Natural Gas

Proposed New Pipeline Will Modernize Our Natural Gas System

Natural gas powers our lives. We rely on it every day to warm our homes and cook our meals. It even keeps the lights on – as between 40-70 percent of the natural gas delivered to San Diego fuels our region’s power plants. This foundational fuel is also critical to supporting San Diego’s $200 billion economy, as businesses, hospitals, schools and the military rely on natural gas as an affordable energy source.

Having an energy grid – both electric and natural gas – that keeps pace with the latest safety and technological advancements is important for our region. At SDG&E, building the cleanest, safest and most reliable energy company in America involves managing costs for our customers, modernizing our infrastructure and improving customer experience through new technologies and innovative solutions.

As part of our efforts to become the best energy company in America, we have proposed to build a new, state-of-the-art natural gas pipeline that would start in Rainbow near the Riverside County line and connect with another pipeline on Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar.

Primary purpose: safety

An existing natural gas transmission line in our system was built in 1949. Under new pipeline safety laws, this older line must be pressure-tested or replaced. Pressure-testing is costly and requires taking the line out of service, affecting our customers’ daily lives. Safety is our highest priority and we believe it’s time to invest in a new, modern pipeline that will improve safety for our customers, employees and the communities we serve.

Enhanced system reliability

The proposed Pipeline Safety & Reliability project will also contribute to making our local natural gas system more reliable. Right now, our region relies on only two pipelines for all of the natural gas that is delivered to San Diego: a 30-inch line near Interstate 5, which carries 90-percent of the natural gas, and the older line built in 1949, which brings in the rest. Building a new, larger pipeline would reduce our overdependence on the current line we depend on for the majority of our gas. This would greatly enhance reliability on our system when we have planned or unplanned outages.

You’re invited

The infrastructure project is currently under review with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), and this week residents in San Diego County are invited to public meetings hosted by the CPUC to learn more about our Pipeline Safety and & Reliability Project.

Click here to learn more about this project or visit http://sandiegopipeline-psrp.com to submit comments directly to the CPUC.