Opinion: City Council Should Reject Rushed Ballot Initiative to Create Municipal Utility

As we inch closer to the upcoming election, city leaders are having final discussions about what proposals and initiatives should be on the ballot this November. There are many important issues facing our region — such as improvements to stormwater infrastructure, addressing homelessness, and fixing local streets and roads — and we need thoughtful policy solutions to address them.

What is unfortunately detracting from these issues is a rushed ballot measure aiming to turn over control of the electric grid from San Diego Gas & Electric to the city — a measure that lacks due diligence and is misaligned with our region’s overarching clean energy goals.

It is no surprise to anyone in our region that Californians are facing an energy affordability crisis, and we in San Diego aren’t immune to that. Whether it be from aggressive energy transition goals or investments made to minimize the impact of a changing climate and wildfires, costs for energy continue to rise. However, this ballot initiative is not a solution and, in fact, could only make matters worse.

Under the Power San Diego proposal, proponents are asking voters to sign onto the measure with very little information on how it would impact the grid and, more importantly, those of us who pay a utility bill. Without any operational, strategic, or business plan for how a government-run utility would operate under the city, we could potentially be asking voters to decide how the city operates one of the most complex infrastructure systems in our region. It’s a decision none of us should make without the proper information.

Proponents also outline a vision of completely disconnecting the city’s electric grid from the state and national grid. The electric grid is a complex system and self-isolating would only create reliability issues that have the potential to negatively impact our region.

Finally, under this proposed initiative, proponents have put forward a process where the government-run utility would be led by a five-member board of directors who are randomly selected — with no experience required. This means the management and oversight for all of this would be entrusted to a random assortment of individuals who have no prior experience in running a complex electric grid, have no blueprint to operate it, and would not be accountable directly to the people.

The city of San Diego is working hard to tackle critical regional issues. There are also pressing local and statewide energy issues that must be resolved. However, rushing this particular issue onto the ballot without any detailed information is premature. There are too many risks, too many unknowns, and not enough information for city leaders or voters to make an informed decision.

Jason Anderson is the president and CEO of Cleantech San Diego, a business association that positions the San Diego region as a leader in the cleantech economy.