Scores of people, many dressed in yellow T-shirts, packed the San Marcos City Council chambers Thursday. Those T-shirts had slogans like “Save Fallbrook,” “Save Palomar Mountain,” and “Save Temecula.”
They weren’t there for a San Marcos City Council meeting, but to give an earful to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) over a proposed high-voltage power line.
The Golden Pacific Powerlink would move electricity from Imperial County and Arizona to San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) customers in Southern California.
The 150-mile transmission line would start in southern Imperial County and wend its way across Imperial, San Diego and Riverside counties, ending near the San Diego-Orange County border — close to the former San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.
Communities along the proposed route have raised concerns about wildfire risk and environmental damage, along with health and economic impacts of the project.
“We have both supporters and opponents of the Golden Pacific Power Link project,” SDG&E’s Alex Welling said.
He said the Powerlink is needed.
“We have all of this new generation that is coming online, but we need a way to move it," Welling said. "And that is the purpose and the need of this project.”
But the people who traveled from all over San Diego and Riverside counties to testify said a resounding, “No," at least to the way it’s currently being proposed.
That included several public officials like state Assemblymember Laurie Davies. Her district includes southern Orange and northern San Diego counties.
“We’ve seen this in the past; things go wrong all the time. For example, the fires in L.A. and the lack of affordable homeowners’ insurance only raises those concerns," Davies said. "We need to make sure we’re getting this right, not simply getting it done.”
Doug Schweizer owns 10 acres in the Anza-Borrego-Ocotillo Wells area. He said if SDG&E is allowed to build the Powerlink, it will be devastating to his family.
“They're going to land a tower or send the lines right over our property. And this property is generational," he said. "We've had— we've got grandkids coming out there now. We spread ashes on it.”
The Powerlink was not on the CPUC agenda Thursday, so no vote was taken. But the commissioners now know a lot more about what the people who live where the Powerlink is proposed think of it.
The project timeline includes dates both near and far. Next month, SDG&E plans to hold open houses in El Centro and Borrego Springs to answer questions about the project. The utility said it will have its application in the CPUC by mid-November.
After that, Welling said they’re hoping for a decision by 2029. If the decision is to move forward, the plan is to have something built by 2032.
