Encinitas residents hear power line debate

By RUTH MARVIN WEBSTER

Staff Writer

ENCINITAS ---- Fifty or so residents turned out at a community forum presented by the Encinitas Taxpayers Association to hear presentations from representatives from San Diego Gas & Electric Co. and the Utility Consumers' Action Network about how the proposed Sunrise Powerlink project will effect their community ---- and more specifically, their utility bill.

Kevin Cummins, president of the Encinitas Taxpayers Association, said that he hopes forums like this will encourage taxpayers learn about issues affecting them more frequently than at election time.

Longtime Cardiff resident Audrey Bromstad said she attended Monday night’s forum because she wanted "to hear both sides.”

“I think it is something we all should do ---- find out as much as we can about things before we make up our minds,” she said.

Scott Crider, a representative from the utility company, presented a short slide presentation outlining the key elements of the power plan.

“This project is big; it’s expensive. It is cost-effective for our customers and will be with us for a long time,” he said about the project to construct a power line from the Imperial Valley through Anza Borrego State Park and county backcountry to San Diego. He said the three primary objectives of the power line are to improve energy reliability, expand access to renewable energy resources in the Imperial Valley and to lower costs for ratepayers.

“We are currently saddled by the high costs of coastal power plants, which are older and not very energy efficient,” he said, noting that a major transmission line connecting San Diego to the outside grid has not been built in the last 25 years.

The Sunrise Powerlink, Crider said, would transport 1,000 megawatts and is necessary in order to meet state guidelines requiring 20 percent of energy from renewable sources by 2010.

Michael Shames, executive director of the Utility Consumers' Action Network, said that the project has already cost $1.7 billion and rising.

“What is this power line really about?” he asked. “It is about the future of San Diego’s independence. If this line is built, we are going to look at importing most of our energy from elsewhere.  It is also about running a major transition line that will never be dismantled. Our children and our children’s children will be viewing this line. And, since 20 years from now, most San Diegans will be generating their power, the best thing that the line could then be used for is to hang laundry.”

Shames said that many of the experts hired by his organization estimate that by spending $100 million, 700 additional megawatts of energy can be provided by expanding existing transmission lines.

Encinitas resident Kathleen Lindermann asked Crider whether she could expect to see a reduction in her utility bill if the power line was built.

“I don’t know,” responded Crider. “There are a lot of forces that go into rates and I can’t tell you that.”

Despite Crider’s evasive answer, Lindermann said she was pleased she attended the forum. “How often do you get people from both sides to talk about an issue like this?” she asked.

Contact staff writer Ruth Marvin Webster at (760) 901-4074 or rwebster [at] nctimes [dot] com. Comment at nctimes.com.