SDG&E’s proposed Golden Pacific Powerlink is facing opposition from San Diego County mountain communities. Meanwhile, the utility suggested three alternative routes.
WARNER SPRINGS, Calif. — SDG&E’s proposed $1.6 billion Golden Pacific PowerLink is facing opposition from several San Diego County mountain communities. The utility said the project would strengthen the state’s power grid, while residents raised concerns about wildfire risk, property values and environmental impacts.
The Golden Pacific PowerLink is a proposed 145-mile, 500-kilovolt transmission line that would run from the Imperial Valley to a substation near San Clemente. The project would be built, owned and operated by SDG&E.
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The current preferred route would run through several communities, including Fallbrook, Temecula, Borrego Springs and Warner Springs.
Bob Garcia, chairman of Save Warner Springs, a new group opposing the project, said residents are concerned the transmission towers could hurt the environment, destroy property value and increase wildfire risk in an already high risk area.
“We pay, my wife and I, over $11,000 a year for fire insurance,” Garcia said. “Those lines going in with those towers could make it even worse.”
Save Warner Springs is organizing letters of opposition to the California Public Utilities Commission, which will ultimately decide the project’s route.
Garcia said Warner Springs also lacks the financial and legal resources other communities have to challenge SDG&E.
“We’re roughly 1,400 people with no economic drivers,” Garcia said. “So we are the weak link in this whole project of trying to fight San Diego Gas and Electric.”
SDG&E said the project is needed to strengthen the statewide grid, reduce congestion and improve reliability as electricity demand grows.
The utility said no final route has been selected. On Monday, SDG&E released three alternative routes for public consideration.
One of those alternatives would avoid Warner Springs, but Garcia said he believes it could create other problems and ultimately bring the project back through the community.
“Their proposal is to go over Palomar Mountain,” Garcia said. “I think that’s impractical, and the route will come back to Warner Springs.”
He added that residents remain concerned regardless of which route is ultimately selected.
SDG&E will next submit its application to the California Public Utilities Commission, including public feedback for the commission to consider during its multi-year review of the project.
SDG&E is holding four open houses in August and October for residents to speak with project experts before the utility applies to the CPUC later this year.
Opposition groups also plan to speak at Tuesday’s San Diego County Board of Supervisors meeting and are collecting letters and petitions.
SDG&E Spokesperson Alex Welling sent News 8 a statement:
“We understand that a project of this scale generates strong interest and important questions, particularly in communities like Warner Springs. The Golden Pacific Powerlink remains in the early planning stages, and no final route has been selected.
The feedback we’re hearing matters, and it’s helping us shape a stronger project. That’s why SDG&E will soon host open houses, not only to share information, but to sit down with residents, answer their questions, and ensure the community’s voice is part of every step forward.”
He also shared a statement from Mark Kersey, President and CEO of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association.
“The San Diego County Taxpayers Association is proud to support the Golden Pacific Powerlink. Every major infrastructure project deserves scrutiny, and this one is no different. The questions about routing and the effects on the communities along the way are exactly what the CPUC’s environmental review process exists to resolve, and that’s the proper venue for them to be raised and addressed. As our region continues to grow, reliable infrastructure remains essential, and it’s important that decisions are informed by both community input and long-term energy needs.”