CPUC Vote Delayed AGAIN – Intensified Lobbying Threatens our Park and Communities

The CA Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) vote on Quail Brush was rescheduled from Dec. 20 to Jan. 10, and now postponed again to Thursday, JANUARY 24. Meanwhile, Cogentrix has intensified its lobbying. Top executives, their high-priced lobbyist, and lawyers met on December 12 behind closed doors with the Commissioners’ staff in an effort to sway the upcoming vote.

Remember David and Goliath. Keep up the good fight! It is imperative we continue to grow the CPUC email campaign. Please commit to recruit AT LEAST TWO of your friends and family to email TODAY. Comment via Save Mission Trails with our letter and easy instructions. (The Sierra Club link will be repaired and posted soon.)

Or comment with your own words. Email public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov
Include in the Subject Line: A1105023 – Support the Proposed Decision.
Be sure to INCLUDE YOUR NAME, ADDRESS, CITY, ZIP to be counted.

A FEW TALKING POINTS . . . 

  • The opposition’s energy planning and requirement claims are based on grossly inaccurate assumptions and estimates made on ten-year-old data that project unrealistically high energy needs.
  • Their out-of-date estimates ignore California’s massive and successful recent efforts to conserve energy, efforts that are being paid for by State tax payers, and that are involving the participation of thousands of our citizens.
  • As a result of widespread commercial and residential energy conservation, today we do not have the hyper-inflated energy requirements that the opposition claims as the necessity for plants such as Quail Brush.
  • Bottom Line: Support the CPUC Proposed Decision for A1105023.

GOOD NEWS!! Save Mission Trails is one of the East County Magazine’s Newsmakers of the Year for 2012. Congratulations, everyone! (Note: While the blurb mentions that TWO CPUC officials have deemed the plant unnecessary, the entire commission must uphold this decision on January 24 to stop Quail Brush.)

Keep the Pressure On! “Attend” from home this week and next…

Keep the Pressure On the CEC and CoGentrix and continue your dedication to stopping the Quail Brush power plant. While you’re at work or home, here are two events you can easily “attend” by calling in on your phone (put your phone on mute) or via online on Dec. 4 and 10. Easy steps are below. Listen in and be counted (and/or participate if you wish) to these California Energy Commission (CEC) meetings about Quail Brush. Click for detailed agendas and instructions (p. 1-3 for agendas, and p. 7 for instructions), but here is all you really need to know:

1) TUESDAY, December 4, 2012 – Beginning at 3:00 PM  This is primarily a closed meeting, but it opens with a brief public comment portion. The CEC invites the public and interested agencies to listen in and participate.

TELEPHONE ONLY (NO COMPUTER ACCESS)
Call 1-866-469-3239 (toll-free in the U.S. and Canada) and when prompted enter the meeting number for the specific date: 12/4/12 – meeting number: 923 152 206
or
VIA ONLINE (“WEBEX”)
Go to https://energy.webex.com and enter the meeting number 923 152 206 When prompted, enter your information and the meeting password: pwd#1516
If you have a phone number with a direct line (not extension): After you login, a prompt will appear on-screen for you to provide your phone no. In the Number box, type your area code and phone no. and click OK. You will receive a call back on your phone for the audio of the meeting. If you have a phone number with an extension: After you login, a prompt will ask for your phone no. Click “CANCEL.” Instead, call 1-866-469-3239 (toll-free in the U.S. and Canada). When prompted, enter the meeting number above and your unique Attendee ID number which is listed in the top left area of your screen after you login.

2) MONDAY, December 10, 2012 – Beginning at 10:30 AM
Same instructions as above, different meeting number:  927 041 698 (password same as above, pwd#1516)
This is a Status Conference with the following Agenda:
1. Call to Order
2. Reports from Applicant, Staff and Intervenors regarding the status of the Quail Brush Generation Project AFC.
3. Public Comment
Members of the public and other interested persons and entities may speak up to three minutes on a matter appearing on this agenda.
4. Closed Session (if necessary) Committee closed session consideration of the following Item: Deliberation by the Committee on any matters submitted for decision by the Committee including, but not limited to pending motions and scheduling.
5. Adjourn

If you have difficulty joining the meetings, please call the WebEx Technical Support number at 1-866-229-3239. To see if your computer is compatible, visit http://support.webex.com/support/system-requirements.html.
Please be aware that the meeting’s WebEx audio and on-screen activity may be recorded.

 

 

Future San Diego Mayor Bob Filner Opposes Power Plant at Mission Trails

One of the reasons I am voting for Bob Filner for Mayor is because, like many community members, he believes the proposed Quail Brush power plant is a bad idea.  Bob was one of the people instrumental in forming Mission Trails Regional Park.  He, like many of us, believes that it must be protected.

“There is absolutely no reason why we should be exposing our children to dangerous and life-threatening toxins and decreasing our local air quality,” Filner announced at the last San Diego Planning Commission meeting.  “Mission Trails Park is a local natural treasure, enjoyed by cyclists, runners, and nature enthusiasts. It is wrong for us to knowingly harm the environmental quality of the park.”

“Installing a gas-powered plant in an area ravaged by the 2003 wildfires makes little sense. As a region, we should be investing in solar power and clean energy, not threatening our environment and the health of our communities,” said Filner.  “As Mayor, I will direct the city to work with the School District, the County, and the Port to bring clean power to public buildings and to help make solar power accessible to all.”

To see the full story – “Bob Filner Joins Opposition to Quail Brush Power Plant at Planning Commission” – go to OB Rag.