How We Got Here

1970 — City grants SDG&E a 50-year franchise

San Diego signs its first modern franchise agreement with SDG&E, setting a 3% franchise fee and a 1/2%-per-year-increasing undergrounding allocation (capped at 4.5% of gross receipts). The city's willingness to accept terms despite SDG&E being the sole bidder would shape the next five decades.

• City of San Diego — SDG&E Franchise Fees History
• City of San Diego — SDG&E Franchise Undergrounding Obligations

1972 — SDG&E passes its franchise fee onto ratepayers

A year after the franchise was signed, SDG&E petitioned the CPUC to add a 1.9% electricity surcharge and 1% gas surcharge inside city limits — effectively having San Diegans pay the fee the company owed the city.

1996 — California deregulates electricity (AB 1890)

State Sen. Steve Peace, a San Diegan, was the architect. The law would fall apart catastrophically four years later.

July 1999 – Summer 2000 — San Diego becomes the national guinea pig

SDG&E paid off its stranded-asset debt first, so its rate freeze lifted before PG&E's or SCE's. San Diegans were the first Americans to experience the full deregulated market. Later federal investigation would confirm that the price spikes were not simply a supply-and-demand story: FERC's 2003 final report found that Enron and other electricity traders manipulated the Western markets, prolonging and worsening the crisis.

• Consumer Watchdog — The History of the Deregulation Debacle — Between May and June 2000, wholesale prices rose 240% and bills doubled. The crisis cost the regional economy an estimated $100 million per month.
• FERC — Final Report on Price Manipulation in Western Markets (March 2003) — The federal investigation documenting market manipulation by Enron and other traders during the crisis.
• CBO — Causes and Lessons of the California Electricity Crisis (2001)
• Wikipedia — 2000–2001 California Electricity Crisis

July 25, 2000 — San Diego declares a state of emergency

The City Council and County Board of Supervisors passed resolutions demanding a rate rollback and calling for legislative hearings on repealing deregulation. While San Diego stayed with SDG&E, nearby Chula Vista and San Marcos began exploring public power options in response to the crisis — San Marcos went so far as to create its own utility in 2000.

• Voice of San Diego — SDG&E's Power Moves Have Fended Off Energy Choice Efforts Across San Diego

August 2000 — Legislature caps San Diego rates at 6.5¢/kWh

A temporary rate freeze was imposed for San Diego customers through 2003 — but the legislation (lobbied by SDG&E) allowed the utility to eventually recover the difference from ratepayers.

October 21–22, 2007 — Witch, Guejito, and Rice Canyon fires

Cal Fire later concluded that arcing SDG&E power lines started the Witch and Rice fires, and that a Cox Communications wire touching an SDG&E line sparked the Guejito fire. The fires burned 207,500 acres, killed two people, and destroyed more than 1,300 homes.

• Power Magazine — SDG&E Settles with Feds on 2007 Wildfire Claims
• SEC Filing — SDG&E 8-K, June 2009 Partial Wildfire Settlement

2009–2012 — SDG&E pays out more than $1 billion in settlements

SDG&E's insurance covered nearly all of the wildfire claims, except for roughly $300 million that exceeded the utility's coverage limits. SDG&E then made considerable efforts to recover that uncovered amount from ratepayers through the CPUC — but ultimately failed (at the U.S. Supreme Court, as noted below) and had to absorb the cost itself.

October 2019 — U.S. Supreme Court refuses SDG&E's appeal

The Court let stand a ruling that SDG&E customers should not pay for the 2007 wildfires through their rates.

• NBC 7 — SDG&E Customers Should Not Pay for 2007 Wildfires: SCOTUS

December 2015 — San Diego adopts its Climate Action Plan

Setting a 100% renewable electricity target by 2035.

July 2017 — CCA Feasibility Study released

The first major third-party study laying out how San Diego could buy power independently of SDG&E.

• City of San Diego — CCA Feasibility Study (2017, Executive Summary)
• City of San Diego — CCA Feasibility Study (2017, Main Report)

October 2018 — Mayor Faulconer commits to CCA

San Diego becomes the largest U.S. city to formally pursue community choice energy.

• City of San Diego — Background on CCA: How We Got Here

2019 — SDG&E's proposed 28% rate hike over four years

Bigger wake-up call for ratepayers as the next decade's rate trajectory became visible.

• Solar.com — SDG&E Proposes 28% Rate Hike Over Four Years

September 17, 2019 — San Diego City Council forms San Diego Community Power (SDCP)

San Diego joins Chula Vista, La Mesa, Encinitas, and Imperial Beach in a regional JPA — the second-largest CCA in California.

