California Regulators Nix San Diego Utility’s Wildfire Plan

California regulators soundly rejected a utility company’s plan to cut electricity to a vast swath of San Diego bedroom communities when the weather is ripe for major wildfires.

The California Public Utilities Commission said the utility failed to show the benefits of the plan outweighed the risks.

San Diego Gas & Electric Co. sought authority to cut power to 60,000 homes and businesses in dry, windy weather, eliminating a potential ignition source.

Critics noted that a number of systems would fail immediately or within hours, including life-critical medical devices, water pumps, phones, televisions, garage door openers and traffic lights.

The commissioners voted 4-1 to reject the plan. “They didn’t make an adequate case for what they proposed,” said Commissioner Michael Peevey.

Commissioner Rachelle Chong said she worried that loss of television and Internet service and cordless phones would deprive residents of access to emergency information. She was also troubled by the prospect of big traffic jams without lights and difficulties that disabled people might encounter.

Debra Reed, SDG&E’s chief executive officer, said the decision was disappointing but noted it was only one part of the utility’s overall effort to prevent another major wildfire. Other steps include replacing some wood poles with steel and moving some wires underground. ”

SDG&E asked for authority to cut power if five weather conditions were met, including measures of humidity in the air and moisture in sticks and twigs.

Power lines cause a tiny percentage of wildfires but have wrought enormous damage.

A sycamore limb fell on a SDG&E line to spark one of Southern California’s biggest fires in 2007, according to a public utility commission report. Others were started when two SDG&E lines touched and a Cox Communications cable line struck one of the utility’s wires.

SDG&E, a unit of San Diego-based Sempra Energy, has paid dearly — $740 million in legal settlements, with more claims pending. This month, it asked regulators for a rate increase, saying its insurance premiums soared after the fires.

The utility said it wants to stop the biggest fires. It estimated the plan would have caused one or two outages a year affecting between 8,000 and 10,000 customers.

Supporters included some fire chiefs in the area and the San Diego City Council.

“The purpose of this plan is to prevent fires before they start,” Jim Madaffer, a former San Diego councilman told commissioners.

The utility sought to cushion potential harm by offering to lend generators to water districts and drive the disabled to evacuation centers when power was cut.

Opposition was fierce in the quaint communities that would have lost electricity, an area that rings San Diego through avocado groves, apple orchards and horse ranches near the Mexican border.