Project Description

On December 17, 1998, San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) filed Application No. 98-12-023 pursuant to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) General Order No. 131-D requesting authority for a permit to construct the Pico Substation project. SDG&E is proposing to construct and operate the Pico Substation Project. The Pico Substation Project would be located in southern Orange County, near the City of San Clemente on the south side of Avenida Pico in the Talega Valley Specific Plan within the Rolling Hills development project. The proposed substation at ultimate configuration is planned to be 120 MVA with four 30 MVA transformers and sixteen 12 kV (kilovolt) circuits. A 10- to 12-foot high wall will enclose the substation area (approximately 340 feet by 230 feet) and landscaping will be established from the beginning of the project (see Section 2, Project Description, for further details).

San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) is a public utility corporation engaged principally in the business of providing electric service to a portion of Orange County, California, and electric and gas service to San Diego County, California. In providing electrical power sources to the City of San Clemente and southern Orange County, SDG&E currently operates two distribution substations. A recent SDG&E area planning study indicates that additional electrical system capacity is required to serve new development in San Clemente and Forster Ranch and future development in the Talega Valley area. In addition, the proposed substation is required to eliminate low primary voltage on San Mateo Circuit 331, which serves the Rancho San Clemente Industrial Park.

The objective of the proposed Pico Substation is to provide additional electricity to meet expected load growth and prevent potential outages or disruption of service to existing and new SDG&E customers in the San Clemente area.