SAN DIEGO — Supporters of Power San Diego, a group trying to form a municipal power nonprofit in the city, now have something else to get energized about.
SDG&E is funding a political action committee (PAC) to combat municipal power, called Responsible Energy San Diego.
“Make no mistake, responsible energy has nothing to do with this PAC,” said Dorrie Bruggemann, a spokesperson for Power San Diego.
“SDG&E charges us the highest rates in the nation and they make record profits, while one in four San Diegans can't pay their electricity bills,” Bruggemann said Tuesday at a downtown news conference.
The SDG&E backed PAC held its own news conference Tuesday, which included a demonstration by union electricians who work for the utility.
“Responsible Energy San Diego is a group representing hundreds of thousands of local workers who are very concerned about this proposal for a costly gamble to force a government takeover of the energy grid,” said Matt Awbrey, a spokesperson for the PAC.
Awbrey is a public relations specialist, who used to be a spokesperson for former mayor Kevin Faulkoner. “They talk about rate savings, there is no data to back that up. This is going to cost San Diegans billions of dollars,” Awbrey said.
The chair of Power San Diego, Bill Powers, begs to differ. “Our target is from day one to be charging 20 percent less,” said Powers.
Power San Diego is currently operating a petition drive to take their case to voters on the ballot. “We need local control, which we don't have. This utility is currently regulated out of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission with no local control,” said Powers.
Power San Diego will need 80,000 petition signatures by mid-May in order to qualify for the ballot.
WATCH RELATED: Petition to replace SDG&E in the city of San Diego: