Emergency fire and medical protection, SDG&E planned outages top list of concerns

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

Miriam Raftery, Editor, contributed to this report

View video of townhall: https://tinyurl.com/JacobsJulianTownHall

Photo, left, by Paul Kruze:  Supervisor Dianne Jacob and SDG&E Vice President Eugene "Mitch" Mitchell fielded audience questions.

November 7, 2019 (Julian) -- Supervisor Dianne Jacob ventured into a potential firestorm when she held a scheduled town hall forum at the Julian Town Hall on October 25th in downtown Julian. Jacob’s town hall coincided with the anniversary week for the infamous 2003 Cedar Fire and 2007 Witch Creek firestorms which devastated the eastern San Diego backcountry. Up to then, both were the two worst wildfires in California history.

But the irony didn’t stop there. Moments before the town hall was set to begin, word reached the venue that a brush fire erupted near Witch Creek between Ramona and Julian. This prompted County Fire Authority/Cal Fire Chief Tony Mecham to bolt out of the town hall where he was slated to speak in order to respond to the fast-moving fire.

“We are all on edge,” acknowledged Jacob, who chairs the county’s Unified Fire Council and outlined major investments made by the county to improve fire safety. “But we are better prepared than ever before.”

That contention, however, was disputed by the president of the former Julian-Cuyamaca Fire Protection District (JCFD)'s  board of directors, as multiple fire engines and an ambulance roared past the town hall en route to the Sawday Fire in Ramona.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Governor Newsom met with officials and emergency responders after touring Getty Fire area in Los Angeles yesterday

October 29, 2019 (Sacramento) –San Diego rural and mountain residents weary of repeated utility-led Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) by SDG&E to prevent wildfires had complaints fall on deaf ears during Governor Jerry Brown’s administration.

By contrast, Governor Gavin Newsom has just issued a series of announced actions aimed at restricting widespread intentional outages and penalizing utilities that violate new rules that Newsom aims to impose.  In addition, Newsom called for an end to charging ratepayers during planned outages and approved funds to help compensate those left without power for losses incurred.

He also made clear that he expects the California Public Utilities Commission to take strong actions. The new Governor has appointed two new CPUC commissioners – and made clear at a press conference that he expects to see reforms, or more changes  will be made.

By Claire Trageser, KPBS | CALmatters

CALmatters is an independent public interest journalism venture covering California state politics and government.

Photo:  Flames from the Witch Fire light up the early Friday morning sky in northern San Diego County, Oct. 26, 2007. Photo by Jon Vidar/Associated Press

October 23, 2019 (San Diego) - As Pacific Gas & Electric Co. plans power shutdowns beginning Wednesday in parts of 17 Northern California counties due to high winds and fire danger, its management of the crisis has been widely criticized.

New initiatives include creating a fire science and innovation lab and leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance forecasting 

Source: SDG&E

October 21, 2019 (San Diego) -- To adapt to the effects of our changing climate and threat of year-round wildfires, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) is partnering with academia, government and public safety professionals to innovate and implement more advanced technologies designed to further improve wildfire safety in the region. Initial innovations include maximizing artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve situational awareness, a new Vegetation Risk Index and satellite enabled wildfire alerts.     

October 9, 2019 (San Diego's East County) -- SDG&E has issued a warning that it may shut off power to 28,701 customers in East County communities starting in the next 48 hours due to wildfire risks.  A red flag alert has been issued for Thursday afternoon and Friday by the National Weather Service.  The following communities are currently forecasted to be impacted:

• Banner Grade
• Boulevard
• Descanso
• East Alpine
• East Ramona
• Fallbrook
• Julian
• Mesa Grande
• Mt Laguna
• Palomar Mountain
• Pine Valley
• Potrero
• Rancho Santa Fe
• Rincon
• Santa Ysabel
• Valley Center
• Viejas
• West Valley Center
• Wynola

By Miriam Raftery

September 18, 2019 (Julian) – SDG&E has announced a planned power outage today from 12 noon to 4 p.m. to protect safety of workers repairing power poles.  An estimated 1,600 customers will be affected.

