A San Diego consumer watchdog group has filed an appeal of the decision by the California Public Utilities Commission that gave the green light to the Sunrise Powerlink project.

The Utility Consumers Action Network, (UCAN) filed the appeal to the decision on Friday. In a news release on the organization's Web site, UCAN states the appeal is expected to be rejected by the PUC. That would pave the way for UCAN to file an appeal with the California appellate court system.

The action comes on the heels of another lawsuit that was filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, which is based in San Francisco.

The appeal cites 18 different points where it believes the PUC erred in its decision, ranging from not considering a “No-Project Alternative” proposed by UCAN, to factual errors that UCAN says run throughout decision.

To view the entire appeal filed by UCAN, click HERE.

The power line project, which was approved by the PUC on December 24 of last year, is projected to run 123 miles, and carry enough electricity to provide power to over 600,000 homes. SDG&E officials say the line would be completed by 2012.

The route selected is called the Southern Route. It winds its way east along existing right of ways, roughly paralleling Interstate 8 until it reaches a point near Alpine, where it jogs north, eventually terminating at the Sycamore Canyon substation in San Diego county.

The project is seen as critical for the future of the Imperial Valley economy. Backers want the the line as a means to get renewable power generated in the Imperial Valley to the San Diego metropolitan area.

State law requires that by the year 2010, 20 percent of the energy provided by utilities must be renewable energy, such as the geothermal energy provided by over a dozen plants here in Imperial County. That percentage requirement will increase to 33 percent in the year 2020.

Critics of the project say it will increase rates for customers, and that construction and operation of the power line will create a fire hazard in the tinder dry rural portions of east San Diego County. The utility is currently facing lawsuits stemming from the Witch Creek fire of 2007.

According to the press release on the the UCAN website, the group alleges that the PUC “contorted the evidence to achieve their objective of approving the line despite the facts.”

UCAN also contends that many of the selling points used by San Diego Gas and Electric for the project are not true.

According to the UCAN press release, “It (Sunrise Powerlink) won’t reduce greenhouse gas emissions – the record shows that it will likely increase. It wasn’t necessary for SDG&E to be able to meet its 20% or 33% renewable quotas. And it won’t save the state’s ratepayers a dime, let alone hundreds of millions of dollars”

Michael Shames, the Executive Director of UCAN, said via e-mail  that he believes that much of the power transmitted through the Powerlink project will not be renewable energy that is generated in Imperial County, but conventional power that will be generated in Mexico.

“We believe that there will be quite a bit of Mexico power coming up – probably over 50% of the capacity of the line,” Shames wrote on Friday.

Shames also believes that there are alternatives to the Sunrise Powerlink project.

“Green Path North is a biggie,” Shames wrote. “Don’t forget, also, that Southwest Powerlink (SWPL) leading to San Diego has 1900 (megawatt) capacity. (They) can bring in all renewable power, if SDG&E wanted.”

The Green Path North project is a proposed 500-kilovolt transmission system proposed by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

On its Web site, SDG&E says that the Southwest Powerlink is not a viable option to the Sunrise Powerlink Project. 

To view the SDG&E PowerLink Web site, click HERE

To view the UCAN Web site, click HERE

To view the California PUC Web site, click HERE