State Could ‘Hijack’ Energy Produced Here
San Diego could experience relief from summer blackouts thanks to privately owned backup diesel generators that might come on line during times of crisis.
But there are some questions as to exactly who would participate. There are also questions whether this is a good idea in the first place, or whether any energy produced by those generators would actually be used in San Diego County.
On May 3, San Diego Gas & Electric Co. announced its Blackout Reduction Program, which would enlist companies with backup diesel generators to help prevent power outages. These companies would use their generators during times of shortage to provide a total of about 50 megawatts of energy for all of San Diego County.
However, a group calling itself the Coalition for Electricity Independence proposed to take that proposal a step further. The group took out a full-page advertisement in the San Diego Union-Tribune, urging San Diegans to pressure the county Board of Supervisors to purchase even more generators. “Through Hawthorne Power Systems, the coalition has secured 25 additional mobile backup generators totaling 50 megawatts. The cost of these 25 generators is $15 million. We ask the Board of Supervisors to find the answers to make the plan a reality,” the ad stated.
On May 22, the coalition appeared before the supervisors, who turned down the request.
‘No Legal Authority’
“Their request was for $15 million in taxpayer funds. We have no legal authority to commit taxpayer funds toward buying these generators,” said Robert Duckett, legislative aide for Pam Slater. “Additionally, we had a problem with spending taxpayer funds for private business.”
Instead, the board opted to contact SDG & E; to see if they would be the ones to put up the $15 million to purchase additional generators. Although diesel was an option, other fuel sources would be preferable, since diesel is a major polluter, he said.
Duckett added that SDG & E; would be a good corporate citizen to participate. The utility’s parent company, Sempra Energy, has profited heavily in San Diego, and this would be an opportunity to invest some of that money back into the region, he said.
The county has not yet heard back from SDG & E; on whether they would be interested in spending $15 million on the generators, Duckett said.
Proposal ‘Premature’
Art Larson, spokesman for SDG & E;, called the county’s request “premature.” He pointed out the energy company is already spending $2 billion on power plants, gas pipelines and other projects to bring more generation to the region.
One of those projects is SDG & E;’s original plan to use the generators already in place. Although the utility has secured the approval of the Air Pollution Control District, it still needs permission from the California Public Utilities Commission, he said.
The CPUC has put off any decision until June 7, Larson said.
“We think it’s a really good idea, and we’ve encouraged the CPUC to approve it, and approve it quickly,” he said. “We’d like to see this program on line.”
Evan Paul, San Diego spokesman for the California Public Interest Research Group, disagreed. Additional diesel generation is a “severe health threat.”
Paul said backup generators are typically located very close to residential neighborhoods. Since they are intended only for emergency use, they don’t have the pollution controls required on diesel trucks and buses, he said.
“An uncontrolled, one-megawatt diesel generator, operated only during peak demand, could cause a 50 percent increase in cancer risk to nearby residents. Diesel exhaust is also a major source of soot and smog-forming nitrogen oxides which have been linked to a growing number of health impacts, including lung damage, premature death and asthma,” Paul said.
Other Options
There are other options instead of diesel, including solar energy, he said.
Jim Bell echoed those sentiments. As a member of the mayor’s environmental task force, he called relying on diesel generators “a big mistake.”
Bell said the additional 50 megawatts of diesel generation comes with a price tag of $15 million and generates major pollutants. If that money were instead invested in conservation programs, the area could save up to 10 times the amount those generators could produce , without any additional pollution, he said.
What’s more, those energy savings are ours to keep. There’s no such guarantee with new generation, because once electricity enters the state’s grid, it can be shipped out of the region, Bell said.
“We get a fraction of it, but we do get all the pollution. So we’re kind of sacrificing ourselves for the benefit of the whole grid,” Bell said. “Right now, we’re willingly making ourselves a region of sacrifice.”
Power ‘Hijacked’
Larson agreed, to a certain extent. He noted that the California Independent System Operator has “hijacked” the Blackout Reduction Program before it’s even begun.
The Cal-ISO is proposing to give SDG & E; only partial credit for any added electricity it generates. Most of the 50 megawatts of added generation could be shipped to other service areas, leaving very little of that power here, Larson said.
If that happens, the companies SDG & E; hopes to bring into the Blackout Reduction Program would refuse to participate. Blackouts would not be reduced in the SDG & E; service area, so companies would lose incentive to power up their generators, he said.
This is something that may be discussed when the issue comes before the CPUC, Larson said.
