By Miriam Raftery

April 1, 2013 (San Diego) – On March 29, a California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) administrative law judge proposed that SDG&E be allowed to increase rates for its customers by 7.7%.  Ratepayers in San Diego are already paying among the highest utility rates in the nation. View the full decision here.

“The people of San Diego need to stand up and speak out against this unjustifiable and unconscionable increase in electricity rates,” said Mike Aguirre, former San Diego City Attorney.  Public comments should be sent to ALJ Wong at jsw@cpuc.ca.gov and to the assigned commissioner; a current service list for the proceeding is available at www.cpuc.ca.gov.

By Miriam Raftery

March 13, 2013 (Boulevard) – Iberdrola’s Tule Wind project has been slapped with a federal complaint seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. The lawsuit was filed by two nonprofits in San Diego’s Rural East County, the Protect Our Communities Foundation and Backcountry Against Dumps.

If built, Tule Wind’s phase I would include 67 turbines on federal land, each nearly 500 feet tall in rugged McCain Valley, a federal wildlife management and popular  recreation area. Additional turbines are planned on adjoining state, tribal and private property. Turbines would be close to campgrounds and homes in rural Boulevard, a predominantly low income community in East County where numerous other massive-scale energy projects have already been proposed. (See map showing cumulative impacts.)

 “Eastern San Diego County is targeted as a rural sacrifice industrial energy and transmission zone without benefit of equal protection under the law,” said Donna Tisdale, also a plaintiff in the suit.

By Miriam Raftery

March 9, 2013 (Sacramento)—Wildlife experts are reacting with outrage to AB  516, a bill in the California Legislature that would  allow energy and utility companies to obtain “take” permits authorizing destruction of birds, eggs and nest that stand in the way of electrical transmission infrastructure. 

SDG&E  was caught flying helicopters too close to protected eagle nests at least four times during construction of Sunrise Powerlink.  Those incursions in three East County locations resulted in removal of one pilot and suspension of others, as well as grounding, GPS tracking and other regulatory enforcement actions. But if this bill goes through, such activities could occur without penalty in the future.

March 4, 2013 (San Diego)– San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has received the national Supply Chain Leadership Award at the second annual Climate Leadership Awards in Washington, D.C. The Climate Leadership Awards recognize organizations that go beyond business as usual in the management and reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and are presented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Association of Climate Change Officers (ACCO), the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) and The Climate Registry (TCR).

February 12, 2013 (San Diego)--This morning, ratepayer advocate and former San Diego City Attorney Michael J. Aguirre revealed details behind a new legal action against Southern California Edison (SCE) with what he terms “smoking gun documents showing how SCE executives have unlawfully levied multiple rate hikes on San Diego and Southern California ratepayers without formal approval from regulators.”

Aguirre is demanding refunds from Southern California Edison and SDG&E for ratepayers in our region, which is home to the highest electric rates in the USA.

Federal comment period now open for Enviornmental Impact Statement;

SDG&E also seeks approval for power lines tied to project without environmental review or public  hearing

By Miriam Raftery

January 14, 2013 (Campo) – The Campo Indian tribe has proposed to lease a portion of its reservation to Invenergy LLC for  an industrial energy project, Shu-luuk Wind.  The project would include 85 wind turbines, each approximately 500 feet tall, on tribal lands near the rural communities of Campo and Boulevard.  The project study area  of impact spans over 4,700 acres; the developer claims a project footprint of 900 acres;  many new miles of roads  and power lines are also proposed.

Similar fate could await eagles in path of Iberdrola’s Tule Wind project in East County

By Miriam Raftery

January 20, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Wildlife protection groups and residents have reacted in horror to the removal of an active bald eagle nest by a wind developer in Canada, an event documented on video January 5, just weeks after a photo of the active pair was taken at the site.

Now ECM has learned that the environmental documents filed by Iberdrola Renewables for its Tule Wind project in McCain Valley would allow SDG&E to “remove all existing raptor nests” prior to construction.

Prominent East County residents turn out in support

By Miriam Raftery

January 14, 2013 (San Diego) –In Marin County, 80% of utility customers now buy power from a local energy cooperative supported by their local government. Now a similar effort is making strides toward giving SDG&E customers an alternative option to purchase power from a  public utility backed by the City of San Diego.

 Elections have consequences---and Mayor Bob Filner has voiced strong support for creation of a San Diego Energy  District.  One of Mayor Filner’s first actions was to write a letter  of support for SDED’s plans to create a community choice aggregate (CCA) local energy district that aims to purchase power from locally produced clean and renewable resources, primarily rooftop and parking lot solar.

