Supervisor Dianne Jacob’s Comments Regarding SDG&E Powerlink Dedication 7-26-12

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 26, 2012
CONTACT: Jennifer Stone (619) 206-9108

THE FOLLOWING COMMENTS MAY BE ATTRIBUTED DIRECTLY TO SAN DIEGO COUNTY SUPERVISOR DIANNE JACOB REGARDING SDG&E’S INVITATION-ONLY CELEBRATION OF THE $2 BILLION RATEPAYER-FUNDED SUNRISE POWERLINK:

Any policymaker attending this “celebration” needs to justify the line in the face of documented evidence warning of its extreme fire dangers. SDG&E brushes off concerns about fire safety by claiming that the utility has a fire plan. This doesn’t change the fact that the project’s environmental documents concluded that fire dangers posed by the line are classified as the highest level possible and cannot be mitigated. The line traverses some of the most fire-prone terrain in the world. It will impede firefighting efforts from the air because firefighters cannot make water drops on energized lines. Public safety was a big reason why two CPUC judges recommended the line be rejected in 2008. Anyone who supports this line is likely contributing to the next major fire disaster in East County and beyond. The sad truth is the project’s 11,000 page environmental document and two judges at the CPUC concluded that this $2 billion line was not needed to keep the region’s lights on now and in the future.

**Editor’s note: (See Attached)

1) CALFIREComments letter from CALFIRE describing the dangers of co-locating two 500kV lines parallel to each other. The CPUC ignored this warning when a majority of commissioners approved the line in 2008.

2) SunriseFireRisk  Fire behavior modeling of the Sunrise Powerlink in extreme wind conditions taken from the project’s environmental impact report. This modeling shows 1,382 residential parcels at risk.

Jennifer Stone
Office of Supervisor Dianne Jacob
County of San Diego
(619) 531-4766
(619) 206-9108 (cell)
Jennifer.Stone@sdcounty.ca.gov