A proposal for a high-voltage transmission line from Imperial Valley through the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
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A promise to deliver electricity from clean, alternative energy sources.
A fierce debate over energy needs versus protecting pristine landscape and wildlife habitat.
A Republican San Diego County supervisor among the outspoken opponents.
A project called “Powerlink.”
This has happened twice.
There are many similarities between today’s proposal for the Golden Pacific Powerlink by San Diego Gas & Electric and the utility’s Sunrise Powerlink that started delivering energy to the coastal region in 2012 after a yearslong battle.
There are also notable differences. One of them is the dispute over the Golden Pacific project could become central to a hotly contested congressional race that could help determine who controls the House of Representatives. At least that appears to be the hope of one candidate.
Then-Supervisor Dianne Jacob, who represented East County, was a leading critic of the Sunrise line, taking on SDG&E and supporters of the project. One of those advocates was current Supervisor Jim Desmond, who, then as mayor of San Marcos, testified at a public hearing in 2008 in favor of the proposal before it was rerouted out of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
Now a candidate for Congress, Desmond has made opposition to the Golden Pacific Powerlink a key component of his campaign. The supervisor is running in the 48th District, which includes a segment of all the project’s alternative routes.
SDG&E’s preferred route crosses into Temecula, which is in the district. Not surprisingly, Temecula has become a hotbed of opposition.
The Sunrise Powerlink was never proposed to stretch that far north.
Temecula residents, and those in Fallbrook and other communities, have expressed concern about the wildfire threat the 500-kilovolt wires may present, potentially related insurance premium increases and the visual blight of towers up to 200 feet tall that may have blinking safety lights on top, as well as broader environmental concerns.
The estimated $1.62 billion cost will be spread over the life of the project among all ratepayers served by the California Independent System Operator, which manages about 80% of the state’s electrical grid. SDG&E customers would cover 9% of the cost, as Rob Nikolewski of The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
All of that may not seem like a lot paid out in increments, but anything that further bumps up the already high cost of electricity seems likely to face criticism.
The Sunrise plan eventually was changed to move the line out of the park, which is the largest state park in California. That softened some opposition, but didn’t end it.
SDG&E last week released a small handful of alternative routes for the Golden Pacific project, but all still go through the park to some extent, according to Nikolewski.
One alternative for the Golden Pacific Powerlink would move the transmission line away from Temecula to near Palomar Mountain, which no doubt will trigger concerns there.
The 48th District covers substantial portions of north and east San Diego County and southern Riverside County and is represented by longtime Republican congressman Darrell Issa. He decided against running for re-election — and cleared the way for Desmond — after redistricting turned his very Republican district into one that leans slightly Democratic.
According to Politico late last month, Desmond said “Temecula is on fire against this” and sided with the residents there. He further suggested the project would threaten Anza-Borrego Desert State Park’s dark skies, wildflowers, endangered species and tribal cultural sites.
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He pledged to “be at every meeting fighting to keep them out” of the park.
The utility put out a list of scheduled public meetings on the project when it released the alternative routes last week.
The Democratic nominee in the race is San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert, who has announced her opposition for reasons similar to Desmond’s.
“What SDG&E has on the table is not acceptable to me,” she said in a statement.
Von Wilpert added that the project would “force San Diego County ratepayers to pay for a massive transmission line primarily to move power elsewhere.”
The power line would eventually connect with a coastal substation near the San Diego-Orange County line.
Von Wilpert implied Desmond’s position may be one of political convenience, noting he supported the earlier Sunrise Powerlink.
How much the Golden Pacific Powerlink becomes part of the congressional campaign remains to be seen, given that both candidates oppose it.
So far, the campaign has, to some degree, mirrored those in other battleground districts across the country where Democrats are trying to put Republicans on the defensive over President Donald Trump, who has endorsed Desmond.
Of course, the dispute over the Golden Pacific Powerlink is much bigger than what’s going on in a congressional race, important as the one in the 48th District may be.
SDG&E and other backers say the transmission line is needed to help the state meet its carbon reduction goals and relieve stress on California’s power grid.
But as the Los Angeles Times pointed out, the conflict reflects a sweeping challenge in California: how to move increasingly clean power across the Golden State while simultaneously preserving the deserts, wildlife habitats and public lands.
Some people are perplexed as to why the park route would work when the original path for the Sunrise line was deemed “environmentally unacceptable and infeasible” by the California Public Utilities Commission, which will have the final say on the Golden Pacific project.
The desire to protect sensitive desert areas, and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in particular, seems unchanged. But there’s a lot that has to play out to see how much history will eventually repeat itself.
Electricity needs have changed, as have demands for clean energy. The politics may have as well.
Chris Christie (@GovChristie).
“Donald Trump is about to become what he never, ever wanted to be: Jimmy Carter. He is being held hostage by Iran… And it was all voluntary.”
