ALJ/MCK/eap Mailed 4/8/2005
Decision 05-04-021 April 7, 2005
BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Application of San Diego Gas & Electric Company (U 902 E) for a Permit to Construct the Grant Hill Substation, formerly known as the Uptown Substation. |
Application 04-03-015 (Filed March 8, 2004) |
This decision grants the application of San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) for a Permit to Construct (PTC), pursuant to General Order (GO) 131-D, the new Grant Hill Substation, which has previously been referred to as the Uptown Substation.1 The new substation will have a capacity of 120 megavolt amperes (MVA) and is needed to meet existing and anticipated load growth and to improve distribution reliability in downtown San Diego, the western portion of the Southeast San Diego community, and portions of the Golden Hill community.
The application is unopposed. Commission staff has conducted an environmental review of the project and proposed a Mitigated Negative Declaration which concludes that, if SDG&E implements the mitigation measures set forth therein, the project will not have any significant effects upon the environment. Our order today adopts the Final IS/MND and, subject to the conditions therein, authorizes work on the substation to begin.
A. Procedural Background
SDG&E filed the instant application on March 8, 2004. Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which appears at Pub. Resources Code §§ 21000-21176, the utility also submitted a Proponent's Environmental Assessment (PEA), which evaluated the potential environmental impacts of the proposed project. The PEA concluded that, with the implementation of specified mitigation measures, the substation would have no significant impact upon the environment.
By letter dated April 29, 2004, the Commission's Energy Division informed SDG&E that the PEA was incomplete, and directed the utility to file additional information. SDG&E did so in a supplemental application filed on June 1, 2004. On August 3, 2004, the Energy Division informed SDG&E by letter that the application was deemed complete. A short PHC was held on August 27, 2004.
On September 27, 2004, the Energy Division issued the Draft IS/MND for public comment; the public was invited to submit comments for the next 30 days. The comment period closed on October 27, 2004, and after making various changes in response to the comments received, a Final IS/MND was issued on December 23, 2004.
1 As noted on page A-1, footnote 1 of the Draft Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) concerning the project, the Southeastern San Diego Planning Committee requested the name change. At the prehearing conference (PHC) held on August 27, 2004, SDG&E agreed that the name change was appropriate. (PHC Transcript, p. 10.) The caption of this decision references both the old and new names for the project so as to avoid confusion.
