Welcome to Communities United for Sensible Power

Welcome!

Public Participation Hearings

It is important to be heard!

Diane Conklin attended the workshop in Ramona to garner information as to how to respond to the DEIR (Draft Environmental Impact Report recently released by the California Public Utilities Commission). Her comments are below and are included in this email to underscore the importance of participating personally in the Public Participation Hearings listed below.

"I would like to point out that the CPUC DEIR's recommendations on this project are extraordinary to the extent that the CPUC's environmental arm itself has recommended that the Number 1. Alternative be New In-Area All-Source Generation, and has labeled this alternative as the Overall Environmentally Superior Alternative.

This environmentally superior alternative recommends that one baseload and four peaking gas-fired power plants (700 MW) be built in San Diego County along with 300 MW of renewable generation, including wind, solar, biomass/biogass.

This is an exceptional result for this transmission line project. Only at Numbers 4 and 5. does the CPUC recommend any San Diego County transmission.

Do please consider this when talking with the CPUC staff and Susan Lee, of Aspen, and Billie Blanchard, of CPUC, who headed up the DEIR for the Commission.

As for those who find this DEIR a daunting task to understand and comment upon, they are not alone. Yesterday Billie Blanchard told those of us assembled in Ramona that this project was the most complex and controversial that she has ever seen.

Finally, it is obvious that SDG&E/SEMPRA is not happy with the DEIR, as SDG&E CEO Debra Reed recently visited with CPUC President Peevey to talk about the DEIR. I doubt that this talk would have occurred if the company was pleased with the result'

If you are wondering how you can participate ATTEND A COMMUNITY BRIEFING

WHEN: Monday, February 18th, 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: Charles Nunn Performing Arts Center, 1521 Hanson Lane, Ramona
WHAT: Learn about simple things you can do to get involved and protect our local community!
RSVP: Micah Mitrosky, 619-299-1797 or email mmitrosky@sierraclubsandiego.org

ATTEND THE CRITICAL SUNRISE POWERLINK PUBLIC HEARINGS
This is your opportunity to speak out to protect our community from the unnecessary Sunrise Powerlink project! Please attend one or more of the hearings listed below

February 25, 2008 @ 1:30 pm
Board of Supervisors Chamber
San Diego County Administration Center
1600 Pacific Coast Highway
San Diego, CA

February 27, 2008, @ 10:30 am
Julian Town Hall
2129 Main Street
Julian, CA

February 25, 2008 @ 6:30 pm
Mountain Empire
High School
3305 Buckman Springs Rd.
Pine Valley, CA 91962

February 26, 2008 @ 1:00 pm
Borrego Springs Resort
1112 Tilting T. Drive
Borrego Springs, CA 92004

February 26, 2008 @ 7:00 pm
Charles Nunn Performing Arts Center
1521 Hanson Lane
Ramona, CA 92065

NEWS FLASH!

SDG&E decides not to buy power from a modernized, efficient Chula Vista plant! 660MW will need to be generated elsewhere. That along with a reduction of 340MW from the Encina plan modernization brings a loss of 1,000MW. Rather than having localized generation, SDG&E opts to bring replacement energy via invasive 1,000MW Sunrise Powerlink. (See News page for additional details) Jim Avery, Sr. Vice President of SDG&E states that they are confident it can meet the region's power needs without Chula Vista. Does reliable generation mean producing energy in Mexico and shipping it through the mountains, deserts, back-country, and suburbs of San Diego and Imperial Counties while abandoning modernized local energy? How does this improve the energy situation in San Diego? These are questions that need to be addressed to the California Public Utilities Commission!

CUSP Mission Statement

We, the community members of CUSP, are allied for sustainable, renewable and reliable energy produced locally securing our energy independence for the future needs of San Diego County. We support the creation of a modern, diverse and economical energy supply. We also support conservation of energy resources and environmentally sound energy generation to preserve our communities and the beauty of our collective natural world. We are opposed to Sunrise PowerLink.

Why Do We Oppose Sunrise PowerLink?

Because we are Communities United for Sensible Power The CUSP coalition supports the creation of a modern, diverse and economical energy supply for San Diego County. However, we feel that the Sunrise Powerlink does not fulfill these objectives. We believe there are more efficient, local alternatives that better address our reliability and renewable energy needs. We believe these alternatives are a more responsible approach with less harmful impacts on our parks, preserves and communities.

