TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Justin Clifton, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Isaac Bravo, Management Analyst
SUBJECT:
title
Approval of Comment Letter Opposing San Diego Gas & Electric’s Golden Powerlink Project Segment 4 Configuration
end
ABSTRACT
The City Council will consider a comment letter opposing the routing of Segment 4 of San Diego Gas & Electric’s Golden Pacific Powerlink project.
RECOMMENDATION
recommendation
Approve the draft comment letter opposing the preliminary routing of Segment 4 of the Golden Pacific Powerlink project; and
Direct staff to submit the letter to San Diego Gas & Electric.
body
PRIOR ACTION/VOTE
On July 7, 2026, under Requests to Add or Withdraw Items to Future Agendas, Council Member Stone requested that an item be brought forward opposing the current route for the San Diego Gas & Electric’s Golden Pacific Powerlink project (Consensus was received).
STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT
This item aligns with the City Council goal to foster and promote an engaged, connected and caring community.
DISCUSSION
At the July 7, 2026, City Council meeting, Council Member Stone gained consensus that the City Council consider submitting a letter opposing the preliminary routing of Segment 4 of San Diego Gas & Electric’s proposed Golden Pacific Powerlink project. Because the City of Murrieta’s (City) adopted Legislative Platform does not contain a position specifically addressing this project or regional electrical-transmission alignments, and because the request was made to bring an item back to the Council at-large, the matter has been brought back to the City Council for consideration and direction.
The Golden Pacific Powerlink is a proposed 500-kilovolt electrical transmission line that would extend from the existing Imperial Valley Substation to a proposed substation near the border of San Diego and Orange counties. The project was identified through the California Independent System Operator’s statewide transmission-planning process and is intended to increase transmission capacity, reduce electrical-grid congestion, improve regional reliability, and support the delivery of electricity to areas of increased demand. San Diego Gas & Electric is responsible for designing the project and refining the preliminary route, which remains subject to state and federal environmental review and regulatory approval.
The preliminary alignment has been divided into multiple route segments. Segment 4 would route a 500-kilovolt transmission line through the City of Temecula and other portions of Southwest Riverside County. According to the City of Temecula, the preliminary alignment would extend across the community from east to west and could include transmission structures reaching up to approximately 191 feet in height.
Although the preliminary Segment 4 alignment does not directly extend through Murrieta, the project could affect the broader Southwest Riverside County region. Murrieta and Temecula are interconnected through shared transportation corridors, employment centers, tourism activity, businesses, and neighborhoods. Development of a major transmission corridor through an established neighboring community could have regional implications related to community character, economic activity, property owners, traffic circulation, emergency response, wildfire preparedness, and future land-use planning.
The attached draft letter (Attachment 1) expresses the City's recognition of the importance of maintaining a reliable electrical grid and developing the infrastructure necessary to accommodate future energy demand. However, the scale and permanence of the proposed transmission infrastructure demand careful consideration of alternative routes that avoid established communities and minimize impacts on residences, businesses, and regional economic activity. The draft letter also explicitly opposes the preliminary routing of Segment 4 through developed portions of Southwest Riverside County and requests that San Diego Gas & Electric redesign Segment 4 to prioritize less-developed areas where feasible and meaningfully evaluate alternatives that would avoid or reduce impacts on established communities.
The project is currently in the preliminary design and community-outreach phase. San Diego Gas & Electric’s current schedule anticipates additional public outreach during summer and fall 2026, followed by the filing of an application with the California Public Utilities Commission in fall or winter 2026. State and federal permitting and environmental review are anticipated to continue through 2029. The current route remains preliminary and may be modified through the outreach, environmental review, and permitting processes.
The letter would be submitted during the project’s current outreach phase and would request that the City’s concerns be included in the project record and considered before San Diego Gas & Electric advances an alignment for formal regulatory review. The letter would not constitute a formal comment under the California Environmental Quality Act because the formal environmental-review process has not yet commenced. The City would retain the ability to review the project and submit additional comments once an application is filed and environmental documents are released for public review.
PUBLIC NOTICING
The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the meeting at which the City Council considers the item).
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no immediate fiscal impact associated with approving and submitting a draft comment letter.
ATTACHMENTS
ATT 1 - Draft Comment Letter to San Diego Gas & Electric