Last week,  a full house packed a meeting held by the San Diego Energy Foundation, the driving force behind the San Diego Energy District.   The Foundation recently received a $50,000 donation from the Protect Our Communities Foundation (an East County group that fought against Sunrise Powerlink) to conduct a feasibility study due out this summer. Leaders from other East County organizations were also among the attendees.

December 29, 2012 (San Diego)—A federal lawsuit has been filed by Celeste Deborah Cooney, who alleges that radiation from a bank of smart meters left her unable to reside in her home. Defendants in the suit include the SDG&E,  the State of California, Attorney General Kamala Harris, California Public Utilities chairman Mi chael Peevey, and Itron Inc., manufacturer of smart meters used in San Diego.

Cooney, a former bank vice president in Massachusetts, moved to San Diego to pursue a new career as a musician.  She performed at prominent locations including the Queen Mary and the Ritz Carlton.  But in April 2011, she developed a ringing in her ears, a “shock to her heart”, numbness, chest pain, heart palpitations and sleep problems that she attributes to a bank of smart meters at an apartment complex near her home in La Jolla.

By Miriam Raftery



Environmentalists voice concerns over impacts on desert views and habitat

December 20, 2012 – San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) announced on Monday the completion of two new long-term power purchase agreements in Imperial Valley totaling 40 megawatts (MW) of solar energy. The power is to be produced in Brawley and Calipatria with diverse business enterprise (DBE) participation. 

“SDG&E has made a concerted effort to increase the number of diverse-owned suppliers we do business with in electric procurement,” said Matt Burkhart, SDG&E’s vice president of electric and fuel procurement. “

December 6, 2012 (San Diego's East County)--County Supervisor Dianne Jacob is again asking the California Public Utilities Commission to reject an attempt by San Diego Gas & Electric to bill its customers for the uninsured cost of the region’s 2007 wildfires and any future wildfire caused by the utility.

“I remain outraged at SDG&E’s incessant attempt to slap ratepayers with a massive invoice for the 2007 wildfires that scorched hundreds of thousands of acres in rural San Diego County,” Jacob wrote today in a letter to CPUC President Michael Peevey. “The notion that SDG&E cannot afford the costs of these fires is nonsense.”

November 28, 2012  --  (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:

LOCAL/REGIONAL

• Refugee grateful for new life in new country (U-T San Diego)
• San Diego Congressmen get campaign contributions for domestic drone support (San Diego Free Press)
• Report: We’re in the midst of a housing recovery (U-T San Diego)
• Witness to deadly shooting by border patrol agent disputes official account (10 News)
• El Cajon working to reduce pedestrian deaths (U-T San Diego)
• Border economy to see greater emphasis under Filner administration (San Diego Free Press)
• David Copley dies at 60; heir to Union-Tribune fortune was once worth $1.2 billion  ( La Jolla Patch)
• Republican activist seeks ouster of Tony Krvaric as GOP Chairman (Ramona Patch)
• New Lakeside fire station opens (East County Californian)
• El Capitan cross country team runs to state championship  (East County Californian)
• Deputies break up 20-man brawl at Carlton Oaks bar (Santee Patch)
• Ocotillo: worker airlifted after falling ( IV Press)
• SDG&E makes last push to bill users for wildfires (U-T San Diego)

STATE

• Unemployment checks to stop for 400,000 Californians (U-T San Diego)
• Erin Brokovich town faces new threat from utility company (NPR)
• Democratic power in state capitol has its limits (Sacramento Bee)
• California elected officials set to take pay cut (Sacramento Bee)
• First cap and trade auction a bust for California budget (Sacramento Bee)
• California man accused in plot to join al Qaeda denied bail (Reuters)

Read more for excerpts and links to full stories.

By Miriam Raftery

November 12, 2012 (Boulevard)—At the latest Boulevard Planning Group meeting, community members including Native Americans shared heart-wrenching stories of how the nation's quest for renewable energy is upending their lives, dividing their communities,imperiling their health, and threatening their futures.

As in Ocotillo, where a wind project has anguished tribal members and residents with destruction of cultural and environmental resources, the community of Boulevard now faces an onslaught of massive "green" energy projects on public, tribal and private lands. 

November 3, 2012 (San Diego)– With the holiday season approaching, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) announced that it will provide more than $600,000 in charitable donations to non-profit organizations in San Diego and Orange counties as part of its continuing commitment to help local underserved communities in need. 

October 29, 2012 (San Diego) – With the holidays and cooler weather right around the corner, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) is helping customers prepare for the winter season by offering easy tips on how to stay safe and keep warm while also saving money.

“With most home heating systems operated by gas, now is a good time to schedule an appointment to have your heater inspected,” said Caroline Winn, vice president of customer services for SDG&E. “Keeping your furnace and other home gas appliances in good working order is essential to ensure they are running both efficiently and safely.”