There will be a new voice at the California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates power companies including San Diego Gas & Electric.
A proposed power plant in Otay Mesa will be among the first issues that new Commissioner Carla Peterman and her colleagues will consider.
Peterman is a 34-year-old Rhodes scholar who has served on the California Energy Commission since 2011. Before that, she did research at the University of California Energy Institute. She’s working on a Ph.D. in energy and resources at UC Berkeley.
Local energy engineer Bill Powers calls Peterman bright and capable. Powers argued before Peterman at the CEC against the construction of the gas-fired Pio Pico Plant in Otay Mesa on grounds it wasn’t needed. He says Peterman told him the CEC doesn’t look at need.
“Hopefully in the environment of the PUC where they do look at need and they do look at cost, she will be able to make more comprehensive decisions,” he said.
The California Public Utilities Commission is expected to vote on Pio Pico early next year.
