By Miriam Raftery

November 22, 2021 (San Diego) – With SDG&E warning over 28,000 customers in 38 communities of possible power outages Thursday through Saturday due to high fire danger, how can you salvage Thanksgiving dinner plans with your family?  Here are a few ideas:

1. Cook your turkey and side dishes on Wednesday. You can serve sliced turkey and sides cold, or cook or reheat on a covered  camp stove on your patio outdoors, but keep a water bucket handy if you cook on any open flame.

2. Barbecue the bird!  If you have a rotisserie or smoker, you can cook the whole turkey outdoors. Or carve it into slices and cook the [pieces on your gas-powered or charcoal-fired barbecue.

3.. Plan a picnic outside with side dishes that can be served cold. How about a yam potato salad instead of baked yams?  Or a balsamic green bean salad instead of green bean casserole?  Opt for smoked turkey slices with pre-chilled cranberry-orange sauce or other embellishments.

4. Consider ditching traditional turkey for smoked salmon or a gourmet charcuterie board instead.

East County News Service

Photos by Roger Coppock

August 21, 2021 (El Cajon) – SD350, an environmental and climate change action group, held a march with dozens of activists today to protest SDG&E’s Cuyamaca Peak gas-fired power plant at 200 N. Johnson Avenue in El Cajon.

Local teachers invited to request resources that promote anti-racism through the DonorsChoose platform

Source:  SDG&E

June 22, 2021 (San Diego) - Over the past year, teachers across our region and the nation have had many teaching moments related to racial and social justice. To support educators’ ongoing efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in their classrooms and at their schools, San Diego Gas & Electric has established a new grant program with $250,000 in shareholder funding. Teachers who request anti-racism learning materials through the nonprofit crowdfunding platform DonorsChoose, will have donations to their pro jects matched with $2 for every $1 that they raise. receive two dollars in matching funds for every dollar they raise.

California Climate Credit helps offset bills by a total of $87

Source:  SDG&E

March 24, 2021 (San Diego) - San Diego Gas & Electric’s (SDG&E) residential customers will receive a break on their utility bills in the coming months, thanks to the California Climate Credit program, which is part of the state’s efforts to fight climate change. In April, natural gas customers will see their bill reduced by $17.86. This summer, SDG&E electricity customers will also see their bills offset by $34.60 in climate credits in both August and September (or a total of $69.20), when energy use typically goes up due to hot weather.

By Miriam Raftery

December 22, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) – SDG&E has notified around 30,000 customers that their power could be shut off due to high fire danger.  The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for parts of Southern California due to possible strong winds from 8 a.m. Wednesday through 12 p.m. Thursday, Christmas Eve. The communities at risk range from El Cajon east to Campo, north to Escondido and mountain areas such as Julian, and as far south as Potrero near the border.

The threat of losing electricity in mid-winter during Christmas week is disheartening for backcountry residents, many of whom have stocked up refrigerators and freezers for holiday feasts. ECM has received complaints from residents who report SDG&E refused to reimburse them for food spoiled during other recent outages. Coming at a time when many are without jobs or have businesses with little income due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the prospect of financial losses due to power outages or worse, a wildfire are particularly troubling.

By Miriam Raftery

December 3, 2020 (San Diego's East County) -- SDG&E announced this morning that is has cut power to over 73,000 customers due to high winds and fire danger. The utility also announced,  that at 8 a.m. it will open 10 Community Resource Centers  at local libraries or community centers to provide support to those affected by Public Safety Power Shutoffs. The ceners will have water, snacks, charging stations for mobile phones and other devices, and in some areas, water trucks for livestock. (Bring your own vessel to transport water).

For locations of Community Resource Centers and updates on outages in your community, visit http://sdge.com/ready For safety, CDC guidelines will be enforced.

SDG&E reports record wind speeds recorded at its weather stations including gusts up to 94 miles per hour.

By Kiki Skagen Munshi, Julian

November 26, 2020 (Julian) – Regarding your article, SDG&E warns 2,700 customers of potential public power shutoffs after Thanksgiving: The real story is why SDG&E is doing this when the Santa Ana Wind Threat Index (SAWTI) forecast is only for “Moderate” fire danger in San Diego County and only for Friday.  This is a pattern that has become almost normal with SDG&E, threatening to shut off power the conditions aren’t very bad.  It was annoying in summer but it’s now winter and cold….and not all of us have wood stoves.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: New power poles in Pine Valley are made of steel, not wood, for fire safety, as part of the upgrades that SDG&E has been installing across inland San Diego County.

Updated August 23, 2020 9:40 a.m. with responses from SDG&E.

August 22, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) – Amid a record-breaking heat wave with monsoonal thunderstorms, flash floods and lightning-sparked fires forecast as potential added hazards, SDG&E has announced plans to shut off power for hours during the heat of the day on Sunday and Monday across much of San Diego County.  