If you are enrolled in SDG&E’s Medical Baseline program and have devices that depend on electricity, the Planned Outage Coordinator to confirm you have received the outage notification and to make any necessary arrangements during the planned outage. The outage coordinator can be reached weekdays between 7 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at 858-654-1785.

If you need assistance after hours or over the weekend, please call 1-800-211-7343.

Click here for a video explaining how Level Pay works.  

Summer electricity prices in effect as of June 1

Source:  SDG&E

June 14, 2019 (San Diego) - With summer just around the corner, SDG&E is encouraging customers to enroll in a Level Pay program that will help them avoid spikes in their energy bills and provide them with more predictable payment amounts throughout the summer and beyond. 

Source: Sullivan Solar Power  

April 5, 2019 (San Diego) -- Beginning on March 1, 2019 SDG&E started defaulting its residential ratepayers to a new form of billing for electricity, a time-of-use rate known as “TOUDR1.” They plan to default 700,000 – 1,000,000 ratepayers per month to this time-of-use rate through mid-2020. SDG&E is mandated to provide two notices to ratepayers informing them 30 and 60 days prior to defaulting a customer, providing opportunities for ratepayers to opt out of being defaulted. See below for more details, or click here to RSVP for a seminar near you to learn more and speak with us in person.

Company seeks to have Commission approval to remove charge prior to next summer  

Source: SDG&E

December 4, 2018 (San Diego)  – San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has filed a request with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to eliminate the state-mandated high usage charge, which impacted more than 105,000 customers this past summer. Eliminating the charge for high energy users would minimize bill spikes during months when energy usage is high. 

Source:  SDG&E

Photo:  Sempra Energy headquarters in downtown San Diego. Courtesy of Sempra Energy

November 12, 2018 (San Diego) - Sempra Energy is launching an annual charitable-contribution program for Veterans Day to benefit support organizations for veterans and their families, with the inaugural grant of $20,000 going to the Gary Sinise Foundation.

Utility also announces it has begun installing portable generators to minimize planned power outages in critical wildfire areas and will open Community Resource Centers during fire events.

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

September 14, 2018 (El Cajon) - With the threat of wildfires now constant rather than a fall season rite of passage, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) held a press conference last week to showcase its innovative firefighting “Air-Crane” at a Gillespie Field hangar.

Hearings planned in San Diego June 26 and 28

By Miriam Raftery

June 15, 2018 (San Diego) — Ratepayers may be in for an unpleasant shock.  San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has asked the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for an 11% increase next year and increases of 6.9%, 5.1% and 4.9% in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Supervisor Ron Roberts recognizes SDG&E and Fire Foundations for their leadership

Source: SDG&E

May 15, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) -- In an action that will improve communications and awareness for first responders during wildfires and other natural disasters, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors today accepted two grants totaling $164,500 for the installation of 70 Mobile Data Computers on CAL FIRE firefighting rigs in the backcountry.

East County News Service

Photo: Grid Alternatives, a recent recipient of SDG&E’s Environmental Champions grant



April 11, 2018 (San Diego) – San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) kicked off its ninth annual “Environmental Champions” grant program, which supports non-profit organizations and their missions to improve the environment in San Diego and southern Orange counties.

Future community forums planned March 23 in Valley Center, March 30 in Ramona and April 6 in Warner Springs. View schedule here.

By Miriam Raftery

March 22, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) – At the Descanso Town Hall on March 16^th,  SDG&E representatives met with residents to discuss efforts to improve fire safety and hear community concerns, including ideas for reducing impacts of power shut-offs during high fire-risk weather conditions. Representatives from 211 San Diego , the local Red Cross, the Descanso Fire Safe Council and the area’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) were also on hand.

Portions of Descanso had a dozen or more outages late last year, much to the frustration of many residents.  But the outskirts of Descanso have also had among the most extreme conditions.