April 2020 — NewGen/Advisian/MRW "Electric and Gas Franchise Agreements Consultant Report"

The first formal city-commissioned look at whether municipalization made sense. The consultants concluded that in the "Base Case," both a city-owned electric distribution utility and a city-owned gas distribution utility would be economically feasible — a finding often missed in later coverage.

• DSA San Diego — City Council Environment Committee Public Comment Guide (citing the NewGen/Advisian/MRW findings)

July 2020 — JVJ Pacific Consulting report on franchise agreement terms

• KPBS — SDG&E's 50-Year Contract With San Diego Expires In January. So, What's Next? — Breaks down the JVJ numbers: SDG&E earning ~$300M/year in profits from city ratepayers alone.

August 2020 — Council fails to agree on franchise agreement

Three different motions fail; bidding proceeds without council consensus.

• Times of San Diego — City Council Fails to Agree on Utility Franchise Agreement

September 2020 — KPBS Investigates the franchise question

An in-depth look at the municipalization debate as it was happening.

• KPBS — Should The City Of San Diego Be Its Own Power Company?

November 2020 — Council President Georgette Gómez refuses to docket the deal

Wanting the incoming Gloria administration and new council to make the call, Gómez insists on a one-year extension. SDG&E responds by refusing to negotiate.

• OB Rag — SDG&E Tries to Bully San Diego
• SanDiego350 — Update: SDG&E Plays Hardball on Franchise Agreements — Records the coalition's delivery of 1,200+ petition signatures.

March 1, 2021 — San Diego Community Power officially launches

Municipal accounts enroll first, with commercial following in June and residential in 2022.

• California Community Choice Association — SDCP Launch Announcement

April 2021 — SDG&E is the lone bidder, again

Only bidder in the re-opened bidding process; meets the minimum bid of $70M for electric and $10M for gas.

• Times of San Diego — On 2nd Try, San Diego Gets Only SDG&E Minimum Bid

June 4, 2021 — Rally at City Hall

A coalition including Public Power San Diego, Protect Our Communities Foundation, Racial Justice Coalition, Citizens Franchise Alliance, Activist San Diego, and Sunrise Movement San Diego rally against the proposed 10+10 franchise agreement.

• OB Rag — Rally at City Hall to Demand Council Reject Proposed SDG&E Franchise Agreement

June 8, 2021 — Council approves the 10+10 franchise on a 6–3 vote

Moreno, Montgomery Steppe, and Joe LaCava vote no. The deal includes an Energy Cooperation Agreement and a city-commissioned feasibility study of nonprofit public power as the organizers' "consolation prize."

• KPBS — San Diego City Council Gives Final Approval To SDG&E Franchise Agreements
• Energy Central — Council Approves New Franchise Agreement with SDG&E
• City of San Diego — SDG&E Electric and Gas Franchise (official page with documents)

May 2022 — SDG&E proposes 5.6% electric and 18.1% gas hike for 2024

The general rate case that would ultimately shape bills through 2027.

• 10News — SDG&E Proposing Rate Hikes Beginning in 2024

October 2022 — NewGen Strategies awarded the Public Power Feasibility Study contract

• APPA — San Diego City Council Approves Contract to Study Public Power

January 2023 — Natural gas bills more than double

A shock moment that energized public power organizing. PPSD and coalition partners held rallies calling for an investigation into the gas price spike.

• East County Magazine — SDG&E Hikes Rates: Some Will Pay Double for Natural Gas
• San Diego Union-Tribune — Newsom Wants the Feds to Investigate California's High Natural Gas Prices
• San Diego Union-Tribune — Opinion: SDG&E's Explanations for High Retail Natural Gas Prices Omit a Key Factor

July 11, 2023 — Phase 1 Public Power Feasibility Study released

NewGen, Bell Burnett & Associates, and Siemens PTI find that acquiring SDG&E's distribution grid within city limits for around $2 billion could save ratepayers 13–14% in the first decade.

• Phase 1 Public Power Feasibility Study (official PDF)
• KPBS — Study Finds Municipal Utility Could Save San Diego Ratepayers Up to 14%
• Voice of San Diego — Morning Report: Study Says Public Takeover of SDG&E Could Save San Diegans Money
• APPA — Report Finds It Financially Feasible for San Diego to Acquire City Electric Assets

October 2023 — Power San Diego campaign announces its ballot initiative

Signature drive to put municipalization directly before voters in November 2024.

