San Diego's Utility Franchise Agreement With San Diego Gas and Electric

The Southwest Powerlink in the Jacumba Mountains, near the border with Mexico.

By Mia Taylor and Cody Petterson

For the first time in 50 years, San Diego is renegotiating its franchise agreement with San Diego Gas and Electric (SDGE) in a decision that will have sweeping ramifications, giving the powerful Sempra-owned utility exclusive rights to use the city's public right-of-ways for transmission and distribution of electricity, along with the ability to install wires, poles, power lines, and underground gas and electric lines.

Originally signed in 1970, the 50-year-old franchise agreement comes to an end on Jan. 17, 2021, presenting San Diegans with an extraordinary opportunity to set the terms of our region's transition to a renewable energy future.

Conversely, if the terms of a new agreement fail to be negotiated in a meaningful, thoughtful manner, with too much of an emphasis on special interests, our region may be stuck for the next quarter century with an agreement that preserves windfall profits for the investor-owned utility and slows our progress toward a carbon-neutral future.

Please join San Diego County Democrats for Environmental Action this Wednesday, July 15, for a discussion on our current and  future energy needs, and the impact of a new franchise agreement on climate action plans around our region. Featured speakers include:

• Joyce Lane from San Diego 350
• Sonja Robinson from the NAACP San Diego chapter's  Environmental and Climate Justice Committee
• Craig Rose representing the Citizens Franchise Alliance
• Matt Vasilakis with Climate Action Campaign
  

The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. this Wednesday, July 15. Register in advance here.

Photo by Tommy Hough