SAN MARCOS (KGTV) — More than 100 North County residents voiced concerns about the proposed Golden Pacific Powerlink project at a California Public Utilities Commission meeting in San Marcos Thursday.
Residents from Fallbrook, Warner Springs, Palomar Mountain, and other North County communities attended the meeting in person and over the phone to oppose the project, which was not on the official agenda.
The Golden Pacific Powerlink is a proposed 500-kilovolt transmission line stretching roughly 145 miles from the Imperial Valley toward a proposed substation near San Onofre. At least one potential route would pass through or near Fallbrook, Warner Springs, and Palomar Mountain.
Danielle Kendall's family owns a farm in Fallbrook that sits in the path of the project.
"The second proposed power lines are going right through the middle of our farm," Kendall said.
Kendall wants the commission to require SDG&E to explore alternatives before routing a transmission line through her property.
"We need a balance, right? We need a balance in this life of, um, technology infrastructure, making sure we can supply to our grid, but we have to have batteries. We have to have alternatives," Kendall said.
SDG&E Communications Manager Alex Welling acknowledged the scope of the project and the community concerns it raises.
"Any project of this scale, I mean we're talking about a 500-kilovolt, 145-mile transmission line, anything like that is going to raise serious questions and concerns in the community. And that's why we're out here so early talking to folks, gathering feedback," Welling said.
SDG&E says it will submit an application for the project to the commission in November that will include public comments. The company says the potential infrastructure will reduce congestion, meet the state's energy goals, and enhance the flow of electricity on the statewide grid.
For Kendall, the size and location of the project remain major concerns.
"If you disrupt it, if you decide to put electricity through it, it will change our county," Kendall said.
The California Public Utilities Commission will ultimately decide whether to approve the project and which route it will follow.
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