Suncrest Project 101
Suncrest Project 101
Understanding the Proposed Suncrest Powerlink Project
Understanding the Proposed Suncrest Powerlink Project
Embedded Files
Proposed Transmission Structures
Proposed Transmission Structures
The proposed Suncrest Powerlink Project includes new 230 kV transmission structures. The illustrations below show examples of the types of structures proposed for the project, including typical overhead transmission structures and riser structures where underground and overhead facilities connect. Actual structures may vary depending on engineering requirements and site conditions.The Project Maps page provides information about where these structures are proposed to be located.Β
Typical 230 kV Transmission Structures
Tangent and dead-end transmission structures proposed for portions of the project corridor.
Typical Riser Structure
Example of a riser structure used where transmission lines transition between underground and overhead construction.
What You'll Learn
What You'll Learn
Project Overview
Understand what the proposed Suncrest Powerlink Project is and why it has been proposed.Project Location
See where the proposed infrastructure would be located and which communities may be affected.Community Considerations
Learn about topics residents have raised during the public review process.Public Review Process
Understand how the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) review process works.How to Participate
Find opportunities to stay informed and participate in the public review process.
How this project gets decided: two separate reviews
How this project gets decided: two separate reviews
The CPUC is running two reviews of this project at the same time. They have different rules about what counts, and a comment sent to the wrong one gets set aside. Knowing which is which is the difference between a comment that shapes the outcome and one that is filed and forgotten.
Track one: the Permit to Construct proceeding (A.26-05-005). SDG&E filed its application on May 8, 2026 under CPUC General Order 131-E, and the Commission deemed it complete on June 4, 2026. This track decides whether the project is approved and on what terms. Five protests were filed, including a 21-page protest from ECAPS on August 19, 2026. SDG&E asked to be approved without evidentiary hearings; all five protests asked for hearings. Next comes a Prehearing Conference before Administrative Law Judge Marcelo Poirier, followed by a Scoping Memo that sets the issues, decides whether hearings are held, and fixes the schedule.
What belongs in this track: whether the project is needed, what it costs, who pays, rate impacts, the CAISO planning record, and whether SDG&E met its legal obligations. To take part, contact the CPUC Public Advisor at public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov or 1-866-849-8390 and reference A.26-05-005.
Track two: the environmental review under CEQA. The CPUC is the lead agency and will prepare an Environmental Impact Report. It issued a Notice of Preparation on August 21, 2026, opening a scoping period that closed at 5:00 p.m. Pacific on October 5, 2026; the notice was revised on September 16 only to extend that deadline. Two virtual scoping meetings were held on September 15, 2026, and comments made there are transcribed and form part of the record. Scoping is where the public says what the study must cover, which impacts get analyzed and which alternatives get examined. The next milestone on this track is the CPUC's Scoping Report, which summarizes every comment received and becomes an appendix to the EIR; no date has been announced. The Draft EIR is scheduled for the third quarter of 2027 and will carry its own public comment period, normally at least 45 days.
How to reach the CPUC and be notified. Email CEQA@suncrestloop-in.com with the subject line "SDG&E Suncrest 230kV Loop-In Project." By mail: Connie Chen, CPUC, Suncrest 230kV Loop-In Project, c/o ECORP Consulting Inc., Attn. D. Atwater, 3838 Camino del Rio North, Suite 370, San Diego, CA 92108. Ask to receive all future notices, and include your name, mailing address and email so the CPUC notifies you of future documents, including the Draft EIR. The guidance below applies to the Draft EIR comment period as well.
What belongs in a scoping comment: wildfire and ignition risk, evacuation and emergency access, aerial firefighting, views, biological and water resources, tribal cultural resources, noise, dust, traffic and road closures during construction, recreation and public access, and easements that do not yet exist.
What to leave out: your bill, rates, or what the project costs; loss of property value; EMF and health effects; and the argument that the project is not needed. These matter, but CEQA excludes them, and raising them here invites a one-line dismissal. Send them to the Permit to Construct track instead. Do describe the physical change behind a property impact, though, such as the pole in your sight line, the bisected pasture, or the access road across your field. That part belongs here.
Be specific, and say what you want studied. CEQA asks that comments be as specific as possible and supported by facts. Firsthand observation from someone who lives on the ground is evidence a lead agency cannot brush aside: the direction the Cedar Fire came from, how long the road took to clear, what your weather station recorded. End by naming what the EIR must analyze.
Need help writing yours? ECAPS has prepared a guide and template for residents, with a worked example. Download the Resident Comment Guide.
What ECAPS is asking the EIR to study: an alternative that places the eleven-mile overhead segment underground; an alternative that upgrades or reconductors the existing lines within the existing right-of-way; fire behavior modeling re-run at severe fire-weather winds rather than ten-year averages of 8 and 13 miles per hour; evacuation clearance times under those conditions; whether energized 230 kV conductor would restrict air tankers and water-dropping helicopters; a parcel-by-parcel showing of which easements SDG&E holds and which it must still acquire; and direct consultation with CAL FIRE and the local fire districts, with their written responses placed in the record.
Key dates
May 8, 2026 - SDG&E files its application
June 4, 2026 - Application deemed complete
August 19, 2026 - Protests filed, including the ECAPS protest
August 21, 2026 - Notice of Preparation issued; scoping period opened
September 15, 2026 - Virtual scoping meetings
September 17, 2026 - CPUC Commission Meeting, San Marcos
October 5, 2026 - Scoping comment period closed
Next - CPUC Scoping Report, no date announced
2027 - Draft EIR, public comment, Final EIR and CPUC decision, on SDG&E's proposed schedule
2032 - SDG&E's target for commercial operation
π Download the Suncrest Project 101 Guide
π Download the Suncrest Project 101 Guide
Download and print the Suncrest Project 101 Guide to learn more about the proposed project and share it with your family, neighbors, and community.Β
Frequently Asked QuestionsΒ
Is the project approved?
Is the project approved?
No. The project is currently undergoing review through the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Public participation is part of that process.
Who is proposing the project?
Who is proposing the project?
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E).
Which communities may be affected?
Which communities may be affected?
The proposed project may affect portions of Alpine, Harbison Canyon, Crest, Dehesa, Japatul Valley, Loveland, and surrounding East County communities.
How can I participate?
How can I participate?
The scoping comment period closed on October 5, 2026. The most useful thing you can do now is get on the CPUC notification list: email CEQA@suncrestloop-in.com with the subject line "SDG&E Suncrest 230kV Loop-In Project" and ask to receive all future notices. Then plan to comment on the Draft EIR, which the CPUC schedules for the third quarter of 2027 and which carries its own comment period. The Home page sets out what residents asked the study to cover and every step still to come. You can also join the coalition on the Get Involved page.
Where can I learn more?
Where can I learn more?
Visit the Project Maps, Resources, and Meetings pages for additional information.
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