	Given what we now know about the dangers, inefficiencies and other negative impacts of remote generation and long transmission lines, the Sunrise Powerlink is an antiquated and unenlightened approach to solving our future energy needs.
	With the Sunrise Powerlink, SDG&E is proposing 150 miles of industrial and destructive transmission towers, lines and roads through supposedly protected open space and habitats such as Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Boulder Oaks Preserve, Del Mar Mesa Preserve, and the Los Penasquitos Preserve. In other places such as Scripps Ranch, Rancho Penasquitos, Carmel Valley, Torrey Hills and San Diego Country Estates, the preferred route would be constructed in neighborhoods, close to homes and community gathering places, making this transmission line a visible, audible blight upon our communities and local preserves as well as a fire and health hazard to nearby residents.
	Energy experts have demonstrated that reliability can be more cost-effectively obtained by adding in-county generation. SDG&E’s “transmission first” strategy is in contradiction to the San Diego Regional Energy Strategy 2030 and the state recommended loading order which stress maximizing energy efficiency, demand reduction, distributed generation and renewables before transmission as preferred strategies to attaining our energy needs.
	Renewable energy in the Imperial Valley can be exported using the already existing Southwest Powerlink (SWPL) transmission line (provided the SWPL line isn’t congested with Sempra’s fossil fueled energy traveling from Mexico through San Diego to points north) or with the IID/LADWP Green Path Powerlink already in the works.
	Congestion costs from 2006 onward are projected by CAISO to be quite low due to SWPL upgrades and the Miguel-to-Mission No. 2 transmission project, not to mention the April 2006 court order instructing Sempra to stop deliberate congestion on the SWPL.
	This proposed $1.4 billion power line project will be paid for by ratepayers without their vote or approval and maximizes Sempra’s shareholder value not ratepayer value. SDG&E is allowed to include 10-15% profit on any infrastructure the PUC authorizes it to construct. SDG&E gets no mark-up from buying power from third parties, like Encina or South Bay or even Sterling Solar. SDG&E has a big monetary incentive to squeeze out other power suppliers, which is one of the reasons why they won’t sign long-term contracts to modernize the coastal power plants and why the Sterling Solar contract will likely fail.
	Bottom line? We - the public ratepayers - are expected to pay for SDG&E's new connection to their parent's Mexican power plants (with a profit to SDG&E) that are going to be fed with natural gas from Sempra's new LNG terminal in Ensenada, Mexico. They get to crush the competition from the local generators by not buying from them (Encina and Chula Vista) and forcing us to make up the deficit in supply from their own plants far away.

What Are The Alternatives?

State law and the San Diego Regional Energy Strategy 2030 stress a loading order that promotes energy efficiency, demand reduction, distributed generation and the use of renewable energy resources and cleaner, modernized plants within San Diego County as preferred strategies to attaining our energy needs. Below are just some of the alternatives that better achieve these objectives:

	Modernize and relocate the South Bay and Encina power plants to be more efficient and less polluting: The Sunrise Powerlink will cost close to $1.4 billion and will provide no energy in and of itself. A new power plant in San Diego would cost less than half that much. Current plans to reduce the capacity of Encina and eliminate power purchases from Chula Vista will make us more reliant on importing energy.
	Developing in-county solar power programs like the Governor’s Million Solar Roof Initiative and requiring SDG&E to buy back the power they receive from homeowners generating excess power: California is the only state where the energy utility does not purchase excess power generated by homeowners. We need programs that better promote the use of renewable energy for consumers and utilities.
	Promoting distributed generation within the county: Distributed energy would improve the efficiency, reliability, quality and security of the power supply. Smaller, local power plants are ideally suited for emerging new energy technologies – fuel cells, wind turbines, rooftop solar electric devices and micro-generators and small power plants have an efficiency level double or better that of a regional power plant. This has the added benefit of creating permanent jobs locally.

Who are the Communities in CUSP?

	Borrego Springs – Citizens United for Responsible Energy (CURE)
	Canebrake - Canebrake Community Group (CCG)
	Carmel Valley- Carmel Valley Concerned Citizens (CVCC)
	Julian / Wynola - Peoples PowerLink (PPL) ; Back Country Coalition (BCC)
	Ocotillo Wells - Ocotillo Wells Citizens Alliance for Responsible Energy (OWCARE)
	Ramona – Mussey Grade Road Alliance (MGRA)
	Ranchita, San Felipe, Warner Springs, Sunshine Summit, Chihuahua Valley, Santa Ysabel, Mesa Grande, and Lake Henshaw –
	Rancho Penasquitos - Rancho Penasquitos Concerned Citizens (RPCC)
	Torrey Pines - Torrey Pines Concerned Citizens (TPCC)

Any community that is impacted by this power line project is welcome in CUSP!

Page last updated 02/03/2008.