Electric System Hardening
As part of our ongoing efforts to reduce wildfire risk and the impact of Public Safety Power Shutoffs during extreme weather conditions, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) will undertake several projects to underground powerlines.
Once completed, the undergrounding work will enable community facilities to remain powered during Public Safety Power Shutoffs.
View Strategic Undergrounding fact sheet
Strategic Undergrounding Program
Strategic undergrounding of overhead power lines is one element of a multipronged approach to reducing wildfire risk. Over the past decade, we’ve implemented, and continue to improve, our comprehensive wildfire risk mitigation program. This includes significant investments to replace wood poles with fire-resistant steel poles; building a sophisticated weather monitoring network and fire and weather forecast models’ updating operating protocols; and building partnerships to enhance the region’s overall ability to respond to wildfires.
SDG&E’s 2020 Wildfire Mitigation Plan outlines a suite of programs and initiatives that the company will undertake to continue to advance wildfire safety. One of those initiatives is strategic undergrounding of overhead power lines.
Burying power lines removes the risk of these lines sparking fires during adverse weather events, but more importantly, buried lines can remain energized during Public Safety Power Shutoffs, reducing the impact of power outages to fire prone communities.
Another initiative to help prevent catastrophic wildfires is the addition of a microgrid in Campo, CA. This microgrid will be made from photovoltaic panels (PVs) and battery storage to provide power to important facilities (including a middle school, library, health clinic and fire station) during Public Safety Power Shutoffs.
About the Project
The Strategic Undergrounding Program will provide heightened wildfire resiliency and electric reliability by undergrounding distribution lines near key community facilities.
There will be multiple construction locations and activities taking place simultaneously, with work hours, traffic control measure, and noise restrictions for each area dictated by the appropriate local jurisdiction. The existing overhead power lines will not be removed, as they will continue to power the remaining customers that are currently served by those overhead lines
Project benefits
- Increased resiliency and reliability of the electric system serving key community facilities in and around your area.
- Key community facilities can remain energized during a Public Safety Power Shutoff.
Construction details
While our goal is to complete the project as quickly as possible to minimize impact on the community, rainstorms and other unforeseen weather conditions could affect the construction schedule
Construction crews will be working Monday through Sunday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Motorists and residents can expect intermittent traffic along the construction routes during construction hours.
We will continue to work closely with local communities to ensure construction activities are as least disruptive as possible. We anticipate that traffic delays may occur due to occasional lane reductions, temporary restrictions or lane closures required during construction.
Projects
| Project |
Circuit | Approx. Miles | Anticipated Start | Anticipated Completion | Key Facilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Alpine |
C 357 |
1 |
Padre Dam, 3 Comm sites: Sprint Nextel Corporation, T-mobil West LLC, and Verizon Wireless | ||
|
Valley Center |
C 1030 |
5.5 |
August 2020 | December 2020 | Reduce potential PSPS events for customers |
|
Vallecitos Water District |
C 754 |
0.3 |
November 2019 | Energized in May 2020 | Vellecitos Water District |
|
Julian |
C 221 |
1.3 |
November 2019 | September 2020 | Julian Elementary School, Julian Charter School, Julian Union High School, 1 pump station, Friends of the Julian Library, Post Office, Fire station, County Maintenance Yard, State of Cal Office, Bus Yard, Caltrans office |
|
Santa Ysabel |
C 221 |
0.2 |
October 2020 | December 2020 | Bakery, Julian Pie, Market/ATM, Charging Station, Restaurants, Post Office, Art Gallery, Self Storage, Other Commercial shops |
|
Jamul |
C 75 |
5.8 |
September 2020 | December 2020 | Steele Canyon High School, San Diego County Fire Station 36, Jamul Casino |
|
Valley Center |
C 1021 |
0.2 |
June 2020 | September 2020 | Lilcac School |
|
Alpine |
C 1458 |
1.7 |
October 2020 | January 2021 | Reduce potential PSPS events for customers |
|
Descanso |
C 79 | 2.7 | January 2021 | June 2021 | Descanso Elementary School, US Post Office, Descanso Branch Library, Descanso Townhall Association, San Diego County Fire Station, Descanso Fire Department Station 1, Gas Station. Note: Gas Station/convenience store are in the same service and parcel land owner |
For more information
If you have questions or concerns, please contact SDG&E’s Regional Public Affairs Manager, Todd Voorhees, at [email protected] or by telephone at (844) 765-6388.