By Miriam Raftery

Hearings in Escondido today at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

By Miriam Raftery

January 19, 2016 (Los Angeles) – Southern California Gas (SoCalGas) announced yesterday that its relief well drilling to stop the massive Aliso Canyon natural gas leak north of Los Angeles is “proceeding ahead of schedule and the company expects to stop the leak by late February, if not sooner.” 

The relief well drilling began December 4^th and must reach a depth of 8,500 feet.  “Once the well is sealed, it will be taken out of service permanently,” a SoCalGas press release states.

In addition, the company announced it has abandoned its earlier proposal for a gas capture system to burn off leaking gas because of safety concerns expressed by its engineers. State regulators had also expressed concerns that the plan could potentially result in a fire.

Source: Sempra

September 14, 2015 (San Diego) – For the fifth consecutive year, Fortune magazine has named Debra L. Reed, chairman and CEO of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), to the magazine’s “Most Powerful Women in Business” list.  Reed is ranked No. 23 in 2015, up from No. 30 last year.

By Miriam Raftery

November 25, 2014 (San Diego) – For years, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has ranked highest in the nation—or nearly so--for the most expensive utility rates in America.  The annual survey is conducted by Jacksonville Electric Authority.

But now SDG&E has stopped providing its data to Jacksonville in 2013, after the company received bad publicity for its high rates.  So San Diegans no longer know where our city ranks in utility rates.

East County Magazine asked SDG&E why it stopped participating in the survey. Stephanie Donovan, senior communications manager for SDG&E, sent this response:

By Miriam Raftery

March 27, 2014 (San Diego)—After the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Stations (SONGS) were shut down in 2012 due to faulty steam generators, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE) continued to charge ratepayers for the costs associated with replacing those generators.  Edison later announced permanent decommissioning of the nuclear facility in June 2013 due to serious safety problems.

Ratepayers will be receiving refunds from SDG&E and Edison for those charges, if a joint settlement agreement announced today is approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).  The settlement was reached SCE, the CPUC Office of Ratepayer Advocates, and The Utility Reform Network (TURN).

February 15, 2014 (Jacumba)—Wayne Brammer sent in these photos of SDG&E’s new Eco Substation in Jacumba. The project is (so-named for hooking up to industrial-scale renewable energy projects. But to most backcountry residents, the project is an ecological disaster that destroyed the landscape and used three times more water (90 million gallons total) than SDG&E estimated.

“This thing is a monster and they’re wasting water all over the place, not just here but all the way to Boulevard,” writes Bramley, referencing other energy projects in the pipeline.  “We really do need to separate from the city and have our own county,” he concluded, linking back to a reader’s editorial on this issue.

January 2, 2013--(San Diego’s East County)--East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s inland regions, published in other media. This week’s top “Roundup” headlines include:

 EAST COUNTY

• Hiking in San Diego County? There's an App for That (La Mesa Patch)
• La Mesa resident prevails in illegal search case U-T San Diego)
• Ways to Work’ helps families move their lives forward by putting wheels on them (East County Californian)
• Spring Valley Citizens Association survives by a single vote on third ballot (La Mesa Patch)
• Sailors sue Japan over illnesses they say stem from radiation exposure at Fukushima (10 News)
• New members for Grossmont Hospital Foundation (U-T San Diego)
• New San Diego Humane Society adoption center opens at East County Petco (East County Californian)

SAN DIEGO REGION

• San Diego Can Now Have Redevelopment Funds For Some Projects (U-T San Diego)
• Gov. Brown Grants 79 Pardons, Including Seven Cases in SD County (La Mesa Patch)
• Economy for 2013: San Diego worse than state, nation?  (SD Reader/Don Bauder)
• Sempra completes Hawaii wind farm project (San Diego Business Journal)

STATE

• Mortgages, vaccinations, guns among new-law topics (Sacramento Bee)
• New California laws to affect drivers in 2013 (Sacramento Bee)
• California's snowpack levels above normal (Sacramento Bee)
• Jerry Brown pushes new funding system for California schools (Sacramento Bee)

Read more for excerpts and links to full stories.

DRA Says SDG&E’s cost of capital request is out of line with today’s market and unfair to customers

August 7, 2012 (San Francisco) – The Division of Ratepayer Advocates (DRA), the independent consumer advocate within the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), on Monday presented evidence in the CPUC’s proceeding on Cost of Capital. DRA found that San Diego Gas & Electric Company’s (SDG&E) request for an 11.0% Return on Equity far exceeds both the company’s revenue needs and market standards.

DRA recommends that the appropriate Return on Equity (“ROE,” or the revenue that shareholders can expect to earn on their investment) should be 8.5%, which would result in a $50 million annual savings to SDG&E’s customers. [See Cost of Capital Comparison Chart]

Outside, protesters object to Powerlink and more power projects planned for region

By Miriam Raftery

July 27, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – “That snap, crackle and pop is the sound of success,’ SDG&E president and chief financial officer Michael Niggli declared, referring to the noises emanating from high voltage lines at the newly completed Suncrest Substation.

 Atop a former mountaintop blasted away for the project’s construction, Governor Jerry Brown  and former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger joined with energy industry executives to celebrate what they view as a milestone in meeting the state’s ambitious renewable energy goals.

February 17, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) -- Sempra-owned utility San Diego Gas & Electric wants “San Diego-area utility customers to pay for nearly all of an estimated $463 million in cost not covered by insurance from the catastrophic 2007 wildfires that were triggered in large part by its power lines,” the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. “At stake is who ultimately pays for the fire’s destruction — ratepayers or shareholders.” SDG&E wants the ratepayers to cover 95 to 100 percent of excess wildfire and related litigation costs.

October1, 2011 (Sa Diego) – Debra L. Reed, who was elected chief executive officer and a director of Sempra Energy in June, has been named to Fortune magazine’s 2011 list of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Business,” published online today. 
This year marks the first time Reed has been recognized on this prestigious annual list, which was launched in 1998 to honor successful women in business.

“SDG&E has asked ratepayers to overpay for service, including funding long-term stock options and incentive programs in excess of what is reasonable,” Joe Como, acting director, Division of Ratepayer Advocates at the California Public Utilities Commission

September 21, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – Consumers opening their bills in a month that saw the worst power outage in California history got another unpleasant surprise: a notice that San Diego Gas & Electric Company seeks a rate increase of $1.5 billion over the next four years.

The California Utilities Commission has scheduled several meetings in San Diego County on the proposed rate hike between October 10 and 13, including two hearings Oct. 12 in East County (El Cajon). Public Participation Hearings will be held at 2.p.m. and 7 p.m. at each of the following locations:

Aug. 18, 2011 (San Diego) – San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), a unit of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), has closed a public offering of $350 million of 10-year first-mortgage bonds. This transaction marks the second time SDG&E has used a minority-owned investment bank as co-lead in a bond offering. 

By Miriam Raftery

July 23, 2011 (Lakeside) – Back in February 2009, SDG&E officials met with a packed hall full of residents in Lakeside, including the town’s planning board. Residents were furious that SDG&E had changed its proposed route to march 40-story high voltage towers through El Monte Valley, a County-designated scenic view corridor.

After numerous residents objected to desecration of views, SDG&E representative Laura McDonald promised that towers would be “camouflaged” by painting them tan or green. This reporter was present and can vouch for that pledge made. Don Parent and at least two other SDG&E representatives were also present.

But now SDG&E has reneged on its promise to the people of Lakeside—and its representatives have apparently developed convenient cases of amnesia.