March 30, 2014
Public Utilities Commission Dismisses
Application for PG&E Power Line Project
Commissioners Vote to Dismiss Controversial Santa Cruz Project
After PG&E Agrees Project is Not Needed in Next 10 Years
Application for PG&E Power Line Project
Commissioners Vote to Dismiss Controversial Santa Cruz Project
After PG&E Agrees Project is Not Needed in Next 10 Years
APTOS, Calif. – In a victory for the environment, wildlife, ratepayers, and the quality of life in Santa Cruz County, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) dismissed PG&E's application to construct the Santa Cruz 115 Kilovolt Reinforcement Project. In a public meeting held on March 26, 2015, CPUC President Michael Picker and four commissioners voted unanimously to grant PG&E's motion to dismiss its application for a permit to construct the controversial power line project after PG&E and the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), which oversees the statewide power grid, agreed that the project was not needed in the next 10 years.
The CPUC decision concluded, "In light of PG&E's revised load forecasts and CAISO's reassessment of the amended 2009 CAISO Transmission Plan, the Project is not needed at this time." The proceeding was then closed.
"From the beginning, Neighbors Organized to Protect Our Community asked one key question: Is this project necessary?" said Dr. Thomas Barker, a founding member of the grassroots community organization. "In the end, the CPUC, PG&E, and CAISO all agreed that this project was not necessary.
"Since its inception, NOPOC has supported safe, reliable, economically efficient, and environmentally responsible electric power," Barker continued. "PG&E's proposal to charge customers millions of dollars for an unnecessary project was not economically sound. The plan to construct an industrial-scale project through scenic open space, rural neighborhoods, organic farms, and parkland was not environmentally responsible. Analysis by NOPOC's independent power engineer using PG&E's own data showed that the project was unnecessary. We are pleased that PG&E, CAISO, and the CPUC have agreed that this project is, in fact, not needed to maintain the reliability of the power grid."
The proposed project would have added a second 115,000 volt transmission line to a 7.1-mile circuit through portions of Aptos, Corralitos, and Watsonville. A new 1.7-mile transmission line would have been constructed through Day Valley. PG&E proposed to erect more than 80 steel power poles, double the height of many wooden poles, destroy hundreds of trees, build helicopter landing pads in an orchard and fields, and permanently remove all vegetation around the poles with herbicides.
"We asked the community for support, and the community responded enthusiastically," Barker said. "Citizens attended community meetings, sent hundreds of comments to the CPUC, wrote letters to elected representatives, and contributed thousands of dollars to hire legal and technical experts who refuted PG&E's claims."
The CPUC released a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) in October 2013 that asserted that the proposed project would not have a significant effect on the environment. When the true size, scope, and impact of this project became apparent, hundreds of community members, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, and the Central Water District voiced their concerns. As a result, the CPUC determined that a more rigorous Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was required under California law. Again the CPUC received hundreds of comments on the scope of the EIR from residents of the affected communities. Originally scheduled to be released in the summer of 2014, the Draft EIR was repeatedly delayed, and still had not been released when the CPUC voted to dismiss PG&E's application.
NOPOC retained Advanced Energy Solutions, an independent consultant with expertise in electric utility transmission, resource planning, and engineering, to evaluate the reliability concerns cited by PG&E and the technical and environmental data that PG&E provided in support of the proposed project. NOPOC submitted numerous data requests to PG&E for its independent analysis, including a request on September 25, 2014, asking, "Please indicate why PG&E believes that the particular results provided by PG&E show the need for the Santa Cruz Reinforcement Project prior to the year 2021." Ultimately, NOPOC’s analysis determined that the data did not support PG&E's reliability concerns and that there were environmentally superior alternatives to the proposed project. PG&E subsequently requested CAISO to re-evaluate the need for the project.
In a letter dated December 17, 2014, Neil Millar, CAISO executive director of infrastructure development, stated, "Management has agreed that the project is not needed within the 10 year planning horizon, and therefore has approved cancellation of this project." On January 27, 2015, CPUC Administrative Law Judge Robert Mason issued a ruling that ordered PG&E to file a motion to dismiss its application to construct the project without prejudice.
"The reality is that this ill-conceived and environmentally harmful project would already be under construction if the public had not spoken out," said NOPOC member James Kerr. "This project would have cost tens of millions of dollars, paid for by PG&E customers over the next 40 to 50 years, and produced no meaningful improvement in system reliability – at a huge cost to the environment.
"The community must remain vigilant in case PG&E attempts to revive this project in the future," Kerr continued. "With the continuing decline in demand for electrical power in Santa Cruz County and the accelerating trend toward decentralized solar power, we are cautiously optimistic that such massive and destructive projects will not be necessary in the foreseeable future."
The commissioners' decision is posted on the CPUC website:
http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M149/K915/149915253.PDF
About NOPOC: Neighbors Organized to Protect Our Community is a grassroots association of Santa Cruz County residents and concerned citizens who are working together to preserve and protect the natural beauty and character of the community. The nonprofit association seeks to raise awareness of the impact of the proposed PG&E Santa Cruz 115 kV Reinforcement Project on the environment, wildlife, livestock, agriculture, businesses, and homes in the affected area, and to propose environmentally responsible and economically effective alternatives.
