San Diego Gas & Electric has announced plans to build, own and operate a new 500-kV transmission line connected to San Diego County.
The line is set to run between the existing Imperial Valley Substation and the border of San Diego and Orange counties, but construction isn’t expected to start until the end of the decade.
According to the California Independent System Operator, this new project is essential for the state to achieve its ambitious carbon reduction goals while modernizing and increasing the resilience of the electrical grid.
SDG&E officials, in a Friday news release, describe the resources available to the area as “currently constrained.”
The project, they added, will help reduce costs from congestion, while expanding access to resources in the Imperial Valley and the Southwest.
“We must continue to strengthen our energy grid to meet the growing demand for electricity in the Southern California region and to advance the state’s clean energy goals – all while
keeping affordability front and center,” said SDG&E President Scott Crider. “We will
work closely with customers and communities through a robust stakeholder
engagement process to ensure this critical line gets built responsibly.”
SDG&E will begin what it called “an extensive community engagement process” in which the
public will have multiple opportunities to submit feedback on ways “to ensure the project
is built responsibly.” The company, however, offered no further details on the process.
This transmission line was included in CAISO’s 2022-2023 Transmission Plan, which identified the need for a total of 45 such projects throughout the state.
Costs to build and upgrade high-voltage transmission lines (200kV or higher) that
provide statewide benefits are proportionately distributed among all California
customers within CAISO’s Balancing Authority Area and governed by the Federal
Regulatory Energy Commission.
That distribition helps to limit the cost impact on SDG&E customers to approximately 9%, based on current data, the utility said.
The company also will integrate its wildfire safety program into the project. The initiative has
helped prevent a catastrophic utility-caused wildfire for nearly 18 years, officials said.
Construction on the transmission line is expected to begin in 2029, and is estimated to be in service by 2032, subject to securing state and federal approvals and permits.