The outages are to upgrade wood poles to steel, among other equipment upgrades or maintenance planned.

The NWS has warned that the intense heat  this week can be life-threatening for those without air conditioning, yet the power outage will leave any residents who lack generators without access to safe, cool spaces amid the COVID-19 pandemic when many public, air-conditioned places are shut down.

Rural residents with electric well pumps will also be left without water for people or livestock to drink, as well as for fighting fires, as many rural residents equipped with tanks and hoses have done in past brush fires, unless they have invested in generators. Downed communications including internet and in some areas, phone service also leave residents unable to receive emergency alerts despite a high potential for emergencies during the extreme weather conditions.

Consumers should prepare for the likelihood of rotating electric outages

Source:  California ISO

August 16, 2020 (Folsom) - The California Independent System Operator (ISO) issued a statewide Flex Alert, a call for voluntary electricity conservation, beginning today and extending through Wednesday. The Flex Alerts are in effect from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. each day.

August 10, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) – On Friday, August 7, East County Magazine took our “Newsmakers, Shakers and Newsmakers” community forum/webinar series virtual.  Thanks to the #FacebookJournalismProject for supporting our community news reporting and virtual events in the COVID-19 era.

Thanks to all of you who sent in questions via email and social media for Dr. William Tseng, one of San Diego’s top COVID-19 experts, who shared the latest facts on COVID-19 trends and what the medical community has learned since the pandemic beganWhy does San Diego have a lower death rate than the nation?  What are the facts and myths about this disease?  How accurate are tests?  How can you help save lives if you’ve survived COVID-19?  What will it take to end the pandemic and return life to normal in our region?  Listen in to hear Dr. Tseng's fascinating responses.

Robyn Herrick, community resiliency advisor with SDG&E, discussed their upcoming drive-through Wildfire Safety Fairs coming up in Alpine, Pine Valley and Valley Center. Get details here. 

Hear what you need to know to stay safe this fire season – and how you get free devices to help you stay in communication even while you’re evacuated.

Increased Contributions will Support San Diego Foundation’s COVID-19 Community Response Fund, Civic Engagement and Social Justice

East County News Service

June 18, 2020 (San Diego) -- San Diego Gas & Electric has announced “Energy for Others,” a new multi-year giving campaign to support communities in need, civic engagement and social justice.

In March, SDG&E shareholders seeded The San Diego Foundation’s COVID-19 Community Response Fund with its first $1 million contribution. With an additional $1 million contribution in 2020 and a $1 million commitment for 2021, SDG&E’s support of the fund now totals $3 million. The donations will help economic recovery, address food insecurity, assist with utility bills and more. SDG&E is also committing $500,000 to civic engagement and social justice causes, including an immediate $50,000 contribution to RISE San Diego, whose mission includes elevating and advancing urban leadership through dialogue-based civic engagement.  All contributions are funded by SDG&E shareholders.

“All of us at SDG&E care deeply about our communities and we’re honored to do our part in helping address the economic and social issues we face,” said Scott Drury, president of San Diego Gas & Electric.  “The senseless killing of George Floyd and other recent events serve as a sobering reminder that our country has more work to do before everyone is treated equally and with the same level of respect. RISE San Diego shares our values and commitment to respect, dignity and inclusiveness of all people, making them a strong partner to help advance progress.” 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Jill Sawyer

April 14, 2020 (Descanso) – SDG&E has shut-off power to 22 households in Descanso for 10 hours today in order to replace wood poles with steel for wildfire prevention. The action has sparked anger among residents under county orders to stay home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with some left in the cold despite medical conditions, working and teaching children at home There are no shelters or any public space open, with temperatures forecast to dip to a chilly 42 degrees by this evening.

After ECM’s editor called SDG&E last night to advise the utility of  concerns raised by many residents online, the utility discovered it had mistakenly called many households who were not slated to have power shut down.  “They were all called shortly before 10 p.m. apologizing for this evening’s call, advising it was made by mistake,” SDG&E media spokesperson Zoraya Griffin informed ECM.

For those without power, however, the outage puts safety of medically vulnerable and elderly residents at risk, also causing major inconveniences for those working or teaching children at home.

East County News Service

January 7, 2020 (Julian) – SDG&E has begun construction to place powerlines underground east of downtown Julian along Banner Road (State Route 78) and Cape Horn Avenue).

The project aims to reduce wildfire risk and allow key facilities to remain open during safety power shutoffs, according to a press release issued by SDG&E.

“Unlike overhead power lines, underground lines do not present a fire risk during high winds and elevated fire danger conditions. Facilities that will benefit from the undergrounding work include: the post office, county branch library, Julian Union High School, Julian Charter School, Julian Elementary School and the CAL FIRE Station, as well as a county public works maintenance yard and a school bus yard,” the utility states. Existing overhead power lines in the area will remain, as they are needed to continue serving some customers.