Tiny water district to seize PG&E power lines, transformers
For years, San Francisco progressives have dreamed of breaking free from PG&E and setting up their own electric utility.
Now a small irrigation district in the Central Valley might beat them to it.
The South San Joaquin Irrigation District won permission from a key government panel Thursday to jump into the retail electricity business, selling power to 38,000 residents of Escalon, Manteca, Ripon and the surrounding countryside. To do it, the district plans to seize every power line, transformer and pole owned by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. across a swath of San Joaquin County, either through a friendly sale or via eminent domain.
And PG&E, so far, shows no interest in selling.
The district, which along with another irrigation district co-owns three hydroelectric dams in the Sierra foothills, tried this once before. In 2006, the county’s Local Agency Formation Commission, which sets the boundaries of towns and districts, rejected the irrigation district’s plan, saying there wasn’t enough information to prove it would work.
But on Thursday, the panel reversed itself, voting 4-1 to let the district start retail electricity sales — provided it can meet its goal of beating PG&E’s electricity rates by 15 percent. The commission’s staff doubts the district can hit that target and recommended against approval.
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