After governor touts Sunrise, his cause gets Sempra cash

By Bruce V. Bigelow, staff writer

The San Diego Union-Tribune

STAFF WRITER

May 10, 2008

Sempra Energy gave $50,000 to one of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's pet causes last month, just days after the governor complained publicly about activists impeding the Sunrise Powerlink proposed by San Diego Gas & Electric Co.

A SDG&E spokeswoman said yesterday there is "no connection" between Schwarzenegger's comments and the corporate donation, which was first reported by The Sacramento Bee.

Sempra's SDG&E subsidiary has proposed building a $1.5 billion, 150-mile high-voltage transmission line to San Diego through Anza-Borrego Desert State Park from El Centro.

SDG&E says the Sunrise Powerlink will improve the reliability of San Diego's power grid and enable the utility to meet renewable energy mandates by tying into solar and geothermal projects planned in the Imperial Valley.

Environmental activists who oppose the powerline argue that it's unjustified and SDG&E is using renewable energy in a "bait and switch" play to win support for Sunrise. They contend the powerline is instead intended primarily to carry electricity from gas-fired power plants along the border, which would take advantage of abundant new supplies from Sempra's liquefied natural gas terminal in Baja California.

"The governor hasn't endorsed a specific route," for Sunrise, said Lisa Page, a spokeswoman for the governor. "But he supports the project because of the environmental benefits and what it will do to help us reach our renewable energy goals."

Schwarzenegger complained during an April 18 appearance at Yale University that SDG&E's project faces opposition "even though it would replace an old carbon-based power plant."

Environmental activists and Democrats exhibit a "kind of schizophrenic behavior," the governor said, because "they say that we want renewable energy but we don't want you to put it anywhere, we don't want you to use it."

Six days later, the California governor made similar comments on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno."

"You want to go and create more solar plants in the desert, and then they don't let you build, sometimes, the transmission lines to get it on the grid," Schwarzenegger said.

On April 25, Sempra gave $50,000 to California Voters First, the committee backing the state legislative redistricting reform initiative, according to the California secretary of state's Web site.

Schwarzenegger has strongly supported the measure, contributing $2.1 million to the campaign from his own California Dream Team fundraising committee.

"There's no better way to get the love of the governor than to give money to his pet cause," said Michael Shames, executive director of San Diego's Utility Consumers' Action Network, and a Sunrise opponent.

As for the timing of Sempra's donation after Schwarzenegger's comments, Shames said, "You don't have to be Oliver Stone to see the connection. It's pretty obvious."

But SDG&E spokeswoman Christy Heiser said yesterday, "any allegation of a connection with Sunrise Powerlink project is completely false."

"We support good government through various forms, this being among them," Heiser said.

There's no connection between Schwarzenegger's comments and Sempra's contribution because the governor has no control over the redistricting campaign committee that got Sempra's donation, said Julie Soderland, a campaign spokeswoman.

"It's certainly fair to say it's a priority for him," Soderland said. "But other elected officials have endorsed that initiative too, including (San Diego City Councilwoman) Donna Frye."

Bruce Bigelow: (619) 293-1314; bruce.bigelow @ uniontrib.com