Temecula officials and hundreds of residents press SDG&E and CAISO over proposed Golden Pacific Powerlink route

Temecula's City Council spent much of its May 26 meeting pressing San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) for clearer answers about the company's proposed Golden Pacific Powerlink, a 500-kilovolt, extra-high-voltage transmission project whose preliminary route lies in a corridor that passes through Temecula Creek.

City staff and the utility said the route is preliminary and that major decisions will be made through the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and federal environmental review. "This is very early in the process," Erica Martin, SDG&E's director of project development, told the council, adding that the company hopes public meetings later this year and an eventual CPUC filing will shape routing and mitigation. Jeff Billington of CAISO said the line was identified in the 2022—2023 transmission plan to carry large amounts of renewable energy into coastal load centers.

Residents who packed council chambers for the item disagreed that the project is merely a technical exercise. Speakers from a wide range of neighborhoods said the proposed corridor would run beside homes, schools, open-space corridors and the city's wine-country view sheds. "We are prepared to fight this for as long as it takes," Gabriel Renfro told the council, urging officials to block the routing.

Council and staff questioned SDG&E and CAISO on multiple technical and process points: how the competitive solicitation selected the winning bid (Horizon West, then assigned to SDG&E), why the preliminary corridor follows Temecula Creek rather than more remote alignments, what alternatives have been studied, and who will ultimately choose the final route. Officials also pressed the utility about public-notice timing and asked for underlying bid documents, which SDG&E/CAISO said include confidential material but said selection reports are public.

Public-safety and emergency-response questions were central. Council members and local firefighters asked whether tall towers (SDG&E said 125—191 feet is typical for extra-high-voltage lines) and wide rights of way would block low-altitude firefighting or air ambulance operations. "We work in very detailed ways with our firefighting communities," said Kevin Garrity, SDG&E's chief operating officer. "We don't think there's a lack of coexistence there," he told the council, while promising continued coordination. Some council members and firefighters remained skeptical, citing local high-fire-severity corridors and instances in which utility equipment has been implicated in wildfires elsewhere.

Tribal and cultural-resource impacts were another focus. SDG&E said it has prioritized tribal consultation and that it knew preliminary routing crossed areas with cultural resources, and that coordination and surveys would be part of the CEQA/NEPA process. Council members also asked about property-value impacts and whether SDG&E would compensate affected owners; SDG&E said it would work with property owners if the final route required easements or acquisitions.

SDG&E and CAISO repeatedly stressed steps to come: community open houses, field surveys and, ultimately, formal regulatory review under CPUC and federal agencies, including CEQA and NEPA. SDG&E said the corridor shown is a 1,000-foot preliminary study corridor and that the company's application to CPUC is targeted for filing before the end of the year, with construction targeted in the late 2020s and in-service by 2032 if approved.

After more than 100 public speakers and a lengthy council exchange, the City Council voted unanimously to direct staff to oppose the current preliminary route, ask SDG&E and CAISO for more alternatives and technical information, and bring back a formal city resolution of opposition. The council also said it will coordinate with county, tribal and regional partners, and explore all legal and technical avenues available under state and federal processes.

What happens next: SDG&E said it plans additional public open houses this summer and fall and will continue field studies, then file its application with the CPUC later this year. The CPUC's formal environmental review and hearings would follow over multiple years, giving local governments, tribes, and the public additional opportunities to comment.