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Power trump card upheld
By: DAVE DOWNEY - Staff Writer
Federal officials leave intact Southern California electric corridor | ∞
San Diego Gas & Electric Co. still has its ace in the hole after the federal government said Thursday that designated energy corridors on the west and east coasts will remain in place.
Widely anticipated, the decision means SDG&E can play that ace in the event the California Public Utilities Commission refuses next summer to approve its $1.3 billion, 500-kilovolt Sunrise Powerlink transmission line.
Last fall, the U.S. Department of Energy designated "national interest electric transmission corridors" in two of the nation's most heavily populated regions, saying Southern California and the New York-Washington corridor are vulnerable to power outages.
The Department of Energy affirmed that decision Thursday after being asked by environmental groups and property owners to take a second look.
The decision means that should the state reject the Sunrise project, the utility, citing the energy corridor designation, can petition the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as early as October to step in to approve it.
The energy agency said its review found plenty of evidence to support its earlier conclusion that bottlenecks in Southern California's power grid threaten to prevent enough electricity from reaching homes during times of heavy use, such as hot summer days.
The high-voltage line would run 150 miles from El Centro to Carmel Valley, passing through Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Santa Ysabel, Ramona and Rancho Penasquitos. Wires would be strung from metal lattice towers as tall as 160 feet.
SDG&E spokeswoman Jennifer Briscoe welcomed the decision.
"Once again, the U.S. Department of Energy has come to the same conclusion that both the California Independent System Operator and the California Energy Commission have come to, that our region has a dangerous shortage of transmission and action needs to be taken immediately to upgrade the electric grid before it's too late," she said.
The decision also has implications for power-line projects in Riverside County and the Los Angeles area. That's because the West Coast corridor covers a wide area stretching from the border to the Tehachapi Mountains.
The corridor takes in seven Southern California counties ---- San Diego, Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles, Kern, San Bernardino and Imperial ---- and a portion of western Arizona where power plants are being built.
Diane Conklin, a Ramona activist who has been fighting the Sunrise Powerlink, called the decision "extremely disappointing."
Conklin said she fails to comprehend why the Department of Energy made the corridor so big.
"Seven counties in California and two in Arizona do not a corridor make," she said. "The Department of Energy needs to consult a dictionary."
The energy agency defended the geographical breadth, saying it is consistent with federal law and it was important to include all places where wires might be needed to bring electricity into Southern California cities. The agency maintains there is a need for new lines to tap developing solar, wind and geothermal energy projects across a wide swath of desert that have the potential to light millions of homes.
The size of the corridors aside, the idea of giving the federal commission power to trump a state regulatory agency is troubling, said Bill Corcoran, Southern California regional representative of the Sierra Club in Los Angeles.
"The designation undermines the state of California's ability to develop an efficient, environmentally benign transmission system," he said. "The problem is that FERC doesn't know California."
Corcoran also said the decision sends the wrong message.
"The designation allows transmission-line advocates to shop their projects around," he said.
Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (760) 745-6611, Ext. 2623, or ddowney@nctimes.com.
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Burt wrote on Mar 7, 2008 4:15 AM:We don't need to spend $1B to transport sun energy from the desert to San Diego. The sun is already here! San Diego has sun like other places have oil. Let's have SDGE spend that $1B creating a rooftop solar infrastructure and economic incentives, like actually buying back the surplus electricity from "consumers".
He who has the gold, rules wrote on Mar 7, 2008 6:55 AM:I was afraid that SDGE lobbyists would get their way in Washington. What a farce ! We have real environmental issues here, and the "energy corridor" that will be Sunrise Powerlink's ssavior is a joke ! We are NOTHING like the metropolitan area of New York/Washington are absolutely at two opposite ends of the spectrum. The Northeast is filled with people, people, people. Their Rapid Transit is an example of their urbanism. The Southwest's corridor (Sunrise Powerlink) is out in the middle of miles and miles of open area, crossing several National and State Parks ! Give us all a break ! Remember the Golden Rule - He who has the gold, rules !
Scotty wrote on Mar 7, 2008 9:09 AM:Why hold all of these costly meetings? Why bother with public input at all? What a charade!
Jonas wrote on Mar 7, 2008 9:43 AM:The only conservation that has ever worked is when the price goes through the roof -- who want to see that again?! Build the line, we need the infrastructure and certainty of power.
MAX wrote on Mar 7, 2008 11:54 AM:You have it right, Jonas. The transmission line is needed and must be built before it's too late. The alternatives of solar panels, windmills and little generators along the coast are inadequate and faulty.
Toad wrote on Mar 7, 2008 1:09 PM:Lead, follow or get out of the way! If you don't like the current corridor plan, sell us on a viable alternative. If you can't do that, let those who can lead do so, and get out of the way!
Fred wrote on Mar 7, 2008 7:13 PM:Have you people looked at the map? Have you forgotten the fires in October that were caused by the power lines? Is that 'certainty of power'? According to the CDF, one in five fires since 1985 in California have been caused by power lines. Two independent studies state that the cost of solar panels will drop by fifty percent in the next eighteen months due to new manufacturing techniques. Thats why they're in a hurry for approval. Where are the plants that the powerlink is supposed to hook up to? Wake up, people. They're going to bring in electricity from their dirty plants in Mexico.
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