REGION: SDG&E faces possible fines

Regulator says utility wrongly stated power-line route

By DAVE DOWNEY - Staff Writer | Friday, August 1, 2008 8:01 PM PDT ∞

San Diego County's electric utility could be fined tens of thousands of dollars for allegedly making false statements to the California Public Utilities Commission regarding an alternate route being considered for the proposed $1.5 billion Sunrise Powerlink transmission project.

Commissioner Diane Grueneich, who is presiding over the Sunrise Powerlink proceeding, issued a ruling Friday ordering San Diego Gas & Electric Co. to answer within 15 days the allegation that it misled the agency during meetings with the staffs of four commissioners in June.

Those commissioners are President Michael Peevey, John Bohn, Rachelle Chong and Timothy Simon.

The commission regulates the state's large, investor-owned utilities.

Scott Crider, an SDG&E spokesman, termed the alleged misrepresentation "nothing more than a misunderstanding."

For more than two years, SDG&E has been working to win approval from the commission for the 150-mile high-voltage line it proposes to string across the North County backcountry. Hanging from metal towers as tall as 160 feet, the wires would cross Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Ranchita, Santa Ysabel, Ramona and Rancho Penasquitos.

The commission is expected to make a decision by the end of the year.

From the get-go, the project has encountered stiff opposition from environmentalists, backcountry residents and park lovers who oppose bringing the high-wire act to the nation's largest state park.

Because of widespread concern about Anza-Borrego, which covers 600,000 acres in eastern San Diego County, the agency proposed a southern route that would avoid the park in January.

That alternate route, which roughly parallels Interstate 8, angered tribal officials because it would cross lands of the Campo Band of Kumeyaay Indians and La Posta Band of Mission Indians. Over the course of the winter and spring, the alternate route was retooled to go around the tribal lands.

But in June 10 meetings with commission staff members, SDG&E officials argued the southern route was a poor choice in part because it would require crossing American Indian reservations, triggering significant delays, according to the order. The utility favors the more northerly route.

Crider said it was SDG&E who revised the southern route to go around the reservations, but as of June 10 the utility had yet to hear from the agency whether it would accept the change. And, so, he said, when company representatives discussed the project with commissioners' staffs, they described the route they understood was still the official southern alternative. He said the change did not become official until early July.

"We've been accurate and truthful and we look forward to responding to the PUC inquiry so that we can quickly resolve this matter," he said.

SDG&E could be fined up to $20,000 for each communication in which false information was provided, the 11-page ruling states.

Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (760) 745-6611, Ext. 2623, or ddowney@nctimes.com.

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.