San Diego voters will not decide whether to replace San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) with a nonprofit, municipal electric utility this November.
The San Diego City Council rejected Power San Diego’s ballot initiative on Monday in an 8-0 vote. District 8 Councilmember Vivian Moreno was absent.
If approved by voters, the ballot initiative would have authorized the city to purchase SDG&E’s electric distribution system and run an electric utility. Staff from the San Diego City Attorney’s office had concerns about some aspects of the proposal, including the duties and selection process for the Electric Board it would have created.
“I believe strongly that public services like electricity should be provided by public entities, which is why I worked with my colleagues to fund a public power feasibility study,” Council President Sean Elo-Rivera said. “However, I continue to have significant concerns with this proposal. There are far too many questions left unaddressed.”
Council President Pro Tem Joe LaCava said he wants to see the full results of the city’s municipalization study before deciding whether to send a measure to voters.
“Making a change now, without the adequate assurance of feasibility, financial stability, and both the promise and the ability to deliver better service and cheaper rates is a disservice to San Diegans,” he said.
LaCava said SDG&E’s rising rates aren’t sustainable.
“However, this measure in front of us today is not a declaration of whether the costs are high or too high, or the profits are too great,” LaCava said. “The question in front of us is a fundamental shift in our energy model and governance.”
In April, the City Council’s Rules Committee declined to move the ballot initiative forward. But Power San Diego collected enough signatures to bring it back to the full council for a vote.
Campaign chair Bill Powers said the thousands of signatures collected showed the public’s enthusiasm and interest.
“If enough San Diegans are aware that this is a possibility, then we have the potential to get it done at some point,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “Yesterday wasn’t unexpected, but it did require that those council members vote yes or no. Are you voting to sustain the status quo with SDG&E, or are you ready to take a bold but necessary step forward? And yesterday the answer was 'no.’”
He said the campaign will continue to promote municipalization as an option.
