Sunrise Will Keep the Lights On

By Jerry Butkiewicz, San Diego

And with your attitude toward projects like Gaylord, your workers don't even get to start! LOL!

Posted by Larry | reply to this comment
August 28, 2007 6:28 am

Are you proud of your backroom deals Jerry? Don't you ever get sick of being used by the Republican establishment? You've set back the real labor movement back decades in SD. Why don't you try organizing workers and leave public policy to those who actually know what they're doing?

Posted by dan | reply to this comment
August 28, 2007 11:06 am

I wonder what Jerry received for this endorsement.

Posted by Rick | reply to this comment
August 28, 2007 11:58 am

If anything gets built, operated or served, it should be done with organized labor. Unfortunately, there are bad projects amongst so-so projects and good projects. An example of the unions wanting to work on a bad project is the Gaylord development. The Sunrise Powerlink is another. And the new Ballpark Village proposal is terribly unfortunate. There is a chance one or more of these projects could be developed, just look at San Diego history for perspective. I would still hope that if these projects get built they are built and run with organized labor. This would mitigate some of the worse effects these project have, and that makes it better than worse.

Posted by Christopher Hall | reply to this comment
August 28, 2007 12:56 pm

I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop... What's the punchline, Mr. B???

Posted by Robert | reply to this comment
August 28, 2007 11:44 pm

What a tragically myopic letter. So what if there are cheaper less destructive alternatives to Sunrise. So what if the Stirling Solar Dishes-- the only significant renewable project slated to feed the line-- are untested and years away from being permitted. So what if the line will significantly increase the risk of catastrophic or ruin a pristine State park. I'm sure labor has already been promised a crack at constructing this rediculously expensive line; a line that will be antiquated before it's even finished. There are plenty of cheaper, greener meet future energy demand. If those ways promised to line labor's pockets, would you come around, then?

Posted by Sandy Eggo | reply to this comment
August 29, 2007 8:04 am

Officials Declare Stage 1 Power Emergency POSTED: 4:04 pm PDT August 29, 2007 SACRAMENTO -- State power officials have issued a Stage 1 electrical emergency Wednesday afternoon and are urging people to conserve energy. The alert was issued at 3:20 p.m. by the California Independent System Operator. State officials had predicted high demand this afternoon, and they said higher than forecast loads are taxing current reserves. If operating reserves deplete further, the ISO will declare a Stage 2 Electrical Emergency and may begin cutting service to customers who have opted for their power to be interrupted. The alert is in effect until 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Posted by DC | reply to this comment
August 29, 2007 8:40 am

Yo DC -- Sempra, and now you, have taken a page out of the Bush administration's strategy to cry terror when the politics serve political ends. The handful of days when the system gets maxxed out are blown out of proportion to drive home the desperate need for MORE POWER. Did I say MORE POWER? Oh, I meant more money...Sempra is expanding their business to sell power way past San Diego! This electricity is wired to go straight to LA and bypass San Diego completely. I did not make this up, this is a power line that runs through all San Diego -- this extension cord cuts across our county -- it is to serve the 20 million people just north of Irvine, and it's us 3 million San Diegans who will hook 'em up to Mexico where the power comes-from.

Posted by Christopher Hall | reply to this comment
August 29, 2007 2:10 pm

Well Sandy Eggo, what you need to do now is specify exactly what those plans are. Noooooo none of the ususal rhetoric about how solar and wind can save the day—exact plans as to how to accomplish what SDG&E is proposing—meaning more electrical power to the region. SDG&E put their plans on the table—let’s see yours. I have yet to see any concrete plans from anyone but SDG&E—lots of words but no concrete plans, time to put-up or shut-up folks! Mr. Hall, I really don’t care where the power comes from—since there is no way of knowing where it comes from anyway, I just want to be assured that when I turn my light switch on the light will go on—Period! And frankly I don’t care if unions or leprechauns build it—just get it done!

Posted by Howiek | reply to this comment
August 29, 2007 11:32 pm

It just seems completely intuitive that we would want a third line to connect San Diego to tshe Western Grid since both our current connection go through wildfire prone areas and/or high risk terrorist targets. Call me ghoulish, but the lesson I learned from Katrina is that modern society is about 2 days from reverting to Mad Max barbarism if the power in a major metro. A third line, would seem to make sense (thought Valley Rainbow seemed to be far better - I just wish the nimbies would have helped fight for that line against Pechanga and the landed gentry in the temecula winecountry).

Posted by CMR | reply to this comment
August 30, 2007 3:54 am

Good call CMR, very good call!

Posted by Howiek | reply to this comment
August 30, 2007 7:06 am

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