Contacts:

Craig Rose, 858-336-5378

Sonja Robinson, 619-726-2007
For immediate release
October 29, 2020

No Tricks - No Treats:
San Diego Groups Say Vote “NO” on any
Franchise Deal
On Friday (Oct. 30) at noon in City Hall Plaza, a broad coalition of local
organizations and leaders will hold a press conference urging the City Council to vote
“no” on any deal from the mayor’s rushed auction for a new utility franchise
agreement.
“We know it’s close to Halloween but we won’t be tricked by the mayor’s last-
minute push,” said Sonja Robinson, chairperson of Public Power San Diego, a
coalition of groups and individuals seeking the best utility option for the City.
“And while the mayor wants to stick us with the trick, we know who would get the
treat - a big Wall Street utility walking away with billions of our dollars, if the mayor
has his way.”
A 50-year agreement allowing San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) to use City
property rent-free to earn billions while charging the state’s highest rates is scheduled
to expire in January.
The City’s lame-duck mayor – less than 45 days remain in his term - is proceeding
with a flawed auction for a 20-year franchise deal that would cost San Diegans more
than $15 billion. This is why the City Council must reject the mayor’s last-minute
push and vote “no” on any deal from his auction.
Making matters worse, at the utilities behest, the mayor rejected a franchise term that
the city’s expert energy consultant and the community deem critical: A right-to-
purchase clause allowing the City to buy out the utility, if it fails to satisfy terms of a
new agreement.
“The City knows a right-to-purchase clause is the only accountability tool San
Diegans can count on in any agreement,” said Matthew Vasilakis, Co-Director of
Policy for Climate Action Campaign.
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“No business would sign off on a one-sided agreement like this. If the City can’t hold
the utility accountable we pay the price, while the utility rakes in the profit,” added
Vasilakis.
Under the current franchise deal, SDG&E earn profits of $1 million/day, financed by
charging San Diegans the state’s highest rates. Despite the profits, the local investor-
owned utility has failed to cooperate with the City on important environmental
initiatives.
SDG&E, for example, is disputing its contractual obligation to move equipment at its
own expense for a key recycled water project. The monopoly utility has also
repeatedly made proposals to undermine rooftop solar, an important tool in fighting
climate change.
“We need a utility that works with the city to address the dire threat of the climate
crisis,” said Joyce Lane, vice president of SanDiego350. “There’s nothing in the
mayor’s plan that ensures that would happen. For that and other reasons, the City
Council must vote ‘no’ on any deal from the mayor’s auction.”
The mayor’s proposal also fails to stipulate funding for addressing environmental
injustice, which leaves communities of color suffering disproportionately from the
climate crisis and decades of pollution. In another omission, the mayor’s plan makes
no provision for helping San Diegans hard-pressed by the pandemic to pay their high
utility bills.
“This is the opportunity to deal with equity and the economic crisis,” said Darwin
Fishman, a professor at San Diego State University and member of the Racial Justice
Coalition.
“We need the City Council to vote ‘no’ on the mayor’s plan and work with
communities to find a utility option that addresses environmental injustice and helps
residents pay their power bills, when many have lost work because of the pandemic.”
Along with Climate Action Campaign and San Diego350, groups participating or
supporting the press conference are the Sierra Club San Diego Chapter, the Racial
Justice Coalition of San Diego, Protect Our Communities Foundations, San Diego
Democrats for Environmental Action, Sunrise Movement San Diego, Democratic
Socialists of America-San Diego, Activist San Diego, Public Power San Diego and
the Citizens Franchise Alliance.
Please contact Public Power San Diego for more information:
Publicpowersd.org

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