San Diego Gas and Electric announced nearly a year ago that it would build and operate a high-voltage electric transmission line from Imperial Valley through the San Diego backcountry to the coast near Orange County.
Now, a lengthy timeline of environmental review and permitting proceedings at all levels of state government is kicking off with what the utility is calling an “extensive community engagement process” to inform the public about the line, named the Golden Pacific Powerlink, and gather feedback. It’s starting with virtual open houses in a couple of weeks.
The pathway is anything but certain, as the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will have to consider where and if it gets built. While still in its infancy, opposition to the proposed route is already ramping up.
The 145-mile transmission line would bisect Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, widely recognized as California's largest and most biodiverse state park. A conservation nonprofit said the line would affect the home range of native and endangered species, as well as alter the visitor and tourism experience the region depends on. And it could bring a new battle from Imperial Valley residents, who say their region is repeatedly used for projects that produce resources for others, while impacting the local environment.
“One of the biggest things that ends up happening with these types of projects is that areas like Imperial Valley are being looked at and treated as sacrifice zones for the betterment of the whole state,” said Sergio Ojeda, an Imperial Valley resident and community organizer for Imperial Valley Equity and Justice.
Erica Martin, who oversees the project for SDG&E, said the utility is building the line because the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) says it’s necessary. (The operator manages about 80% of the state’s electric load.)
“They identified the need for a new transmission line to help California meet its energy policy goals and facilitate the clean energy transition,” Martin said.
Golden Pacific Powerlink was born from a transmission plan for 2022 and 2023 that CAISO developed.
According to the plan, it’s one of 45 transmission projects, ranging in projected costs from $4 million to $2.3 billion, needed to meet a growing electricity demand and help the state achieve its ambitious carbon reduction goals.
“The need for additional generation of electricity over the next 10 years has escalated rapidly in California as it continues transitioning to the carbon-free electrical grid required by the state’s clean-energy policies,” CAISO said in its 180-page plan.
Based on state projections the operator said it used, California needs to add more than 40 gigawatts of new resources over the next 10 years.
Golden Pacific would be a 500-kilovolt electric transmission line that SDG&E would build, own and operate.
The line would connect SDG&E’s Imperial Valley Substation through the Anza-Borrego State Park to a new substation that would be built near the San Onofre Generating Station.
Ratepayers would be on the hook for 9% of the project costs, Martin said, but it’s too early to say what those costs will be. In its transmission plan report, CAISO projected that the Golden Pacific line and new substation would cost about $2.3 billion.
“But it is not the project estimate for the transmission line as we stand today; we are working on developing that cost estimate,” Martin said.
Golden Pacific would be the latest 500-kilovolt transmission line since the Sunrise Powerlink went into service in 2012, costing about $2 billion. At the time, the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council supported the 117-mile power line. The council did not respond to a request for comment about the proposed new transmission corridor.
In Imperial Valley, where the line would begin, residents said they’re skeptical about projects that can’t promise long-term benefits to the people who live there, including permanent jobs and lower utility rates. Fernando Reza is among them.
“We see just these developments coming in, but a lot of times these jobs are temporary and there’s training programs for jobs that don’t exist,” he said. “Any kind of development and job growth needs to be tied to serious commitments.”
There are similar concerns for wildlife and tourism in the Anza-Borrego State Park.
“The cumulative impacts of disrupting habitat that the state of California has deemed as needing to be protected should altogether be a very large question in all of our minds is do we decide that we want to disturb these spaces,” said Bri Fordem, executive director of the Anza-Borrego Foundation.
Residents in Imperial Valley and in San Diego’s backcountry want the utility and CPUC to consider alternatives, such as increasing rooftop solar installations or upgrading its existing lines.
“Even if new transmission capacity was justifiable, it can be done much more cost efficiently, with much less environmental disruption, by upgrading SDG&E's now outdated transmission technology,” said Bill Powers, who serves on the Protect Our Communities Foundation board.
In an emailed statement, a CAISO spokesperson said that “multiple alternatives were studied, including reconductoring or upgrading existing lines, but this was the most cost-effective approach.”
Martin said the utility will weigh public concerns around affordability, constructability and “about not shifting environmental impacts from one area to resources in another area or to communities in another area,” before submitting the route for state approval later this year.
If approved, construction could begin in 2029 and service would start in 2032, according to SDG&E.
The virtual open houses are scheduled at noon and 5:30 p.m. on May 12 and 14. SDG&E is also planning in-person open houses in the summer and fall.
