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Local residents oppose SDG&E shut-off plan
By Susan Hogoboom
The Alpine Sun
ALPINE — The California Public
Utilities Commission (CPUC) got an earful last Tuesday, April 7
at the Alpine Community Center, as residents, business people,
and elected officials voiced their opinions on a proposed San
Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) shut-off plan. The proposal would
“turn the lights off” in large areas of East County and the Back
Country.
Power would be shut off in designated areas when five
specific weather triggers are met. These conditions are: the
National Weather Service declaring a Red Flag Warning, relative
humidity in the air of 20 percent or less, and localized winds
speeds to be 35 miles per hour sustained or 55 miles per hour
gusts. Cal Fire must also declare the moisture level in sticks,
twigs and leaves to be 10 percent or less and the moisture level
in live plants and bushes to be 75 percent or less. All five
conditions must co-exist.
The plan was slated to begin in the Fall, but was put
on hold while being reviewed by the CPUC due to public outcry.
Alpine, Descanso, Pine Valley, Campo, Boulevard, Jacumba, Dehesa,
Jamul, Barrett Lake, Japatul, Crest, Ramona, parts of Blossom
Valley will all be affected by the proposed shut-off plan, as
well as several areas in North County.
Many residents at the meeting, as well in the months
since the plan was proposed, have raised concerns about how a
power outage will affect their lives in rural areas. In the
majority of these areas homes and families rely on electric-pump
wells for their water. Concerns were also raised about elderly
or infirm residents of these areas, many who rely on medical
equipment to maintain their health.
David Geier, SDG&E Vice President of Transmission and
Distribution, ensured the availability of services and emergency
care to affected residents, should the plan go into effect.
Mona Freels, Chief Operating Officer of 211 San Diego,
a 24-hour health and social service resource said that her
company has already interviewed more than 600 SDG&E customers on
the 211 Medical Baseline program, to inform them of the
proposal, ensure them that services will be available, and to
receive their input. Those on the program have health needs that
depend upon the use of electricity, such as electricity for
oxygen tanks.
Chris Marek, of the American Red Cross of San
Diego/Imperial Counties, also confirmed the organization’s
commitment to provide emergency services in the event of crisis.
Many speakers were concerned about the economic impact
the proposal would have on local households and business. Some
speakers suggested economic stimulus or rebates to ease the cost
of generators to keep medical equipment running.
“We have seniors and low income families that just
can’t afford the back-up generators. They cannot afford the
fuel,” said Donna Tisdale, Chairman of the Boulevard Planning
Group.
Geier vowed to keep his commitment to working with
school and water districts.
“We want to work with all the agencies and the public
to make sure we have things in place,” he said.
Augie Ghio, Chief of the San Miguel Fire Department,
said that he wants to make sure that people in these areas are
prepared if and when the outage plan is implemented.
“We want to make sure that our residents in those
hard-to-serve areas are adequately covered should this go into
place,” he said.
Availability of resources was one of Ghio’s concerns.
“Should this be implemented, we’ve got to make sure we
do have the adequate water supplies,” he said.
Second District County Supervisor Dianne Jacob attended
the April 7 meeting, and spoke in strong opposition to the plan.
She told the CPUC that she has received hundreds of letters from
constituents concerned about the health hazards that could be
suffered by people, animals, and crops as a direct result of a
shut-off.
“The local utility is causing needless fear and strife
for people already traumatized by two major wildfires,” she
said.
Jacob also questioned the commitment level of SDG&E and
the CPUC to improved fire prevention and comply with county fire
regulations.
This concern was based on SDG&E’s proposed Sunrise
Powerlink, much of which is slated to be built in high-risk fire
areas affected by both the 2003 and 2007 wildfires, despite
research that this would hinder fire-fighting efforts.
“In my opinion, the commission made a dangerous and
deadly decision that will increase the chance of death from
another catastrophic wildfire,” she told the commissioners.
Jacob closed in saying that the consequences of SDG&E’s
proposed plans “is not worth the gamble.”
Padre Dam General Manager Doug Wilson voiced concern
about the availability of generators.
“We have to have electricity to pump the water. We have
27 reservoirs. Those reservoirs have to stay full in order to
provide water,” he stated.
Wilson explained that the urgent need for water was
demonstrated during the Cedar Fire when water had to be pumped,
“24/7 just to keep the demand going.”
Wilson credited temporary generators in aiding in the
fight against the wildfires but warned that the competition for
the equipment is high, as there is a limited supply.
“The solution is we must have generators on site if
this SDG&E plan is implemented,” said Wilson.
Alpine Planning Group member, George Barnett said the
shut-off plan is outdated.
“The very concept of turning off the power doesn’t
reach the level of a third world country 40 years ago,” he said.
Barnett used to work in the power industries overseas,
delivering power to oil pumps in adverse weather conditions,
including hurricanes and monsoons.
“We designed our facilities not to have to turn them
off when the weather got bad,” he said, receiving a round of
applause from the crowd.
“[In these countries] the government would have tossed
our company out if we said, ‘We want to shut your oil fields. We
want to shut down your electric power.’”
Some critics at the meeting, like Donna Tisdale,
Chairman of the Boulevard Planning Group, saw the plan as, what
she called, “a shift in liability.”
SDG&E and its parent company, Sempra, have been in the
center of controversy the 2007 wildfires. Critics say their
lines sparked the 2007 Witch Creek and Rice Canyon fires through
improper maintenance. This resulted in lawsuits by the state,
local governments, homeowners, and insurance companies.
In two recent reports by SDG&E and the CPUC, released
last month and last week, the utility admitted that wires,
transformers and other equipment started 167 fires in the last 5
1/2 years. SDG&E said 13 fires, going back to August 2003,
started when high winds toppled wires, or broke tree limbs and
caused them to crash onto lines.
Geier insisted to the standing-room-only crowd that the
plan is predicated on fire prevention.
According to the report released last week, conditions
likely would have prompted SDG&E to turn off power during the
periods when three of those 13 fires ignited.
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