SDG&E's dirty little secret: philanthropic arm-twisting and high voltage lobbying
Union Tribune Article exposes SDG&E's efforts to portray its "astroturf" shills as grass roots support of its unpopular fire emergency plan plan

On Saturday, Jeff McDonald of the Union Tribune exposed a dirty little secret that SDG&E would rather you did not know: The mothers of those sweet little girl scouts who enthusiastically support SDG&E's plan to terminate power to the back-country on high fire risk days are getting paid by SDG&E.

In fact, many of the people who are enthusiastically arguing that power should be cut off to the back-country don't even live in the areas that will be affected by a forced shut-off.  It is the difference between genuine grass roots support and artificially created support that has been purchased. In the non-profit community, we call this type of phony support "astro-turf."

It all started when County Supervisor Dianne Jacob noticed something we've observed all along - whenever SDG&E wants more ratepayer dollars, they lean on the "usual suspects" to testify on their behalf.  SDG&E/Sempra is a major donor to the Chamber of Commerces throughout San Diego County, so we can always expect them to show up, even when it isn't in the best interest of the Chamber's members; such as the many instances where Chamber of Commerce members have argued earnestly that SDG&E should raise its rates to local businesses. 

"This is an effort to fool the PUC into thinking there are all these organizations and folks that support SDG&E's efforts on the merits of the case, on the facts,” Jacob said, “when in fact it's nothing more than buying influence.”

“It's all about creating the appearance of community support, thus providing political cover to the decision-makers,” said Michael Shames, director of the Utility Consumers' Action Network. “Some people don't take money from SDG&E because they don't want the strings.”

As for the girl-scouts? The spokesperson for them, a woman named "Karen Hutchens" is a public relations professional who used to be an employee for SDG&E.  The utility is now a client of Ms. Hutchens. Go figure.*

Read the entire San Diego Union Tribune story by Jeff McDonald

*Ms. Hutchens is especially proud of her work for WalMart. It seems fitting and ironic that the image at the top of the Hutchens PR page dedicated to WalMart appears to be a species of cutworm larvae.  Truth is stranger than fiction. See screen capture below.

On July 27, 2009, in a follow-up article by the Union Tribune,  the newspaper reported the following contributions by SDG&E to City Council people.  Not surprisingly, two of the largest three beneficiaries from Sempra are sponsoring the shut-off plan resolution.  

CONTRIBUTIONS: SAN DIEGO CITY OFFICIALS

Contributions from Sempra Energy and its subsidiary, San Diego Gas & Electric, during the 2008 election cycle:

Councilwoman Sherri Lightner: $200

Councilman Todd Gloria: $3,202

Councilman Carl DeMaio: $1,370

Councilwoman Marti Emerald: $1,890

Mayor Jerry Sanders: $7,149

City Attorney Jan Goldsmith: $1,313

Total: $15,124

Contributions from Cox Communications or AT&T:

Todd Gloria: $1,270

Carl DeMaio: $744

Marti Emerald: $1,239

Jerry Sanders: $520

Jan Goldsmith: $2,630

Total: $6,403

Source: City Clerk's Office

The U-T reports that SDG&E's parent company, Sempra Energy, hosted fundraisers for council members Ben Hueso and Marti Emerald in recent months, and Hueso and Emerald have championed the proposed shutoff plan.  In the last election cycle, current city officials received more than $15,000 in campaign contributions from SDG&E and Sempra executives and employees. High-profile opponents of the plan, Cox Communications and AT&T, gave $6,400.

Direct contributions are limited by contribution caps, but some companies host fundraisers that bring deeper support for a candidate.

The newspaper also notes that Hueso is raising money for his bid for state Assembly next year, while Emerald sought contributions to pay off nearly $70,000 in campaign debt.