Upgrade Substation in Rancho Mission Viejo, SJC Leaders Say

Rancho Mission Viejo is a much better spot for an upgraded electric substation, city leaders in San Juan Capistrano say.

San Diego Gas & Electric is proposing a . It has selected an existing substation in a San Juan Capistrano residential neighborhood about a mile from Mission San Juan Capistrano as the one to get the overhaul.

But leaders there are protesting the decision, and in legal papers filed with the California Public Utilities Commission, suggest either Laguna Niguel’s substation – which is in an industrial area along the railroad tracks – or in the as-yet not-built .

“Major electric transmission corridors exist just east of the city, and much of the project's area is undeveloped. SDG&E needs to explain why such expansive available areas are not better suited for the bulk of its proposed expansion,”  writes San Juan Capistrano’s lawyer.

Bypassing local control, the utility must seek permission from the PUC in two simultaneous applications: one, a declaration that the project is needed; and two, an environmental review.

San Juan Capistrano city leaders had indicated to SDG&E officials they wanted hearings on the project and  when the utility applied for a so-called “Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity” without giving the city and others a chance to comment.

The city filed off a letter of protest to be heard on the matter, which an administrative law judge granted in early July.

It is in that letter of protest that San Juan Capistrano suggests that Rancho Mission Viejo substation would be a better fit for upgraded facilities rather than tearing down a 1918-era building close to its historic downtown.

The utility’s lawyer fired back in legal papers, and it all comes down to price. SDG&E doesn’t own enough land there to build what it wants to build in San Juan.

“That alternative was rejected because of increased environmental impacts and its inability to meet the project objective of locating proposed facilities within existing transmission corridors, rights-of-way and utility-owned property,” the papers say.

For more details about the SDG&E Reliability Project, go .