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Residents urge Dana Point to monitor battery storage projects and pursue undergrounding distribution lines
Summary
Residents urged the Dana Point City Council to investigate safety and siting issues around battery energy storage projects and to explore undergrounding neighborhood power lines.
During public comment, several residents urged the City Council to investigate and take action on energy and utility infrastructure issues including proposed large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) facilities near rail corridors and a proposal by Southern California Edison to underground distribution lines.
Mary Hearn, a Dana Point resident, told the council she had provided materials about safety concerns tied to BESS projects and asked whether the city had coordinated with neighboring San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano, which she said had spoken out against the planned facilities. "Who on your team is in charge of researching and dealing with this potential disaster, so that we can, the residents of Dana Point, know what's going on?" she asked, and requested the matter be placed on a future agenda.
Len Gardner, another resident, urged the council to consider Southern California Edison’s plans to underground roughly 50 miles of distribution lines and asked the city to form a committee to explore opportunities to bury neighborhood lines in Dana Point. He cited an LA Times article about SCE’s planned program and said distribution lines are a significant wildfire ignition source.
Mayor Pagano responded that the council could not discuss or take action on items not listed on the posted agenda that evening, but thanked the speakers and said staff would note the requests for future consideration. No formal council action on BESS projects or SCE undergrounding occurred during the meeting.
