C. Need for the Grant Hill Substation

According to the supplementary information filed by SDG&E, the Grant Hill Substation is needed because the three substations that currently serve downtown San Diego will have an aggregate loading of 93% in 2006, and are expected to be fully loaded in 2010. At the same time, a recent forecast prepared by the San Diego Association of Governments projects that the City's population will increase by approximately 147,000 people between 2000 and 2010, and the statistical area that includes Southeast San Diego -- where the new substation will be located -- is expected to experience a population increase of more than 48,000 people between 2000 and 2010.

In view of this anticipated growth, SDG&E asserts that the new substation is needed to provide capacity and reliability support for downtown San Diego, the western portion of the Southeast San Diego community and portions of the Golden Hill community. According to SDG&E, the new substation will help prevent extended outages and other disruptions of service to new and existing customers, as well as contribute to distribution system operating flexibility in the affected areas.