• Voice of San Diego — Ballot Measure Forming to Push Out SDG&E, Create Public Utility
• APPA — Group to Collect Signatures for Public Power Ballot Initiative

February 2024 — SDG&E funds Responsible Energy San Diego PAC to oppose the ballot measure

• KPBS — Battling Over San Diego's Energy Future

March 2024 — Concentric Energy Advisors (SDG&E-commissioned) releases its counter-study

Estimates total direct costs at $7.4–$9.3 billion — more than three times the NewGen estimate — using a market-based valuation approach rather than the Original Cost Less Depreciation (OCLD) method used by NewGen.

• Concentric Energy Advisors — San Diego Preliminary Municipalization Assessment Executive Summary

April 18, 2024 — City Council Rules Committee declines to put the measure on the ballot

• OB Rag / Voice of San Diego (MacKenzie Elmer) — SDG&E Unions Versus Public Power Advocates
• Daily Energy Insider — San Diego Municipal Power Ballot Initiative Needs Signatures

May 14, 2024 — Power San Diego delivers 30,000+ signatures

Short of the 80,020 required, but enough to bring the measure back for a full council vote.

• Times of San Diego — Campaign to Replace SDG&E With Public Utility Delivers Voter Signatures
• KPBS — Power San Diego Gathers Enough Signatures to Require City Council Vote

June 11, 2024 — City Council votes 8–0 to keep the measure off the ballot

Council members cite unresolved questions in the initiative's text while reaffirming support for continuing the feasibility study.

• KPBS — San Diego City Council Keeps Power San Diego Initiative Off Ballot
• Times of San Diego — Opinion: Who Won and Who Lost in the Campaign for a City-Run Electric Utility

December 19, 2024 — CPUC approves SDG&E's 2024 General Rate Case (D.24-12-074)

Sets the revenue requirement at $2.699B for 2024 with 3% annual post-test-year increases — locking in upward pressure on bills through 2027.

• CPUC — SDG&E General Rate Case Proceeding Page
• NBC 7 — Your SDG&E Bill Will Be Going Up in 2025

January–June 2025 — SDG&E residential rates rise 4.5–9.7% in waves

As the General Rate Case implementation hits bills.

• Public Advocates Office — Q1 2025 Electric Rates Report (PDF)

July 2025 — CPUC approves a 10.5% combined revenue requirement increase for SDG&E

Bundles wildfire mitigation, undergrounding, and grid modernization into a single decision.

• Renewable Energy World — CPUC May Approve 10.5% Rate Hike for SDG&E

October 2025 — SDG&E restructures residential bills with a new "base services charge"

Under new state legislation, adding fixed costs to every bill regardless of usage.

March 9, 2026 — KPBS publishes its definitive explainer on why San Diego bills are so high

Documents that the typical customer now pays nearly $200/month — more than six times the inflation-adjusted 2009 rate — while SDG&E's annual profit more than tripled between 2007 and 2024.

• KPBS — Why Your San Diego Electric Bill Is So High Right Now

April 3, 2026 — Phase 2 Public Power Feasibility Study released via mayor's memo

• Phase 2 Public Power Feasibility Study (official PDF)
• City of San Diego — Public Power Official Page (with Phase 2 FAQ)

April 16, 2026 — City Council Environment Committee hearing on Phase 2

NewGen estimates acquisition costs between $2.4 and $7.6 billion, with transition costs "dwarfed" by long-term savings — even under the most conservative scenarios modeled.

• KPBS — New Study Finds a Public Utility Company Could Save San Diegans $500 Every Year

June 17, 2026 — PPSD commissions independent review of Phase 2 study

Public Power San Diego retained economists Powers & Hughes to independently evaluate the NewGen Phase 2 report. Their review affirms the study's core findings on long-term savings while identifying areas where the conservative assumptions likely understate the case for public power.

• Powers & Hughes — Independent Review of Phase 2 Public Power Feasibility Study (PDF)

June 22, 2026 — Full City Council hears Phase 2; SDEJC coalition packs the chamber

The San Diego Energy Justice Coalition — including PPSD, SD350, ACCE, Climate Action Campaign, and In Good Company — mobilizes dozens of speakers. Council President LaCava signals the council needs to "keep our options open" as NBC 7 and ABC 10News cover the hearing.

• OB Rag — Alliance of Local Groups Urges City Council to Form Public Utility
• NBC 7 — Switching San Diego from SDG&E to Public Power 'Feasible,' Report Finds
• ABC 10News — San Diego City Council Considers Public Power in Lieu of SDG&E