Southern California designated national electric corridor
By: DAVE DOWNEY - Staff Writer
SDG&E has option of asking federal commission to approve Sunrise power line | ∞
NORTH COUNTY -- The odds increased Tuesday that San Diego Gas & Electric Co.'s proposed $1.3 billion power line will be built after a wide swath of Southern California was designated a national electric corridor.
The corridor, drawn wide to include the urban areas where more electricity is needed as well as outlying areas where power is produced, stretches from the Mexican border to well north of Los Angeles, and east to Phoenix. Under the declaration, when utilities propose transmission lines and state regulatory agencies either reject them or put off action for long periods, they can ask the federal government to step in and review those projects instead.
The San Diego County power company could become the first utility in the nation to ask the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to intervene in what traditionally has been a state process for evaluating plans.
The utility could ask the commission to step in almost immediately because the California Public Utilities Commission has been reviewing its Sunrise Powerlink transmission line for more than a year, the minimum time required before the federal agency may intervene.
"We're in a position to take advantage of this action more so than are utilities in other areas of the country," said Mike Niggli, chief operating office for San Diego Gas & Electric, by telephone Tuesday. "At this point in time we are keeping our options open. We're not ruling anything out."
Sunrise Powerlink is a 150-mile superhighway of electricity SDG&E wants to string across in the backcountry of San Diego and Imperial counties. Stretching from El Centro to Carmel Valley, the project's 500- and 230-kilovolt wires would cross Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Ranchita, Santa Ysabel, Ramona and Rancho Penasquitos.
An environmental report for the project was supposed to be delivered in August, but the California Public Utilities Commission put off completion until January to study impacts of a potential future expansion. A final ruling isn't likely to come before the end of next summer.
The timing of the designation comes as the Public Utilities Commission is scheduled to wrap up hearings addressing whether Sunrise is needed to meet San Diego County's future electricity needs.
Niggli said the designation couldn't have come at a better time. He said it underscores the need for more transmission lines like Sunrise that are designed to move power from developing renewable energy centers in the desert to the vast urban areas along the coast.
Sunrise opponents had been bracing for the decision for months.
"We anticipated that this would occur and that SDG&E would try this legal end-around," said Michael Shames, executive director for the San Diego consumer watchdog group Utility Consumers' Action Network, by e-mail.
Decision is no guarantee for power line
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Energy designated two national electric corridors. Both are in heavily populated regions where, federal officials said, utilities routinely encounter difficulty delivering power on days of high demand.
The energy department's new Southwest Area Corridor covers seven California counties ---- San Diego, Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles, Kern, San Bernardino and Imperial ---- and three counties in western Arizona. The agency designated an East Coast corridor that runs from New York to Washington.
Kevin Kolevar, assistant secretary for electricity delivery and energy reliability for the Department of Energy, stressed that the designation was not an endorsement for any particular power-line project. And while the designation calls attention to the need to move electricity around more freely, cures for roadblocks could include local power plants and conservation, besides new lines, he said.
Kolevar maintained that moving a power line from the umbrella of a state to the federal government would not result in a slam dunk.
"Filing an application with FERC ... does not equal approval," he said.
If approval were granted, Kolevar said, the commission could impart eminent domain authority to condemn private lands needed for a project. But he said the commission could not exercise that authority in wilderness areas, nature preserves, state parks, national forests or national parks. The ability to ask the federal agency to take over would not extend to power plants or other utility projects.
"No project may be routed through state or federally owned land without the approval of state or federal land agencies," Kolevar said.
Supporters: Region depends on Powerlink
A San Diego County business coalition that supports the power line proposal praised the designation.
"Today's decision by the federal government is yet another piece of conclusive evidence that the Sunrise Powerlink must be approved and constructed as soon as possible," said Julie Meier Wright, co-chairwoman of the Community Alliance for the Sunrise Powerlink. "The economic competitiveness of our region depends on reliable and affordable power."
Diane Conklin, a Ramona activist who doesn't want to see a segment of the Sunrise line built near her rural hilltop home, said the Southwest corridor is almost comical in how wide it is, stretching from the border to the southern tip of Nevada.
"It's not a corridor. It's an entire area of the country," Conklin said.
Federal officials defended the corridor's size, saying it needed to be large enough to include not only the area of the electric bottleneck but all locales in California and Arizona where power sources are being developed for the Southern California market.
While the Southwest corridor includes Riverside County, it is not likely to affect a project being watched closely there. That's because the proposed Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage project, which includes a proposed new reservoir, hydroelectric plant and new transmission lines, already is being reviewed by the federal energy commission.
-- Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (760) 745-6611, Ext. 2623, or ddowney@nctimes.com.
