By Miriam Raftery

Updated August 8, 2015 with comments from SDG&E, clarifications/corrections.

August 7, 2015 (San Diego’s East County ) – SDG&E is asking the California Public Utilities Commission to pass on costs to ratepayers for the uninsured costs of legal settlements for the utility's role in causing three major fires in the 2007 firestorms.  The utility has announced plans to file an application this fall seeking to recover those costs, which could be as high as $367 million.

By Robert Gehr ©

July 25, 2015 (El Cajon)--A combination of several factors caused an electrical power outage in El Cajon Friday evening beginning around 6:20 p.m.

April 20, 2015 (La Mesa)-- On Wednesday, April 29, 2015 the La Mesa Chamber of Commerce invites you to join a unique evening and opportunity to meet some of the local businesses within the community. The “Spring Fling - Business Expo” is a new event that has been requested by local businesses to provide them an opportunity to showcase their goods and services.

A little April Fool's Day fun.

By Betty Burns

April 1, 2015 (San Diego)—Seeking to prevent fire stations from closing again this season due to budget cuts, the County of San Diego announced today that it has sold corporate naming rights to fire trucks.

Hooters Restaurant was the first to sign up for this opportunity, also agreeing to provide Hooters waitresses to serve firefighters at their base camp during wildfires.

East County News Service

December 5, 2014 (Valley Center) – A bomb threat e-mailed to an NBC news station threatened to place explosives targeting San Diego Gas & Electric Company work trucks over a land use dispute in Valley Center. 

Sheriff’s Bomb and Arson investigators shut down the Spearhead Trail area for two hours yesterday afternoon to assure that it was safe.

Subsequently, deputies arrested Frits Versteegh, a nearby resident who sent the threatening email, said Sergeant Jeff Lauhon.

November 17, 2014 (El Cajon) – An SDG&E employee who struck a homeless man with an SDG&E pickup truck in early January, then fled the scene, has been sentenced to 180 days of house arrest and 20 days of public service by Judge Laura Halgren. Hector Hoyt also received three years probation after pleading guilty to felony hit and run.

Photo: High-voltage Sunrise Powerlink tower by Lake Jennings

November 7, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has applied for a master permit to construct power line replacement projects in Cleveland National Forest. Now the Cleveland National Forest Foundation  has submitted formal comments objecting to the plan.

According to the Foundation, SDG&E’s project fails to assure that the state’s renewable energy mandate of 33% renewable by 2020 will be met; the project aims to increase energy project four-fold without proposing any reductions in dirty energy sources.

September 24, 2014 (La Mesa)--The City of La Mesa will host its fifth annual Senior Expo on Thursday, October 9, 2014.  With a wide variety of speakers and exhibitors, Senior Expo will offer free "one-stop shopping" for all adults facing life changes that may affect their independence, or for those who would like great tips on safety and security.  Senior Expo will be held at the La Mesa Community Center, 4975 Memorial Drive, La Mesa 91942, from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm, and is supported by funding from the San Diego Association of Governments.

SDG&E Thanks Customers for Patience & Conservation Efforts During Five-Day Heat Wave & Thunderstorms

September 20, 2014 (San Diego) – Following a record-breaking five-day heat wave combined with a microburst of thunderstorms bringing high winds, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) is thanking customers and community partners for their efforts to save energy and for their patience during power outages. Due to the extreme weather conditions, SDG&E reached new all-time back-to-back peak demand records of 4,781 megawatts (MW) on Sept. 15 and 4,890 MW on Sept. 16. The conservation efforts by customers limited strain on the electric grid and ensured SDG&E was able to provide reliable energy throughout the event.

CPUC holds public hearings Thursday, Sept. 18 in El Cajon on controversial utility rate change proposals

East County News Service

September 11,2014 (El Cajon) – Sierra Club’s San Diego chapter is warning consumers about deceptive claims made by the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce regarding proposed changes in utility bills, including links to a utility-backed website debunked by media for its efforts to dupe the public into supporting anti-consumer measures.

The California Public Utilities Commission will hold two hearings  on the utility-backed proposed rate changes on September 18 at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. in El Cajon City Council chambers,200 Civic Center Way in El Cajon. The public is invited to attend and testify.

The Chamber sought to persuade members to testify in favor of proposed utility rate changes, suggesting they would save money for most. But those changes  would actually “raise energy costs for low and middle income customers, those who can least afford to pay more on their energy bill,” says Pete Hasapopoulos with the Sierra Club My Generation Campaign. In addition, he warns, “the proposed changes by utilities are unacceptable and threaten our energy efficiency and rooftop solar programs. As a result, they are deeply out of line with state and public priorities on energy and climate.”

Photo: View of Oak Creek/Boulder Creek area taken by Cynthia Burnham from her home, where she reports seeing an SDG&E helicopter hovering "very low" for at least 10 minutes.

An open letter sent to the California Public Utilities Commission,  U.S. Forest Service/Cleveland National Forest, Congressman Duncan Hunter and Supervisor Dianne Jacob:

By Cindy Buxton

Dear CPUC, Foresters, Congressmen, and Supervisors:  

August 31, 2014 (Boulder Creek)--Several residences and visitors to the Cleveland National Forest lately between Descanso and Julian in the Boulder Creek area have complained about low flying helicopters.  These were seen hovering over people's back yards by only a few hundred feet. Subsequently we are to learn in the East County Magazine that several other residences identified the helicopters belonging to SDG&E, also experienced this to the point that horses were so frightened that they were injured.  One of the helicopters seen by several residences along Boulder Creek Road had a visible camera on the front  and apparently was not necessarily  in line with the ROW (right of way) for the TL626 line.

By Miriam Raftery

July 15, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)—San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) is the first utility company in the nation to be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to test the use of small, unmanned drone aircraft for monitoring electric and gas lines. 

The company announced that this will improve safety and response times, but the announcement is also drawing criticism for the lack of public input and potential environmental issues.

An analysis on the impacts of energy policies and projects on the future of East County

By Jessica Richmond and Miriam Raftery

May 29, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – A growing number of East County residents, fire chiefs, environmentalists and elected officials are voicing alarm over the proposed large-scale destruction of natural and scenic resources for numerous industrial-scale “renewable” wind and solar energy projects and related powerlines, substations and more.  A map reveals that East County is targeted for a disproportionate share of these projects, pushed forward by energy companies and politicians who contend such development is needed to disrupt disastrous effects of global warming and fill the regional energy gap left by closing San Onofre nuclear generation stations.

But opponents say these projects are not green or sustainable, instead setting up our region for an ecological disaster in the making. They raise some crucial questions:

How did San Diego’s East County come to be targeted for fast-tracking by federal, state and county governments to facilitate construction of so many massive-scale solar and wind projects and related transmission lines in rural, mountain and desert areas instead of urban locations where demand for power is highest? 

Why isn’t preference given to incentivize less destructive renewable options, such as rooftop and parking lot solar or small-scale wind turbines for use by residents, schools, municipal governments and businesses?

May 2, 2014 (San Diego's East County) - Ratepayers are feeling the pinch from higher utility bills due to rate hikes recently approved by the California Utilities Commission.