Golden Pacific Powerlink to reduce congestion costs, improve resiliency and modernize region's energy grid

San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) today announced it will build, own and operate a new 500-kV transmission line running between the existing Imperial Valley Substation and the border of San Diego and Orange Counties.  

According to the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), this new project is essential for California to achieve its ambitious carbon reduction goals and the resilience and modernization of the electrical grid in Southern California by offering a new, critical pathway in a currently constrained area. Increasing transmission capacity across the region will help reduce unnecessary costs of congestion, integrate more clean energy, and expand access to resources in the Imperial Valley and the Southwest.  

“We are proud to undertake a project that is so vital to California’s customers. We must continue to strengthen our energy grid to meet the growing demand for electricity in the Southern California region and to advance the state’s clean energy goals – all while keeping affordability front and center,” said SDG&E President Scott Crider. “We will work closely with customers and communities through a robust stakeholder engagement process to ensure this critical line gets built responsibly.”

This transmission pathway was recognized in CAISO’s 2022-2023 Transmission Plan, which identified the need for 45 transmission projects throughout the state, including this project.  

Costs to build and upgrade high-voltage transmission lines (200kV or higher) that provide statewide benefits are proportionately distributed among all California customers within CAISO’s Balancing Authority Area and governed by the Federal Regulatory Energy Commission. This is important because the costs of building transmission projects are shared across California, helping to limit the estimated cost impact on SDG&E customers to approximately 9%, based on current data.

SDG&E is well positioned to deliver this project, backed by a proven track record in developing critical energy infrastructure – from large-scale transmission lines to advanced battery storage systems. The company will also integrate its nationally recognized wildfire safety program into the project. This award-winning initiative has helped prevent a catastrophic utility-caused wildfire for nearly 18 years, underscoring SDG&E’s commitment to safety and resilience.

Importantly, SDG&E will begin an extensive community engagement process where the public will have multiple opportunities to submit feedback on ways to ensure the project is built responsibly as part of the state and federal permitting process. Construction on the transmission line is expected to begin in 2029, with a target in-service date of 2032, subject to obtaining necessary state and federal agency approvals and permits.