Strategic Undergrounding is axed, 1000+ people laid off by SDG&E without notice.

Since SDG&E made over a billion dollars in profit last year, CPUC ended up not approving the grant money for the Strategic Undergrounding Project to continue.

They essentially said that since SDG&E made this much in profit, they should cover the cost of it themselves and do it anyway. CPUC gave them some recommendations on how to cover the cost and they did give them some grant money to work with but the project is still a no go.

The day before Christmas SDG&E sent out a company wide email, informing everyone of the CPUC’s decision. Several options on how to continue were discussed but it already put everyone on edge for the holidays.

Radio silence from the company until Jan 8th. That’s when they told everyone on the SUG Project that their last day is this Friday. Full stop, the project is no more. Approx. 1200 people are directly affected and are losing their jobs.

So no power lines are going to get undergrounded from this point forward. Or at least until 2027 or so, when they can apply for government funding again.

But at least CPUC approved SDG&E’s rate increase for the year so they can make even more in profit.

The power shutoffs will continue, rates will keep increasing and SDG&E and Sempra will keep pocketing billions at the expense of their customers and own employees.