A 500-kV line would cross Temecula wine country to serve a grid that skips it

San Diego Gas & Electric has proposed a roughly 140-to-150-mile extra-high-voltage line running from the Imperial Valley Substation, through Anza-Borrego, into Riverside County, with a planned route that cuts across Temecula near State Route 79, Temecula Parkway, Temecula Creek and the Santa Margarita River. The need traces to the California Independent System Operator's statewide transmission plan — the line is meant to carry Imperial Valley solar and geothermal into the broader grid, not to serve local load.

That distinction is the whole story for an operator here. Temecula's power comes from Southern California Edison; the Powerlink is a through-line. The region absorbs the towers, the easement, and the wildfire exposure, while the reliability benefit accrues to the wider system. It's infrastructure cost without infrastructure service.

The opposition reflects who has something to lose. The City of Temecula, the Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce, Visit Temecula Valley, and the Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association have all come out against the route, alongside the Pechanga Band, which has raised concerns about ancestral cultural resources. The economic argument is explicit: massive transmission siting through a tourism-and-agriculture economy threatens the scenic and rural character the $1.1 billion visitor business is built on.

There's precedent for the fight mattering. The 2008 Sunrise Powerlink drew similar regional opposition before regulators rejected its original route. This one is early — SDG&E says no route is final, with virtual open houses ahead of a CPUC filing. The Commission has the final say. If approved, construction would begin in 2029 and service in 2032, which means the siting question sits in front of the region now, not the towers.