For More Information
NOPOC on Facebook: www.facebook.com/neighborsOrganized
Email: info@nopoc.org
Address: P.O. Box 2425, Aptos, CA 95001
Phone: 831-613-1639
Media Contact:
Rick Voegelin
(831) 761-2201
rick@nopoc.org
The CPUC decision concluded, "In light of PG&E's revised load forecasts and CAISO's reassessment of the amended 2009 CAISO Transmission Plan, the Project is not needed at this time." The proceeding was then closed.
"From the beginning, Neighbors Organized to Protect Our Community asked one key question: Is this project necessary?" said Dr. Thomas Barker, a founding member of the grassroots community organization. "In the end, the CPUC, PG&E, and CAISO all agreed that this project was not necessary.
"Since its inception, NOPOC has supported safe, reliable, economically efficient, and environmentally responsible electric power," Barker continued. "PG&E's proposal to charge customers millions of dollars for an unnecessary project was not economically sound. The plan to construct an industrial-scale project through scenic open space, rural neighborhoods, organic farms, and parkland was not environmentally responsible. Analysis by NOPOC's independent power engineer using PG&E's own data showed that the project was unnecessary. We are pleased that PG&E, CAISO, and the CPUC have agreed that this project is, in fact, not needed to maintain the reliability of the power grid."
The proposed project would have added a second 115,000 volt transmission line to a 7.1-mile circuit through portions of Aptos, Corralitos, and Watsonville. A new 1.7-mile transmission line would have been constructed through Day Valley. PG&E proposed to erect more than 80 steel power poles, double the height of many wooden poles, destroy hundreds of trees, build helicopter landing pads in an orchard and fields, and permanently remove all vegetation around the poles with herbicides.
"We asked the community for support, and the community responded enthusiastically," Barker said. "Citizens attended community meetings, sent hundreds of comments to the CPUC, wrote letters to elected representatives, and contributed thousands of dollars to hire legal and technical experts who refuted PG&E's claims."
The CPUC released a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) in October 2013 that asserted that the proposed project would not have a significant effect on the environment. When the true size, scope, and impact of this project became apparent, hundreds of community members, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, and the Central Water District voiced their concerns. As a result, the CPUC determined that a more rigorous Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was required under California law. Again the CPUC received hundreds of comments on the scope of the EIR from residents of the affected communities. Originally scheduled to be released in the summer of 2014, the Draft EIR was repeatedly delayed, and still had not been released when the CPUC voted to dismiss PG&E's application.
NOPOC retained Advanced Energy Solutions, an independent consultant with expertise in electric utility transmission, resource planning, and engineering, to evaluate the reliability concerns cited by PG&E and the technical and environmental data that PG&E provided in support of the proposed project. NOPOC submitted numerous data requests to PG&E for its independent analysis, including a request on September 25, 2014, asking, "Please indicate why PG&E believes that the particular results provided by PG&E show the need for the Santa Cruz Reinforcement Project prior to the year 2021." Ultimately, NOPOC’s analysis determined that the data did not support PG&E's reliability concerns and that there were environmentally superior alternatives to the proposed project. PG&E subsequently requested CAISO to re-evaluate the need for the project.
In a letter dated December 17, 2014, Neil Millar, CAISO executive director of infrastructure development, stated, "Management has agreed that the project is not needed within the 10 year planning horizon, and therefore has approved cancellation of this project." On January 27, 2015, CPUC Administrative Law Judge Robert Mason issued a ruling that ordered PG&E to file a motion to dismiss its application to construct the project without prejudice.
"The reality is that this ill-conceived and environmentally harmful project would already be under construction if the public had not spoken out," said NOPOC member James Kerr. "This project would have cost tens of millions of dollars, paid for by PG&E customers over the next 40 to 50 years, and produced no meaningful improvement in system reliability – at a huge cost to the environment.
"The community must remain vigilant in case PG&E attempts to revive this project in the future," Kerr continued. "With the continuing decline in demand for electrical power in Santa Cruz County and the accelerating trend toward decentralized solar power, we are cautiously optimistic that such massive and destructive projects will not be necessary in the foreseeable future."
The commissioners' decision is posted on the CPUC website:
http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M149/K915/149915253.PDF
About NOPOC: Neighbors Organized to Protect Our Community is a grassroots association of Santa Cruz County residents and concerned citizens who are working together to preserve and protect the natural beauty and character of the community. The nonprofit association seeks to raise awareness of the impact of the proposed PG&E Santa Cruz 115 kV Reinforcement Project on the environment, wildlife, livestock, agriculture, businesses, and homes in the affected area, and to propose environmentally responsible and economically effective alternatives.
For More Information
NOPOC on Facebook: www.facebook.com/neighborsOrganized
Email: info@nopoc.org
Address: P.O. Box 2425, Aptos, CA 95001
Phone: 831-613-1639
Media Contact:
Rick Voegelin
(831) 761-2201
rick@nopoc.org