UPDATE July 18, 2012:  SDG&E has informed ECM that the Old Fire was not started by Sunrise Powerlink.  “The fire started on June 17 near Miller Valley,” Hanan Eisenman, communications manager, stated in an e-mail received June 18.  “At the closest point, Sunrise is two miles away. Therefore, this has nothing to do with the Sunrise Powerlink.” 

 Cause of the fire, which is now over 820 acres, remains under investigation, per Cal Fire.

Update 10:05 p.m.: This fire is now 450 acres, spreading rapidly. an estimated 150 homes are threatened and the blaze is zero percent contained.  A travel trailer has been destroyed. 

Road closures: Old 80 x La Posta rd, Old 80 x Crestwood, Hwy 94 x Church Rd, and Crestwood  2 miles east of Golden Acorn Casino.  There are 15 engine, 2 handcrews, 1 dozer, 4 airplanes, and 3 helicopters assigned. A shelter has been set up at Golden Acorn Casino.  A Cal-Fire spokesman told ECM there is room in the parking lot for trailered livestock as well. An earlier report that Golden Acorn had evacuated proved incorrect.

 June 11, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – Approximately 443 households are without power as a 450-acre wildfire rages in or near their communities, ECM has learned. 

Is it just coincidence that earlier today, electricity was switched on to the 500 kilovolt (kv) Sunrise Powerlink for the first time, as UT San Diego reported today? 

At 2:53 p.m., SDG&E’s website states that “a combination of factors has caused a problem with a substation.” 

According to Cal-Fire, the wildfire, called the Old Fire, began around 3 p.m. 

• Carlton Oaks land agreement will connect Mission Trails to River Trail (Santee Patch)
• Victim in fatal Alpine crash was to graduate from UCSD (UT San Diego)
• La Mesa Spring Valley School District faces negative bond rating (San Diego Reader)
• Giant SDG&E line sparks rural activism (UT San Diego)
• A closer look at executive pay at Sempra, Qualcomm and other companies (UT  San Diego)
• The local newspaper makes national news- NYT criticizes UT San Diego for using newspaper as pulpit for business interests (Voice of San Diego)

• ‘Third strike’ and GMO foods labeling initiatives qualify ballot (Sacramento Bee)
• Sacramento leaders eye pension changes, sales tax (Sacramento Bee)
• Election officials: get used to uncounted ballots (Sacramento Bee)
• California likely to need to cut spending more (Reuters)
• California Highway Patrol Officers  union agrees to monthly furlough (Sacramento Bee)  

By Miriam Raftery

La Mesa leader in anti-smart meter movement says plan offers relief, but does not go far enough

April 19, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – Ratepayers now have the right to have a smart meter removed from their homes—provided they pay a $75 removal fee and $10 a month  fee to read their meter (for low income users, the rate is $10/removal and $5/month). 

Consumers who do not yet have smart meters and are on a “delay” list will have to make clear anew that they wish to opt out, or smart meters may be installed.

Outraged? Scroll down to learn how to take action.

By Miriam Raftery

April 8, 2012 (San Diego) Updated April 10, 2012-- At the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) public meeting this week in San Diego, Administrative Law Judge Maribeth Bushey and CPUC Comissioner Timothy Simon heard from hundreds of area residents, including tearful testimony by numerous victims of the 2007 firestorms.  Some held twisted burned remnants of their lost homes. Others recalled friends who perished in the flames. 

But the most explosive testimony came from former City Attorney Mike Aguirre, who declared, “This decision is already made.”  He then leveled accusations that the two CPUC represenstatives present, Commissioner Timothy Simon and Administrative Law Judge Maribeth Bushey, are beholden to SDG&E and subverted the legal interests of fire victims and ratepayers.  

Supervisor warns of ‘purchased’ testimony from groups receiving SDG&E funding

SAN DIEGO— San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob is set to ask state regulators to reject a proposal by SDG&E that would force ratepayers to shoulder the costs of the 2007 wildfires and future wildfires. The California Public Utilities Commission is holding public hearings on the matter tomorrow at the Al Bahr Shriners Memorial Auditorium, 5440 Kearny Mesa Road, at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

April 2, 2012 (San Diego) -- Today, in an effort to help enhance the region’s emergency preparedness, San Diego Gas & Electric unveiled its new mobile emergency command centers and new satellite communication systems in San Diego.

Fallen trees block roads in Pine Valley and Rancho San Diego

March 19, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – A weather-related problem with a power pole has left 38 utility customers without power in the East Descanso, Green Valley Falls and Cuyamaca areas. 

Incident cost local restaurant money , highlights risk to ratepayers with medical needs

March 14, 2012 (La Mesa) – After ECM received a question from a reader about a power outage that began Friday night, March 2 and extended until Saturday morning, March 3, we contacted SDG&E.  SDG&E spokesperson Alison Zaragosa initially said that all  2800 customers left in the dark were notified via letters mailed February 14 of the planned outage to repair an underground cable.

But after La Mesa Patch ran a story about losses incurred by Riviera Steakhouse, whose owner said he was never informed of the outage, other community members came forward to say that they, too, did not receive notification.  So we called SDG&E again. 

“We did investigate and we did miss 200 to 300,” Zaragosa told ECM.

Partnership with Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, Canada, will bring Privacy by Design best practices to customer offerings

March 9, 2012 (San Diego) – San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, Canada, has released a joint paper to document the incorporation of Privacy by Design into SDG&E’s smart grid initiative.  

According to an SDG&E press release, this partnership is the first of its kind in the United States, and emphasizes the “commitment of the company in designing, building and operating a secure, reliable and trustworthy smart grid that safeguards customer privacy” from the start.