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SDGE Asks State to Reroute Powerlink to Avoid State Park

San Diego Gas and Electric has asked the state public utilities commission to consider an alternative route for the proposed Sunrise Powerlink project. SDGE says the route would take the electric powe

SDGE Asks State to Reroute Powerlink to Avoid State Park

San Diego Gas and Electric has asked the state public utilities commission to consider an alternative route for the proposed Sunrise Powerlink project. SDG&E says the route would take the electric power lines through the town of Borrego Springs. KPBS Reporter Ed Joyce has more.

The utility's Stephanie Donovan says the route reduces the impact to the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. 

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Donovan : This line does go through the park -- still it's considerably shorter. It's only 12 miles as opposed to 22 miles. But it does cross designated wilderness, and on the other hand that option would also affect some private property owners. So, there is a balance to be struck.

Donovan says the Borrego Springs option is not a new route. She says the utility included it as an alternative route last summer. The state public utilities commission is expected to narrow the proposed routes to a short list sometime this month. The proposed line would carry 500 kilovolts of geothermal and solar electricity from the Imperial Valley to San Diego, providing energy to power more than 600,000 homes.

Ed Joyce, KPBS News.