SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Imagine paying your energy bill not to San Diego Gas and Electric, but to a utility run by the City of San Diego.
City leaders are trying to figure out if that's possible.
Right now, this is just an idea. The City said it has a responsibility to keep electrical costs low for residents. That's what they're trying to figure out.
“The conversation is about what our options are instead of the status quo, because the status quo does not work," said District 9 City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera.
They've hired a company to study that, but there's still a lot of uncertainty.
“These assets are tangible and realistic,” Isaiah Glasoe, Program Director for Public Power San Diego, said.
Tangible assets are one thing; having the funding, planning, and resilience to handle unpredictability is another.
This Phase Two study examines the realistic financial opportunities and the headaches that come with the City of San Diego's attempt to run its own electric utility company.
According to a city staff report, it could cost the city somewhere between $2.4 billion and $7.6 billion for all of the transmission, distribution, and substations from SDG&E to accomplish this possibility.
The report says that while it's possible for the city to undertake such a task, there are a lot of unknowns, and it would take a long time.
A contracted report shows that residents could potentially see up to $500 per year in savings, but that would be years down the road.
No matter the timeline, that was a welcomed discovery for the dozens of residents show showed up to City Hall to share their thoughts during Monday's meeting.
Glasoe said the study’s findings are exciting to see.
“This study studied public power in the most conservative way possible. Um, one of the specific numbers is the revenue growth rate of SDG&E,” Glasoe said. “This study assumed a 4% revenue growth rate, and SDG&E just applied for an 8.6% rate increase this year in 2028, which shows that even in the most conservative models, we still save money by switching to public power.”
Several local union members, who also showed up Monday, and some tech leaders in the city, see it differently.
“The question is not whether municipalization is possible," said Kevin Carroll, Executive Director of Tech San Diego. The question is whether the risk and cost are sufficiently understood before making a multi-billion dollar decision that could impact businesses and residents for decades.”
Anthony Stackhouse, with International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 465, challenged city councilmembers to “be honest with yourselves. You do not have the resources or knowledge to do this. Don’t gamble with my job or the job of my union brothers or sisters because I promise one thing — we’ll not go down without a fight.”
SDG&E told ABC 10News in a statement:
“The city's flawed study omits major risks to safety and reliability and understates the costs of seizing the electric grid that was previously estimated to be at least $9.3 billion based on a more limited scope than what is being considered here,” Anthony Wagner, an SDG&E spokesperson, said. “In fact, as noted by Mayor Gloria, the study fails to utilize the correct methodology required by state regulators, which will raise costs and impact feasibility. Our customers and local taxpayers deserve accurate assessments.”
Monday's discussion was just that — there was no vote, and there won't be one for quite some time.
City councilmembers will continue to evaluate the report before moving forward — if that's what they eventually decide to do — and based on Monday's meeting, that path appears to have momentum.