More Stories
Advertisement
Latest ploy... wrote on Oct 3, 2007 6:42 AM:SEMPRA will try anything to get their Sunrise Powerlink approved. Why doesn't the federal government get involved in the new "dirty" LNG that they will be importing into their terminal 50 miles south of the border. We need to approve the initiative for nuclear power. San Onofre needs to get the already approved Reactor #4 built and use the #5 for desalination. Camp Pendleton and San Onofre are right in the middle of the San Diego/Orange County area.. Sign that initiative. Get it on the ballot before SEMPRA and all of its powerful connections force us to have the Sunrise Powerlink.-
What a waste wrote on Oct 3, 2007 6:44 AM:If they want to build this powerline, why not use existing right of ways beside interstates, or the border, rather than seizing and destroying a swath of privately owned and park land?-
Hravey wrote on Oct 3, 2007 8:41 AM:If SDG&E would take the money they would spend on the power link to install solar panels on houses or businesses they could acheve the same or better results.-
Its only dessert wrote on Oct 3, 2007 10:18 AM: Im new to this, how did natrual gas "LNG" become dirty? Coal is dirty LNG is clean, or so i thought. If they were going to convert the Dirty LNG into electricity wouldn't they be running wires to mexico as its cheaper and easyier to Create dirty electricity in mexico away from the EPA or california air boad. I do agree about nuclear power. built but the tree huggers will delay the project to and un realistic expense. Sempra is a business and they cant build a billion dollar reactor and not be let to opperate it. We need the Sunrise power link to get power, at least a redundant source of power. If they run 2 extention cords through the same fire, quake fault or terror attack, well be sitting in the dark. My electric bill averages $45-55 a month, how much do you waste?
About time wrote on Oct 3, 2007 10:55 AM:common sense prevails. We are desert rats and love going to Octillo Wells. We can just navigate around these towers. Small price to pay for more power. HOORAY!!
John E wrote on Oct 3, 2007 11:53 AM:We need a multimodal approach to solving our energy problems. This includes photovoltaics, wind, conservation, nuclear fission, natural gas, and advanced coal technologies (gasification and carbon sequestering). We need to step up nuclear fusion research for the future -- several other countries, including France, Japan, South Korea, China, and Canada, are apparently much more committed to this than we.-
Yes Harvey wrote on Oct 3, 2007 12:28 PM:Your right from a enviromental standpoint, but not from the economic view. Remember, Sempra is investor owned. Investors care nothing about the enviroment (or else they would have stopped the Sunrise debacle years ago). If Sempra put PV panels on houses they would make less money than if they imported dirty power (even when losing 7% of the power though ineffeciencies in transmission), and charged for distribution. it is all about protecting and enriching shareholders, not about protecting the enviroment. yes, they are free to run the business as they see fit, but we are free to tell them to get screwed on the proposal to build in a state park.-
to - its only desert wrote on Oct 3, 2007 12:32 PM:My meter runs backwards, I am a net producer. Your welcome. LNG is dirty from a carbon perspectice, just as bad as coal. Are you going to blame tree huggers for the leaks at San Onofre, how soon we forget about those. Isn't unit #1 shut down permanently because the leaks are not fixable. Problem with nuclear power in this country is that it is a way for corporations to build an empire, they designed plants from the ground up each time. The industry made lots of money but has a terrible track record as a result. Now we blame the tree huggers!!!! PULLLLEEEEZZZZZ give me a break
AMBER wrote on Oct 3, 2007 2:31 PM:SDG&E has no desire to have this country run on any energy other than their electricity. If the feds let this happen we will forever be dependent on the money-hungry electric companies.
Typical wrote on Oct 3, 2007 4:26 PM:Wonder who got wined and dined to come up with this strategy?
STOP SEMPRA NOW wrote on Oct 3, 2007 4:41 PM:we are buying their line of baloney and they are going to back us into a corner. We will forever be dependent on them for power. REPENT people, see the light, step out of the darkness and be healed!!!!
Getyerfactsright wrote on Oct 3, 2007 8:27 PM:This article has a glaring error. SDG&E cannot “ask the commission to step in almost immediately because the California Public Utilities Commission has been reviewing its Sunrise Powerlink transmission line for more than a year, the minimum time required before the federal agency may intervene” as this article states. This statement is a blatantly and obviously wrong. The only possible authority under which SDG&E could seek a FERC construction permit is 16 USC § 824p(b)(1)(C)(i). However, this language says that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission can march either one year after SDG&E filed is Application or one year after the corridor is designated, “whichever is later.” SDG&E filed its revised Application on or about August 4, 2006. One year after this is August 4, 2007. The DOE designated the corridor, according to this article, on Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007. One year after this date is October 2nd, 2008. Obviously, October 2nd, 2008 comes later than August 4th, 2007. Therefore, FERC cannot act on the Sunrise Powerlink matter until a year from last Tuesday. SDG&E cannot “ask the commission to step in almost immediately.” NCT: Get your facts straight and stop parroting SDG&E.
Roberto1 wrote on Oct 3, 2007 9:44 PM:We don't need no stinking lines...build the power plants in California our home...We need the jobs. Quit buying into your a tree hugger if you oppose powerlines.
Watcher wrote on Oct 4, 2007 8:35 PM:The new federal energy act prohibits DOE or FERC from blessing a new powerline that would run though a state park, like the Anza Borrego Desert State Park, without the state's approval, which might be hard to come by should the CPUC end up rejecting the line for any reason. Threatening to run whining to the feds won't make any points for SDG&E with the CPUC.
SusieTreehugger ;-) wrote on Oct 8, 2007 10:03 AM:Looks like the state needs to designate more lands as state parks, huh? What will it take to stop the federal government from trying to control environmentally friendly California, and corporations like SDG&E to give them excuses to do so? This is OUR state, WE need to keep control so we can have an attractive, healthy, and economically friendly place to live . . . all three!-
First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.
Today's Stories
Advertisement