Times zooms in on San Diego in utility fight

The New York Times on Saturday (April 28) uses San Diego to cover the California battle over community choice aggregation, which would permit communities to choose their electricity provider. San Diego Gas & Electric, a unit of Sempra Energy, is bankrolling groups that oppose the movement, says the Times.

The Times says the city council will vote on the idea this year. Green energy proponents back the program, but SDG&E is spending money to defeat it. They have formed a group, Clean Air Coalition, claiming that major energy changes gave rise to the energy crises of 2000 and 2001. A group of African-American pastors support the local utility. That irks Bishop George McKinney, who says that “the inner-city residents are being taken advantage of.”

McKinney notes that “the cost of energy now is escalating in the community.” The article doesn’t say that SDG&E consistently has the highest, or among the highest, utility rates in the nation. San Diego, in common with some other communities, wants to reach 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2035.