparked political backlash and raised questions about whether a modern city can tolerate single-point failures in critical infrastructure.

Updated May 16